The BET Award for Best Actor is awarded to actors from both television and film. Some nominees have been nominated based on their performances in multiple bodies of work within the eligibility period. Denzel Washington holds the record for most wins in this category with four.
Winners and nominees Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
2000s Year Actor Work Ref 2001 Denzel Washington Remember the Titans Omar Epps Love & Basketball Cuba Gooding Jr. Men of Honor Samuel L. Jackson Rules of Engagement 2002 Will Smith Ali Morgan Freeman High Crimes Eddie Murphy Shrek, Dr. Dolittle 2 and Showtime Chris Tucker Rush Hour 2 Denzel Washington Training Day and John Q. 2003 Derek Luke Antwone Fisher Nick Cannon Drumline Mos Def Brown Sugar Samuel L. Jackson XXX and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones Denzel Washington Antwone Fisher 2004 Denzel Washington Out of Time Mos Def The Italian Job Laurence Fishburne Mystic River, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions Morgan Freeman Bruce Almighty Samuel L. Jackson S.W.A.T. Bernie Mac Bad Santa, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and The Bernie Mac Show 2005 Jamie Foxx Ray, Collateral and Breakin' All the Rules Don Cheadle Ocean's Twelve, Hotel Rwanda and After the Sunset Morgan Freeman Million Dollar Baby Samuel L. Jackson The Incredibles and Coach Carter Will Smith I, Robot, Shark Tale and Hitch 2006 Terrence Howard Crash, Four Brothers, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Lackawanna Blues and Hustle & Flow Don Cheadle Crash Jamie Foxx Stealth and Miami Vice Ludacris Crash and Hustle & Flow Denzel Washington Inside Man 2007 Forest Whitaker The Last King of Scotland Idris Elba Daddy's Little Girls Jamie Foxx Dreamgirls Eddie Murphy Norbit and Dreamgirls Will Smith The Pursuit of Happyness 2008 Denzel Washington American Gangster and The Great Debaters Anthony Anderson Transformers and K-Ville Don Cheadle Ocean's Thirteen and Talk to Me Idris Elba American Gangster, This Christmas and 28 Weeks Later Terrence Howard The Brave One and The Perfect Holiday 2009 Will Smith Hancock and Seven Pounds Common Wanted and Street Kings Idris Elba RocknRolla and The Unborn Samuel L. Jackson Lakeview Terrace and Soul Men Jamal Woolard Notorious
2010s Year Actor Work Ref 2010 Idris Elba The Losers Quinton Aaron The Blind Side Don Cheadle Brooklyn's Finest Jamie Foxx Law Abiding Citizen Denzel Washington The Taking of Pelham 123 2011 Idris Elba Takers and Luther Laz Alonso Jumping the Broom Chris Brown Takers Don Cheadle Iron Man 2 Jamie Foxx Due Date 2012 Kevin Hart Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain Don Cheadle House of Lies and The Guard Common New Year's Eve and Hell on Wheels Idris Elba Thor, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Luther Denzel Washington Safe House 2013 Jamie Foxx Django Unchained Don Cheadle House of Lies and Flight Common Hell on Wheels, LUV and The Odd Life of Timothy Green Samuel L. Jackson Django Unchained and The Avengers Denzel Washington Flight 2014 Chiwetel Ejiofor 12 Years a Slave Idris Elba Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Thor: The Dark World Kevin Hart Ride Along, Real Husbands of Hollywood and About Last Night Michael B. Jordan Fruitvale Station Forest Whitaker The Butler 2015 Terrence Howard Empire, Lullaby, St. Vincent and Sabotage Anthony Anderson Black-ish Idris Elba Luther and No Good Deed Kevin Hart The Wedding Ringer, Think Like a Man Too, Real Husbands of Hollywood and Top Five Jussie Smollett Empire 2016 Michael B. Jordan Fantastic Four and Creed Anthony Anderson Black-ish Idris Elba Zootopia, Beasts of No Nation and Luther O'Shea Jackson Jr. Straight Outta Compton Courtney B. Vance American Crime Story 2017 Mahershala Ali Luke Cage, Free State of Jones, Kicks, Hidden Figures and Moonlight Donald Glover Atlanta Bryshere Y. Gray Empire and The New Edition Story Omari Hardwick Power Denzel Washington Fences and The Magnificent Seven 2018 Chadwick Boseman Black Panther and Marshall Denzel Washington Roman J. Israel, Esq. Sterling K. Brown Marshall, This Is Us, and Black Panther Michael B. Jordan Black Panther Daniel Kaluuya Get Out and Black Panther Donald Glover Atlanta and Spider-Man: Homecoming 2019 Michael B. Jordan Creed II Anthony Anderson Black-ish Chadwick Boseman Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame Denzel Washington The Equalizer 2 Mahershala Ali Green Book Omari Hardwick Power
2020s Year Actor Work Ref 2020 Michael B. Jordan Just Mercy Billy Porter Pose Eddie Murphy Dolemite Is My Name Forest Whitaker Finding Steve McQueen and Godfather of Harlem Jamie Foxx Just Mercy Omari Hardwick Power 2021Chadwick Boseman (Posthumous) Da 5 Bloods and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Aldis Hodge One Night in Miami... Damson Idris Snowfall Daniel Kaluuya Judas and the Black Messiah Eddie Murphy Coming 2 America LaKeith Stanfield Judas and the Black Messiah 2022 Will Smith King Richard Adrian Holmes Bel-Air Anthony Anderson Black-ish Damson Idris Snowfall Denzel Washington The Tragedy of Macbeth Forest Whitaker Godfather of Harlem Jabari Banks Bel-Air Sterling K. Brown This Is Us 2023 Damson Idris Snowfall Amin Joseph Snowfall Brian Tyree Henry Atlanta, Bullet Train, Causeway Daniel Kaluuya Nope Demetrius Flenory Jr. BMF Donald Glover Atlanta Michael B. Jordan Creed III 2024 Denzel Washington The Equalizer 3 Anthony Mackie If You Were the Last, Twisted Metal, We Have a Ghost Colman Domingo Euphoria, Fear the Walking Dead, Rustin, Sing Sing and The Color Purple Damson Idris Snowfall Donald Glover Mr. & Mrs. Smith Idris Elba Hijack, Luther: The Fallen Sun Jeffrey Wright Asteroid City, Atrabilious, American Fiction and Rustin LaKeith Stanfield The Changeling, Haunted Mansion and The Book of Clarence
Multiple wins and nominations Wins
5 wins Denzel Washington
4 wins Michael B. Jordan
3 wins Will Smith
2 wins Chadwick Boseman Idris Elba Jamie Foxx Terrence Howard
Nominations
16 nominations Denzel Washington
10 nominations Idris Elba
8 nominations Jamie Foxx
7 nominations Don Cheadle Michael B. Jordan
6 nominations Samuel L. Jackson
5 nominations Anthony Anderson Damson Idris Forest Whitaker Will Smith
4 nominations Sterling K. Brown Donald Glover Eddie Murphy Kevin Hart
3 nominations Chadwick Boseman Common Colman Domingo Morgan Freeman Omari Hardwick Terrence Howard Daniel Kaluuya Anthony Mackie
2 nominations Mos Def Aaron Pierre LaKeith Stanfield
See also BET Award for Best Actress
References