British Independent Film Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film

The British Independent Film Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film was an annual award given by the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) to recognize the best lead performance by an actor in a British independent film. The award was first presented in the 1998 ceremony with Ray Winstone being the first recipient of the award for his performance as Raymond in Nil by Mouth.

British Independent Film Award for Best Actor
Awarded forBest Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented byBIFA
First award1998
Final award2021
Currently held byAdeel Akhtar – Ali & Ava (2021)
Websitewww.bifa.org.uk

Actors Michael Fassbender, Tom Hardy and Josh O'Connor are the only nominees who have won the award twice while Riz Ahmed holds the record of most nominations in this category with five nominations.

In July 2022, it was announced that the performance categories would be replaced with gender-neutral categories, with both Best Actor and Best Actress merging into the Best Lead Performance category. Additionally, a category named Best Joint Lead Performance was created for "two (or exceptionally three) performances that are the joint focus of the film, especially where performances share a large number of scenes and screen time".

Winners and nominees

1990s

Year Actor Film Character
1998
(1st)
Ray Winstone Nil by Mouth Raymond
John Hurt Love and Death on Long Island Giles De'Ath
Peter Mullan My Name Is Joe Joe Kavanagh
Jonathan Pryce Regeneration William Rivers
David Thewlis Divorcing Jack Dan Starkey
1999
(2nd)
Ian McKellen Gods and Monsters James Whale
Daniel Auteuil The Lost Son Xavier Lombard
Michael Caine Little Voice Ray Say
Daniel Craig The Trench Sgt. Telford Winter
Ray Winstone The War Zone Dad

2000s

Year Actor Film Character
2000
(3rd)
Daniel Craig Some Voices Ray
Paul Bettany Gangster No. 1 Young Gangster
Jim Broadbent Topsy-Turvy W. S. Gilbert
Adrian Lester Love's Labour's Lost Dumaine
Peter Mullan Miss Julie Jean
2001
(4th)
Ben Kingsley Sexy Beast Don Logan
Ian Hart Liam Dad
Timothy Spall Lucky Break Cliff Gumbell
Ray Winstone Sexy Beast Gary "Gal" Dove
2002
(5th)
James Nesbitt Bloody Sunday Ivan Cooper
Richard Harris My Kingdom Sandeman
Bill Nighy Lawless Heart Dan
Timothy Spall All or Nothing Phil
2003
(6th)
Chiwetel Ejiofor Dirty Pretty Things Okwe
Paddy Considine In America Johnny Sullivan
Ewan McGregor Young Adam Joe Taylor
Kevin McKidd 16 Years of Alcohol Frankie
Joaquin Phoenix Buffalo Soldiers Spc. Ray Elwood
2004
(7th)
Phil Davis Vera Drake Stanley Drake
Paddy Considine Dead Man's Shoes Richard
Daniel Craig Enduring Love Joe Rose
Ian Hart Blind Flight Brian Keenan
Geoffrey Rush The Life and Death of Peter Sellers Peter Sellers
2005
(8th)
Ralph Fiennes The Constant Gardener Justin Quayle
Johnny Depp The Libertine John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
Chiwetel Ejiofor Kinky Boots Lola
Bob Hoskins Mrs Henderson Presents Vivian Van Damm
Matthew Macfadyen In My Father's Den Paul Prior
2006
(9th)
Tony Curran Red Road Clyde Henderson
James McAvoy The Last King of Scotland Nicholas Garrigan
Cillian Murphy The Wind That Shakes the Barley Damien O'Donovan
Peter O'Toole Venus Maurice Russell
Forest Whitaker The Last King of Scotland Idi Amin
2007
(10th)
Viggo Mortensen Eastern Promises Nikolai Luzhin
Jamie Bell Hallam Foe Hallam Foe
Jim Broadbent And When Did You Last See Your Father? Arthur Morrison
Cillian Murphy Sunshine Robert Capa
Sam Riley Control Ian Curtis
2008
(11th)
Michael Fassbender Hunger Bobby Sands
Riz Ahmed Shifty Shifty
Colin Farrell In Bruges Ray
Brendan Gleeson Ken
Thomas Turgoose Somers Town Tomo
2009
(12th)
Tom Hardy Bronson Charles Bronson
Peter Capaldi In the Loop Malcolm Tucker
Aaron Johnson Nowhere Boy John Lennon
Sam Rockwell Moon Sam Bell
Andy Serkis Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll Ian Dury

2010s

Year Actor Film Character
2010
(13th)
Colin Firth The King's Speech King George VI
Riz Ahmed Four Lions Omar
Jim Broadbent Another Year Tom Hepple
Aidan Gillen Treacle Jr. Aidan
Scoot McNairy Monsters Andrew Kaulder
2011
(14th)
Michael Fassbender Shame Brandon Sullivan
Brendan Gleeson The Guard Sergeant Gerry Boyle
Neil Maskell Kill List Jay
Peter Mullan Tyrannosaur Joseph
Gary Oldman Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy George Smiley
2012
(15th)
Toby Jones Berberian Sound Studio Gilderoy
Riz Ahmed Ill Manors Aaron
Steve Oram Sightseers Chris
Tim Roth Broken Archie Cunningham
Terence Stamp Song for Marion Arthur
2013
(16th)
James McAvoy Filth Bruce Robertson
Jim Broadbent Le Week-End Nick Burrows
Steve Coogan Philomena Martin Sixsmith
Tom Hardy Locke Ivan Locke
Jack O'Connell Starred Up Eric Love
2014
(17th)
Brendan Gleeson Calvary Father James Lavelle
Asa Butterfield X+Y Nathan Ellis
Benedict Cumberbatch The Imitation Game Alan Turing
Jack O'Connell '71 Gary Hook
Timothy Spall Mr. Turner J. M. W. Turner
2015
(18th)
Tom Hardy Legend Ronnie Kray and Reggie Kray
Tom Courtenay 45 Years Geoff Mercer
Colin Farrell The Lobster David
Michael Fassbender Macbeth Macbeth
Tom Hiddleston High-Rise Dr. Robert Laing
2016
(19th)
Dave Johns I, Daniel Blake Daniel Blake
Steven Brandon My Feral Heart Luke
Michael Fassbender Trespass Against Us Chad Cutler
Shia LaBeouf American Honey Jake
Max Records I Am Not a Serial Killer John Wayne Cleaver
2017
(20th)
Josh O'Connor God's Own Country Johnny Saxby
Jamie Bell Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool Peter Turner
Paddy Considine Journeyman Matty Burton
Johnny Harris Jawbone Jimmy McCabe
Alec Secăreanu God's Own Country Gheorghe Ionescu
2018
(21st)
Joe Cole A Prayer Before Dawn Billy Moore
Steve Coogan Stan & Ollie Stan Laurel
Rupert Everett The Happy Prince Oscar Wilde
Joaquin Phoenix You Were Never Really Here Joe
Charlie Plummer Lean on Pete Charley Thompson
2019
(22nd)
Josh O'Connor Only You Jake
Sam Adewunmi The Last Tree Femi
Tom Burke The Souvenir Anthony
Kris Hitchen Sorry We Missed You Ricky Turner
Dev Patel The Personal History of David Copperfield David Copperfield

2020s

Year Actor Film Character
2020
(23rd)
Anthony Hopkins The Father Anthony
Riz Ahmed Mogul Mowgli Zed
Sope Dirisu His House Bol
Amir El-Masry Limbo Omarr
Cosmo Jarvis Calm with Horses Douglas
2021
(24th)
Adeel Akhtar Ali & Ava Ali
Riz Ahmed Encounter Malik Kahn
Stephen Graham Boiling Point Andy Jones
Jude Law The Nest Rory O'Hara
James Norton Nowhere Special John

Multiple nominations

Multiple wins

See also

wikipedia, wiki, encyclopedia, book, library, article, read, free download, Information about British Independent Film Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film, What is British Independent Film Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film? What does British Independent Film Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film mean?