Oscars 2026

Despite all the Hollywood remakes, only three actors have won an Oscar playing the same character

If your character has won an Oscar in the past, history shows that it’s hard to repeat that Academy Awards success.

Update: Mar 15th, 2026 09:30 EDT

Surely at some point you’ve grumbled about the endless stream of remakes, sequels, and reboots flooding movie theaters. “Hollywood’s running out of ideas,” you’ve probably muttered. Well, relax - we’re not here to prove you wrong. We’ve all thought it. What is surprising, though, is that despite seeing the same heroes and villains return to the big screen over and over, on only three occasions has a single character led to Oscars success for more than one actor. And it’s not for lack of trying! Here are several cases that came very close.

Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne and Jeff Bridges)

John Wayne first brought Rooster Cogburn to life in the 1969 classic True Grit, and Jeff Bridges stepped into the same role for the Coen Brothers’ 2010 remake. Wayne won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance, while Bridges earned a nomination - but ultimately lost to Colin Firth in The King’s Speech.

Henry V (Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh)

Both Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh portrayed the English monarch on the big screen, and both earned Oscar nominations for it - yet neither took home the prize. Olivier’s 1944 performance lost to Fredric March in The Best Years of Our Lives, and Branagh’s 1989 turn fell to Daniel Day‑Lewis for My Left Foot.

Richard Nixon (Anthony Hopkins and Frank Langella)

Another pair who secured nominations but not the trophy. Anthony Hopkins played America’s 37th president in Oliver Stone’s 1995 film Nixon, while Frank Langella portrayed him in Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon, arguably an even stronger film. Hopkins was beaten by Nicolas Cage for Leaving Las Vegas, and Langella lost to Sean Penn for Milk.

Everyone lead in A Star Is Born

Whether it’s the 1937 original (Janet Gaynor and Fredric March), the 1954 version (Judy Garland and James Mason), the 1976 remake (Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson), or the 2018 hit (Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper), every lead actor in A Star Is Born has been nominated for an Oscar. Quietly, these characters are the most prolific - and most consistently praised - roles in Academy history. But none of the eight won. Gaga and Streisand did collect Oscars, but only for Best Original Song.

Elizabeth I (Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett)

Cate Blanchett’s case as Queen Elizabeth I is especially fascinating. She played the monarch twice - in Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) - both directed by Shekhar Kapur and separated by nearly a decade. Both performances earned her Oscar nominations, making her the only actor ever nominated twice for playing the same character.

But there’s more. On the first occasion, Blanchett lost to Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love, a film that also featured a different Elizabeth I - played by Judi Dench - who did win, in the Best Supporting Actress category. Had both won in the same year, they would’ve cracked the very feat we’re highlighting - and simultaneously!

Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart)

Titanic offers another unusual scenario. Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart portrayed the same woman - Rose - at different ages in the same movie. Both were nominated: Winslet for Best Actress, Stuart for Supporting Actress. Had either won, the film would’ve made history. But both fell short, leaving the dream just out of reach.

Iris (Kate Winslet and Judi Dench)

A few years later, in 2001, Winslet found herself in the same situation again. In Iris, she and Judi Dench played the same real-life figure - author Iris Murdoch - at different stages of life, and again both received nominations. Both lost: Winslet to Halle Berry for Monster’s Ball, and Dench to Jennifer Connelly for A Beautiful Mind.

Leda (Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley)

In The Lost Daughter, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley once again portrayed the same woman - Leda - across two different time periods. Both earned Oscar nominations, though neither won; Jessica Chastain and Ariana DeBose claimed the acting awards that year. And speaking of DeBose…

The only actors who have won an Oscar for a previously award‑winning role:

Ariana DeBose is the most recent to pull it off. She won Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 West Side Story, matching Rita Moreno’s win for the same role in the 1961 original.

The next example also lands in the 21st century and within less than a decade: the two definitive big‑screen Jokers. Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight, 2008) and Joaquin Phoenix (Joker, 2019) both took home Oscars - Ledger for Supporting Actor, Phoenix for Best Actor. Different categories, same legendary character.

And then, of course, the one that started it all: Vito Corleone. Both Marlon Brando (The Godfather) and Robert De Niro (The Godfather Part II) won Oscars for portraying the Mafia patriarch. Two all‑time great performances, and the first pair ever to accomplish this rare feat.