Multiple Oscar Winning Actors Trivia Quiz

Answer: Melvyn Douglas

A matinee idol in the 1930s and 40s, then a pioneer on television in the 1950s Melvyn Douglas was all that and more. He won his first Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category for playing the father of Paul Newman and Brandon De Wilde in "Hud". He then won in 1980 for the marvellous Peter Sellers film "Being There", playing the tycoon Benjamin Rand. Other notable appearances for Douglas were with Greta Garbo in "Ninotchka", which showed his genius for comedy, and with Robert Redford in "The Candidate". He is a member of the select group of actors who have won an Oscar, Tony and an Emmy.

He won the Tony award for his lead role in the political thriller "The Best Man", written by Gore Vidal. His Emmy came in 1967 for his leading role in "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night", an episode of the CBS Playhouse. The story is adapted from a poem by Dylan Thomas.

Answer: Hilary Swank

Hilary Swank is a superb actress, winning for her role in, "Girls Don't Cry" in 2000, where her character is a young man named "Brandon Teena" living in rural Nebraska. Then in 2005 she again won the prize for her fighter in "Million Dollar Baby". Both of her wins have been in the Best Actress category. Hilary has shone in many other movies, notably, "Conviction" in 2010 and "The Homesman" in 2014 with Tommy Lee Jones.

Answer: Peter Ustinov

Peter Ustinov won his second Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role in "Topkapi" in 1964, where he played Arthur Simpson, a small-time, inept conman.
Peter had previously won for his role as Batiatus the slave dealer in Kirk Douglas and Stanley Kubrick's "Spartacus" in 1960. Peter also earned a nomination as Nero in the 1951 extravaganza "Quo Vadis". His acting wins and nominations were all in the Best Supporting category.
In 1968 Peter co-wrote and starred in "Hot Millions" for which he and Ira Wallach were nominated in the Writing category.

Answer: Anthony Quinn

"Lust for Life" saw Kirk Douglas play the troubled Vincent Van Gogh and Anthony Quinn play Paul Gaugin. Quinn captured his second Oscar for this performance. He had won four years earlier for playing Eufemio Zapata in "Viva Zapata!" Both of Anthony Quinn's wins were in the Best Supporting category.

He garnered two more nominations, both in the Best Actor category. In 1957 for playing Gino in "Wild is the Wind" and his most remembered role in 1964, for playing Alexis Zorba in "Zorba the Greek". Many pundits believed he should have won but Rex Harrison got prize for his Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady". As foreign films in the 1950s and '60s rarely received nominations outside of their category.

A nomination for his role as Zampano in Fellini's "La strada" in 1954 would not have been amiss.

Answer: Luise Rainer

The first person to win two consecutive performance Oscars, Luise Rainer won for her role as Anna Held in "The Great Ziegfeld" in 1936, and again the following year for playing O-Lan in "The Good Earth". Luise made eight films in four years, then faded from the limelight. Both of Luise's wins were in the Best Actress category.

Answer: Meryl Streep

What can be said about Meryl Streep? She was an Oscar winner in 1980 as Best Supporting Actress in "Kramer v Kramer" and then again in 1983, as Best Actress in "Sophie's Choice". In 2012, where she again triumphed as Best Actress for portraying the late British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady". These three wins are joined with eighteen nominations as of 2024.

Answer: Gary Cooper

"Sergeant York" enabled Gary Cooper to capture his first Academy Award. He added a second statue in 1953 for his performance as Will Kane in "High Noon". Gary was nominated a further three times and should have been more. He was overlooked for his outstanding performances in "The Westerner" and "North West Mounted Police", both in 1940. Also for "Along Came Jones" 1945, "The Fountainhead" 1949 and "Friendly Persuasion" 1956. All of Gary Cooper's nominations and wins have been as Best Actor.

Answer: Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks stars as the AIDS sufferer, Andrew Beckett who sues his employer for wrongful dismissal in "Philadelphia". This award in 1994 was Tom's first Best Actor Oscar win and his second nomination. Tom won Best Actor again in 1995 for his performance as "Forest Gump". The win in 1995 marked the fifth time an actor or actress had won back to back Oscars. The previous actors to do so were, Luise Rainer, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn and Jason Robards.

Answer: Daniel Day Lewis

Daniel Day Lewis was nominated and duly won Best Actor for his portrayal of man with cerebral palsy, Christy Brown, in "My Left Foot". This was the first of six nominations for this fine actor. Daniel went on to win two more Oscars in the Best Actor category for, "There Will Be Blood" in 2008 and as Abraham Lincoln in "Lincoln" in 2013.

Answer: Helen Hayes

Helen Hayes won Best Supporting Actress in 1971 for her role in "Airport". In doing so she became the first actor to win in both acting categories. She had previously won Best Actress in 1932 for her role in "The Sin of Madelon Claudet". In 1953 she became the first person to have won an Oscar, Emmy and a Tony award. She added a Grammy to this collection 1977.