# The Best Actor Oscar winners of the 2000s

The actors who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for films from 2000 to 2009, with two wins for Sean Penn.

- 45 votes · 10 items
- Mar 18, 2026 · leitora.curioso
- https://even.best/en/l/1168/the-best-actor-oscar-winners-of-the-2000s

## Top 10

1. **Denzel Washington — Training Day** (8 · ▲8 ▼0) — 2001 film. A corrupt Los Angeles cop.
2. **Russell Crowe — Gladiator** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — 2000 film. General Maximus.
3. **Adrien Brody — The Pianist** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — 2002 film. Władysław Szpilman in the Warsaw Ghetto; at 29, the youngest winner.
4. **Sean Penn — Mystic River** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — 2003 film. A father seeking revenge in Boston.
5. **Daniel Day-Lewis — There Will Be Blood** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — 2007 film. Oilman Daniel Plainview.
6. **Philip Seymour Hoffman — Capote** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — 2005 film. Truman Capote writing In Cold Blood.
7. **Sean Penn — Milk** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — 2008 film. Gay politician Harvey Milk.
8. **Jamie Foxx — Ray** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — 2004 film. Ray Charles.
9. **Forest Whitaker — The Last King of Scotland** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — 2006 film. Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
10. **Jeff Bridges — Crazy Heart** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — 2009 film. A washed-up country singer.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.