The actor who has starred in the most ‘Best Picture’ Oscar winners
The biggest prize at the Academy Awards ceremony each year is undoubtedly the ‘Best Picture’ Oscar. Winning the high-coveted award simply means that a director’s film is the very best of that year’s releases and is celebrated by every member of a movie, from the cinematographer to the make-up artist and everyone in between.
Of course, a big draw for a film winning ‘Best Picture’ at the Academy Awards is the actors present, for what would a film be without the talent to perform its narrative? It appears that some actors are more aligned with starring in films to have won several ‘Best Picture’ Oscars than others, say, John Cazale, Ralph Fiennes, Morgan Freeman and Colin Firth, with three apiece.
However, when it comes to the person with the most appearances in ‘Best Picture’-winning movies, there is a clear lead contender, but you may not have heard of him. He is Franklyn Farnum, who was born in 1878 and died in 1961, and apart from that, this isn’t too much information about him in circulation.
What we do know, however, is that Farnum appeared in seven movies that have won ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars. Farnum was largely a character actor who starred in many vaudeville productions as a young man before making his way into musicals and silent movies when he was around the age of 40.
Much of Farnum’s career was comprised in western movies, and including his many, many appearances as an extra, he went on to star in at least 1100 movies throughout his time as an actor. The first ‘Best Picture’ winner Farnum starred in is The Life of Emile Zola, William Dieterle’s 1937 biopic about the titular French writer.
The now-legendary actor’s ‘Best Picture’ credits then include Leo McCarey’s 1944 musical comedy Going My Way, 1945’s The Lost Weekend starring Ray Milland, Gentleman’s Agreement, directed by Elia Kazan and released in 1947, 1950’s All About Eve, and 1952’s The Greatest Show on Earth. It’s quite an astounding feat for Farnum to have been featured in so many acclaimed movies in such a short space of time.
Finally, Farnum rounded off his seven ‘Best Picture’ performances with 1956’s Around the World in 80 Days, the Michael Anderson-directed adventure comedy starring David Niven, Cantinflas, Robert Newton and Shirley MacLaine. Farnum passed away at the age of 83 at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital after suffering a bout of cancer.
