Hugh Emrys Griffith was a Welsh actor. Described by BFI Screenonline as a "wild-eyed, formidable character player", Griffith appeared in over 100 theatre, film, and television productions in a career that spanned over 40 years. He was the second-ever Welsh-born actor to win an Academy Award, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Ben-Hur (1959), with an additional nomination for Tom Jones (1963).
Griffith in 1960
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Supporting Actress winner. In lieu of the traditional Oscar statuette, supporting acting recipients were given plaques up until the 16th Academy Awards, when statuettes were awarded to each category instead.
The 2023 recipient: Robert Downey Jr.
Walter Brennan was the inaugural winner, thrice over, for: Come and Get It (1936), Kentucky (1938), & The Westerner (1940).
Joseph Schildkraut won for The Life of Émile Zola (1937).
Thomas Mitchell won for Stagecoach (1939); first male to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting".
