Independent Spirit Award per il miglior attore protagonista
# Independent Spirit Award per il miglior attore protagonista

L'Independent Spirit Award per il miglior attore protagonista (Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead) è un premio cinematografico assegnato annualmente dal 1986 dall'organizzazione non-profit IFP/West (ridenominata dal 2005 Film Independent) al miglior attore protagonista di un film indipendente statunitense.

Due soli attori hanno ricevuto questo riconoscimento più di una volta: Philip Seymour Hoffman (nel 2006 con Truman Capote - A sangue freddo e nel 2008 con La famiglia Savage) e Jeff Bridges (nel 1994 con American Heart e 2010 con Crazy Heart).

## Vincitori e candidati

I vincitori sono indicati in grassetto, a seguire gli altri candidati.

### Anni 1986-1989

* 1986: M. Emmet Walsh - Blood Simple - Sangue facile (Blood Simple.)
   * Rubén Blades - Crossover Dreams
   * Treat Williams - La prima volta (Smooth Talk)
   * Tom Bower - Wildrose
* 1987: James Woods - Salvador
   * Dennis Hopper - Velluto blu (Blue Velvet)
   * Roberto Benigni - Daunbailò (Down by Law)
   * Victor Love - Paura (Native Son)
   * Willem Dafoe - Platoon
* 1988: Dennis Quaid - The Big Easy
   * Mickey Rourke - Barfly
   * James Woods - Bestseller (Best Seller)
   * Terry O'Quinn - The Stepfather - Il patrigno (The Stepfather)
   * Spalding Gray - Swimming to Cambodia
* 1989: Edward James Olmos - La forza della volontà (Stand and Deliver)
   * James Woods - Cocaina (The Boost)
   * Chris Mulkey - Patti Rocks
   * Eric Bogosian - Talk Radio
   * Harvey Fierstein - Amici, complici, amanti (Torch Song Trilogy)

### Anni 1990-1999

* 1990: Matt Dillon - Drugstore Cowboy
   * Randy Quaid - Pranzo misterioso (Parents)
   * James Spader - Sesso, bugie e videotape (Sex, Lies, and Videotape)
   * Charles Lane - I marciapiedi di New York (Sidewalk Stories)
   * Nicolas Cage - Stress da vampiro (Vampire's Kiss)
* 1991: Danny Glover - To Sleep with Anger
   * Michael Rooker - Henry pioggia di sangue (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer)
   * Christopher Reid - House Party
   * Martin Priest - Tutti contro Harry (The Plot Against Harry)
   * Christian Slater - Pump up the volume - Alza il volume (Pump Up the Volume)
* 1992: River Phoenix - Belli e dannati (My Own Private Idaho)
   * Doug E. Doug - I migliori del Bronx (Hangin' with the Homeboys)
   * William Russ - Pastime
   * Robert Duvall - Rosa scompiglio e i suoi amanti (Rambling Rose)
   * Gary Oldman - Rosencrantz e Guildenstern sono morti (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead)
* 1993: Harvey Keitel - Il cattivo tenente (Bad Lieutenant)
   * Laurence Fishburne - Massima copertura (Deep Cover)
   * Peter Greene - Laws of Gravity - Leggi di gravità (Laws of Gravity)
   * Craig Chester - Swoon
   * Michael Rapaport - Zebrahead
* 1994: Jeff Bridges - American Heart
   * Matthew Modine - Equinox
   * Vincent D'Onofrio - Verso il paradiso (Household Saints)
   * Mitchell Lichtenstein - Il banchetto di nozze (Hsi yen)
   * Tyrin Turner - Nella giungla di cemento (Menace II Society)
* 1995: Samuel L. Jackson - Pulp Fiction
   * Jon Seda - Così mi piace (I Like It Like That)
   * Campbell Scott - Mrs. Parker e il circolo vizioso (Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle)
   * William H. Macy - Oleanna
   * Sihung Lung - Mangiare bere uomo donna (Yin shi nan nu)
* 1996: Sean Penn - Dead Man Walking - Condannato a morte (Dead Man Walking)
   * Nicolas Cage - Via da Las Vegas (Leaving Las Vegas)
   * Tim Roth - Little Odessa
   * Jimmy Smits - Mi familia (My Family)
   * Kevin Spacey - Il prezzo di Hollywood (Swimming with Sharks)
* 1997: William H. Macy - Fargo
   * Tony Shalhoub - Big Night
   * Stanley Tucci - Big Night
   * Chris Penn - Fratelli (The Funeral)
   * Chris Cooper - Stella solitaria (Lone Star)
* 1998: Robert Duvall - L'apostolo (The Apostle)
   * John Turturro - Box of Moonlight
   * Philip Baker Hall - Sydney
   * Peter Fonda - L'oro di Ulisse (Ulee's Gold)
   * Christopher Guest - Sognando Broadway (Waiting for Guffman)
* 1999: Ian McKellen - Demoni e dei (Gods and Monsters)
   * Nick Nolte - Affliction
   * Courtney B. Vance - Blind Faith
   * Dylan Baker - Happiness - Felicità (Happiness)
   * Sean Penn - Bugie, baci, bambole & bastardi (Hurlyburly)

### Anni 2000-2009

* 2000: Richard Farnsworth - Una storia vera (The Straight Story)
   * John Cusack - Essere John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich)
   * Noble Willingham - The Corndog Man
   * David Strathairn - Limbo
   * Terence Stamp - L'inglese (The Limey)
* 2001: Javier Bardem - Prima che sia notte (Before Night Falls)
   * Billy Crudup - Jesus' Son
   * Adrien Brody - Restaurant
   * Hill Harper - The Visit
   * Mark Ruffalo - Conta su di me (You Can Count on Me)
* 2002: Tom Wilkinson - In the Bedroom
   * Ryan Gosling - The Believer
   * Jake Gyllenhaal - Donnie Darko
   * John Cameron Mitchell - Hedwig - La diva con qualcosa in più (Hedwig and the Angry Inch)
   * Brian Cox - L.I.E.
* 2003: Derek Luke - Antwone Fisher
   * Jeremy Renner - Dahmer - Il Cannibale di Milwaukee (Dahmer)
   * Danny Huston - Ivansxtc
   * Campbell Scott - Roger Dodger
   * Graham Greene - Skins
* 2004: Bill Murray - Lost in Translation - L'amore tradotto (Lost in Translation)
   * Paul Giamatti - American Splendor
   * Ben Kingsley - La casa di sabbia e nebbia (House of Sand and Fog)
   * Lee Pace - Soldier's Girl
   * Peter Dinklage - Station Agent (The Station Agent)
* 2005: Paul Giamatti - Sideways - In viaggio con Jack (Sideways)
   * Jeff Bridges - The Door in the Floor
   * Liam Neeson - Kinsey
   * Jamie Foxx - Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story
   * Kevin Bacon - The Woodsman - Il segreto (The Woodsman)
* 2006: Philip Seymour Hoffman - Truman Capote - A sangue freddo (Capote)
   * Heath Ledger - I segreti di Brokeback Mountain (Brokeback Mountain)
   * David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck.
   * Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow - Il colore della musica (Hustle & Flow)
   * Jeff Daniels - Il calamaro e la balena (The Squid and the Whale)
* 2007: Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
   * Forest Whitaker - American Gun
   * Ahmad Razvi - Man Push Cart
   * Edward Norton - Il velo dipinto (The Painted Veil)
   * Aaron Eckhart - Thank You for Smoking
* 2008: Philip Seymour Hoffman - La famiglia Savage (The Savages)
   * Pedro Castaneda - August Evening
   * Tony Leung Chiu Wai - Lussuria - Seduzione e tradimento (Se, jie)
   * Frank Langella - Starting Out in the Evening
   * Don Cheadle - Parla con me
* 2009: Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler
   * Javier Bardem – Vicky Cristina Barcelona
   * Richard Jenkins – L'ospite inatteso (The Visitor)
   * Sean Penn – Milk
   * Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker

### Anni 2010-2019

* 2010: Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
   * Colin Firth - A Single Man
   * Joseph Gordon-Levitt - (500) giorni insieme ((500) Days of Summer)
   * Souleymane Sy Savane - Goodbye Solo
   * Adam Scott - The Vicious Kind
* 2011: James Franco - 127 ore (127 Hours)
   * Ronald Bronstein - Daddy Longlegs
   * Aaron Eckhart - Rabbit Hole
   * John C. Reilly - Cyrus
   * Ben Stiller - Lo stravagante mondo di Greenberg (Greenberg)
* 2012: Jean Dujardin - The Artist
   * Demián Bichir - Per una vita migliore (A Better Life)
   * Ryan Gosling - Drive
   * Woody Harrelson - Rampart
   * Michael Shannon - Take Shelter
* 2013: John Hawkes - The Sessions - Gli incontri (The Sessions)
   * Jack Black - Bernie
   * Bradley Cooper - Il lato positivo - Silver Linings Playbook (Silver Linings Playbook)
   * Thure Lindhardt - Keep the Lights On
   * Matthew McConaughey - Killer Joe
   * Wendell Pierce - Four
* 2014: Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club
   * Bruce Dern - Nebraska
   * Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 anni schiavo (12 Years a Slave)
   * Oscar Isaac - A proposito di Davis (Inside Llewyn Davis)
   * Michael B. Jordan - Prossima fermata Fruitvale Station (Fruitvale Station)
   * Robert Redford - All Is Lost - Tutto è perduto (All Is Lost)
* 2015: Michael Keaton - Birdman
   * André Benjamin - Jimi: All Is by My Side
   * Jake Gyllenhaal - Lo sciacallo - Nightcrawler
   * John Lithgow - I toni dell'amore - Love Is Strange (Love is Strange)
   * David Oyelowo - Selma - La strada per la libertà (Selma)
* 2016: Abraham Attah – Beasts of No Nation
   * Ben Mendelsohn – Mississippi Grind
   * Christopher Abbott – James White
   * Jason Segel – The End of the Tour - Un viaggio con David Foster Wallace (The End of the Tour)
   * Koudous Seihon – Mediterranea
* 2017: Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
   * Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
   * Tim Roth – Chronic
   * Jesse Plemons – Other People
   * David Harewood – Free in Deed
* 2018: Timothée Chalamet - Chiamami col tuo nome (Call Me by Your Name)
   * Harris Dickinson - Beach Rats
   * James Franco - The Disaster Artist
   * Daniel Kaluuya - Scappa - Get Out (Get Out)
   * Robert Pattinson - Good Time
* 2019: Ethan Hawke - First Reformed - La creazione a rischio (First Reformed)
   * John Cho - Searching
   * Daveed Diggs - Blindspotting
   * Christian Malheiros - Socrates
   * Joaquin Phoenix - A Beautiful Day - You Were Never Really Here (You Were Never Really Here)

### Anni 2020-2029

* 2020: Adam Sandler - Diamanti grezzi (Uncut Gems)
   * Chris Galust - Give Me Liberty
   * Kelvin Harrison Jr. - Luce
   * Robert Pattinson - The Lighthouse
   * Matthias Schoenaerts - The Mustang
* 2021: Riz Ahmed - Sound of Metal
   * Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
   * Adarsh Gourav - La tigre bianca (The White Tiger)
   * Rob Morgan - Bull
   * Steven Yeun - Minari
* 2022:
   * Clifton Collins Jr. - Jockey
   * Frankie Faison - The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain
   * Michael Greyeyes - Wild Indian
   * Udo Kier - Swan Song
   * Simon Rex - Red Rocket
