He won an Oscar for playing Stephen Hawking in Teoria wszystkiego (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 Miasto chłopców (1938), Gary Cooper for playing Alvin C. York in Sierżant York (1941), Patty Duke for playing Helen Keller in Cudotwórczyni (1962), Jason Robards for playing Ben Bradlee in Wszyscy ludzie prezydenta (1976), Robert De Niro for playing Jake La Motta in Wściekły byk (1980), Sissy Spacek for playing Loretta Lynn in Córka górnika (1980), Jeremy Irons for playing Claus Von Bullow in Odmiana losu (1990), Susan Sarandon for playing Sister Helen Prejean in Przed egzekucją (1995), Geoffrey Rush for playing David Helfgott in Blask (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 Królowa (2006), Sandra Bullock for playing Leigh Anne Tuohy in Wielki Mike (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 Żelazna Dama (2011).
