He won an Oscar for playing Stephen Hawking in Une merveilleuse histoire du temps (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 Des hommes sont nés (1938), Gary Cooper for playing Alvin C. York in Sergent York (1941), Patty Duke for playing Helen Keller in Miracle en Alabama (1962), Jason Robards for playing Ben Bradlee in Les hommes du président (1976), Robert De Niro for playing Jake La Motta in Raging Bull (1980), Sissy Spacek for playing Loretta Lynn in Nashville Lady (1980), Jeremy Irons for playing Claus Von Bullow in Le mystère Von Bülow (1990), Susan Sarandon for playing Sister Helen Prejean in La dernière marche (1995), Geoffrey Rush for playing David Helfgott in Shine (1996), Julia Roberts for playing Erin Brockovich in Erin Brockovich, seule contre tous (2000), Jim Broadbent for playing John Bayley in Iris (2001), Helen Mirren for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006), Sandra Bullock for playing Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side (2009), Melissa Leo for playing Alice Eklund-Ward in Fighter (2010), Christian Bale for playing Dickie Eklund in Fighter (2010) and Meryl Streep for playing Margaret Thatcher in La dame de fer (2011).
