9 Pairs of Oscar-Nominated Actors Who Portrayed The Same Characters

Aside from bestowing international recognition and prestige, an Oscar Award plays a crucial role in the success of the major winners. Winning an Oscar Award is a goal of every actor but for some, getting an Oscar nomination is also an honor. An Oscar nomination can open doors to more ambitious projects – the kind leading to larger paychecks and budgets and that makes it more likely for them to be nominated again.
It seems that playing a certain character increases the actor’s chances of ranking up the nominations for Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor. However, some Oscar-nominated played the same character. We’ve found out which actors scored an Oscar for the same role and which actors were nominated for it.
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#1 Rita Moreno and Ariana DeBose

Source: SILVER SCREEN COLLECTION/GETTY; NIKO TAVERNISE / © 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS / COURTESY EVERETT

In 1962, Rita Moreno became the first Hispanic woman to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Anita in “West Side Story”. 6 years later, DeBose was nominated in the same category for her performance in the 2022 adaptation of “West Side Story”.

#2 Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro

Source: PARAMOUNT/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK; PARAMOUNT/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK

For his great performance as the patriarch of the Corleone mafia family, Vito Corleone, in The Godfather, Marlon Brando won an Oscar for Best Actor. 2 years later, in 1974, Robert De Niro had his turn as a young Vito Corleone in “The Godfather: Part II”. It was no surprise that he also earned himself an Oscar statue for Best Supporting Actor.

#3 Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix

Source: WARNER BROS/DC COMICS/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK; DC COMICS/WARNER BROS./SHUTTERSTOCK

Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix are talented actors, winning an Oscar Award for portraying the same role in different films. In “The Dark Knight”, Ledger was posthumously awarded the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2009 after his tragic death in January 2008. Over a decade later, Phoenix appears as the Batman villain in “Joker”. For his performance, he took home the Oscar for Best Actor in 2020.

#4 John Wayne and Jeff Bridges

Source: MOVIESTORE/SHUTTERSTOCK; SKYDANCE PRODUCTIONS/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK

John Wayne and Jeff Bridges both portrayed Rooster Cogburn in True Grit —Wayne in 1968 and Bridges in 2010. While Wayne earned himself an Oscar, Bridges went home empty-handed.

#5 Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench

Source:LAURIE SPARHAM/UNIVERSAL/STUDIO CANAL/WORKING TITLE/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK; MIRAMAX/UNIVERSAL/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK

Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench not only portrayed the same role, Queen Elizabeth but also got Oscar nominations. Blanchett was nominated for Best Actress in Elizabeth while Dench won Best Supporting Actress for Shakespeare in Love.

#6 Anthony Hopkins and Frank Langella

Source: ILLUSION/CINERGI/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK; MOVIESTORE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Anthony Hopkins played former president Richard Nixon in the 1995 film, Nixon, and Frank Langella played him in 2008's Frost/Nixon. Both men were nominated for Best Actor, but no one took home the prize.

#7 Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Olivier

Source: RENAISSANCE/BBC/CURZON/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK; ITV/SHUTTERSTOCK

Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Olivier portrayed Henry V in 1989 and 1944 respectively. For their perfect performance, they received Oscar nominations for Best Actor.

#8 Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart

Source: MERIE W WALLACE/20TH CENTURY FOX/PARAMOUNT/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK; MERIE W WALLACE/20TH CENTURY FOX/PARAMOUNT/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK

The two actresses starred in “Titanic”, one of the greatest Movies of all time. Winslet played the character when she was young, while Stuart played her at the end of her life. Both women were nominated — Winslet for Best Actress and Stuart for Best Supporting Actress.

#9 Kate Winslet and Judi Dench

Source: CLIVE COOTE/MIRAMAX/MIRAGE/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK; CLIVE COOTE/MIRAMAX/MIRAGE/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK

Kate Winslet took part in “Iris” alongside Judi Dench and they played the titular character at different stages in her life. The pair were nominated in the same year — Dench for Best Actress and Winslet for Best Supporting Actress.