By Modern60, Editorial Team
Published On June 27, 2024
10 Oldest Celebs to Win Prestigious Awards
"Sometimes if you want to see a change for the better, you have to take things into your own hands."
Over the decades, the Academy Awards, Emmys, BAFTA, Golden Globes, and other famous award shows have highlighted the best works of actors, directors, writers, and those who continue to amaze audiences with their craft. And while it’s certainly refreshing to see a lot of young, talented performers receiving prestigious awards and making a place for themselves in the industry, our list of oldest celebs to win awards demonstrates that age is indeed immaterial.
Clint Eastwood
Having earned Academy Awards at 62 and 74, Clint Eastwood has certainly set the standards high for the generations of performers to follow. The Where Eagles Dare actor’s Academy Award at age 62 was in the categories Best Picture and Best Director for the phenomenal movie Unforgiven, a revenge drama in which Eastwood brilliantly portrays aging killer and outlaw William Munny. The second award, at age 74, was for his direction of the sports drama Million Dollar Baby, based on tales from the collection Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner by F.X. Toole. Apart from directing the film, Eastwood also stars as Frankie Dunn, a gruff but kind-hearted senior boxing trainer who reluctantly sets out to train Maggie, an aspiring boxer.
Before such successes came his way, Clint Eastwood had a rough early career, marked by struggles, which led him to play several small roles—typically uncredited—in multiple movies, until he finally landed the main role as ramrod Rowdy Yates in the TV series Rawhide. The show went on to become highly successful, and what followed from here was the memorable A Fistful of Dollars, the first of the Dollars Trilogy, and its sequels For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The last one turned Eastwood into a star overnight!
Many accolades followed with some of his other best works including The Outlaw Josey Wales, Where Eagles Dare, the Dirty Harry series, High Plains Drifter, The Gauntlet, Every Which Way but Loose, and Gran Torino, among others.
The story of Clint Eastwood’s trials and triumphs, ultimately leading him to win the most coveted awards, never fails to inspire.
Richard Jenkins
If there’s a Hollywood celebrity who redefines the perception of the supporting cast today, it is Richard Jenkins. While the actor hails from a rich theater background and extensive experience in the field, it wasn’t until the 2000s that he landed his first lead role. Despite that, Richard Jenkins bagged a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie. He won this award at age 66 for his memorable role in the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge, in which he played a caring, supportive husband, Henry Kitteridge.
Later, for his spectacular performance in the fantasy drama The Shape of Water, the 70-year-old actor was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globes Award for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role category.
Some of his other notable works include Flirting with Disaster (1996), Burn After Reading (2008), Step Brothers (2008), The Cabin in the Woods (2011), and Bone Tomahawk (2015). Recently, Jenkins lent his voice to the Art Teacher character in the live-action animated fantasy comedy movie IF.
Anthony Hopkins
The 1991 psychological horror thriller movie, The Silence of the Lambs, set a benchmark in filmmaking and is often cited as one of the greatest and most influential movies of all time. The film featured a remarkably compelling story and stellar performances, including Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a terrifying cannibalistic serial killer and phenomenal psychiatrist. Hopkins went on to win an Oscar for his performance, but this was certainly not the last of his accolades.
While the veteran actor may have aged physically, his talent remains timeless. At the ripe age of 84, in 2021, he earned an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for his leading role as Anthony, a patient grappling with dementia, in yet another psychological movie, The Father.
One of the most prolific actors in Britain today, Hopkins graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. With a strong theatrical background, the Welsh actor started his career with powerful performances in movies like The Lion in Winter (1968), A Bridge Too Far (1977), and The Elephant Man (1980).
Some of his highly acclaimed performances include Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), The Remains of the Day (1993), Nixon (1995), and Amistad (1997), and Fracture (2007). The Silence of the Lambs actor also fascinated us with his role in Thor as Odin, the ruler of Asgard and father of the titular character.
We were even delighted to hear Hopkins as the voice of JC-1435, or Jimmy, the last member of the race of mechanical nights, in the movie Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver (2024).
Michael Douglas
In a career spanning five decades, this brilliant actor has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy, which he won at age 68 for his portrayal of Wladziu Valentino Liberace, a pianist, actor, and singer, in the biographical comedy drama TV series Behind the Candelabra.
Born to actors Kirk Douglas and Diana Dill, Michael Douglas set out to become a trained actor by graduating in drama from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Douglas’ claim to fame was his performance in the TV series The Streets of San Francisco, in which he essayed the role of Inspector Steve Keller. This was his first major role in his acting career.
Then, he went on to produce one of the most poignant psychological drama movies of all time, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by securing the rights of the eponymous novel from his father. Michael Douglas also produced some other critically acclaimed movies, including Romancing the Stone and The China Syndrome.
Some of his finest acting performances are in movies Wall Street, The War of the Roses, Fatal Attraction, Traffic, The American President, and Wonder Boys. Currently, Douglas is busy shooting for an upcoming drama movie Blood Knot, based on the novel Looking Through Water by Bob Rich. We can’t wait to witness The Streets of San Francisco actor on screen again!
Al Pacino
An unmotivated student in school whose only inclination lay in drama – Al Pacino is one of the most celebrated and influential actors of the 20th Century. After all, even after a whopping five decades, we can’t take the intimidating Michael Corleone from The Godfather (1972) off our minds, and a lot of it has to do with Al Pacino’s flawless portrayal of this character.
So, it’s no wonder that the method actor has won multiple awards and recognitions for his works, including an Oscar, a BAFTA Award, two Tony Awards, four Golden Globes, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, one of which he won at age 70 for his notable role as pathologist Jack Kevorkian in the 2010 biopic TV movie, You Don’t Know Jack.
But the path to success for the Serpico star wasn’t easy. Trying to set the acting foundation in theater, Al Pacino went through a phase of intense poverty, when he had to borrow even the bus fare to commute to auditions. After his successful Off-Broadway stint, Al Pacino entered movies with the comedy-drama Me, Natalie (1969) and also bagged a leading role in the 1971 drama film The Panic in Needle Park. He soon became a rising star, and in 1972, Al Pacino got his big break in cult classic The Godfather, and the rest is history.
The 84-year-old Hollywood legend is watched and admired by global audiences. Apart from The Godfather, some of his best performances are in movies like And Justice for All, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Scarface, Dick Tracy, and Scent of a Woman, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Presently, Al Pacino is busy with numerous projects, including Modi, a biographical movie on Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani and the indie drama Billy Knight.
Dustin Hoffman
At a time when the typical macho and knight-in-shining-armor heroes were considered the central figures in films, Dustin Hoffman dared to challenge this perception by winning the audience’s hearts with his antihero depictions in multiple movies. The actor has received numerous honors and recognitions for his ravishing performances, including two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, five Golden Globes, and two Emmys, one of which was an International Emmy Award for the TV movie Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot. In this film, Hoffman played the role of a retired bachelor who falls in love with his neighbor.
Not many know that Dustin Hoffman was named after the actor of the silent era, Dustin Farnum. While Hoffman is one of the finest actors of Hollywood, he initially aspired to become a pianist and studied at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music before he chose to pursue acting as a career. And while Dustin Hoffman trained at the Pasadena Playhouse, at the start of his career, the actor spent a decade being unemployed and doing odd jobs.
After a long journey with theater and a small role in the dark comedy movie The Tiger Makes Out (1967), Dustin Hoffman finally landed the lead role in the comedy drama The Graduate (1967), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.
The Graduate was the much-needed turning point in Hoffman’s career, and a string of successes followed, including Midnight Cowboy (1969), which won him his second Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role, BAFTA Award-winning movie John and Mary, Little Big Man, Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?, Straw Dogs, and Papillon.
Hoffman went on to win his first Academy Award for his portrayal of Ted Kramer, a workaholic advertising executive, in the movie Kramer vs. Kramer. At the moment, we’re excited for the 86-year-old actor’s upcoming movies, Riff Raff and Lucca Mortis.
Gene Hackman
Circa 1940, a little boy aged 10 watched his first movie and dreamed of becoming an actor. Several decades, two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, three Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Silver Berlin Bear after, we have Gene Hackman, the acting genius who redefined the craft with his exceptional talent. Out of all these awards, Hackman won an Oscar, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in the movie Unforgiven at 63 years. He also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for his notable role as a conservative senator in the movie The Birdcage at age 67, reiterating that age is just a number.
In a career spanning six glorious decades, Hackman has created history with his remarkable performances. In 1956, the actor joined the Pasadena Playhouse in California and became friends with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall. While he worked on acting jobs, he had to financially support himself by working at a Howard Johnson’s restaurant. He also started doing Broadway in the years to come, and Any Wednesday, a 1964 stage play, paved the way for his movie debut in Lilith, in which he played a small role of Norman.
After another stint at Broadway and some television work, he starred as a supporting actor in Bonnie and Clyde, which earned him an Academy Award nomination. While he also bagged supporting actor roles in various other movies, including I Never Sang for My Father (1970), the action movie The French Connection (1971) was Hackman’s entry into stardom.
Some of Hackman’s notable works include Mississippi Burning, The Poseidon Adventure, The Conversation, No Way Out, Reds, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Firm, and Absolute Power. In 2004, the nonagenarian announced his retirement from acting.
Robert Duvall
Had you ever imagined that this Academy Award-winner with multiple Oscar nominations and other accolades could barely get through school at one point? Yes, we’re talking about the great Robert Duvall, who has won an Academy Award, four Golden Globes, a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors’ Guild Award, and two Primetime Emmys, one of which was for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for the series Broken Trail, which he won at age 76. The actor splendidly portrays a veteran cowboy in this series.
Not academically inclined as a child, Duvall earned a graduate degree in drama from Principia College and set out to pursue acting. He began his theatrical career with the Gateway Playhouse, performing in some memorable plays, and later in Off-Broadway.
The actor debuted in television with the anthology drama series Armstrong Circle Theatre, in the episode “The Jailbreak.” The 1960s saw him in various such TV series, but his major breakthrough in movies was his critically acclaimed performance as the recluse Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), which marked the beginning of a trail of mid-sized roles Duvall received in movies like The Rain People and Countdown.
In the 70s, Duvall’s role as Major Frank Burns in M*A*S*H and the titular role in THX 1138 won him considerable praise, which only multiplied with his widely appreciated portrayal of Tom Hagen in The Godfather (1972), which earned him an Oscar nomination and an NYFCC Award for Best Supporting Actor. He went on to play significant roles in iconic films like The Godfather Part II, Francis Ford Coppola’s thriller The Conversation, The Eagle Has Landed, and The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, emerging as a leading character actor.
Some of his other memorable works include Network (1976), The Great Santini (1979), True Confessions (1981), The Natural (1984), Colors (1988), Lonesome Dove (1989), The Godfather Part III (1990), Falling Down (1993), and Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993).
Duvall has also been a successful filmmaker over the decades, directing movies like The Apostle (1997) and Assassination Tango (2002).
Today, the 93-year-old personality has received a star in the St. Louis Walk of Fame; well, that’s the story of a self-made star for sure!
Jack Nicholson
In 1950, a teenager landed in California to visit his sister and began working there as an office worker for animation directors Joseph Barbera and William Hanna. Cut to present, he’s regarded as one of the greatest 20th Century actors. Yes, we’re talking about Jack Nicholson!
Source: Shearer/WireImage.com
The actor has had a sprawling career of over five decades and achieved multiple accolades to his credit, including six Golden Globes, three BAFTA Awards, a GRAMMY, and three Academy Awards. Out of these, he received an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for As Good as it Gets at age 61 for his role as a novelist with obsessive-compulsive disorder. And he earned a Golden Globe Award at 66 years for his performance as a retired actuary in the movie About Schmidt.
Nicholson debuted in a low-budget teenage drama The Cry Baby Killer in 1958 as the titular character. He went on to play multiple roles in small movies for some time, until he almost resigned to a career behind the cameras. He also wrote movies like The Trip and Head (co-writer). But he did get his breakthrough as an actor in Easy Rider, which became a blockbuster, and Five Easy Pieces, which redefined his career.
Another Nicholson role that’s absolutely noteworthy is the one where he plays the protagonist Randle McMurphy in the psychological drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The movie and Jack Nicholson’s performance has remained etched in the minds of 20th Century audiences, making it a critics’ favorite and earning Nicholson his first Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Some of his other popular works include Carnal Knowledge (1971), The Last Detail (1973), Chinatown (1974), The Shining (1980), Ironweed (1987), Reds (1981), A Few Good Men (1992), Mars Attacks! (1996), and The Departed (2006).
We last saw this marvelous actor on screen in the rom-com How Do You Know (2010), after which it is believed he has retired from acting, leaving a treasure-trove of films behind.
James Ivory
Merchant Ivory Productions has become synonymous worldwide with several medium-budget movies boasting impeccably written scripts. And one of the film company’s partners that made this possible is James Ivory, the renowned director, producer, and screenwriter. While Ivory had been nominated three times for the Oscars, he managed to earn one at the ripe age of 89 for Best Adapted Screenplay for the movie Call Me by Your Name, making him the oldest person to win an Oscar.
Raised in Klamath Falls, Oregon, Ivory earned a degree in fine arts from the University of Oregon in 1951 and later attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, where he directed a short film, Four in the Morning (1953). He was also the writer, photographer, and director of Venice: Themes and Variations, a short documentary he created for his thesis, which the New York Times regarded among the top ten non-theatrical films of the year in 1957.
Things changed for the good when Ivory met Indian movie producer Ismail Merchant at the screening of the documentary The Sword and the Flute, directed by Ivory, in 1959. The encounter led to the duo forming their production company, Merchant Ivory Productions. With Merchant as the producer, Ivory directed multiple internationally acclaimed movies under their banner, including Shakespeare Wallah (1965), Bombay Talkie (1970), Maurice (1987), Heat and Dust (1983), A Room with a View (1985), The Bostonians (1984), and Mr. & Mrs. Bridge (1990).
Besides their long-term business partnership, James Ivory and Ismail Merchant also harbored a romantic relationship for 44 years, until Merchant’s demise in 2005. Ivory continued to intermittently produce and direct movies, with the acclaimed Call Me By Your Name (2017) and A Cooler Climate (a 2022 documentary) being his most recent works.
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