MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance

This is a following list of the MTV Movie Award winners and nominees for Best Breakthrough Performance. In many years, the awards were split into Male and Female categories. In 2011, it was renamed Best Breakout Star. In 2012, it was later renamed Best Breakthrough Performance but was turned into a non-voting category, where an academy of outstanding directors honors a silver screen newcomer with extraordinary talent.

Winners and nominees

1990s

Year Winners and nominees Film Role
1992 Edward Furlong Terminator 2: Judgment Day John Connor
Anna Chlumsky My Girl Vada Sultenfuss
Ice-T New Jack City Scotty Appleton
Campbell Scott Dying Young Victor Geddes
Kimberly Williams Father of the Bride Annie Banks
1993 Marisa Tomei My Cousin Vinny Mona Lisa Vito
Halle Berry Boomerang Angela Lewis
Whitney Houston The Bodyguard Rachel Marron
Kathy Najimy Sister Act Sister Mary Patrick
Rosie O'Donnell A League of Their Own Doris Murphy
1994 Alicia Silverstone The Crush Adrian Forrester
Ralph Fiennes Schindler's List Amon Goth
Jason Scott Lee Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story Bruce Lee
Ross Malinger Sleepless in Seattle Jonah Baldwin
Jason James Richter Free Willy Jesse
1995 Kirsten Dunst Interview with the Vampire Claudia
Tim Allen The Santa Clause Scott Calvin
Cameron Diaz The Mask Tina Carlyle
Hugh Grant Four Weddings and a Funeral Charles
Mykelti Williamson Forrest Gump Bubba Blue
1996 George Clooney From Dusk till Dawn Seth Gecko
Sean Patrick Flanery Powder Jeremy "Powder" Reed
Natasha Henstridge Species Sil
Lela Rochon Waiting to Exhale Robin Stokes
Chris Tucker Friday Smokey
1997 Matthew McConaughey A Time to Kill Jake Brigance
Vivica A. Fox Independence Day Jasmine Dubrow
Courtney Love The People vs. Larry Flynt Althea Leasure
Ewan McGregor Trainspotting Mark "Rent Boy" Renton
Renée Zellweger Jerry Maguire Dorothy Boyd
1998 Heather Graham Boogie Nights Rollergirl
Joey Lauren Adams Chasing Amy Alyssa Jones
Rupert Everett My Best Friend's Wedding George Downes
Sarah Michelle Gellar I Know What You Did Last Summer Helen Shivers
Jennifer Lopez Selena Selena
1999 Male Breakthrough Performance
James Van Der Beek Varsity Blues Jonathan "Mox" Moxon
Ray Allen He Got Game Jesus Shuttlesworth
Joseph Fiennes Shakespeare in Love William Shakespeare
Josh Hartnett Halloween H20: 20 Years Later John Tate
Chris Rock Lethal Weapon 4 Detective Lee Butters
Female Breakthrough Performance
Katie Holmes Disturbing Behavior Rachel Waggner
Cate Blanchett Elizabeth Elizabeth I
Brandy I Still Know What You Did Last Summer Karla Wilson
Rachael Leigh Cook She's All That Laney Boggs
Catherine Zeta-Jones The Mask of Zorro Elena Montero

2000s

Year Winners and nominees Film Role
2000 Male Breakthrough Performance
Haley Joel Osment The Sixth Sense Cole Sear
Wes Bentley American Beauty Ricky Fitts
Jason Biggs American Pie Jim Levenstein
Michael Clarke Duncan The Green Mile John Coffey
Jamie Foxx Any Given Sunday "Steamin" Willie Beamen
Female Breakthrough Performance
Julia Stiles 10 Things I Hate About You Kat Stratford
Selma Blair Cruel Intentions Cecile Duvall
Shannon Elizabeth American Pie Nadia
Carrie-Anne Moss The Matrix Trinity
Hilary Swank Boys Don't Cry Teena Brandon
2001 Male Breakthrough Performance
Sean Patrick Thomas Save the Last Dance Derek Reynolds
Jack Black High Fidelity Barry
Patrick Fugit Almost Famous William Miller
Tom Green Road Trip Barry Manilow
Hugh Jackman X-Men Wolverine
Ashton Kutcher Dude, Where's My Car? Jesse Montgomery III
Female Breakthrough Performance
Erika Christensen Traffic Caroline Wakefield
Aaliyah Romeo Must Die Trish O'Day
Anna Faris Scary Movie Cindy Campbell
Piper Perabo Coyote Ugly Violet Sanford
Zhang Ziyi Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Jen Yu
2002 Male Breakthrough Performance
Orlando Bloom The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Legolas
DMX Exit Wounds Latrell Walker / Leon Rollins
Colin Hanks Orange County Shaun Brumder
Daniel Radcliffe Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Harry Potter
Paul Walker The Fast and the Furious Brian O'Conner
Female Breakthrough Performance
Mandy Moore A Walk to Remember Jamie Elizabeth Sullivan
Penélope Cruz Blow Mirtha Jung
Anne Hathaway The Princess Diaries Princess Mia Thermopolis
Shannyn Sossamon A Knight's Tale Jocelyn
Britney Spears Crossroads Lucy Wagner
2003 Male Breakthrough Performance
Eminem 8 Mile Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith
Nick Cannon Drumline Devon Miles
Kieran Culkin Igby Goes Down John "Igby" Slocumb, Jr.
Derek Luke Antwone Fisher Antwone Fisher
Ryan Reynolds National Lampoon's Van Wilder Van Wilder
Female Breakthrough Performance
Jennifer Garner Daredevil Elektra
Kate Bosworth Blue Crush Anne Marie Chadwick
Eve Barbershop Terri Jones
Maggie Gyllenhaal Secretary Lee Holloway
Beyoncé Knowles Austin Powers in Goldmember Foxxy Cleopatra
Nia Vardalos My Big Fat Greek Wedding Toula Portokalos
2004 Male Breakthrough Performance
Shawn Ashmore X2: X-Men United Iceman
Shia LaBeouf Holes Stanley "Caveman" Yelnats IV
Ludacris 2 Fast 2 Furious Tej Parker
Omarion You Got Served David
Cillian Murphy 28 Days Later Jim
Female Breakthrough Performance
Lindsay Lohan Freaky Friday Anna Coleman
Jessica Biel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Erin
Scarlett Johansson Lost in Translation Charlotte
Keira Knightley Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Elizabeth Swann
Evan Rachel Wood Thirteen Tracy Louise Freeland
2005 Male Breakthrough Performance
Jon Heder Napoleon Dynamite Napoleon Dynamite
Zach Braff Garden State Andrew Largeman
Freddie Highmore Finding Neverland Peter Llewelyn Davies
Tim McGraw Friday Night Lights Charles Billingsley
Tyler Perry Diary of a Mad Black Woman Madea
Female Breakthrough Performance
Rachel McAdams Mean Girls Regina George
Ashanti Coach Carter Kyra
Elisha Cuthbert The Girl Next Door Danielle
Bryce Dallas Howard The Village Ivy Elizabeth Walker
Emmy Rossum The Day After Tomorrow Laura Chapman
2006 Isla Fisher Wedding Crashers Gloria Cleary
André "3000" Benjamin Four Brothers Jeremiah Mercer
Jennifer Carpenter The Exorcism of Emily Rose Emily Rose
Taraji P. Henson Hustle & Flow Shug
Romany Malco The 40-Year-Old Virgin Jay
Nelly The Longest Yard Earl Megget
2007 Jaden Smith The Pursuit of Happyness Christopher Gardner, Jr.
Emily Blunt The Devil Wears Prada Emily Charlton
Abigail Breslin Little Miss Sunshine Olive Hoover
Lena Headey 300 Queen Gorgo
Columbus Short Stomp the Yard DJ Williams
Justin Timberlake Alpha Dog Frankie "Nuts" Ballenbacher
2008 Zac Efron Hairspray Link Larkin
Nikki Blonsky Hairspray Tracy Turnblad
Chris Brown This Christmas Michael "Baby" Whitfield
Michael Cera Superbad Evan
Megan Fox Transformers Mikaela Banes
Jonah Hill Superbad Seth
Christopher Mintz-Plasse Superbad McLovin'
Seth Rogen Knocked Up Ben Stone
2009 Male Breakthrough Performance
Robert Pattinson Twilight Edward Cullen
Ben Barnes The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Prince Caspian
Taylor Lautner Twilight Jacob Black
Dev Patel Slumdog Millionaire Jamal Malik
Bobb'e J. Thompson Role Models Ronnie Shields
Female Breakthrough Performance
Ashley Tisdale High School Musical 3: Senior Year Sharpay Evans
Miley Cyrus Hannah Montana: The Movie Hannah Montana / Miley Stewart
Kat Dennings Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Norah
Vanessa Hudgens High School Musical 3: Senior Year Gabriella Montez
Freida Pinto Slumdog Millionaire Latika
Amanda Seyfried Mamma Mia! Sophie Sheridan

2010s

Year Winners and nominees Film Role
2010 Anna Kendrick Up in the Air Natalie Keener
Quinton Aaron The Blind Side Michael Oher
Zach Galifianakis The Hangover Alan Garner
Logan Lerman Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Percy Jackson
Chris Pine Star Trek Captain James T. Kirk
Gabourey Sidibe Precious Claireece "Precious" Jones
2011 Chloë Grace Moretz Kick-Ass Hit Girl
Jay Chou The Green Hornet Kato
Andrew Garfield The Social Network Eduardo Saverin
Xavier Samuel The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Riley Biers
Hailee Steinfeld True Grit Mattie Ross
Olivia Wilde Tron: Legacy Quorra
2012 Shailene Woodley The Descendants Alexandra "Alex" King
Elle Fanning Super 8 Alice Dainard
Melissa McCarthy Bridesmaids Megan Price
Rooney Mara The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Lisbeth Salander
Liam Hemsworth The Hunger Games Gale Hawthorne
2013 Rebel Wilson Pitch Perfect Fat Amy
Ezra Miller The Perks of Being a Wallflower Patrick
Eddie Redmayne Les Misérables Marius Pontmercy
Suraj Sharma Life of Pi Piscine "Pi" Patel
Quvenzhané Wallis Beasts of the Southern Wild Hushpuppy
2014 Will Poulter We're the Millers Kenny Rossmore
Liam James The Way, Way Back Duncan
Margot Robbie The Wolf of Wall Street Naomi Lapaglia
Michael B. Jordan Fruitvale Station Oscar Grant
Miles Teller The Spectacular Now Sutter Keely
2015 Dylan O'Brien The Maze Runner Thomas
Ansel Elgort The Fault in Our Stars Augustus Waters
David Oyelowo Selma Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ellar Coltrane Boyhood Mason Evans, Jr.
Rosamund Pike Gone Girl Amy Elliott-Dunne