He won an Oscar for playing Stephen Hawking in Die Entdeckung der Unendlichkeit (2014), making him one of 17 actors to win the Award for playing a real person who was still alive at the evening of the Award ceremony (as of 2015). The other sixteen actors and their respective performances are: Spencer Tracy for playing Father Edward Flanagan in Teufelskerle (1938), Gary Cooper for playing Alvin C. York in Sergeant York (1941), Patty Duke for playing Helen Keller in Licht im Dunkel (1962), Jason Robards for playing Ben Bradlee in Die Unbestechlichen (1976), Robert De Niro for playing Jake La Motta in Wie ein wilder Stier (1980), Sissy Spacek for playing Loretta Lynn in Nashville Lady (1980), Jeremy Irons for playing Claus Von Bullow in Die Affäre der Sunny von B. (1990), Susan Sarandon for playing Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking - Sein letzter Gang (1995), Geoffrey Rush for playing David Helfgott in Shine - Der Weg ins Licht (1996), Julia Roberts for playing Erin Brockovich in Erin Brockovich (2000), Jim Broadbent for playing John Bayley in Iris (2001), Helen Mirren for playing Queen Elizabeth II in Die Queen (2006), Sandra Bullock for playing Leigh Anne Tuohy in Blind Side - Die große Chance (2009), Melissa Leo for playing Alice Eklund-Ward in The Fighter (2010), Christian Bale for playing Dickie Eklund in The Fighter (2010) and Meryl Streep for playing Margaret Thatcher in Die Eiserne Lady (2011).
