Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor

The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor is an award, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actor for best performance in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala. Since 1998, the awards have been constituted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous, non-profit institution functioning under the Department of Cultural Affairs. The awardees are decided by a jury constituted every year. They are announced by the Minister for Cultural Affairs and are presented by the Chief Minister. Throughout the years, accounting for ties and repeat winners, the government has presented 55 Best Actor awards to 35 actors. The recipients receive a figurine, a certificate, and a cash prize of ₹100,000 (US$1,200). Several actors have won the honour for more than one film in a given year. As of 2020, the only actor to have won the prize in consecutive years is Bharat Gopy, in 1982 and 1983. The first Kerala State film Awards ceremony was held in 1970 with Sathyan receiving the award for Kadalpalam (1969). As of 2025, Mammootty is the most honoured actor with seven awards. Mohanlal has won the award six times. Actors Bharat Gopy and Murali have won the award four times. Prithviraj Sukumaran is the youngest recipient at age 24 for Vaasthavam (2006).There were five years when there was a tie for the winner—Rajit Kapur and Murali shared the honour in 1998, Fahadh Faasil and Lal in 2013, Nivin Pauly and Sudev Nair in 2014, Jayasurya and Soubin Shahir in 2018, and Biju Menon and Joju George in 2021. The recent winner is Mammootty for Bramayugam (2024).