Can You Score 20/20? Drama Actors Quiz: Name Them All!

Answers Below – No Peeking!

Are you a drama aficionado who knows every iconic performance? Test your knowledge of legendary actors from cinematic masterpieces with this challenging quiz. Questions span easy classics to fiendish facts – how many can you name?

20 Trivia Questions on Iconic Drama Actors

Question 1: Which actor won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007)?

A. Paul Dano
B. Ciarán Hinds
C. Kevin J. O’Connor
D. Daniel Day-Lewis

Question 2: Who portrayed Sophie Zawistowski in Sophie’s Choice (1982), earning a Best Actress Oscar?

A. Meryl Streep
B. Glenn Close
C. Jessica Lange
D. Sigourney Weaver

Question 3: Which actor played Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption (1994)?

A. Tim Robbins
B. Morgan Freeman
C. James Whitmore
D. Bob Gunton

Question 4: Who won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Alonzo Harris in Training Day (2001)?

A. Denzel Washington
B. Tom Berenger
C. Ethan Hawke
D. Scott Glenn

Question 5: Which actress won Best Actress for her title role in Erin Brockovich (2000)?

A. Conchata Ferrell
B. Marg Helgenberger
C. Laura Linney
D. Julia Roberts

Question 6: Who portrayed Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), winning Best Actor?

A. Paul Newman
B. Henry Fonda
C. Spencer Tracy
D. Gregory Peck

Question 7: Which actor won Best Actor for playing King George VI in The King’s Speech (2010)?

A. Colin Firth
B. Geoffrey Rush
C. Michael Gambon
D. Guy Pearce

Question 8: Who played Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)?

A. Gene Hackman
B. Anthony Hopkins
C. Al Pacino
D. Robert De Niro

Question 9: Which actress portrayed Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (2011), winning Best Actress?

A. Judi Dench
B. Helen Mirren
C. Kate Blanchett
D. Meryl Streep

Question 10: Who starred as Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump (1994)?

A. Gary Sinise
B. Sally Field
C. Robin Wright
D. Tom Hanks

Question 11: Which actor won Best Actor for Philadelphia (1993)?

A. Antonio Banderas
B. Jason Robards
C. Denzel Washington
D. Tom Hanks

Question 12: Who played Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator (2000)?

A. Oliver Reed
B. Russell Crowe
C. Richard Harris
D. Joaquin Phoenix

Question 13: Which actress won Best Actress for Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby (2004)?

A. Hilary Swank
B. Marcia Gay Harden
C. Morgan Freeman
D. Clint Eastwood

Question 14: Who portrayed Lester Burnham in American Beauty (1999)?

A. Wes Bentley
B. Thora Birch
C. Annette Bening
D. Kevin Spacey

Question 15: Which actor won Best Actor for Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980)?

A. Robert De Niro
B. Joe Pesci
C. Frank Vincent
D. Cathy Moriarty

Question 16: Who played Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List (1993)?

A. Ben Kingsley
B. Ralph Fiennes
C. Embeth Davidtz
D. Liam Neeson

Question 17: Which actor is the only one to win three Best Actor Oscars (My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood, Lincoln)?

A. Dustin Hoffman
B. Jack Nicholson
C. Tom Hanks
D. Daniel Day-Lewis

Question 18: Who portrayed Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)?

A. Jodie Foster
B. Michelle Pfeiffer
C. Julianne Moore
D. Meg Ryan

Question 19: Which actress won Best Actress for Ada McGrath in The Piano (1993)?

A. Susan Sarandon
B. Winona Ryder
C. Emma Thompson
D. Holly Hunter

Question 20: Who won Best Actor for portraying Truman Capote in Capote (2005)?

A. Philip Seymour Hoffman
B. Catherine Keener
C. Clifton Collins Jr.
D. Bruce Greenwood

Answers

  1. D. Daniel Day-Lewis – He won the 2009 Best Actor Oscar for his chilling performance as the oil tycoon. Paul Dano played his rival son, while the others had minor roles.
  2. A. Meryl Streep – Streep won the 1983 Best Actress Oscar for her heart-wrenching role. The others were contemporaries but not in the film.
  3. A. Tim Robbins – Robbins starred as the wrongfully imprisoned banker opposite Morgan Freeman’s Red. The others played supporting prison characters.
  4. A. Denzel Washington – Washington claimed his first Oscar for the corrupt cop; Hawke played his partner.
  5. D. Julia Roberts – Roberts won her sole Best Actress Oscar for the real-life activist. The others were supporting cast.
  6. D. Gregory Peck – Peck won the 1963 Best Actor Oscar for the principled lawyer. The others were dramatic peers of the era.
  7. A. Colin Firth – Firth won for his stammering monarch; Rush played his therapist.
  8. B. Anthony Hopkins – Hopkins won Best Actor for the iconic cannibal; others were nominees that year but not in the role.
  9. D. Meryl Streep – Streep won her third Best Actress Oscar for Thatcher. The others played queens or leaders elsewhere.
  10. D. Tom Hanks – Hanks earned his second Oscar nomination for the beloved everyman.
  11. D. Tom Hanks – Hanks won Best Actor for the AIDS-afflicted lawyer; Washington was nominated.
  12. B. Russell Crowe – Crowe received a Best Actor nomination for the vengeful general.
  13. A. Hilary Swank – Swank won her second Best Actress Oscar for the aspiring boxer.
  14. D. Kevin Spacey – Spacey won Best Actor for the midlife crisis suburbanite.
  15. A. Robert De Niro – De Niro won Best Actor for his transformative boxer role, gaining 60 pounds.
  16. D. Liam Neeson – Neeson led Spielberg’s Holocaust drama; Fiennes played the villain.
  17. D. Daniel Day-Lewis – DDL is unique with three wins; others have two each.
  18. A. Jodie Foster – Foster won Best Actress for the FBI trainee; Moore played her in the sequel.
  19. D. Holly Hunter – Hunter won for the mute pianist; others were nominated that year.
  20. A. Philip Seymour Hoffman – Hoffman won Best Actor for the biopic; it was his sole Oscar.

How many did you get right? Drop your score in the comments and challenge friends to name these drama legends!