The Academy Awards or Oscars are the most influential of the various film awards. they are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences in the USA. The winning of an Oscar can have a large impact the commercial success of a film. However as will all such awards there is always disagreement over the nominations and the winner. This page lists best actor winners and nominations for 1990 to 1999.
| Year | Winner of Best Actor | Nominations for Best Actor | |
| 1999 | Kevin Spacey | Russell Crowe | The Insider |
| American Beauty | Richard Farnsworth | The Straight Story | |
| Sean Penn | Sweet and Lowdown | ||
| Denzel Washington | The Hurricane | ||
| 1998 | Roberto Bennigi | Tom Hanks | Saving Private Ryan |
| Life is Beautiful | Ian McKellen | Gods and Monsters | |
| Nick Nolte | Affliction | ||
| Edward Norton | American History X | ||
| 1997 | Jack Nicholson | Matt Damon | Good Will Hunting |
| As Good As It Gets | Dustin Hoffman | Wag the Dog | |
| Robert Duvall | The Apostle | ||
| Peter Fonda | Ulee's Gold | ||
| 1996 | Geoffrey Rush: Shine | Tom Cruise | Jerry Maguire |
| Ralph Fiennes | The English Patient | ||
| Woody Harrelson | The People vs. Larry Flynt | ||
| Billy Bob Thornton | Sling Blade | ||
| 1995 | Nicholas Cage | Richard Dreyfuss | Mr. Holland's Opus |
| Leaving Las Vegas | Anthony Hopkins | Nixon | |
| Sean Penn | Dead Man Walking | ||
| Massimo Troisi | Il Postino | ||
| 1994 | Tom Hanks | Morgan Freeman | The Shawshank Redemption |
| Forrest Gump | Nigel Hawthorne | The Madness of King George | |
| Paul Newman | Nobody's Fool | ||
| John Travolta | Pulp Fiction | ||
| 1993 | Tom Hanks | Daniel Day-Lewis | In the Name of the Father |
| Philadelphia | Laurence Fishburne | What's Love Got to Do With It | |
| Anthony Hopkins | The Remains of the Day | ||
| Liam Neeson | Schindler's List | ||
| 1992 | Al Pacino | Robert Downey, Jr | Chaplin |
| Scent of a Woman | Clint Eastwood | Unforgiven | |
| Stephen Rea | The Crying Game | ||
| Denzel Washington | Malcolm X | ||
| 1991 | Anthony Hopkins | Warren Beatty | Bugsy |
| The Silence of the Lambs | Robert De Niro | Cape Fear | |
| Nick Nolte | The Prince of Tides | ||
| Robin Williams | The Fisher King | ||
| 1990 | Jeremy Irons | Kevin Costner | Dances With Wolves |
| Reversal of Fortune | Robert De Niro | Awakenings | |
| Gerard Depardieu | Cyrano de Bergerac | ||
| Richard Harris | The Field | ||