Volpi Cup for Best Actor

Award
Volpi Cup for Best Actor
Coppa Volpi per la migliore interpretazione maschile (Italian)
The 2023 recipient: Peter Sarsgaard
Awarded forBest Performance by an Actor
CountryItaly
Presented byVenice Film Festival
First awarded1932
Currently held byPeter Sarsgaard
Memory (2023)
Websitelabiennale.org/en/cinema

The Volpi Cup for Best Actor (Italian: Coppa Volpi per la migliore interpretazione maschile) is the principal award given to actors at the Venice Film Festival and is named in honor of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, the founder of the Venice Film Festival. The name and number of prizes have been changed several times since their introduction, ranging from two to four awards per edition and sometimes acknowledging both leading and supporting performances.

The festival was officially competitive for the first time in 1934. The acting award was named Grande medaglia d'oro dell'Associazione Nazionale Fascista dello Spettacolo per il migliore attore (Great Gold Medal of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment for the Best Actor). After a four-year hiatus caused by the war, the festival was once again competitive in 1947. The acting award in the immediate post-war period was named Premio Internazionale per il migliore attore (International Award for the Best Actor).[1][2][3][4] The festival was again competitive in 1980 but the acting awards given by the competition jury were not reinstated until 1983: the prizes were no longer called Coppa Volpi (Volpi Cup) but were simply referred to as Premio per il migliore attore (Best Actor Award). The winners did not receive cup-shaped awards but were instead given rectangular plaques. In 1988, for the first time in 20 years, the most recognizable prizes of the festival were re-established. The two acting award was officially named Coppa Volpi per la migliore interpretazione maschile (Volpi Cup for the Best Actor).[5]As of 2023, Peter Sarsgaard is the most recent winner in this category for his role in Memory.

Winners

The following actors received the Volpi Cup or other major Best Actor Award:[6][7]

Table key
Indicates the Best Supporting Actor winner
Year Actor Role English Title Original Title
1930s
Awarded as "Best Actor"
1932
(1st)
Fredric March [A] Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Awarded as "Great Gold Medal of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment for Best Actor"
1934
(2nd)
Wallace Beery Pancho Villa Viva Villa!
Awarded as "Volpi Cup for Best Actor"
1935
(3rd)
Pierre Blanchar Rodion Raskolnikov Crime and Punishment Crime et châtiment
1936
(4th)
Paul Muni Louis Pasteur The Story of Louis Pasteur
1937
(5th)
Emil Jannings Matthias Clausen Der Herrscher
1938
(6th)
Leslie Howard Professor Henry Higgins Pygmalion
1940s
1941
(9th)
Ermete Zacconi Don Geronimo Buonaparte Don Buonaparte
1942
(10th)
Fosco Giachetti Captain Enrico Berti Bengasi
Awarded as "International Award for Best Actor"
1947
(8th)
Pierre Fresnay Vincent de Paul Monsieur Vincent
1948
(9th)
Ernst Deutsch Scharf The Trial Der Prozeß
1949
(10th)
Joseph Cotten Eben Adams Portrait of Jennie
1950s
1950
(11th)
Sam Jaffe Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider The Asphalt Jungle
Awarded as "Volpi Cup for Best Actor"
1951
(12th)
Jean Gabin Raymond Pinsard The Night Is My Kingdom La nuit est mon royaume
1952
(13th)
Fredric March Willy Loman Death of a Salesman
1953
(14th)
Henri Vilbert François Dupont Good Lord Without Confession
1954
(15th)
Jean Gabin [B] Victor Le Garrec The Air of Paris L'Air de Paris
Max Touchez pas au grisbi
1955
(16th)
Curd Jürgens Wolf Gerke Les héros sont fatigués Les héros sont fatigués
Kenneth More Freddie Page The Deep Blue Sea
1956
(17th)
Bourvil Marcel Martin La Traversée de Paris
1957
(18th)
Anthony Franciosa Polo Pope A Hatful of Rain
1958
(19th)
Alec Guinness Gulley Jimson The Horse's Mouth
1959
(20th)
James Stewart Paul Biegler Anatomy of a Murder
1960s
1960
(21st)
John Mills Lt. Col. Basil Barrow Tunes of Glory
1961
(22nd)
Toshiro Mifune Sanjuro Yojimbo 用心棒
1962
(23rd)
Burt Lancaster Robert Stroud Birdman of Alcatraz
1963
(24th)
Albert Finney Tom Jones Tom Jones
1964
(25th)
Tom Courtenay Private Arthur Hamp King and Country
1965
(26th)
Toshiro Mifune Dr. Kyojō Niide Red Beard 赤ひげ
1966
(27th)
Jacques Perrin Michele Un uomo a metà
1967
(28th)
Ljubiša Samardžić Mali The Morning Jutro
1968
(29th)
John Marley Richard Forst Faces
1980s
Awarded as "Best Actor Award"
1983
(40th)
Guy Boyd Rooney Streamers
George Dzundza Cokes
David Alan Grier Roger
Mitchell Lichtenstein Richie
Matthew Modine Billy
Michael Wright Carlyle
1984
(41st)
Naseeruddin Shah Naurangia Paar
1985
(42nd)
Gérard Depardieu Louis Vincent Mangin Police
1986
(43rd)
Carlo Delle Piane Antonio Sant'Elia Christmas Present Regalo di Natale
1987
(44th)
Hugh Grant Clive Durham Maurice
James Wilby Maurice Hall
Awarded as "Volpi Cup for Best Actor"
1988
(45th)
Don Ameche Gino Things Change
Joe Mantegna Jerry
1989
(46th)
Marcello Mastroianni Marcello What Time Is It? Che ora è?
Massimo Troisi Michele
1990s
1990
(47th)
Oleg Borisov Christo Panov / Svidetel The Only Witness Edinstveniyat svidetel
1991
(48th)
River Phoenix Mikey Waters My Own Private Idaho
1992
(49th)
Jack Lemmon Shelley "The Machine" Levene Glengarry Glen Ross
1993
(50th)
Fabrizio Bentivoglio Pietro De Leo A Soul Split in Two Un'anima divisa in due
Marcello Mastroianni Constantin Laspada 1, 2, 3, Sun Un, deux, trois, soleil
1994
(51st)
Xia Yu Ma Xiaojun In the Heat of the Sun 陽光燦爛的日子
Roberto Citran Loris Il toro
1995
(52nd)
Götz George Fritz Haarmann Deathmaker Der Totmacher
Ian Hart Ginger Nothing Personal
1996
(53rd)
Liam Neeson Michael Collins Michael Collins
Chris Penn Cesarian "Chez" Tempio The Funeral
1997
(54th)
Wesley Snipes Max Carlyle One Night Stand
1998
(55th)
Sean Penn Eddie Hurlyburly
1999
(56th)
Jim Broadbent W. S. Gilbert Topsy-Turvy
2000s
2000
(57th)
Javier Bardem Reinaldo Arenas Before Night Falls
2001
(58th)
Luigi Lo Cascio Antonio Light of My Eyes Luce dei miei occhi
2002
(59th)
Stefano Accorsi Dino Campana A Journey Called Love Un viaggio chiamato amore
2003
(60th)
Sean Penn Paul Rivers 21 Grams
2004
(61st)
Javier Bardem Ramón Sampedro The Sea Inside Mar adentro
2005
(62nd)
David Strathairn Edward R. Murrow Good Night, and Good Luck
2006
(63rd)
Ben Affleck George Reeves Hollywoodland
2007
(64th)
Brad Pitt Jesse James The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
2008
(65th)
Silvio Orlando Michele Casali Giovanna's Father Il papà di Giovanna
2009
(66th)
Colin Firth George Falconer A Single Man
2010s
2010
(67th)
Vincent Gallo Mohammed Essential Killing
2011
(68th)
Michael Fassbender Brandon Sullivan Shame
2012
(69th)
Philip Seymour Hoffman Lancaster Dodd The Master
Joaquin Phoenix Freddie Quell
2013
(70th)
Themis Panou Father Miss Violence
2014
(71st)
Adam Driver Jude Hungry Hearts
2015
(72nd)
Fabrice Luchini Michel Racine Courted L'Hermine
2016
(73rd)
Oscar Martínez Daniel Mantovani The Distinguished Citizen El Ciudadano Ilustre
2017
(74th)
Kamel El Basha Yasser Abdallah Salameh The Insult L'insulte
2018
(75th)
Willem Dafoe Vincent van Gogh At Eternity's Gate
2019
(76th)
Luca Marinelli Martin Eden Martin Eden
2020s
2020
(77th)
Pierfrancesco Favino Alfonso Padrenostro
2021
(78th)
John Arcilla Sisoy Salas On the Job: The Missing 8
2022
(79th)
Colin Farrell Pádraic Súilleabháin The Banshees of Inisherin
2023
(80th)
Peter Sarsgaard Saul Memory

Multiple winners

The following individuals have received multiple Best Actor awards:

Number of Wins Actor Nationality Films
2 Fredric March United States Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932),
Death of a Salesman (1952)
Jean Gabin[7] France The Night Is My Kingdom (1951),
The Air of Paris & Touchez pas au grisbi (both 1954)
Toshiro Mifune[7] Japan Yojimbo (1961),
Red Beard (1965)
Marcello Mastroianni Italy What Time Is It? (1989),
1, 2, 3, Sun (1993)
Sean Penn[7] United States Hurlyburly (1998),
21 Grams (2003)
Javier Bardem[7] Spain Before Night Falls (2000),
The Sea Inside (2004)

See also

The following individuals have also received Best Actor award(s) at Cannes or Berlin Film Festival.

Winning Year at Venice Actor Nationality Festival Year English Title
1932
1952
Fredric March United States Berlin 1960 Inherit The Wind
1951
1954
Jean Gabin France Berlin 1959 Archimède le clochard
1971 Le Chat
1959 James Stewart United States Berlin 1962 Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation
1962 Burt Lancaster United States Berlin 1956 Trapeze
1963 Albert Finney England Berlin 1984 The Dresser
1964 Tom Courtenay England Berlin 2015 45 Years
1985 Gérard Depardieu France Cannes 1990 Cyrano de Bergerac
1989
1993
Marcello Mastroianni Italy Cannes 1970 The Pizza Triangle
1987 Dark Eyes
1992 Jack Lemmon United States Cannes 1979 The China Syndrome
Berlin 1981 Tribute
Cannes 1982 Missing
1998
2003
Sean Penn United States Berlin 1996 Dead Man Walking
Cannes 1997 She's So Lovely
2000
2004
Javier Bardem Spain Cannes 2010 Biutiful
2012 Joaquin Phoenix United States Cannes 2017 You Were Never Really Here

Notes

A^ : Winner of the award was chosen by public voting.
B^ : Performer to receive a single award which honor the outstanding work in multiple different films in the same official competition slate.

References

  1. ^ "La Magnani premiata come miglior attrice". La Stampa. 16 September 1947. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  2. ^ "Il Gran Premio ad "Amleto" di Olivier". La Stampa. 5 September 1948. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  3. ^ "L'assegnazione dei diciassette premi". L'Unità. 2 September 1949. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  4. ^ "L'assegnazione dei premi". La Stampa. 11 September 1950. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  5. ^ "Tutti i premiati". La Stampa. 10 September 1988. Retrieved 2013-10-06.
  6. ^ "Coppa Volpi for best actors since 1935". labiennale.org. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Volpi Cup for Best Actor 1934 to 2012". carnivalofvenice.com. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2018.

External links

  • Venice Film Festival on IMDb
  • Enrico Lancia, I premi del cinema, Gremese Editore, 1998
  • Coppa Volpi for best actors since 1935 from "La Biennale" website
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AwardsIndependent awardsBy year
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Volpi Cup for Best Actor
1932–68
1983–2000
2001–present