What 1941 film starring Gary Cooper won him the Academy Award for Best Actor?

The 1941 film starring Gary Cooper that won him the Academy Award for Best Actor is Sergeant York.

Cooper plays Alvin C. York, a Tennessee farmer who became one of the most celebrated American soldiers of World War I. The film follows York's religious objections to violence, his eventual military service, and his actions during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France. York was credited with capturing numerous German soldiers and became a national hero.

Directed by Howard Hawks, the film was based on York's diary and life story. York initially resisted allowing Hollywood to dramatize his experiences, but he eventually agreed in part because the project helped support an interdenominational Bible school. Cooper was older than York and did not resemble him closely, yet his restrained performance won strong approval from audiences and the Academy.

Sergeant York was the highest-grossing American film of 1941. At the 14th Academy Awards, Cooper won Best Actor, while the film also won Best Film Editing and received nominations for Best Picture and Best Director. It is sometimes confused with other 1941 nominees, including Citizen Kane and The Maltese Falcon, neither of which earned Cooper's acting award.