Who was the first British actor to win an Academy Award?

George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award, which he won for his performance as Victorian-era British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli in Disraeli (1929), as well as the earliest-born actor to win the honour.

He specialized in successful biopics (such as Disraeli, "Voltaire" (1933), and "Cardinal Richelieu" (1935), as well as light comedies (which included "The Millionaire" (1931) and "A Successful Calamity" (1932).

His career arc saw him transition from being a star of the legitimate theatre, then silent films, to reaching the apex of sound films at their very dawn at the age of 61.