When most people think of back-to-back trophies, they often think of sports dynasties where teams win multiple championships in a row. However, the achievement of winning consecutive Academy Awards deserves immense recognition not just for the talent needed to accomplish such a feat, but for the sheer difficulty of even getting a chance. Most people don’t have films releasing every year, and that’s not even considering the high quality of production needed to even earn an Oscar nomination. But even then, if you get multiple nominations, that’s no guarantee of victory in any category. The Academy can be fickle, so winning two years in a row is an improbable task— but not impossible.

Zooming in on one of the Big 5 Categories, there have been only two individuals have been able to win Best Actor in successive years. To further emphasize just how rare this is, the two accomplished this feat several decades apart from one another. The first was Spencer Tracy, who won consecutive Academy Awards in 1937 and 1938. Near the other end of the century, the incomparable Tom Hanks received Best Actor in both 1993 and 1994. These two actors, though decades apart, gave outstanding and memorable performances that earned them pedestals in cinema history.

RELATED: This Was the Only Time an Actor Was Oscar-Nominated in Two Categories for the Same Film

Which Movies Did Spencer Tracy Win His Consecutive Oscars For?

Spencer Tracy won Best Actor in 1937 for his performance in Captains Courageous. Then the next year, he won it again for his role in Boys Town. He was well-known for his frequent and memorable collaborations with the great Katherine Hepburn, who he appeared alongside in nine movies. Captains Courageous was a coming-of-age story that followed Tracy as a Portugese-American fisherman who rescues a spoiled child from drowning in the ocean, taking him under his wing while they are at sea. Boys Town saw Tracy play the role of Father Flanagan, a priest who worked with a group of underprivileged boys to help make the titular « Boys Town ». Both films saw Tracy serve as a mentor and older role model for younger men, which feels like a parallel to his legacy in Hollywood. Tracy was one of the major stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood and was a defining leading man for a generation.

Unfortunately, early cinema mistakes were made that ultimately need to be recognized as well. While Tracy was of Irish-Catholic descent like his character in Boys Town, he was not of Portuguese descent like his character in Captains Courageous. At the end of the day, Tracy was a pioneering actor in Hollywood and despite the unfortunate casting call for one of his Oscars, he nonetheless has a filmography full of memorable movies.

What Were Tom Hanks’ Oscar-Winning Performances?

Tom Hanks is one of the most iconic and memorable actors of this generation— a reputation well-earned after Hanks’ impressive run in the early ’90s. He stole the critics’ and audience’s hearts when he won Best Actor for Philadelphia in 1994 and again in Forrest Gump the next year. Philadelphia, released in 1993, was a groundbreaking film that followed Attorney Andrew Becket (Hanks), who was fired by his employers after they discovered that he was gay and had AIDS. He worked with another attorney, played by Denzel Washington, to help him sue for wrongful termination. The film was groundbreaking on multiple levels. It was one of the first mainstream Hollywood movies that explicitly addressed HIV/AIDS, tackled the reality of homophobia, and, perhaps most importantly, presented gay people positively on-screen. In addition to Hanks’ Oscar, the movie also won Best Original Song and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Tom Hanks garnered immensely favorable responses for his performance and commitment to the role. He gave a nuanced and realistic performance that was lauded for its depth and intricacy.

In an interview with New York Times, when asked about his two Oscar-winning films, Tom Hanks addressed that a straight man shouldn’t play the role of a gay character, like he did in Philadelphia, today. At the time of the film’s release, the public perception of HIV/AIDS and gay people was far harsher than it is today. According to the American Psychological Association, in the year after the movie’s release, AIDS had become the leading cause of death for all Americans aged 25-44. Hank stated, « The whole point of “Philadelphia” was don’t be afraid. One of the reasons people weren’t afraid of that movie is that I was playing a gay man. We’re beyond that now, and I don’t think people would accept the inauthenticity of a straight guy playing a gay guy. »

In 1994 Hanks played the titular Forrest Gump in what would become one of America’s most beloved films. Forrest was a kindhearted person who, despite his slow wit, found himself in the middle of some of the biggest events in the 20th century. From meeting President JFK, fighting in Vietnam, and investing in Apple, audiences saw snippets of history from the eyes of a gentle, hardworking soul. The movie was a juggernaut, both commercially and critically. It was the second highest-grossing film of 1994, after The Lion King, and won six Oscars, including Best Picture. Forrest was one of Hanks’ most endearing characters who exhibited fierce loyalty and honesty throughout his life.

Who Else Has Won Consecutive Oscars?

While Tom Hanks and Spencer Tracy are the only two people to have won repeat Best Actor awards, they aren’t the only Oscar winners to take home multiple trophies in a row. Two impressive leading ladies have won successive Best Actress awards: Luise Rainer and Katharine Hepburn. Rainer won for The Great Ziegfield in 1936 and The Good Earth in 1937. By winning these awards before even turning 30, Rainer became one of the youngest multiple-time Oscar winners ever. Hepburn won in 1967 and 1968 for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and The Lion in Winter respectively. Jason Robards, for All The President’s Men and Julia, would be the only Best Supporting Actor in repeat years.

On the other side of the screen, there have been three directors who won their category twice in a row. John Ford (1940-41), Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1949-50), and Alejandro G. Iñárritu (2014-15). There is more modern-day familiarity with Iñárritu, whose wins for Birdman and The Revenant were the first time anyone has achieved such recognition in directing in over 70 years! However, all those consecutive wins feel like child’s play when compared to the impossible standard set by the legend himself: Walt Disney. From 1931/32 through 1939, Disney was awarded with 10 Oscars in a row! In this eight-year span, he received eight awards for Short Subject (Cartoon) and two Special Awards. His animated awards included household names like Three Little Pigs, The Tortoise and the Hare, and The Ugly Duckling. Disney’s creation of Mickey Mouse was credited with a Special Award, as was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Needless to say, the man who has the record for most Oscar wins ever continues to affirm his stacked filmography.

Winning an Oscar is one of Hollywood’s highest achievements. Winning multiple Oscars establishes your career’s legacy. Winning back-to-back Oscars, like Tom Hanks and Spencer Tracy, illustrate how a performer can define an era and become a legend in Hollywood.