Asian Film Award for Best Actor

The Asian Film Award for Best Actor is presented annually by the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA), a non-profit organization founded by Busan International Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival with the shared goal of celebrating excellence in Asian cinema. It was first presented in 2007.

Asian Film Award for Best Actor
The 2025 recipient: Sean Lau
Awarded for	Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in Asian Cinema
Presented by	Asian Film Awards Academy
First award	2007
Most recent winner	Sean Lau Papa (2025)
Website	afa-academy.com

Winners and nominees

2000s

Year	Recipient(s)	English title	Original title
2007	Song Kang-ho	The Host	괴물, Goemul
	Chang Chen	The Go Master	吴清源 Wú Qīngyuán
	Shah Rukh Khan	Don
	Andy Lau	A Battle of Wits
	Rain	I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK	싸이보그지만 괜찮아 Ssaibogeujiman Gwaenchanha
	Ken Watanabe	Memories of Tomorrow	明日の記憶 Ashita no Kioku
2008	Tony Leung Chiu-Wai	Lust, Caution
	Jack Kao	Good Man Dog
	Ryō Kase	I Just Didn't Do It	それでもボクはやってない
	Jet Li	The Warlords
	Joe Odagiri	Tokyo Tower	東京タワー 〜オカンとボクと、時々、オトン〜
	Song Kang-ho	Secret Sunshine	밀양 Milyang
2009	Masahiro Motoki	Departures	おくりびと, Okuribito
	Ge You	If You Are the One	非诚勿扰 Fēichéng Wùrǎo
	Ha Jung-woo	The Chaser	추격자 Chugyeogja
	Akshay Kumar	Singh Is Kinng	सिंह इज़ किंग
	Kenichi Matsuyama	Detroit Metal City	デトロイト・メタル・シティ
	Song Kang-ho	The Good, the Bad, the Weird	좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈, Joheun nom nabbeun nom isanghan nom

2010s

Year	Recipient(s)	English title	Original title
2010	Wang Xueqi	Bodyguards and Assassins
	Tadanobu Asano	Villon's Wife	ヴィヨンの妻 〜桜桃とタンポポ〜
	Huang Bo	Cow	斗牛
	Song Kang-ho	Thirst	박쥐 Bakjwi
	Hitoshi Matsumoto	Symbol	しんぼる
2011	Ha Jung-woo	The Yellow Sea	황해, Hwang hae
	Chow Yun-fat	Let the Bullets Fly	让子弹飞, Ràng Zǐ Dàn Fēi
	Ge You	Sacrifice	赵氏孤儿 Zhào Shì Gū Ér
	Ethan Juan	Monga	艋舺 Báng-kah
	Kōji Yakusho	13 Assassins	十三人の刺客 Jūsannin no Shikaku
2012	Donny Damara	Lovely Man
	Chen Kun	Flying Swords of Dragon Gate	龙门飞甲
	Andy Lau	A Simple Life	桃姐 Táo Jiě
	Park Hae-il	War of the Arrows	최종병기 활 Choechongp'yŏngki Hwal
	Kōji Yakusho	Chronicle of My Mother	わが母の記 Waga Haha no Ki
2013	Eddie Garcia	Bwakaw
	Joseph Chang	Girlfriend, Boyfriend	女朋友。男朋友
	Choi Min-sik	Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time	범죄와의 전쟁 Bumchoiwaui Junjaeng
	Tony Leung Ka-fai	Cold War	寒戰
	Liu Ye	The Last Supper	王的盛宴
2014	Irrfan Khan	The Lunchbox
	Masaharu Fukuyama	Like Father, Like Son	そして父になる Soshite Chichi ni Naru
	Lee Kang-sheng	Stray Dogs
	Tony Leung Chiu-Wai	The Grandmaster	一代宗師
	Song Kang-ho	The Attorney	변호인 Byeonhoin
2015	Liao Fan	Black Coal, Thin Ice	白日焰火
	Choi Min-sik	The Admiral: Roaring Currents	명량
	Ryo Kase	Hill of Freedom	자유의 언덕
	Sean Lau Ching-wan	Overheard 3	竊聽風雲3
	Ethan Ruan	Paradise in Service	軍中樂園
	Takeru Satoh	Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends	るろうに剣心 伝説の最期編
2016	Lee Byung-hun	Inside Men	내부자들
	John Arcilla	Heneral Luna
	Masatoshi Nagase	Sweet Bean	あん
	Feng Xiaogang	Mr. Six	老炮兒
	Donnie Yen	Ip Man 3	葉問3
2017	Tadanobu Asano	Harmonium	淵に立つ
	Michael Hui	Godspeed	一路顺风
	Gong Yoo	Train to Busan	부산행
	Fan Wei	Mr. No Problem	不成问题的问题
	Richie Jen	Trivisa	树大招风
2018	Louis Koo	Paradox	杀破狼・贪狼
	Kim Yoon-seok	1987: When the Day Comes	1987
	Sukollawat Kanarot	Malila: The Farewell Flower
	Rajkummar Rao	Newton
	Duan Yihong	The Looming Storm	暴雪将至
2019	Kōji Yakusho	The Blood of Wolves	孤狼の血
	Yoo Ah-in	Burning	버닝
	Xu Zheng	Dying to Survive	我不是藥神
	Aaron Kwok	Project Gutenberg	無雙
	Ranbir Kapoor	Sanju

2020s

Year	Recipient(s)	English title	Original title	Ref.
2020	Lee Byung-hun	The Man Standing Next	남산의 부장들	[1] [2]
	Hamed Behdad	Castle of Dreams	قصر شیرین
	Chen Yi-wen	A Sun	陽光普照
	Masataka Kubota	First Love	初恋
	Tai Bo [zh]	Twilight's Kiss	叔．叔
	Wang Jingchun	So Long, My Son	地久天长
2021	Yoo Ah-in	Voice of Silence	소리도 없이	[3] [4]
	Kōji Yakusho	Under the Open Sky	すばらしき世界
	Mo Tzu-yi	Dear Tenant	親愛的房客
	Zhang Yi	One Second	一秒钟
	Lam Ka Tung	Limbo	智齒
2023	Tony Leung Chiu-wai	Where the Wind Blows	風再起時	[5] [6]
	Zhang Yi	Home Coming	萬里歸途
	Park Hae-il	Decision to Leave	헤어질 결심
	Hidetoshi Nishijima	Drive My Car	ドライブ・マイ・カー
	Mohsen Tanabandeh	World War III	جنگ جهانی سوم
	Ryohei Suzuki	Egoists	エゴイスト
2024	Koji Yakusho	Perfect Days		[7]
	Hwang Jung-min	12.12: The Day	서울의 봄
	Wu Kang-ren	Abang Adik
	Tony Leung Chiu-wai	The Goldfinger	金手指
	Shen Teng	Full River Red	满江红
2025	Sean Lau	Papa	爸爸	[8]
	Eddie Peng	Black Dog	狗阵
	Choi Min-sik	Exhuma	파묘
	Kyōzō Nagatsuka	Teki Cometh	敵
	Michael Hui	The Last Dance	破·地獄

See also

• Academy Award for Best Actor
• Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Actor
• Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor
• European Film Award for Best Actor
• Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor
• Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
• Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
• Volpi Cup for Best Actor