In 2019, Bradley Cooper was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for A Star Is Born, a film he also directed. And while he ultimately lost to Rami Malek’s portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, that performance was yet another instance of someone being nominated for acting while directing themselves.

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The lucky ones form a list of twenty names, and Cooper holds a notable place on it, especially after achieving a double nomination in 2024 for his work in Maestro. That honor is shared with Clint Eastwood and Warren Beatty, who also accomplished the feat twice, and is only surpassed by Laurence Olivier, who appears three times in the records.

All Actors Nominated for an Oscar While Directing Themselves

1. Leslie Howard for ‘Pygmalion (1939)
2. Charlie Chaplin for ‘The Great Dictator’ (1941)
3. Orson Welles for ‘Citizen Kane’ (1942)
4. Laurence Olivier for ‘Henry V’ (1947)
5. Laurence Olivier for ‘Hamlet’ (1949)
6. Laurence Olivier for ‘Richard III’ (1957)
7. Woody Allen for ‘Annie Hall’ (1978)
8. Warren Beatty for ‘Heaven Can Wait’ (1979)
9. Warren Beatty for ‘Reds’ (1982)
10. Kenneth Branagh for ‘Henry V’ (1990)
11. Kevin Costner for ‘Dancing with Wolves’ (1990)
12. Clint Eastwood por ‘Unforgiven’ (1992)
13. Billy Bob Thornton for ‘Sling Blade’ (1997)
14. Robert Duvall for ‘The Apostle’ (1997)
15. Roberto Benigni for ‘Life is Beautiful’ (1997)
16. Ed Harris for ‘Pollock’ (2000)
17. Clint Eastwood for ‘Million Dollar Baby’ (2004)
18. Denzel Washington for ‘Fences’ (2016)
19. Bradley Cooper for ‘A Star is Born’ (2018)
20. Bradley Cooper for ‘Maestro’ (2023)

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Now, the million-dollar question: how many of them won? Only two—Laurence Olivier for Hamlet and Roberto Benigni for Life Is Beautiful. Olivier accepted his Oscar in a year when speeches weren’t even allowed, while Benigni, who also won that year for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Score, gave us one of the most memorable moments in Oscar history.

Though it’s an urban legend that he said, “thank you to my director”, Benigni displayed the purest and most genuine joy ever seen at the Academy Awards.

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