From Fred Astaire ("Three Little Words") in 1950 to Johnny Depp ("Sweeney Todd") in 2008, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has recognized great performances by leading actors in musical or comedy roles throughout the years.
Multiple winners of Golden Globes for actor in a motion picture musical or comedy have included Robin Williams, Jack Nicholson, Dudley Moore, and Jack Lemmon.
| 2008 Johnny Depp ("Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street") |  
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| Other Nominees: Ryan Gosling (Lars and the Real Girl); Tom Hanks (Charlie Wilson's War); Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Savages); John C Reilly (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) | |
| 2007 Sasha Baron Cohen ("Borat") | 
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| Other Nominees: Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest); Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking); Chiwetel Ejiofor (Kinky Boots); Will Ferrell (Stranger Than Fiction) | |
| 2006 Joaquin Phoenix ("Walk The Line") | 
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| Other Nominees: Pierce Brosnan (The Matador); Jeff Daniels (The Squid and the Whale); Johnny Depp (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory); Nathan Lane (The Producers); Cillian Murphy (Breakfast on Pluto) | |
| 2005 Jamie Foxx ("Ray") | 
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| Other Nominees: Jim Carrey (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind); Paul Giamatti (Sideways); Kevin Kline (De-Lovely); Kevin Spacey (Beyond the Sea) | |
| 2004 Bill Murray ("Lost in Translation") | |
| Other Nominees: Jack Black (School Of Rock); Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean); Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa); Jack Nicholson (Something's Gotta Give) | |
| 2003 Richard Gere ("Chicago") | 
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| Other Nominees: Nicolas Cage (Adaptation); Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down); Hugh Grant (About A Boy); Adam Sandler (Punch-Drunk Love) | |
| 2002 Gene Hackman ("The Royal Tenenbaums") | |
| Other Nominees: Hugh Jackman (Kate and Leopold); Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge); John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry inch); Billy Bob Thornton (Bandits) | |
| 2001 George Clooney ("O Brother Where Art Thou?") | |
| Other Nominees: Jim Carrey (How the Grinch Stole Christmas); John Cusack (High Fidelity); Robert De Niro (Meet the Parent); Mel Gibson (What Women Want) | |
| 2000 Jim Carrey ("Man On the Moon") | |
| Other Nominees: Robert De Niro (Analyze This); Rupert Everett (An Ideal Husband); Hugh Grant (Notting Hill); Sean Penn (Sweet and Lowdown) | |
| 1999 Michael Caine ("Little Voice") | |
| Other Nominees: Antonio Banderas (The Mask of Zorro); Warren Beatty (Bulworth); John Travolta (Primary Colors); Robin Williams (Patch Adams) | |
| 1998 Jack Nicholson ("As Good As It Gets") | |
| Other Nominees: Jim Carrey (Liar Liar); Dustin Hoffman (Wag the Dog); Samuel L Jackson (Jackie Brown); Kevin Kline (In and Out) | |
| 1997 Tom Cruise ("Jerry Maguire") | |
| Other Nominees: Antonio Banderas (Evita); Kevin Costner (Tin Cup); Nathan Lane (The Birdcage); Eddie Murphy (The Nutty Professor) | |
| 1996 John Travolta ("Get Shorty") | |
| Other Nominees: Michael Douglas (The American President); Harrison Ford (Sabrina); Steve Martin (Father of the Bride Part II); Patrick Swayze (To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything Julie Newmar) | |
| 1995 Hugh Grant ("Four Weddings And A Funeral") | |
| Other Nominees: Jim Carrey (The Mask); Johnny Depp (Ed Wood); Arnold Schwarzenegger (Junior); Terence Stamp (The Adventures of Priscilla - Queen of the Desert) | |
| 1994 Robin Williams ("Mrs Doubtfire") | |
| Other Nominees: Johnny Depp (Benny and Joon); Tom Hanks (Sleepless In Seattle); Kevin Kline (Dave); Colm Meaney (The Snapper) | |
| 1993 Tim Robbins ("The Player") | |
| Other Nominees: Nicolas Cage (Honeymoon In Vegas); Billy Crystal (Mr Saturday Night); Marcello Mastroianni (Used People); Tim Robbins (Bob Roberts) | |
| 1992 Robin Williams ("The Fisher King") | |
| Other Nominees: Jeff Bridges (The Fisher King); Billy Crystal (City Slickers); Dustin Hoffman (Hook); Kevin Kline (Soapdish) | |
| 1991 Gerard Depardieu ("Green Card") | |
| Other Nominees: Macaulay Culkin (Home Alone); Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands); Richard Gere (Pretty Woman); Patrick Swayze (Ghost) | |
| 1990 Morgan Freeman ("Driving Miss Daisy") | |
| Other Nominees: Billy Crystal (When Harry Met Sally); Michael Douglas (War of the Roses); Parenthood (Steve Martin); Jack Nicholson (Batman) | |
| 1989 Tom Hanks ("Big") | |
| Other Nominees: Michael Caine (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels); John Cleese (A Fish Called Wanda); Robert De Niro (Midnight Run); Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) | |
| 1988 Robin Williams ("Good Morning Vietnam") | |
| Other Nominees: Nicolas Cage (Moonstruck); Danny DeVito (Throw Momma From the Train); William Hurt (Broadcast News); Steve Martin (Roxanne); Patrick Swayze (Dirty Dancing) | |
| 1987 Paul Hogan ("Crocodile Dundee") | |
| Other Nominees: Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller's Day Off); Jeff Daniels (Something Wild); Danny DeVito (Ruthless People); Jack Lemmon (That's Life!) | |
| 1986 Jack Nicholson ("Prizzi's Honor") | 
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| Other Nominees: Jeff Daniels (The Purple Rose of Cairo); Griffin Dunne (After Hours); Michael J Fox (Back To the Future); James Garner (Murphy's Romance) | |
| 1985 Dudley Moore ("Micki and Maude") | |
| Other Nominees: Steve Martin (All Of Me); Eddie Murphy (Beverly Hills Cop); Bill Murray (Ghostbusters); Robin Williams (Moscow On the Hudson) | |
| 1984 Michael Caine ("Educating Rita") | |
| Other Nominees: Woody Allen (Zelig); Tom Cruise (Risky Business); Eddie Murphy (Trading Places); Mandy Patinkin (Yentl) | |
| 1983 Dustin Hoffman ("Tootsie") | |
| Other Nominees: Peter O'Toole (My Favorite Year); Al Pacino (Author! Author!); Robert Preston (Victor/Victoria); Henry Winkler (Night Shift) | |
| 1982 Dudley Moore ("Arthur") | |
| Other Nominees: Alan Alda (The Four Seasons); George Hamilton (Zorro The Gay Blade); Steve Martin (Pennies From Heaven); Walter Matthau (First Monday In October) | |
| 1981 Ray Sharkey ("The Idolmaker") | |
| Other Nominees: Neil Diamond (The Jazz Singer); Tommy Lee Jones (Coal Miner's Daughter); Paul Le Mat (Melvin and Howard); Walter Matthau (Hopscotch) | |
| 1980 Peter Sellers ("Being There") | |
| Other Nominees: George Hamilton (Love At First Bite); Dudley Moore (10); Burt Reynolds (Starting Over); Roy Scheider (All That Jazz) | |
| 1979 Warren Beatty ("Heaven Can Wait") | |
| Other Nominees: Alan Alda (Same Time Next Year); Gary Busey (The Buddy Holly Story); Chevy Chase (Foul Play); George C Scott (Movie Movie); John Travolta (Grease) | |
| 1978 Richard Dreyfuss ("The Goodbye Girl") | |
| Other Nominees: Woody Allen (Annie Hall); Mel Brooks (High Anxiety); Robert De Niro (New York New York); John Travolta (Saturday Night Fever) | |
| 1977 Kris Kristofferson ("A Star Is Born") | 
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| Other Nominees: Mel Brooks (Silent Movie); Peter Sellers (The Pink Panther Strikes Again); Jack Weston (The Ritz); Gene Wilder (Silver Streak) | |
| 1976 Walter Matthau ("The Sunshine Boys") | |
| Other Nominees: Warren Beatty (Shampoo); George Burns (The Sunshine Boys); James Caan (Funny Lady); Peter Sellers (The Return of the Pink Panther) | |
| 1975 Art Carney ("Harry and Tonto") | |
| Other Nominees: James Earl Jones (Claudine); Jack Lemmon (The Front Page); Walter Matthau (The Front Page); Burt Reynolds (The Longest Yard) | |
| 1974 George Segal ("A Touch Of Class") | 
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| Other Nominees: Carl Anderson (Jesus Christ Superstar); Richard Dreyfuss (American Graffiti); Ted Neely (Jesus Christ Superstar); Ryan O'Neal (Paper Moon) | |
| 1973 Jack Lemmon ("Avanti!") | |
| Other Nominees: Edward Albert (Butterflies Are Free); Charles Grodin (The Heartbreak Kid); Walter Matthau (Pete n Tillie); Peter O'Toole (Man of La Mancha) | |
| 1972 Topol ("Fiddler On the Roof") | |
| Other Nominees: Bud Cort (Harold and Maude); Dean Jones (The Million Dollar Duck); Walter Matthau (Kotch); Gene Wilder (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) | |
| 1971 Albert Finney ("Scrooge") | |
| Other Nominees: Richard Benjamin (Diary of a Mad Housewife); Elliott Gould (M*A*S*H); Jack Lemmon (The Out-of-Towners); Donald Sutherland (M*A*S*H) | |
| 1970 Peter O'Toole ("Goodbye Mr Chips") | |
| Other Nominees: Dustin Hoffman (John and Mary); Lee Marvin (Paint Your Wagon); Steve McQueen (The Reivers); Anthony Quinn (The Secret of Santa Vittoria) | |
| 1969 Ron Moody ("Oliver!") | |
| Other Nominees: Fred Astaire (Finian's Rainbow); Jack Lemmon (The Odd Couple); Walter Matthau (The Odd Couple); Zero Mostel (The Producers) | |
| 1968 Richard Harris ("Camelot") | |
| Other Nominees: Richard Burton (The Taming of the Shrew); Rex Harrison (Doctor Dolittle); Dustin Hoffman (The Graduate); Ugo Tognazzi (The Climax) | |
| 1967 Alan Arkin ("The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming") | |
| Other Nominees: Alan Bates (Georgy Girl); Michael Caine (Gambit); Lionel Jeffries (The Spy With A Cold Nose); Walter Matthau (The Fortune Cookie) | |
| 1966 Lee Marvin ("Cat Ballou") | |
| Other Nominees: Jack Lemmon (The Great Race); Jerry Lewis (Boeing Boeing); Jason Robards Jr (A Thousand Clowns); Alberto Sordi (Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines) | |
| 1965 Rex Harrison ("My Fair Lady") | |
| Other Nominees: Marcello Mastroianni (Marriage Italian Style); Peter Sellers (The Pink Panther); Peter Ustinov (Topkapi); Dick Van Dyke (Mary Poppins) | |
| 1964 Alberto Sordi ("To Bed…Or Not To Bed") | |
| Other Nominees: Albert Finney (Tom Jones); James Garner (The Wheeler Dealers); Cary Grant (Charade); Jack Lemmon (Irma La Douce and Under the Yum Yum Tree); Frank Sinatra (Come Blow Your Horn); Terry Thomas (The Mouse on the Moon); Jonathan Winters (It’s a Mad Mad Mad Ma | |
| 1963 Marcello Mastroianni ("Divorce - Italian Style") | |
| Other Nominees: Stephen Boyd (Billy Rose's Jumbo); Jimmy Durante (Billy Rose's Jumbo); Cary Grant (That Touch of Mink); Charlton Heston (The Pigeon That Took Rome); Karl Malden (Gypsy); Robert Preston (The Music Man); Alberto Sordi (The Best of Enemies); James Stewart (M | |
| 1962 Glenn Ford ("Pocketful of Miracles") | |
| Other Nominees: Fred Astaire (The Pleasure of His Company); Richard Beymer (West Side Story); Bob Hope (Bachelor In Paradise); Fred MacMurray (The Absent-Minded Professor) | |
| 1961 Jack Lemmon ("The Apartment") | 
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| Other Nominees: Dirk Bogarde (Song Without End); Cantinflas (Pepe); Cary Grant (The Grass Is Greener); Bob Hope (The Facts of Life) | |
| 1960 Jack Lemmon ("Some Like It Hot") | |
| Other Nominees: Clark Gable (But Not For Me); Cary Grant (Operation Petticoat); Dean Martin (Who Was That Lady?); Sidney Poitier (Porgy and Bess) | |
| 1959 Danny Kaye ("Me and the Colonel") | |
| Other Nominees: Maurice Chevalier (Gigi); Clark Gable (Teacher's Pet); Cary Grant (Indiscreet); Louis Jordan (Gigi) | |
| 1958 Frank Sinatra ("Pal Joey") | |
| Other Nominees: Maurice Chevalier (Love In the Afternoon); Glenn Ford (Don't Go Near the Water); David Niven (My Man Godfrey); Tony Randall (Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?) | |
| 1957 Cantinflas ("Around the World In 80 Days") | |
| Other Nominees: Marlon Brando (The Teahouse of the August Moon); Yul Brynner (The King and I); Glenn Ford (The Teahouse of the August Moon); Danny Kaye (The Court Jester) | |
| 1956 Tom Ewell ("The Seven Year Itch") | |
| Other Nominees: | |
| 1955 James Mason ("A Star Is Born") | 
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| Other Nominees: | |
| 1954 David Niven ("The Moon is Blue") | |
| Other Nominees: | |
| 1953 Donald O'Connor ("Singin' In the Rain") | |
| Other Nominees: Danny Kaye (Hans Christian Anderson); Clifton Webb (Stars and Stripes Forever) | |
| 1952 Danny Kaye ("On the Riviera") | |
| Other Nominees: Bing Crosby (Here Comes the Groom); Gene Kelly (An American In Paris) | |
| 1951 Fred Astaire ("Three Little Words") | |
| Other Nominees: Dan Dailey (When Willie Comes Marching Home); Harold Lloyd (Mad Wednesday) | |
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