The Volpi Cup for Best Actor () is the principal award given to actors at the Venice Film Festival and is named in honor of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, the founder of the Venice Film Festival. The name and number of prizes have been changed several times since their introduction, ranging from two to four awards per edition and sometimes acknowledging both leading and supporting performances.
American actor John Malkovich was the most recent winner for his performance in Wild Horse Nine (2026), at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
History The festival was held for the first time in 1934. The acting award was named Grande medaglia d'oro dell'Associazione Nazionale Fascista dello Spettacolo per il migliore attore (Great Gold Medal of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment for the Best Actor). After a four-year hiatus due to the war, the festival reopened in 1947. The acting award in the immediate post-war period was named Premio Internazionale per il migliore attore (International Award for the Best Actor). The festival was again competitive in 1980 but the acting awards given by the competition jury were not reinstated until 1983: the prizes were no longer called Coppa Volpi (Volpi Cup) but were simply referred to as Premio per il migliore attore (Best Actor Award). The winners did not receive cup-shaped awards but were instead given rectangular plaques. In 1988, for the first time in 20 years, the most recognizable prizes of the festival were re-established. The two acting award was officially named Coppa Volpi per la migliore interpretazione maschile (Volpi Cup for the Best Actor).
Winners
The following actors received the Volpi Cup or other major Best Actor Award:
+ Table key Indicates the Best Supporting Actor winner
1930s Year Actor Role(s) English Title Original Title Awarded as "Best Actor" 1932 Awarded as "Great Gold Medal of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment for Best Actor" 1934 Awarded as "Volpi Cup for Best Actor" 1935 Crime et châtiment 1936 1937 Der Herrscher 1938
1940s Year Actor Role(s) English Title Original Title 1941 1942 Awarded as "International Award for Best Actor" 1947 1948 Scharf Der Prozeß 1949
1950s Year Actor Role(s) English Title Original Title 1950 Awarded as "Volpi Cup for Best Actor" 1951 La nuit est mon royaume 1952 1953 Le Bon Dieu sans confession 1954 L'air de Paris Max Touchez pas au grisbi 1955 Les héros sont fatigués 1956 Bourvil 1957 1958 1959
1960s Year Actor Role(s) English Title Original Title 1960 1961 Sanjuro 用心棒 1962 1963 1964 1965 赤ひげ 1966 Michele 1967 Mali 1968
1980s Year Actor Role(s) English Title Original Title Awarded as "Best Actor Award" 1983 Rooney Cokes Roger Richie Billy Carlyle 1984 Naurangia Paar 1985 1986 Regalo di Natale 1987 Awarded as "Volpi Cup for Best Actor" 1988 Gino Jerry 1989 Marcello Che ora è? Michele
1990s Year Actor Role(s) English Title Original Title 1990 Edinstveniyat svidetel 1991 1992 1993 Un'anima divisa in due Un, deux, trois, soleil 1994 陽光燦爛的日子 Loris Il toro 1995 Der Totmacher Ginger 1996 1997 1998 Eddie 1999
2000s Year Actor Role(s) English Title Original Title 2000 2001 Antonio Luce dei miei occhi 2002 Un viaggio chiamato amore 2003 2004 Mar adentro 2005 2006 2007 2008 Il papà di Giovanna 2009
2010s Year Actor Role(s) English Title Original Title 2010 Mohammed 2011 2012 2013 Father 2014 Jude 2015 L'Hermine 2016 El ciudadano ilustre 2017 قضية رقم ٢٣ 2018 2019
2020s Year Actor Role(s) English Title Original Title 2020 Alfonso 2021 2022 2023 Saul 2024 Vincent Lindon Pierre The Quiet SonJouer avec le feu 2025 Toni Servillo President Mariano De Santis La grazia2026John MalkovichChrisWild Horse Nine
Multiple winners The following individuals have received multiple Best Actor awards:
Number of Wins Actor Nationality Films 2 Fredric March United States Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932), Death of a Salesman (1952) Jean Gabin France The Night Is My Kingdom (1951), The Air of Paris & Touchez pas au grisbi (both 1954) Toshiro Mifune Japan Yojimbo (1961), Red Beard (1965) Marcello Mastroianni Italy What Time Is It? (1989), 1, 2, 3, Sun (1993) Sean Penn United States Hurlyburly (1998), 21 Grams (2003) Javier Bardem Spain Before Night Falls (2000), The Sea Inside (2004)
See also The following individuals have also received Best Actor award(s) at Cannes or Berlin Film Festival.
Winning Year at Venice Actor Nationality Festival Year English Title 19321952 United States Berlin 1960 Inherit The Wind 19511954 France Berlin 1959 Archimède le clochard 1971 Le Chat 1959 United States Berlin 1962 Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation 1962 United States Berlin 1956 Trapeze 1963 England Berlin 1984 The Dresser 1964 England Berlin 2015 45 Years 1985 France Cannes 1990 Cyrano de Bergerac 19891993 Italy Cannes 1970 The Pizza Triangle 1987 Dark Eyes 1992 United States Cannes 1979 The China Syndrome Berlin 1981 Tribute Cannes 1982 Missing 19982003 United States Berlin 1996 Dead Man Walking Cannes 1997 She's So Lovely 20002004 Spain Cannes 2010 Biutiful 2012 United States Cannes 2017 You Were Never Really Here 2024 France Cannes 2015 The Measure of a Man
Notes
A: Winner of the award was chosen by public voting. B: Performer to receive a single award which honor the outstanding work in multiple different films in the same official competition slate.
References
External links Venice Film Festival on IMDb Enrico Lancia, I premi del cinema, Gremese Editore, 1998 Coppa Volpi for best actors since 1935 from "La Biennale" website