The category was first presented at the
ninth edition of the Goya Awards, with Saturnino García being the first winner for his performance as Justino in
Justino, un asesino de la tercera edad. Multiple winners and nominees in the category have gone on to win or be nominated for the other two male performance categories at the
Goya Awards (
Best Actor and
Best Supporting Actor). Namely, nominees
Javier Cámara,
Eduard Fernández,
Luis Tosar, and
David Verdaguer, have all won both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. Additionally, 1996 winner
Santiago Segura won
Best New Director three years later for
Torrente, the Dumb Arm of the Law. For the 39th ceremony, the
Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain introduced a modification consisting of the requirement of an authorization signed by the actor accepting his participation in the Goya Awards". As of the
2026 ceremony,
Antonio Fernández Gabarre is the most recent winner in this category for his role as Toni in
Sleepless City. ==Winners and nominees==