This is a following list of the MTV Movie Award Winners and Nominees for Best Performance from 1992 on Awards. In all but five years, the awards are separated into male and female categories.
| Year | Category | Actor | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 1st | Male Performance | Arnold Schwarzenegger | The Terminator | |
| Kevin Costner | Robin Hood | |||
| Cape Fear | Max Cady | |||
| Val Kilmer | The Doors | Jim Morrison | ||
| The Fisher King | Henry Sagan / Parry | |||
| Female Performance | Linda Hamilton | Sarah Connor | ||
| Thelma and Louise | Thelma Dickinson | |||
| Rebecca De Mornay | The Hand That Rocks the Cradle | Peyton Flanders | ||
| Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio | Maid Marian | |||
| Julia Roberts | Dying Young | Hilary O'Neil | ||
| 1993 2nd | Male Performance | Denzel Washington | Malcolm X | Malcolm X |
| Kevin Costner | The Bodyguard | Frank Farmer | ||
| Tom Cruise | A Few Good Men | Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee | ||
| Michael Douglas | Basic Instinct | Nick Curran | ||
| A Few Good Men | Col. Nathan Jessep | |||
| Female Performance | Sharon Stone | Basic Instinct | Catherine Tramell | |
| Geena Davis | A League of Their Own | Dottie Hinson | ||
| Whoopi Goldberg | Sister Act | Deloris Van Cartier | ||
| Whitney Houston | The Bodyguard | Rachel Marron | ||
| Demi Moore | A Few Good Men | Lt. Commander Joanne Galloway | ||
| 1994 3rd | Male Performance | Tom Hanks | Philadelphia | Andrew Beckett |
| Tom Cruise | The Firm | Mitch McDeere | ||
| Harrison Ford | The Fugitive | Dr. Richard Kimble | ||
| Val Kilmer | Tombstone | Doc Holliday | ||
| Robin Williams | Mrs. Doubtfire | Daniel Hillard / Mrs. Doubtfire | ||
| Female Performance | Janet Jackson | Poetic Justice | Justice | |
| What's Love Got to Do with It | Tina Turner | |||
| Demi Moore | Indecent Proposal | Diana Murphy | ||
| Julia Roberts | The Pelican Brief | Darby Shaw | ||
| Meg Ryan | Sleepless in Seattle | Annie Reed | ||
| 1995 4th | Male Performance | Brad Pitt | Interview with the Vampire | Louis |
| Forrest Gump | Forrest Gump | |||
| Brandon Lee | The Crow | Eric Draven / The Crow | ||
| Keanu Reeves | Speed | Jack Traven | ||
| Pulp Fiction | Vincent Vega | |||
| Female Performance | Sandra Bullock | Speed | Annie Porter | |
| Jamie Lee Curtis | True Lies | Helen Tasker | ||
| Nell | Nell Kellty | |||
| Meg Ryan | When a Man Loves a Woman | Alice Green | ||
| Pulp Fiction | Mia Wallace | |||
| 1996 5th | Male Performance | Jim Carrey | Ace Ventura | |
| Mel Gibson | Braveheart | William Wallace | ||
| Tom Hanks | Apollo 13 | Jim Lovell | ||
| 12 Monkeys | Jeffrey Goines | |||
| Denzel Washington | Crimson Tide | Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter | ||
| Female Performance | Alicia Silverstone | Clueless | Cher Horowitz | |
| Sandra Bullock | While You Were Sleeping | Lucy Eleanor Moderatz | ||
| Michelle Pfeiffer | Dangerous Minds | LouAnne Johnson | ||
| Dead Man Walking | Sister Helen Prejean | |||
| Casino | Ginger McKenna | |||
| 1997 6th | Male Performance | Tom Cruise | Jerry Maguire | Jerry Maguire |
| Leonardo DiCaprio | Romeo + Juliet | Romeo | ||
| Eddie Murphy | The Nutty Professor | Sherman Klump | ||
| Will Smith | Independence Day | Steven Hiller | ||
| John Travolta | Phenomenon | George Malley | ||
| Female Performance | Claire Danes | Romeo + Juliet | Juliet | |
| Sandra Bullock | A Time to Kill | Ellen Roark | ||
| Neve Campbell | Scream | Sidney Prescott | ||
| Helen Hunt | Twister | Jo Harding | ||
| Madonna | Evita | Eva Peron | ||
| 1998 7th | Male Performance | Leonardo DiCaprio | Titanic | Jack Dawson |
| Nicolas Cage | Face/Off | Castor Troy | ||
| Good Will Hunting | Will Hunting | |||
| Samuel L. Jackson | Jackie Brown | Ordell Robbie | ||
| John Travolta | Face/Off | Sean Archer | ||
| Female Performance | Neve Campbell | Scream 2 | Sidney Prescott | |
| Vivica A. Fox | Soul Food | Maxine Chadway | ||
| As Good as It Gets | Carol Connelly | |||
| Julia Roberts | My Best Friend's Wedding | Julianne Potters | ||
| Titanic | Rose DeWitt Bukater | |||
| 1999 8th | Male Performance | Jim Carrey | The Truman Show | Truman Burbank |
| Ben Affleck | Armageddon | A.J. Frost | ||
| Saving Private Ryan | John Miller | |||
| Adam Sandler | The Waterboy | Bobby Boucher | ||
| Will Smith | Enemy of the State | Robert Dean | ||
| Female Performance | Cameron Diaz | There's Something About Mary | Mary Jensen | |
| Jennifer Love Hewitt | Can't Hardly Wait | Amanda Beckett | ||
| Jennifer Lopez | Out of Sight | Karen Sisco | ||
| Shakespeare in Love | Viola de Lesseps | |||
| Liv Tyler | Armageddon | Grace Stamper |
| Year | Category | Actor | Film | Character |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 9th | Male Performance | Keanu Reeves | The Matrix | Neo |
| Jim Carrey | Man on the Moon | Andy Kaufman | ||
| Ryan Phillippe | Cruel Intentions | Sebastian Valmont | ||
| Adam Sandler | Big Daddy | Sonny Koufax | ||
| Bruce Willis | The Sixth Sense | Dr. Malcolm Crowe | ||
| Female Performance | Sarah Michelle Gellar | Cruel Intentions | Kathryn Merteuil | |
| Drew Barrymore | Never Been Kissed | Josie Geller | ||
| Neve Campbell | Scream 3 | Sidney Prescott | ||
| Ashley Judd | Double Jeopardy | Libby Parsons | ||
| Julia Roberts | Runaway Bride | Maggie Carpenter | ||
| 2001 10th | Male Performance | Tom Cruise | Ethan Hunt | |
| Gladiator | Maximus | |||
| Omar Epps | Love & Basketball | Quincy McCall | ||
| Mel Gibson | The Patriot | Benjamin Martin | ||
| Cast Away | Chuck Noland | |||
| Female Performance | Julia Roberts | Erin Brockovich | Erin Brockovich | |
| Aaliyah | Romeo Must Die | Trish O'Day | ||
| Almost Famous | Penny Lane | |||
| Jennifer Lopez | The Cell | Dr. Catherine Deane | ||
| Julia Stiles | Save the Last Dance | Sara Johnson | ||
| 2002 11th | Male Performance | Will Smith | Ali | Muhammad Ali |
| A Beautiful Mind | John Nash | |||
| Josh Hartnett | Pearl Harbor | Lieutenant Danny Walker | ||
| Vin Diesel | The Fast and the Furious | Dominic Toretto | ||
| Elijah Wood | Frodo Baggins | |||
| Female Performance | Nicole Kidman | Moulin Rouge! | Satine | |
| Kate Beckinsale | Pearl Harbor | Nurse Evelyn Johnson | ||
| Monster's Ball | Leticia Musgrove | |||
| Angelina Jolie | Lara Croft | |||
| Reese Witherspoon | Legally Blonde | Elle Woods | ||
| 2003 12th | Male Performance | Eminem | 8 Mile | Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith |
| Vin Diesel | xXx | Xander Cage | ||
| Leonardo DiCaprio | Catch Me If You Can | Frank Abagnale | ||
| Tobey Maguire | Spider-Man | Peter Parker / Spider-Man | ||
| Viggo Mortensen | Aragorn | |||
| Female Performance | Kirsten Dunst | Spider-Man | Mary Jane Watson | |
| Halle Berry | Die Another Day | Jinx | ||
| Kate Hudson | How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days | Andie Anderson | ||
| Chicago | Matron Morton | |||
| Reese Witherspoon | Sweet Home Alabama | Melanie Carmichael | ||
| 2004 13th | Male Performance | Johnny Depp | Jack Sparrow | |
| Jim Caviezel | The Passion of the Christ | Jesus Christ | ||
| Tom Cruise | The Last Samurai | Cpt. Nathan Algren | ||
| Lost in Translation | Bob Harris | |||
| Adam Sandler | 50 First Dates | Henry Roth | ||
| Female Performance | Uma Thurman | The Bride | ||
| Drew Barrymore | 50 First Dates | Lucy Whitmore | ||
| Halle Berry | Gothika | Miranda Grey | ||
| Queen Latifah | Bringing Down the House | Charlene Morton | ||
| Monster | Aileen Wuornos | |||
| 2005 14th | Male Performance | Leonardo DiCaprio | The Aviator | Howard Hughes |
| Matt Damon | The Bourne Supremacy | Jason Bourne | ||
| Ray | Ray Charles | |||
| Brad Pitt | Troy | Achilles | ||
| Will Smith | Hitch | Hitch | ||
| Female Performance | Lindsay Lohan | Mean Girls | Cady Heron | |
| Rachel McAdams | The Notebook | Allie Hamilton | ||
| Natalie Portman | Garden State | Sam | ||
| Million Dollar Baby | Maggie Fitzgerald | |||
| Uma Thurman | The Bride | |||
| 2006 15th | Best Performance (Combined) | Jake Gyllenhaal | Brokeback Mountain | Jack Twist |
| Steve Carell | The 40-Year-Old Virgin | Andy Stitzer | ||
| Hustle & Flow | DJay | |||
| Rachel McAdams | Red Eye | Lisa Reisert | ||
| Walk the Line | Johnny Cash | |||
| Walk the Line | June Carter Cash | |||
| 2007 16th | Best Performance (Combined) | Johnny Depp | Jack Sparrow | |
| Gerard Butler | 300 | Leonidas | ||
| Dreamgirls | Effie White | |||
| Keira Knightley | Elizabeth Swann | |||
| Beyoncé | Dreamgirls | Deena Jones | ||
| The Pursuit of Happyness | Chris Gardner | |||
| 2008 17th | Male Performance | Will Smith | I Am Legend | Robert Neville |
| Michael Cera | Juno | Paulie Bleeker | ||
| Matt Damon | The Bourne Ultimatum | Jason Bourne | ||
| Shia LaBeouf | Transformers | Sam Witwicky | ||
| Denzel Washington | American Gangster | Frank Lucas | ||
| Female Performance | Elliot Page | Juno | Juno MacGuff | |
| Amy Adams | Enchanted | Giselle | ||
| Jessica Biel | I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry | Alex McDonough | ||
| Katherine Heigl | Knocked Up | Alison Scott | ||
| Keira Knightley | Elizabeth | |||
| 2009 18th | Male Performance | Zac Efron | Troy Bolton | |
| Christian Bale | The Dark Knight | Bruce Wayne / Batman | ||
| Vin Diesel | Fast & Furious | Dominic Toretto | ||
| Robert Downey Jr. | Iron Man | Tony Stark / Iron Man | ||
| Shia LaBeouf | Eagle Eye | Jerry & Ethan Shaw | ||
| Female Performance | Kristen Stewart | Twilight | Bella Swan | |
| Anne Hathaway | Bride Wars | Emma Allen | ||
| The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Queenie | |||
| Angelina Jolie | Wanted | Fox | ||
| The Reader | Hanna Schmitz |
| Year | Category | Actor | Film | Character | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 29th | Best Performance (Combined) | Chadwick Boseman | Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | Levee Green | |
| Sacha Baron Cohen | The Trial of the Chicago 7 | Abbie Hoffman | |||
| Daniel Kaluuya | Judas and the Black Messiah | Fred Hampton | |||
| Carey Mulligan | Promising Young Woman | Cassandra "Cassie" Thomas | |||
| Zendaya | Malcolm & Marie | Marie | |||
| 2022 30th | Best Performance (Combined) | Tom Holland | Peter Parker / Spider-Man | [1] | |
| Lady Gaga | House of Gucci | Patrizia Reggiani | |||
| Robert Pattinson | The Batman | Bruce Wayne / Batman | |||
| Sandra Bullock | The Lost City | Loretta Sage | |||
| Timothée Chalamet | Dune | Paul Atreides | |||
| 2023 31st | Best Performance (Combined) | Tom Cruise | Pete "Maverick" Mitchell | [2] | |
| Austin Butler | Elvis | Elvis Presley | |||
| Florence Pugh | Don't Worry Darling | Alice | |||
| Keke Palmer | Nope | Emerald "Em" Haywood | |||
| Michael B. Jordan | Creed III | Adonis "Donnie" Creed |
The following individuals received two or more awards:
| Wins | Actors |
|---|---|
| 3 | Tom Cruise |
| Leonardo DiCaprio | |
| Jennifer Lawrence | |
| Kristen Stewart | |
| 2 | Chadwick Boseman |
| Jim Carrey | |
| Bradley Cooper | |
| Johnny Depp | |
| Josh Hutcherson | |
| Robert Pattinson | |
| Will Smith |
The following individuals received 4 or more nominations:
| Nominations | Actor |
|---|---|
| 7 | Sandra Bullock |
| Will Smith | |
| 6 | Tom Cruise |
| Leonardo DiCaprio | |
| 5 | Tom Hanks |
| Jennifer Lawrence | |
| Julia Roberts | |
| Emma Watson | |
| 4 | Matt Damon |
| Robert Pattinson | |
| Channing Tatum | |
| Reese Witherspoon |