The very first British actor to win an Oscar
Hollywood loves a classic American icon. We’re talking about the likes of Clint Eastwood, John Wayne and Marlon Brando, three influential figures who utterly embody the values of the nation. But, there’s no denying that the industry adores British actors too, with Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman, Eddie Redmayne and Daniel Day-Lewis being a collection of recent ‘Best Leading Actor’ Oscar winners.
Indeed, British actors have stormed Hollywood of late, making up a considerable number of previous Oscar winners, not only in the ‘Leading Actor’ category. Elsewhere, Daniel Kaluuya recently won ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his performance in 2021’s Judas and the Black Messiah, and Olivia Colman claimed an Academy Award in 2018 for her ‘Leading Actress’ turn in the Yorgos Lanthimos film The Favourite.
Yet, each of these aforementioned stars is standing on the shoulders of one particular national icon named George Arliss, who was the very first British actor to win an Academy Award all the way back in 1930.
A natural-born thespian, Arliess was born in London on April 10th, 1868, and soon became a star of the West End, heading out on a tour of America in 1901, where he would stay for 20 years. In 1902 he starred in Magda, his Broadway debut, before appearing in his first movie, The Devil, many years later in 1921. An early favourite of the silent era of Hollywood, Arliess was one of the few performers who successfully transitioned from theatre to silent film to full-sound movies later in the century.
But, it was in 1930 that Arliess would make history, appearing in the Alfred E. Green film Disraeli, which told the story of the former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli and his efforts to outwit the Russians and purchase the Suez Canal. Appearing with Doris Lloyd, Joan Bennett and David Torrence, Arliess did enough to be nominated for ‘Best Leading Actor’.
Remarkably, Arliess went up against himself in the category, having also been nominated for The Green Goddess (which was too directed by Alfred E. Green). Not only this, but Ronald Colman and Maurice Chevalier, whom he was also up against, also featured in two separate movies in the same category.
Becoming only the second person ever to win an Academy Award, with the annual ceremony starting just one year earlier, Arliess entered into the cinematic history books.
The inaugural winner of the ceremony’s ‘Best Picture’ award went to the unlikely LGBTQ+ movie Wings in 1929, with the landmark film featuring the first gay kiss in cinema history. Released at a time when gay rights were being heavily debated and questioned, William A. Wellman’s film managed to rouse audiences and critics, telling the story of two air force pilots in WWI who steadily fall in love with each other whilst pursuing another woman.
