6 Best BAFTA Best Actor Winning Movies

By Vlad Zakh · June 13, 2026

The BAFTA for Best Actor has a soft spot for big transformations. Joaquin Phoenix unraveled in Joker, Gary Oldman became Churchill in Darkest Hour, Colin Firth overcame a stammer in The King’s Speech, and Forest Whitaker played Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot and Nigel Hawthorne in The Madness of King George round out the six.

Joker (2019)

IMDb ★ 8.3 RT 68% Metacritic 59

A struggling, mentally ill clown-for-hire descends into violence and chaos amid a decaying Gotham City.

Directed by Todd Phillips · 2h 02m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars120 wins & 247 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, TNT, TBS, tru TV, HBO Max · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Darkest Hour (2017)

TMDB ★ 7.5

Churchill's first weeks in office are consumed by the question of whether to negotiate with Hitler at all.

Directed by Joe Wright · 2h 05m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The King's Speech (2010)

IMDb ★ 8.0 RT 94% Metacritic 88

A reluctant king works with an unconventional speech therapist to overcome a stammer before wartime.

Directed by Tom Hooper · 1h 58m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars109 wins & 206 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Britbox Apple TV channel, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Last King of Scotland (2006)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A young Scottish doctor becomes the personal physician of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, with dire results.

Directed by Kevin Macdonald · 2h 03m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Madness of King George (1994)

TMDB ★ 7.2

King George III's deteriorating mental health threatens his reign and the stability of the government.

Directed by Nicholas Hytner · 1h 47m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989)

TMDB ★ 8.0

An Irish writer and painter born with cerebral palsy overcomes profound physical limits.

Directed by Jim Sheridan · 1h 43m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best BAFTA Best Actor Winning Movies

Joker (2019)

Darkest Hour (2017)

The King's Speech (2010)

The Last King of Scotland (2006)

The Madness of King George (1994)

My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989)

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