Which actor has won three Oscars for Best Supporting Actor?

Walter Brennan is the actor who has won three Oscars for Best Supporting Actor. He earned all three victories for Come and Get It, Kentucky, and The Westerner, making him the category’s record holder for wins.

Brennan’s first victory came at the 9th Academy Awards for Come and Get It, when the supporting acting categories were introduced. He won again at the 11th Academy Awards for Kentucky in 1939 and at the 13th Academy Awards for The Westerner in 1941. His third win remains especially notable because it came during the classic Hollywood era, when the category was still relatively new.

The wording can cause confusion because Brennan also received a nomination for Sergeant York in 1941, but that performance did not produce a fourth win. His three victories are wins specifically in the supporting-actor category, not three Oscars in unrelated acting categories.

Brennan was celebrated for playing memorable older, comic, or rough-edged characters, and his distinctive voice and weathered appearance became major parts of his screen persona. He remains the only actor with three wins in this Oscar category.