Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance
| Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance | |
|---|---|
| Silberner Bär/Bester Schauspielerische Leistung in einer Hauptrolle (German) | |
2026 recipient: Sandra Hüller | |
| Awarded for | Best Leading Performance |
| Country | Germany |
| Presented by | Berlin International Film Festival |
| First award | 2021 |
| Currently held by | Sandra Hüller Rose (2026) |
| Website | www |
The Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance (German: Silberner Bär/Beste Schauspielerische Leistung in einer Hauptrolle) is an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival for an outstanding performance in a leading role and chosen by the jury from the films in main competition at the festival.
History
At the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival, the Festival organization announced it would retire the Best Actor and Best Actress categories, adopting gender neutral categories alongside a Best Supporting Performance category.[1] The move was met with controversy, but intensified the gender neutral categories debate in other awards shows and festivals.[2]
Maren Eggert was the first recipient of this award for her role as Alma Felser in I'm Your Man (2021). Sandra Hüller is the most recent winner of this award for her performance in Rose (2026).
In 2023, Sofía Otero became the prize's youngest winner for 20,000 Species of Bees, at nine-year-old.
Winners
2020s
| Year | Actor | Role | English Title | Original Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Maren Eggert | Alma Felser | I'm Your Man | Ich bin dein Mensch | [3] |
| 2022 | Meltem Kaptan | Rabiye Kurnaz | Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush | Rabiye Kurnaz gegen George W. Bush | [4] |
| 2023 | Sofía Otero | Lucía | 20,000 Species of Bees | 20.000 especies de abejas | [5] |
| 2024 | Sebastian Stan | Edward | A Different Man | [6] | |
| 2025 | Rose Byrne | Linda | If I Had Legs I'd Kick You | [7] | |
| 2026 | Sandra Hüller | Rose | Rose | [8] | |
See also
- Silver Bear for Best Actor (1956-2020)
- Silver Bear for Best Actress (1956-2020)
- Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance (2020-present)
References
- ^ "Berlinale 2021: Performance Awards Gender-Neutral". Berlinale. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Berlin Film Festival awards gender-neutral acting prize to Maren Eggert". www.bbc.com. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
- ^ "Awards & Juries 2021". Berlinale. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Awards & Juries 2022". Berlinale. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Awards & Juries 2023". Berlinale. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "The Prizes of the International Jury". Berlinale. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "The Prizes of the International Jury". Berlinale. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
- ^ Lodge, Guy (21 February 2026). "Berlin Film Festival: İlker Çatak's 'Yellow Letters' Wins Golden Bear for Best Film (Full List of Winners)". Variety. Retrieved 21 February 2026.