1971 Gene Hackman - The French Connection as "Detective Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle"

1972 Marlon Brando - The Godfather (declined) as "Vito Corleone"

1973 Jack Lemmon - Save the Tiger as "Harry Stoner"

1974 Art Carney - Harry and Tonto as "Harry Coombes"

1975 Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as "Randle Patrick McMurphy"

1976 Peter Finch - Network (posthumous) as "Howard Beale"

1977 Richard Dreyfuss- The Goodbye Girl as "Elliot Garfield"

1978 Jon Voight - Coming Home as "Luke Martin"

1979 Dustin Hoffman - Kramer vs. Kramer as "Ted Kramer"

1980 Robert De Niro - Raging Bull as Jake LaMotta