The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture is presented annually during the Golden Globe Awards ceremony that is conducted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). The award is given to honor an actor who has delivered remarkable performance in a supporting role in a film. It marks as a token of pride for the recipient who, through the substantial part he played, contributed in the development of the story thus adding value to the film.

The Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture award category was introduced as one of the six original categories of the Golden Globe Awards ceremony at the time of the latter’s inception by the Hollywood Foreign Correspondent Association (HFCA), the predecessor of HFPA. Armenian-American actor Akim Tamiroff became first recipient of the Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture award at the 1944 held 1st Golden Globe Awards ceremony for playing the character of Pablo in the epic war film For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943).

English actor Edmund Gwenn became the first actor to receive the award twice, first for his best remembered role of Kris Kringle in the Christmas film Miracle on 34th Street (1947) in 1948, and then for playing the titular role in the light-hearted romantic drama Mister 880 (1950) in 1951. Distinguished English actor, film director and producer Richard Attenborough won the award back-to-back in 1967 and 1968 for his performances in the epic war film The Sand Pebbles (1966) and musical comedy Doctor Dolittle (1967) respectively. Other luminaries who won the award twice are Edmond O'Brien (in 1955 and 1965), Martin Landau (in 1989 and 1995), Brad Pitt (in 1996 and 2020) and Christoph Waltz (in 2010 and 2013). In 2009, Australian actor Heath Ledger, who had an untimely death due to an accidental overdose of medications, became the first actor, and so far the only one, who received the award posthumously. He was bestowed with the honor for his role as the Joker in the Christopher Nolan directed superhero film The Dark Knight (2008).

The 37th Golden Globe Awards, held in 1980, witnessed two actors winning the award, namely Melvyn Douglas for playing Benjamin Rand in the satirical comedy-drama Being There (1979) and Robert Duvall for playing Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore in the epic war film Apocalypse Now (1979). Noted American retired actor and filmmaker Jack Nicholson who won the award for playing Garrett Breedlove in the family comedy drama Terms of Endearment (1983) in 1984, holds the record of earning most nominations in the category with 5. The award is officially known as Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture since 2005.

List of Winners - Golden Globes Best Supporting Actor

Year

Winner

1943

Akim Tamiroff

1944

Barry Fitzgerald

1945

J. Carrol Naish

1946

Clifton Webb

1947

Edmund Gwenn

1948

Walter Huston

1949

James Whitmore

1950

Edmund Gwenn

1951

Peter Ustinov

1952

Millard Mitchell

1953

Frank Sinatra

1954

Edmond O'Brien

1955

Arthur Kennedy

1956

Earl Holliman

1957

Red Buttons

1958

Burl Ives

1959

Stephen Boyd

1960

Sal Mineo

1961

George Chakiris

1964

Edmond O'Brien

1966

Richard Attenborough

1967

Richard Attenborough

1968

Daniel Massey

1969

Gig Young

1970

John Mills

1971

Ben Johnson

1972

Joel Grey

1973

John Houseman

1974

Fred Astaire

1975

Richard Benjamin

1976

Laurence Olivier

1977

Peter Firth

1978

John Hurt

1979

Melvyn Douglas/Robert Duvall

1980

Timothy Hutton

1981

John Gielgud

1982

Louis Gossett, Jr.

1983

Jack Nicholson

1984

Haing S. Ngor

1985

Klaus Maria Brandauer

1986

Tom Berenger

1987

Sean Connery

1988

Martin Landau

1989

Denzel Washington

1990

Bruce Davison

1991

Jack Palance

1992

Gene Hackman

1993

Tommy Lee Jones

1994

Martin Landau

1995

Brad Pitt

1996

Edward Norton

1997

Burt Reynolds

1998

Ed Harris

1999

Tom Cruise

2000

Benicio del Toro

2001

Jim Broadbent

2002

Chris Cooper

2003

Tim Robbins

2004

Clive Owen

2005

George Clooney

2006

Eddie Murphy

2007

Javier Bardem

2008

Heath Ledger

2009

Christoph Waltz