Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul (1931), and is known to modern audiences for the role of villainous Mr. Potter in Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life.
Barrymore c. 1910
Young Lionel with John, Ethel, and their mother (1890)
Barrymore, 1906
Lionel and first wife Doris (in rocking chair) in the 1920 silent film The Devil's Garden.
Academy Award for Best Actor
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actress winner.
The 2023 recipient: Cillian Murphy
Emil Jannings was the inaugural winner, for two films: The Last Command (1928) & The Way of All Flesh (1927).
Warner Baxter won for In Old Arizona (1928).
George Arliss won for Disraeli (1929).