He won an Oscar for playing Stephen Hawking in La teoria del tutto (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 La città dei ragazzi (1938), Gary Cooper for playing Alvin C. York in Il sergente York (1941), Patty Duke for playing Helen Keller in Anna dei miracoli (1962), Jason Robards for playing Ben Bradlee in Tutti gli uomini del presidente (1976), Robert De Niro for playing Jake La Motta in Toro scatenato (1980), Sissy Spacek for playing Loretta Lynn in La ragazza di Nashville (1980), Jeremy Irons for playing Claus Von Bullow in Il mistero Von Bulow (1990), Susan Sarandon for playing Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking - Condannato a morte (1995), Geoffrey Rush for playing David Helfgott in Shine (1996), Julia Roberts for playing Erin Brockovich in Erin Brockovich - Forte come la verità (2000), Jim Broadbent for playing John Bayley in Iris - Un amore vero (2001), Helen Mirren for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen - La regina (2006), Sandra Bullock for playing Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side (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 The Iron Lady (2011).
