All JEIFA Winners in the Category of Best Male Actor in a Leading Role

Best Actor in a Leading role

            The JEIFA for acting in a leading or supporting role is presented to the performer whose acting ability transcends all others in the process of breathing life into a character depicted on screen in a film eligible for a JEIFA that year. For a role to qualify as a leading role, the character portrayed must be a significant element in the plot and drive the film.  While this is commonly the protagonist of a film, it does not have to be.   There is also no threshold of time on screen to be eligible for nomination in a leading role.  Due to the nature of some plots, particularly in those movies with an ensemble of “leading” characters, it is feasible that a performance may be eligible for nomination in a leading roleor a nomination in a supporting role.  In the event there is a lack of clarity on the leading or supporting status of a performance, the decision will primarily fall to the status chosen by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), if available, unless there is overwhelming consensus outside SAG-AFTRA as to the status of the role.  Regardless of outcome, it is not possible for an Actor to be nominated in both the Leading and Supporting categories for the same role.   There is no limit to the number of nominations an actor can have in all eligible acting categories in one year.  There is no limit to the number of nominations a film can have in any or all acting categories.

            For the purpose of award nomination, a performance/role’s gender is based on the gender of the actor and not that of the role they play.  If there is question in regards to the gender or gender-identity of an actor, the matter is settled by the determination of SAG-AFTRA.  There are no restrictions for nomination on the basis of the age of an actor.

            Digitized, Animated, and motion-capture acting performance are eligible for nomination for an acting JEIFA if and only if the “acting” (in this case, the expressions, body movement, and speaking) of a character created through animation or other visual effects are based directly off the performance of an actor captured through some form of technology.  Voice acting of animated characters is not currently eligible for nomination in acting categories.

This category is classified as an Acting Award.