Black Reel Award for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance

This article lists the winners and nominees for the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance. Academy Award-nominated or winning performances also honored with nominations or wins at the Black Reel Awards include Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls), Octavia Spencer (The Help), Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious).

Black Reel Award for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance
The 2024 recipient: Clarence Maclin
Country	United States
Presented by	The Black Reel Awards (BRAs)
First award	2024
Most recent winner	Clarence Maclin Sing Sing (2025)
Website	blackreelawards.com

During the 2014 ceremony, the category was divided into gender-specific categories (Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male and Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female). At the 2024 ceremony, the category was reintegrated into a single award and expanded to include ten nominees.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

2000s

Year	Actor / Actress	Film	Ref
2003
	Derek Luke	Antwone Fisher	[1]
	Beyoncé	Austin Powers in Goldmember
	Nick Cannon	Drumline
	Raven Goodwin	Lovely & Amazing
	Lil' Bow Wow	Like Mike
2004
	Naomie Harris	28 Days Later	[2]
	Romeo Miller	Honey
	Wentworth Miller	The Human Stain
2005
	Sharon Warren	Ray	[3]
	Anthony Mackie	She Hate Me
	C.J. Sanders	Ray
2006
	Brandon T. Jackson	Roll Bounce	[4]
	Ashanti	Coach Carter
	Tyler Perry	Diary of a Mad Black Woman
2007
	Jennifer Hudson	Dreamgirls	[5]
	Shareeka Epps	Half Nelson
	Keke Palmer	Akeelah and the Bee
	Paula Patton	Déjà Vu
	Jaden Smith	The Pursuit of Happyness
2008
	Dev Patel	Slumdog Millionaire	[6]
	Omar Benson Miller	Miracle at St. Anna
	Columbus Short	Cadillac Records
	Saïd Taghmaoui	Traitor
	Tristan Wilds	The Secret Life of Bees

2010s

Year	Actor / Actress	Film	Ref
2010
	Gabourey Sidibe	Precious	[7]
	Quinton Aaron	The Blind Side
	Nicole Beharie	American Violet
	Souléymane Sy Savané	Goodbye Solo
	Jamal Woolard	Notorious
2011
	Tessa Thompson	For Colored Girls	[8]
	Amari Cheatom	Night Catches Us
	Yaya DaCosta	The Kids Are All Right
	Omari Hardwick	For Colored Girls
	Zoë Kravitz	It's Kind of a Funny Story
2012
	Adepero Oduye	Pariah	[9]
	John Boyega	Attack the Block
	Gugu Mbatha-Raw	Larry Crowne
	Octavia Spencer	The Help
	Kim Wayans	Pariah
2013
	Quvenzhané Wallis	Beasts of the Southern Wild	[10]
	Emayatzy Corinealdi	Middle of Nowhere
	Dwight Henry	Beasts of the Southern Wild
	Amandla Stenberg	The Hunger Games
	Omar Sy	The Intouchables

2020s

Year	Actor / Actress	Film	Ref
2024
	Fantasia Barrino	The Color Purple	[11]
	Halle Bailey	The Little Mermaid
	Danielle Brooks	The Color Purple
	Jerrod Carmichael	Poor Things
	Archie Madekwe	Gran Turismo
	Phylicia Pearl Mpasi	The Color Purple
	Tia Nomore	Earth Mama
	Vivian Oparah	Rye Lane
	Dewayne Perkins	The Blackening
	Teyana Taylor	A Thousand and One
2025
	Clarence Maclin	Sing Sing	[12]
	Naomi Ackie	Blink Twice
	Ryan Destiny	The Fire Inside
	Ray Fisher	The Piano Lesson
	Elliott Heffernan	Blitz
	Ethan Herisse	Nickel Boys
	Blake Cameron James	We Grown Now
	Jharrel Jerome	Unstoppable
	Lamorne Morris	Saturday Night
	Brandon Wilson	Nickel Boys