40 Actors Who Literally Won Oscars For Less Than 20 Minutes Of Total Screentime

    I still can't believe someone won an Oscar for only appearing in five minutes of a movie.

    Spencer Althouse
    by Spencer Althouse

    BuzzFeed Staff

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    In 95 years of Oscars history, 40 people have won Oscars for appearing in less than 20 minutes on screen. One guy did it twice, two took home the award in leading categories, and twice as many women won than men. Here they all are, in order from most screentime to least.

    41. Olympia Dukakis won Best Supporting Actress for 1987's Moonstruck. She was on screen for just 19 minutes and 54 seconds.

    Olympia at the kitchen table in "Moonstruck"
    MGM

    Here's every actor nominated in that category, including who won*:

    *Olympia Dukakis — Moonstruck

    Norma Aleandro — Gaby: A True Story

    Anne Archer — Fatal Attraction

    Anne Ramsey — Throw Momma from the Train

    Ann Sothern — The Whales of August

    40. Joel Grey won Best Supporting Actor for 1972's Cabaret. He was on screen for 19 minutes and 38 seconds, which was less than 16% of the entire movie.

    Person in stage makeup with a bow tie, performing
    Allied Artists

    *Joel Grey — Cabaret

    Eddie Albert — The Heartbreak Kid

    James Caan — The Godfather

    Robert Duvall — The Godfather

    Al Pacino — The Godfather

    39. John Gielgud won Best Supporting Actor for 1981's Arthur. He was on screen for 18 minutes and 44 seconds, and he's also the only EGOT winner on this list.

    Elderly man in bed holding a book, looking pensive, from a film scene
    Warner Bros.

    *John Gielgud — Arthur

    James Coco — Only When I Laugh

    Ian Holm — Chariots of Fire

    Jack Nicholson — Reds

    Howard E. Rollins Jr. — Ragtime

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    38. Laura Dern won Best Supporting Actress for 2019's Marriage Story. She was on screen for 18 minutes and 36 seconds.

    Woman and boy in a close conversation indoors, emotional expressions on their faces
    Netflix

    *Laura Dern — Marriage Story

    Kathy Bates — Richard Jewell

    Scarlett Johansson — Jojo Rabbit

    Florence Pugh — Little Women

    Margot Robbie — Bombshell

    Both of her parents, Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, had also been nominated for Oscars in the past.

    Three individuals posing together, the center person in a red sleeveless dress, flanked by two others in formal attire
    Barry King / FilmMagic

    Bruce Dern was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for 1978's Coming Home, as well as Best Actor for 2013's Nebraska.

    Diane Ladd was nominated for three Supporting Actress Oscars for 1974's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, 1990's Wild at Heart, and 1991's Rambling Rose.


    37. Lee Grant won Best Supporting Actress for 1975's Shampoo. She was on screen for one second less than Laura Dern, coming in at 18 minutes and 35 seconds.

    Lee Grant in a leopard print top and pearls, looking up, with potted plants in the background
    Columbia Pictures

    *Lee Grant — Shampoo

    Ronee Blakley — Nashville

    Sylvia Miles — Farewell, My Lovely

    Lily Tomlin — Nashville

    Brenda Vaccaro — Once Is Not Enough

    36. Tilda Swinton won Best Supporting Actress for 2007's Michael Clayton. She was on screen for one second less again, this time for 18 minutes and 34 seconds.

    Woman with pearl necklace looks concerned. Character from a film scene
    Warner Bros. Pictures

    *Tilda Swinton — Michael Clayton

    Cate Blanchett — I'm Not There

    Ruby Dee — American Gangster

    Saoirse Ronan — Atonement

    Amy Ryan — Gone Baby Gone

    35. Donna Reed won Best Supporting Actress for 1953's From Here to Eternity. She was on screen for 18 minutes and 25 seconds.

    Woman in vintage attire facing a man, both looking at each other, scene from an old movie
    Columbia Pictures

    *Donna Reed — From Here to Eternity

    Grace Kelly — Mogambo

    Geraldine Page — Hondo

    Marjorie Rambeau — Torch Song

    Thelma Ritter — Pickup on South Street

    34. Anjelica Huston won Best Supporting Actress for 1985's Prizzi's Honor. She was on screen for 17 minutes and 56 seconds.

    Woman with shoulder-length hair and a concerned expression, indoors
    20th Century Fox

    *Anjelica Huston — Prizzi's Honor

    Margaret Avery — The Color Purple

    Amy Madigan — Twice in a Lifetime

    Meg Tilly — Agnes of God

    Oprah Winfrey — The Color Purple

    Anjelica's win helped her family become the first to contain three generations of Oscar winners. Walter Huston, her grandfather, won Best Supporting Actor for 1948's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and John Huston, her father, won Screenplay and Director for the same film.

    Two men in tuxedos holding award statues, smiling, with a curtain backdrop
    Hulton Archive / Getty Images

    33. Vanessa Redgrave won Best Supporting Actress for 1977's Julia. She was on screen for 17 minutes and 45 seconds.

    Close-up of Nicole Kidman as character, wearing a tweed jacket, looking concerned
    20th Century Fox

    *Vanessa Redgrave — Julia

    Leslie Browne — The Turning Point

    Quinn Cummings — The Goodbye Girl

    Melinda Dillon — Close Encounters of the Third Kind

    Tuesday Weld — Looking for Mr. Goodbar

    32. James Coburn won Best Supporting Actor for 1997's Affliction. He was on screen for 17 minutes and 20 seconds.

    Clint Eastwood in a scene, wearing a coat, by a wooden structure
    Largo Entertainment

    *James Coburn — Affliction

    Robert Duvall — A Civil Action

    Ed Harris — The Truman Show

    Geoffrey Rush — Shakespeare in Love

    Billy Bob Thornton — A Simple Plan

    31. The most recent winner to appear on this list is Jamie Lee Curtis, who won Best Supporting Actress for 2022's Everything Everywhere All at Once. She was on screen for 17 minutes and 15 seconds.

    Woman applying makeup while looking in a mirror
    A24

    *Jamie Lee Curtis — Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Angela Bassett — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

    Hong Chau — The Whale

    Kerry Condon — The Banshees of Inisherin

    Stephanie Hsu — Everything Everywhere All at Once

    Both of her parents, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, had also been nominated for Oscars.

    Three individuals posing together, two men flanking a woman; each wears formal attire
    Ron Galella, Ltd. / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

    Tony Curtis was nominated for Best Actor in The Defiant Ones (1958), while Janet Leigh was nominated for Supporting Actress in Psycho (1960).

    30. Claire Trevor won Best Supporting Actress for 1948's Key Largo. She was on screen for 17 minutes and 12 seconds.

    Close-up of a vintage movie character, a woman with an elegant hairstyle and pearl necklace
    Warner Bros.

    *Claire Trevor — Key Largo

    Barbara Bel Geddes — I Remember Mama

    Ellen Corby Agnes — I Remember Mama

    Agnes Moorehead — Johnny Belinda

    Jean Simmons — Hamlet

    29. Hugh Griffith won Best Supporting Actor for 1959's Ben-Hur. He was on screen for 16 minutes and 51 seconds of the nearly 3.5-hour movie, which means he actually has the shortest percentage of screentime for any male winner.

    Man in historical costume with headdress, posing with a smirk
    MGM

    *Hugh Griffith — Ben-Hur

    Arthur O'Connell — Anatomy of a Murder

    George C. Scott — Anatomy of a Murder

    Robert Vaughn — The Young Philadelphians

    Ed Wynn — The Diary of Anne Frank

    28. Cloris Leachman won Best Supporting Actress for 1971's The Last Picture Show. She was on screen for 16 minutes and 46 seconds.

    Woman smiling, resting head on hand, holding an award, in a black and white film still
    Columbia Pictures

    *Cloris Leachman — The Last Picture Show

    Ann-Margret — Carnal Knowledge

    Ellen Burstyn — The Last Picture Show

    Barbara Harris — Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?

    Margaret Leighton — The Go-Between

    27. John Houseman won Best Supporting Actor for 1973's The Paper Chase. He was on screen for 16 minutes and 26 seconds.

    Close-up of an actor portraying a character with a bow tie and formal attire, expressing concern
    20th Century Fox

    *John Houseman – The Paper Chase

    Vincent Gardenia – Bang the Drum Slowly

    Jack Gilford – Save the Tiger

    Jason Miller – The Exorcist

    Randy Quaid – The Last Detail

    26. Miyoshi Umeki won Best Supporting Actress for 1957's Sayonara. She was on screen for 16 minutes and 2 seconds.

    Woman in a lace dress singing into a microphone, band in background
    Warner Bros. Pictures

    *Miyoshi Umeki — Sayonara

    Carolyn Jones — The Bachelor Party

    Elsa Lanchester — Witness for the Prosecution

    Hope Lange — Peyton Place

    Diane Varsi — Peyton Place

    25. Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor for 1991's The Silence of the Lambs. He was on screen for 16 minutes, making him one of only two Best Actor winners to appear on this list.

    Man gazing intently, indoors, facing a person whose back is to the camera
    Orion Pictures

    *Anthony Hopkins — The Silence of the Lambs

    Warren Beatty — Bugsy

    Robert De Niro — Cape Fear

    Nick Nolte — The Prince of Tides

    Robin Williams — The Fisher King

    This helped the movie become one of only three films in Oscars history to win "The Big 5" – that's Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Actress, which Jodie Foster won.

    Three individuals at an awards ceremony holding trophies. Two in tuxedos, one in a blazer and dress
    Ron Galella, Ltd. / Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

    24. Ruth Gordon won Best Supporting Actress 1968's Rosemary's Baby. She was on screen for 15 minutes and 52 seconds.

    Woman with a headscarf and striped dress looking upwards with concern
    Paramount Pictures

    *Ruth Gordon — Rosemary's Baby

    Lynn Carlin — Faces

    Sondra Locke —The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

    Kay Medford — Funny Girl

    Estelle Parsons — Rachel, Rachel

    23. David Niven won Best Actor for 1958's Separate Tables. He was on screen for 15 minutes and 38 seconds and he holds the record for having the shortest performance to win Best Actor.

    Man in a classic tuxedo with a bow tie, smiling, looking into the distance
    United Artists

    *David Niven — Separate Tables

    Tony Curtis — The Defiant Ones

    Paul Newman — Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

    Sidney Poitier — The Defiant Ones

    Spencer Tracy — The Old Man and the Sea

    22. Allison Janney won Best Supporting Actress for 2017's I, Tonya. She was on screen for 15 minutes and 37 seconds.

    Woman in red blouse with glasses pointing, surprised expression
    Neon

    *Allison Janney — I, Tonya

    Mary J. Blige — Mudbound

    Lesley Manville — Phantom Thread

    Laurie Metcalf — Lady Bird

    Octavia Spencer — The Shape of Water

    21. Jo Van Fleet won Best Supporting Actress for 1955's East of Eden. She was on screen for 15 minutes and 31 seconds.

    Woman seated at desk with a small figurine, looking off to the side
    Warner Bros. Pictures

    *Jo Van Fleet — East of Eden

    Betsy Blair — Marty

    Peggy Lee — Pete Kelly's Blues

    Marisa Pavan — The Rose Tattoo

    Natalie Wood — Rebel Without a Cause

    20. Shelley Winters won Best Supporting Actress for 1965's A Patch of Blue. She was on screen for 15 minutes and 6 seconds.

    Woman sitting on bed in a vintage scene, displaying an anxious expression
    MGM

    *Shelley Winters — A Patch of Blue

    Ruth Gordon — Inside Daisy Clover

    Joyce Redman — Othello

    Maggie Smith — Othello

    Peggy Wood — The Sound of Music

    19. Joseph Schildkraut won Best Supporting Actor for 1937's The Life of Emile Zola. He was on screen for 15 minutes and 2 seconds.

    Man in vintage uniform with cap and mustache looking serious
    Warner Bros. Pictures

    *Joseph Schildkraut — The Life of Emile Zola

    Ralph Bellamy — The Awful Truth

    Thomas Mitchell — The Hurricane

    H. B. Warner — Lost Horizon

    Roland Young — TopperTopper

    The next three performers all have a total screentime of exactly 15 minutes:

    18. Anne Hathaway won Best Supporting Actress for 2012's Les Misérables.

    Close-up of an emotional Anne Hathaway as Fantine in "Les Misérables."
    Universal Pictures

    *Anne Hathaway — Les Misérables

    Amy Adams — The Master

    Sally Field — Lincoln

    Helen Hunt — The Sessions

    Jacki Weaver — Silver Linings Playbook

    17. Celeste Holm won Best Supporting Actress for 1947's Gentleman's Agreement.

    Vintage black and white photo of an elegant woman smiling
    20th Century Fox

    *Celeste Holm — Gentleman's Agreement

    Ethel Barrymore — The Paradine Case

    Gloria Grahame — Crossfire

    Marjorie Main — The Egg and I

    Anne Revere – Gentleman's Agreement

    16. And Kim Basinger won Best Supporting Actress for 1997's L.A. Confidential.

    Kim Novak portrayed by a character in a buttoned blouse, with a vintage hairstyle and makeup, in a scene from a classic film
    Warner Bros.

    *Kim Basinger — L.A. Confidential

    Joan Cusack — In & Out

    Minnie Driver — Good Will Hunting

    Julianne Moore — Boogie Nights

    Gloria Stuart — Titanic

    15. Penélope Cruz won Best Supporting Actress for 2008's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She was on screen for 14 minutes and 29 seconds.

    Woman holding a cigarette with a thoughtful expression at a dinner table
    Warner Bros. Pictures

    *Penélope Cruz — Vicky Cristina Barcelona

    Amy Adams — Doubt

    Viola Davis — Doubt

    Taraji P. Henson — The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

    Marisa Tomei — The Wrestler

    14. Alan Arkin won Best Supporting Actor for 2006's Little Miss Sunshine. He was on screen for 14 minutes and 20 seconds.

    Man with a surprised expression, bald head, wearing a plain T-shirt, indoors
    Fox Searchlight Pictures

    *Alan Arkin — Little Miss Sunshine

    Jackie Earle Haley — Little Children

    Djimon Hounsou — Blood Diamond

    Eddie Murphy — Dreamgirls

    Mark Wahlberg — The Departed

    13. Ingrid Bergman won Best Supporting Actress for 1974's Murder on the Orient Express. She was on screen for 14 minutes and 18 seconds.

    Woman looks concerned during a conversation with a man in an indoor setting
    EMI Films

    *Ingrid Bergman — Murder on the Orient Express

    Valentina Cortese — Day for Night

    Madeline Kahn — Blazing Saddles

    Diane Ladd — Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

    Talia Shire — The Godfather Part II

    12. Shirley Jones won Best Supporting Actress for 1960's Elmer Gantry. She was on screen for 14 minutes and 9 seconds.

    Woman smiling at a man in a hat, in a vintage indoor setting
    United Artists

    *Shirley Jones — Elmer Gantry

    Glynis Johns — The Sundowners

    Shirley Knight — The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

    Janet Leigh — Psycho

    Mary Ure — Sons and Lovers

    11. Gale Sondergaard won Best Supporting Actress for 1936's Anthony Adverse. She was on screen for just 13 minutes and 34 seconds. She was the first Best Supporting Actress winner ever.

    Actress Gale Sondergaard in a vintage film still, wearing a bonnet and looking to the side
    Warner Bros. Pictures

    *Gale Sondergaard — Anthony Adverse

    Beulah Bondi — The Gorgeous Hussy

    Alice Brady — My Man Godfrey

    Bonita Granville — These Three

    Maria Ouspenskaya — Dodsworth

    10. Margaret Rutherford won Best Supporting Actress for 1963's The V.I.P.s. She was on screen for 13 minutes and 6 seconds.

    Character Marv, disguised as an older woman, holds a purse at an airport in "Home Alone 2"
    MGM

    *Margaret Rutherford — The V.I.P.s

    Diane Cilento — Tom Jones

    Edith Evans — Tom Jones

    Joyce Redman — Tom Jones

    Lilia Skala — Lilies of the Field

    9. Jason Robards won Best Supporting Actor for 1976's All the President's Men. He was on screen for 12 minutes and 58 seconds.

    Jason Robards sitting on a desk in the newsroom
    Warner Bros.

    *Jason Robards — All the President's Men

    Ned Beatty — Network

    Burgess Meredith — Rocky

    Laurence Olivier — Marathon Man

    Burt Young — Rocky

    8. Jack Palance won Best Supporting Actor for 1991's City Slickers. He was on screen for only 12 minutes and 24 seconds.

    Man in cowboy attire with hat and neckerchief smiles on a clear day
    Columbia Pictures

    *Jack Palance — City Slickers

    Tommy Lee Jones — JFK

    Harvey Keitel — Bugsy

    Ben Kingsley — Bugsy

    Michael Lerner — Barton Fink

    7. Maureen Stapleton won Best Supporting Actress for 1981's Reds. She was on screen for 11 minutes and 35 seconds.

    Maureen in "Reds" while sitting at a table, wearing glasses
    Paramount Pictures

    *Maureen Stapleton — Reds

    Melinda Dillon — Absence of Malice

    Jane Fonda — On Golden Pond

    Joan Hackett — Only When I Laugh

    Elizabeth McGovern — Ragtime

    6. Jason Robards won Best Supporting Actor again, this time for 1977's Julia. He was on screen for 10 minutes and 49 seconds.

    Jason Robards in "Julia" sitting at the beach with a fire going
    20th Century Fox

    *Jason Robards — Julia

    Mikhail Baryshnikov — The Turning Point

    Peter Firth — Equus

    Alec Guinness — Star Wars

    Maximilian Schell — Julia

    5. Martin Balsam won Best Supporting Actor for 1965's A Thousand Clowns. He was on screen for an even 10 minutes.

    Man in a fedora and suit, looking to the side, with a concerned expression in a black-and-white film scene
    United Artists

    *Martin Balsam — A Thousand Clowns

    Ian Bannen — The Flight of the Phoenix

    Tom Courtenay — Doctor Zhivago

    Michael Dunn — Ship of Fools

    Frank Finlay — Othello

    4. Ben Johnson won Best Supporting Actor for 1971's The Last Picture Show. He was on screen for 9 minutes and 54 seconds, making him the man with the shortest amount of screentime to ever win an Oscar.

    Three people outdoors with a vintage look; a man in a cowboy hat is center focus
    Columbia Pictures

    *Ben Johnson — The Last Picture Show

    Jeff Bridges — The Last Picture Show

    Leonard Frey — Fiddler on the Roof

    Richard Jaeckel — Sometimes a Great Notion

    Roy Scheider — The French Connection

    3. Gloria Grahame won Best Supporting Actress for 1952's The Bad and the Beautiful. She was on screen for 9 minutes and 32 seconds.

    Woman in vintage attire with a pillbox hat looking through a window
    MGM

    *Gloria Grahame — The Bad and the Beautiful

    Jean Hagen — Singin' in the Rain

    Colette Marchand — Moulin Rouge

    Terry Moore — Come Back, Little Sheba

    Thelma Ritter — With a Song in My Heart

    2. Judi Dench won Best Supporting Actress for 1998's Shakespeare in Love. She was on screen for an even eight minutes.

    Queen Elizabeth I in ornate costume with ruff and jeweled headpiece
    Miramax Films

    *Judi Dench – Shakespeare in Love

    Kathy Bates — Primary Colors

    Brenda Blethyn — Little Voice

    Rachel Griffiths — Hilary and Jackie

    Lynn Redgrave — Gods and Monsters

    1. And the actor with the least amount of screentime to ever win an Oscar is Beatrice Straight, who won Best Supporting Actress for 1976's Network. She was on screen for only 5 minutes and 2 seconds.

    Woman with an expressive look, wearing a blazer with checkered details
    United Artists

    *Beatrice Straight — Network

    Jane Alexander — All the President's Men

    Jodie Foster — Taxi Driver

    Lee Grant — Voyage of the Damned

    Piper Laurie — Carrie

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