| Year | Actor, Film | Affliction |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton | chemical imbalance |
| Julie Christie, Away From Her | Alzheimer's disease | |
| 2006 | Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson | addict |
| Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls | heroin | |
| Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine | heroin | |
| 2005 | Joaquin Phoenix, Walk The Line | pills, alcohol |
| 2004 | Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby | crippled |
| Jamie Foxx, Ray | blind, heroin | |
| Leonardo DiCaprio, The Aviator | crazy | |
| Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby | half-blind | |
| 2003 | Patricia Clarkson, Pieces Of April | dying |
| 2002 | Nicole Kidman, The Hours | suicide, depression |
| Salma Hayek, Frida | crippled | |
| Ed Harris, The Hours | AIDS | |
| 2001 | Russell Crowe, A Beautiful Mind | crazy |
| Sean Penn, I Am Sam | retarded | |
| Judi Dench, Iris | Alzheimer's disease | |
| Nicole Kidman, Moulin Rouge | consumption | |
| 2000 | Ed Harris, Pollock | crazy, drunk |
| Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream | crazy, pill popper | |
| 1999 | Michael Clarke Duncan, The Green Mile | retarded |
| Samantha Morton, Sweet & Lowdown | mute | |
| Angelina Jolie, Girl, Interrupted | crazy | |
| 1998 | Emily Watson, Hilary & Jackie | crazy |
| Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan | retarded | |
| 1997 | Jack Nicholson, As Good As It Gets | crazy |
| 1996 | Geoffrey Rush, Shine | crazy |
| Billy Bob Thornton, Sling Blade | crazy | |
| Diane Keaton, Marvin's Room | leukemia | |
| Ed Norton, Primal Fear | crazy | |
| 1995 | Nicolas Cage, Leaving Las Vegas | drunk |
| Brad Pitt, Twelve Monkeys | crazy | |
| 1994 | Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump | retarded |
| Nigel Hawthorne, The Madness of King George | crazy | |
| Jodie Foster, Nell | sorta retarded | |
| Gary Sinise, Forrest Gump | crippled | |
| 1993 | Tom Hanks, Philadelphia | AIDS |
| Debra Winger, Shadowlands | critically ill | |
| Leonardo DiCaprio, What's Eating Gilbert Grape | retarded | |
| 1992 | Al Pacino, Scent of a Woman | blind |
| Mary McDonnell, Passion Fish | crippled | |
| 1991 | Robin Williams, The Fisher King | crazy |
| 1990 | Kathy Bates, Misery | crazy |
| Robert De Niro, Awakenings | sleepy | |
| 1989 | Daniel Day-Lewis, My Left Foot | crippled |
| Tom Cruise, Born on the Fourth of July | crippled | |
| Julia Roberts, Steel Magnolias | kidney failure (diabetes) | |
| 1988 | Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man | autism |
| 1987 | Jack Nicholson, Ironweed | crazy |
January 3, 2005
Schadenfreude Achievement Awards
As I mentioned in my review of Ray, Academy members tend to reward roles which involve some kind of handicap or illness. Oscar voters especially favor roles where the character achieves some kind of triumphant healing or trancending achievement. Emily calls these the Schadenfreude Achievement Awards. The following table chronicles most of these nominations from the last two decades.