Ben Kingsley won Best Actor for his role as Mohandas Karachand Ghandhi in Ghandhi
Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for his role as Christy Brown in My Left Foot
Paul Newman won Best Actor for his role as "Fast" Eddie Felson in The Color of Money
Michael Douglas won Best Actor for his role as Gordan Gekko in the 1987 Movie Wall Street
Dustin Hoffman won Best Actor for his role as Raymond Babbit in Rain Man
William Hurt won Best Actor for his role as Luis Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman
Academy Award Winners
1980
Winner: Robert De Niro
Movie: Raging Bull
Character: Jake LaMotta
Other Nominees
Robert Duvall
Movie: The Great Santini
Character: Colonel Wilbur "Bull" Meechum
John Hurt
Movie: The Elephant Man
Character: John Merrick
Jack Lemmon
Movie: Tribute
Character: Scottie Templeton
Peter O'Toole
Movie: The Stunt Man
Character: Eli Cross
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1981
Winner: Henry Fonda
Movie: On Golden Pond
Character: Norman Thayer Jr.
Other Nominees
Warren Beatty
Movie: Reds
Character: John Silas "Jack" Reed
Burt Lancaster
Movie: Atlantic City
Character: Lou Pascal
Dudley Moore
Movie: Arthur'
Character: Arthur Bach
Paul Newman
Movie: Absence of Malice
Character: Michael Colin Gallagher
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1982
Winner: Ben Kingsley
Movie: Gandhi
Character: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Other Nominees:
Dustin Hoffman
Movie: Tootsie
Character: Michael Dorsey and Dorothy Michaels
Jack Lemmon
Movie: Missing
Character: Edmund Horman
Paul Newman
Movie: The Verdict
Character: Frank Galvin
Peter O'Toole
Movie: My Favorite Year
Character: Alan Swann
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1983
Winner: Robert Duvall
Movie: Tender Mercies
Character: Mac Sledge
Other Nominees
Michael Caine
Movie: Educating Rita
Character: Dr. Frank Bryant
Tom Conti
Movie: Reuben, Reuben
Character: Gowan McGland
Tom Courtenay
Movie: The Dresser
Character: Norman
Albert Finney
Movie: The Dresser
Character: Sir
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1984
Winner: F. Murray Abraham
Movie: Amadeus
Character: Antonio Salieri
Other Nominees
Jeff Bridges
Movie: Starman
Character: Starman
Albert Finney
Movie: Under the Volcano
Character: Geoffrey Firmin
Tom Hulce
Movie: Amadeus
Character: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sam Waterston
Movie: The Killing Fields
Character: Sydney Schanberg
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1985
Winner: William Hurt
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Character: Luis Molina
Other Nominees
Harrison Ford
Movie: Witness
Character: Detective John Book
James Garner
Movie: Murphy's Romance
Character: Murphy Jones
Jack Nicholson
Movie: Prizzi's Honor
Character: Charley Partanna
Jon Voight
Movie: Runaway Train
Character: Oscar “Manny” Manheim
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1986
Winner: Paul Newman
Movie: The Color of Money
Character: Fast Eddie Felson
Other Nominees:
Dexter Gordon
Movie: Round Midnight
Character: Dale Turner
Bob Hoskins
Movie: Mona Lisa
Character: George
William Hurt
Movie: Children of a Lesser God
Character: James Leeds
James Woods
Movie: Salvador
Character: Richard Boyle
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1987
Winner: Michael Douglas
Movie: Wall Street
Character: Gordon Gecko
Other Nominees:
William Hurt
Movie: Broadcast News
Character: Tom Grunick
Marcello Mastroianni
Movie: Dark Eyes
Character: Romano
Jack Nicholson
Movie: Ironweed
Character: Francis Phelan
Robin Williams
Movie: Good Morning Vietnam
Character: Adrian Cronauer
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1988
Winner: Dustin Hoffman
Movie: Rain Man
Character: Raymond Babbit
Other Nominees:
Gene Hackman
Movie: Mississippi Burning
Character: Agent Rupert Anderson
Tom Hanks
Movie: Big
Character: Josh Baskin
Edward James Olmos
Movie: Stand and Deliver
Character: Jaime Escalante
Max von Sydow
Movie: Pelle the Conqueror
Character: Lassefar
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1989
Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis
Movie: My Left Foot
Character: Christy Brown
Other Nominees:
Kenneth Branagh
Movie: Henry V
Character: King Henry V
Tom Cruise
Movie: Born on the Fourth of July
Character: Ron Kovic
Morgan Freeman
Movie: Driving Miss Daisy
Character: Hoke Colburn
Robin Williams
Movie: Dead Poets Society
Character: John Charles “Keats” Keating
Henry Fonda won Best Actor for his role as Norman Thayer Jr. in On Golden Pond
Michael Douglas won Best Actor for his role as Gordon Gecko in Wall Street
F. Murray Abraham won Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus
Robert Duvall won Best Actor for his role as Mac Sledge in Tender Mercies
80s Best Actors
Robert DeNiro won Best Actor for his role as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull