BAFTA de melhor ator num papel principal (no original, em inglês: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role) é um prêmio entregue anualmente pela British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) ao ator masculino que se tenha distinguido durante o ano num papel principal em cinema. Atores de qualquer nacionalidade são elegíveis para receber o prémio.
Lista com os atores premiados e nomeados:
Anos 1950 1953 Melhor Ator Britânico — Ralph Richardson - The Sound Barrier Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Marlon Brando - Viva Zapata!
1954 Melhor Ator Britânico — John Gielgud — Julius Caesar Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Marlon Brando - Julius Caesar
1955 Melhor Ator Britânico — Kenneth More — Doctor in the House Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront
1956 Melhor Ator Britânico — Laurence Olivier — Richard III Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Ernest Borgnine - Marty
1957 Melhor Ator Britânico — Peter Finch — A Town Like Alice Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Clare Van Den Thiel - Gervaise
1958 Melhor Ator Britânico — Alec Guinness — The Bridge on the River Kwai Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Henry Fonda - 12 Angry Men
1959 Melhor Ator Britânico — Trevor Howard — The Key Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Sidney Poitier - The Defiant Ones
Anos 1960
1960 Melhor Ator Britânico — Peter Sellers – I'm All Right Jack Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Jack Lemmon - Some Like It Hot
1961 Melhor Ator Britânico - Peter Finch - The Trials of Oscar Wilde Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Jack Lemmon - The Apartment
1962 Melhor Ator Britânico - Peter Finch - No Love for Johnnie Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Paul Newman - The Hustler
1963 Melhor Ator Britânico - Peter O'Toole - Lawrence of Arabia Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Burt Lancaster - Birdman of Alcatraz
1964 Melhor Ator Britânico - Dirk Bogarde - The Servant Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Marcello Mastroianni - Divorzio all'italiana
1965 Melhor Ator Britânico - Richard Attenborough - Guns at Batasi e Seance on a Wet Afternoon Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Marcello Mastroianni - Ieri, oggi, domani
1966 Melhor Ator Britânico - Dirk Bogarde - Darling Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Lee Marvin - Cat Ballou e The Killers
1967 Melhor Ator Britânico - Richard Burton - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold e Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Rod Steiger - The Pawnbroker
1968 Melhor Ator Britânico - Paul Scofield - A Man for All Seasons Melhor Ator Estrangeiro - Rod Steiger - In the Heat of the Night
Ano Ator Filme Personagem1969Spencer TracyGuess Who's Coming to DinnerMatt DraytonTrevor HowardThe Charge of the Light BrigadeLorde CardiganRon MoodyOliver! FaginNicol WilliamsonThe Bofors Gun O'Rourke
Anos 1970 Ano Ator Filme Personagem 1970 Dustin Hoffman Midnight Cowboy Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo John & Mary John Alan Bates Women in Love Rupert Birkin Walter Matthau Hello, Dolly! Horace Vandergelder The Secret Life of an American Wife O Astro de Cinema Nicol Williamson Inadmissible Evidence bill Maitland 1971 Robert Redford Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Sundance Kid |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Downhill Racer | David Chappellet |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here | Xerife Christopher Cooper|- | rowspan=2| Elliott Gould | MASH | John McIntyre |- | Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice | Ted Henderson |- | Paul Newman | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Butch Cassidy |- | George C. Scott | Patton | George S. Patton |- | rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | 1972|- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Peter Finch| Sunday Bloody Sunday | Dr. Daniel Hirsh|- | Dirk Bogarde | Death in Venice (Morte a Venezia) | Gustav von Aschenbach |- | Albert Finney | Gumshoe | Eddie Ginley |- | Dustin Hoffman | Little Big Man | Jack Crabb |- | rowspan=8 style="text-align:center" | 1973|- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | rowspan=2 | Gene Hackman| The French Connection | Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | The Poseidon Adventure | Reverendo Frank Scott|- | rowspan=2| Marlon Brando | The Godfather | Don Vito Corleone |- | The Nightcomers | Peter Quint |- | rowspan=2| George C. Scott | The Hospital | Dr. Herbert "Herb" Bock |- | They Might Be Giants | Justin Playfair |- | Robert Shaw | Young Winston | Lorde Randolph Churchill |- | rowspan=7 style="text-align:center" | 1974|- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | rowspan=2 | Walter Matthau| Charley Varrick | Charley Varrick |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Pete 'n' Tillie | Pete|- | Marlon Brando | Last Tango in Paris (Ultimo Tango a Parigi) | Paul |- | Laurence Olivier | Sleuth | Andrew Wyke |- | rowspan=2| Donald Sutherland | Steelyard Blues | Jesse Veldini |- | Don't Look Now | John Baxter |- | rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | 1975|- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | rowspan=2 | Jack Nicholson| Chinatown | J.J. "Jake" Gittes |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | The Last Detail | Billy Buddusky|- | Albert Finney | Murder on the Orient Express | Hercule Poirot |- | Gene Hackman | The Conversation | Harry Caul |- | Al Pacino | Serpico | Frank Serpico |- | rowspan=7 style="text-align:center" | 1976|- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | rowspan=2 | Al Pacino| The Godfather Part II | Michael Corleone |- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Dog Day Afternoon | Sonny Wortzik|- | Richard Dreyfuss | Jaws | Matt Hooper |- | rowspan=2| Gene Hackman | French Connection II | Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle |- | Night Moves | Harry Moseby |- | Dustin Hoffman | Lenny | Lenny Bruce |- | rowspan=7 style="text-align:center" | 1977|- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Jack Nicholson| One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | Randle McMurphy|- | Robert De Niro | Taxi Driver | Travis Bickle |- | rowspan=2| Dustin Hoffman | All the President's Men | Carl Bernstein |- | Marathon Man | Thomas "Babe" Levy |- | rowspan=2| Walter Matthau | The Bad News Bears | Morris Buttermaker |- | The Sunshine Boys | Willy Clark |- | rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | 1978|- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Peter Finch| Network | Howard Beale|- | Woody Allen | Annie Hall | Alvy "Max" Singer |- | William Holden | Network | Max Schumacher |- | Sylvester Stallone | Rocky | Rocky Balboa |- | rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | 1979|- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Richard Dreyfuss | The Goodbye Girl | Elliot Garfield'|- | Brad Davis | Midnight Express| Billy Hayes |- | Anthony Hopkins | Magic| Corky Withers / Fats |- | Peter Ustinov | Death on the Nile'' Hercule Poirot
Anos 1980 Ano Ator Filme Personagem 1980 Jack Lemmon The China Syndrome Jack Godell Woody Allen Manhattan Isaac Davis Robert De Niro The Deer Hunter Sargento Michael "Mike" Vronsky Martin Sheen Apocalypse Now Benjamin L. Willard 1981 John Hurt The Elephant Man John Merrick Dustin Hoffman Kramer vs. Kramer Ted Kramer Roy Scheider All That Jazz Joe Gideon Peter Sellers Being There Chance 1982 Burt Lancaster Atlantic City Lou Pascal Robert De Niro Raging Bull Jake LaMotta Bob Hoskins The Long Good Friday Harold Jeremy Irons The French Lieutenant's Woman Charles Henry Smithson 1983 Ben Kingsley Gandhi Mahatma Gandhi Warren Beatty Reds John Silas Reed Henry Fonda On Golden Pond Norman Thayler Jr. Albert Finney Shoot the Moon George Dunlap Jack Lemmon Missing Ed Horman 1984 Michael Caine Educating Rita Dr. Frank Bryant Dustin Hoffman Tootsie Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels Michael Caine The Honorary Consul Charley Fortnum Robert De Niro The King of Comedy Rupert Pupkin 1985 Haing S. Ngor The Killing Fields Dith Pran Tom Courtenay The Dresser Norman Albert Finney The Dresser Senhor Sam Waterston The Killing Fields Sydney Schanberg 1986 William Hurt Kiss of the Spider Woman Luis Molina F. Murray Abraham Amadeus Antonio Salieri Victor Banerjee A Passage to India Dr. Aziz Ahmed Harrison Ford Witness John Book 1987 Bob Hoskins Mona Lisa George Woody Allen Hannah and Her Sisters Mickey Sachs Michael Caine Hannah and Her Sisters Elliot Paul Hogan Crocodile Dundee Michael "Crocodile" J. Dundee 1988 Sean Connery Der Name der Rose William de Baskerville Gérard Depardieu Jean de Florette Jean de Florette Yves Montand Jean de Florette César Soubeyran Gary Oldman Prick Up Your Ears Joe Orton 1989 John Cleese A Fish Called Wanda Archibald "Archie" Leach Michael Douglas Fatal Attraction Dan Gallagher Kevin Kline A Fish Called Wanda Otto West Robin Williams Good Morning, Vietnam Adrian Cronauer
Anos 1990 Ano Ator Filme Personagem 1990 Daniel Day-Lewis My Left Foot Christy Brown Kenneth Branagh Henry V Rei Henrique V Dustin Hoffman Rain Man Raymond Babbit Robin Williams Dead Poets Society John Keating 1991 Philippe Noiret Nuovo Cinema Paradiso Alfredo Sean Connery The Hunt for Red October Grady Tripp Tom Cruise Born on the Fourth of July Ron Kovic Robert De Niro Goodfellas Jimmy Conway 1992 Anthony Hopkins The Silence of the Lambs Dr. Hannibal Lecter Kevin Costner Dances with Wolves Tenente Dunbar Gérard Depardieu Cyrano de Bergerac Cyrano de Bergerac Alan Rickman Truly, Madly, Deeply Jamie 1993 Robert Downey Jr. Chaplin Charles Chaplin Daniel Day-Lewis The Last of the Mohicans Nathaniel Poe Stephen Rea The Crying Game Fergus Tim Robbins The Player Griffin Mill 1994 Anthony Hopkins The Remains of the Day James Stevens Daniel Day-Lewis In the Name of the Father Gerry Conlon Anthony Hopkins Shadowlands C. S. Lewis Liam Neeson Schindler's List Oskar Schindler 1995 Hugh Grant Four Weddings and a Funeral Charles Tom Hanks Forrest Gump Forrest Gump Terrence Stamp The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Ralph / Bernadette Bassenger John Travolta Pulp Fiction Vincent Vega 1996 Nigel Hawthorne The Madness of King George Rei George III Nicolas Cage Leaving Las Vegas Ben Sanderson Jonathan Pryce Carrington Lytton Strachey Massimo Troisi Il postino: The Postman Mario Ruoppolo 1997 Geoffrey Rush Shine David Helfgott Ralph Fiennes The English Patient Laszlo de Almásy Ian McKellen Richard III Rei Richard III Timothy Spall Secrets & Lies Maurice Purley 1998 Robert Carlyle The Full Monty Gaz Billy Connolly Mrs Brown John Brown Kevin Spacey L.A. Confidential Jack Vincennes Ray Winstone Nil by Mouth Ray 1999 Roberto Benigni Life Is Beautiful Guido Orefice Michael Caine Little Voice Ray Say Joseph Fiennes Shakespeare in Love William Shakespeare Tom Hanks Saving Private Ryan Capitão John H. Miller
Anos 2000 Ano Ator Filme Personagem 2000 Kevin Spacey American Beauty Lester Burnham Jim Broadbent Topsy-Turvy W. S. Gilbert Russell Crowe The Insider Maurice Bendrix Ralph Fiennes The End of the Affair Jeffrey Wigand Om Puri East Is East George Khan 2001 Jamie Bell Billy Elliot Billy Elliot Russell Crowe Gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius Michael Douglas Wonder Boys Grady Tripp Tom Hanks Cast Away Chuck Noland Geoffrey Rush Quills Marquês de Sade 2002 Russell Crowe A Beautiful Mind John Forbes Nash Jr. |- | Jim Broadbent | Iris | John Bayley |- | Ian McKellen | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Gandalf |- | Kevin Spacey | The Shipping News | Quoyle |- | Tom Wilkinson | In the Bedroom | Matt Fowler |- | rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | 2003|- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Daniel Day-Lewis| Gangs of New York| William "Bill, O Açougueiro" Cutting|- | Adrien Brody | The Pianist | Władysław Szpilman |- | Nicolas Cage | Adaptation. | Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman |- | Michael Caine | The Quiet American | Thomas Fowler |- | Jack Nicholson | About Schmidt | Warren Schmidt |- | rowspan=7 style="text-align:center" | 2004|- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Bill Murray| Lost in Translation | Bob Harris|- | Benicio Del Toro | rowspan=2 | 21 Grams | Jack Jordan |- | rowspan=2 | Sean Penn | Paul Rivers |- | Mystic River | Jimmy Markum |- | Johnny Depp | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | Capitão Jack Sparrow |- | Jude Law | Cold Mountain | W.P. Inman |- | rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | 2005|- style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Jamie Foxx| Ray| Ray Charles|- | Jim Carrey | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | Joel Barrish |- | Johnny Depp