Sebastian Stan has just gotten nominated in the Best Actor category at theOscars 2025for hisperformance as Donald Trump inThe Apprentice, but he is far from the only actor to get a nomination for portraying a president of the United States. Actors have been portraying presidents for almost as long as film has been around, with nearly every president having some kind of iconic portrayal in at least one film. The Academy Awards are often fans of these presidential performances, and here are all nine actors who got nominated at the Oscars for playing a president.
The 2025 Oscars are right around the corner, and theBest Actor and Best Supporting Actor categoriesare packed full of talented performers. Ralph Fiennes, Timothée Chalamet, Colman Domingo, Adrien Brody, and Sebastian Stan were all nominated for Best Actor, while Yuriy Borisov, Guy Pearce, Edward Norton, Kieran Culkin, and Jeremy Strong were nominated for Best Supporting Actor. While these 10 actors play all kinds of interesting characters, one of the most notable roles is Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump, with him getting nominated for his role in the controversial biopicThe Apprentice.
9Raymond Massey As Abraham Lincoln
Abe Lincoln In Illinois
The first actor to ever be nominated for an Oscar for playing a President occurred at the 13th Academy Awards, with Raymond Massey having played Abraham Lincoln in 1940’sAbe Lincoln in Illinois. The film is a biopic that explores Abe Lincoln’s life leading up to him being elected as president, with it starting out as a Broadway play. Interestingly, Raymond Massey played Abe Lincoln in the stage version as well, with him reprising his role for the 1940 film adaptation.
Oscars 2025 Nominations: Predicting The Winners Of All 23 Categories
The Oscars 2025 are rapidly approaching, and with nominations now officially announced, we’re predicting the winners of all 23 categories.
Raymond Massey’s nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role was historic, with it being the first of the nine presidential Oscar nominations.Abe Lincoln in Illinoiswas also nominated for another Oscar, beingBest Cinematography, Black-and-White. However, Raymond Massey didn’t end up taking home the gold that night, with him losing to James Stewart’s performance as Macaulay “Mike” Connor inThe Philadelphia Story. Massey was also nominated alongside Charlie Chaplin forThe Great Dictator, Henry Fonda forThe Grapes of Wrath, and Laurence Olivier forRebecca.
8Alexander Knox As Woodrow Wilson
Wilson
It wouldn’t be long until another actor wasnominated at the Oscars for playing a president, with it happening just four years later. Andrew Knox was nominated at the 17th Academy Awards for portraying President Woodrow Wilson in 1944’sWilson. The film attempts to paint a full picture of Woodrow Wilson’s time in politics, following him from his time as the governor of New Jersey to his role in World War I. AlthoughWilsonwasn’t a box office hit, it received critical acclaim, with it still being beloved to this day.
Best Actor was far fromWilson’s only nomination.Wilsonended up winning five Oscars, those being Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color, Best Cinematography, Color, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Recording, and Best Writing, Original Screenplay.Wilsonwas also nominated forBest Picture, Best Director, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, and Best Effects, Special Effects. Bing Crosby won Best Actor for his performance as Father Chuck O’Malley inGoing My Way, with the other nominees being Charles Boyer inGaslight, Barry Fitzgerald inGoing My Way, and Cary Grant inNone but the Lonely Heart.
7James Whitmore As Harry S. Truman
Give ‘em Hell, Harry!
It would be a while before another actor was nominated for an Oscar for portraying a President, with it not happening again until the 48th Academy Awards. James Whitmore received a Best Actor nomination for playing Harry S. Truman in the 1975 filmGive ‘em Hell, Harry!, which was adapted from the play of the same name.Give ‘em Hell, Harrywas a one-man show, with it being the third film to have its entire cast nominated for an Oscar afterWho’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?andSleuth.
At the 48th Academy Awards,James Whitmore’s Best Actor nomination was the only one thatGive ‘em Hell, Harry!received. Unfortunately, Whitmore lost, with Jack Nicholson winning Best Actor for his performance as Randle Patrick McMurphy inOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Whitmore was also nominated alongside Walter Matthau forThe Sunshine Boys, Al Pacino forDog Day Afternoon, and Maximilian Schell forThe Man in the Glass Booth.
6Anthony Hopkins As Richard Nixon
Nixon
It would again be a few decades before the fourth presidential performance was nominated at the Oscars, with Anthony Hopkins being nominated at the 68th Academy Awards for his performance as Richard Nixon inNixon. William Oliver Stone’s legendary 1995 film is unlike some of its Oscars predecessors, as it takes a much more critical look at the titular president.Nixonchronicles various important points in Nixon’s life, including the Watergate scandal.
On top of its Best Actor nomination,Nixonalso received nominations forBest Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Score. Although Anthony Hopkins had previously won an Oscar for his performance inSilence of the Lambs, he did not win forNixon. Instead, Nicolas Cage won for his performance as Ben Sanderson inLeaving Las Vegas. Hopkins was nominated alongside Richard Dreyfuss forMr. Holland’s Opus, Sean Penn forDead Man Walking, and Massimo Troisi forIl Postino: The Postman.
5Anthony Hopkins As John Quincy Adams
Amistad
Anthony Hopkins is the only actor who has been nominated for playing a president twice, with him getting a nomination only a few years later at the 70th Academy Awards. Hopkins was nominated for portraying John Quincy Adams in Steven Spielberg’s 1997 historical dramaAmistad, which explored the fallout of a slave uprising that took place on the titular ship.
The Oscars 2025 Best Picture Tier Rankings: Breaking Down All 10 Nominees Into 5 Categories
The 10 Best Picture nominees for the 2025 Oscars are now confirmed. Here’s each movie ranked in tiers based on their possibility of winning.
AlthoughAmistaddidn’t win any awards, it was nominated forBest Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Dramatic Score. Anthony Hopkins did not win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, with Robin Williams winning it for his role as Sean Maguire inGood Will Hunting. Hopkins was nominated alongside Robert Forster forJackie Brown, Greg Kinnear forAs Good as It Gets, and Burt Reynolds forBoogie Nights.
4Frank Langella As Richard Nixon
Frost/Nixon
Frank Langella’s Oscar nomination was another interesting milestone, with his performance as Richard Nixon making Nixon the first president to have two Oscar nominations for separate performances. Frank Langella was nominated for Best Actor at the 81st Academy Awards, with him playing the titular president in 2008’sFrost/Nixon. The film tells the story of David Frost’s interview with the President in the wake of the Watergate scandal, with it being directed by Ron Howard.
Frost/Nixonwas also nominated forBest Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing, with it winning none. Instead, Sean Penn won Best Actor for his performance as Harvey Milk inMilk. Langella was also nominated alongside Richard Jenkins inThe Visitor, Brad Pitt inThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Mickey Rourke inThe Wrestler.
3Daniel Day-Lewis As Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln
After decades of presidential Oscar nominations, Daniel Day-Lewis set a record by being the first (and as of the writing of this article, only) actor to actually win an Oscar for playing a president. Daniel Day-Lewis was another repeat president, with him being nominated at the 85th Academy Awards for playingAbraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s 2012 filmLincoln. The Steven Spielberg biopic tells the story of Lincoln’s attempts to end the Civil War.
At the Oscars, Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for his performance as Abraham Lincoln, withLincolnalso winning Best Production Design. On top of that,Lincolnwas also nominated forBest Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Mixing. Daniel Day-Lewis was nominated alongside Bradley Cooper forSilver Linings Playbook, Hugh Jackman forLes Misérables, Joaquin Phoenix forThe Master, and Denzel Washington forFlight.
2Sam Rockwell As George W. Bush
Vice
Following Daniel Day-Lewis’ historic win, Sam Rockwell was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 91st Academy Awards for his performance as George W. Bush in 2018’sVice. Coming just one year after he won the award forThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Rockwell’s performance was considered to be one of the funniest of the year. However, this didn’t translate into Oscars gold.
All 10 Oscars 2025 Best Picture Nominees, Ranked Worst To Best
The nominees for Best Picture at the 97th Academy Awards are all well-made films, but some of them stand out as real highlights of 2024’s film slate.
Vicewon Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 91st Academy Awards, with it also being nominated forBest Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. Rockwell didn’t win Best Supporting Actor, with the Oscar instead going to Mahershala Ali for his performance as Don Shirley inGreen Book. Rockwell was also nominated alongside Adam Driver forBlacKkKlansman, Sam Elliot forA Star is Born, and Richard E. Grant forCan You Ever Forgive Me?.
1Sebastian Stan As Donald Trump
The Apprentice
As of the writing of this article, the most recent actor to get nominated for an Oscar for portraying a president is Sebastian Stan. Sebastian Stan was nominated at the 97th Academy Awards for his performance asDonald Trump in 2024’sThe Apprentice. The film tells the story of Donald Trump’s start in the business world, with it focusing on his life decades before he became president.
Alongside Best Actor,The Apprenticealso received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Jeremy Strong’s performance as Roy Cohn. Stan was nominated alongside Adrien Brody forThe Brutalist, Timothée Chalamet forA Complete Unknown, Colman Domingo forSing Sing, and Ralph Fiennes forConclave. The 97th Academy Awards will be held on August 23, 2025, so tune in to see if Sebastian Stan becomes the second actor to win an award for playing a president at theOscars.
The Oscars
Cast
The Oscars, first held in 1929, is an annual American awards ceremony honoring achievements in the film industry. Winners across multiple categories receive a statuette officially named the Academy Award of Merit, commonly known as the Oscar.
