The award honours Kannada Language films.

The first recipient was Rajkumar who was honored in 1967 for his performance in Bangaarada Hoovu.

The award was tied in 1998 between Vishnuvardhan and Ramesh Aravind.

The most recent recipient is Kichcha Sudeepa who is honored in 2019 for his performance in the film Pailwaan.

The following is a complete list of award winners and the name of the films for which they won.