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Quiz about Dying to Get An Oscar Actors
Quiz about Dying to Get An Oscar Actors

Dying to Get An Oscar: Actors Trivia Quiz


While many actors would kill to get an Academy Award, this quiz focuses on actors who won for playing characters who died. Warning: Some spoilers.

A multiple-choice quiz by parrotman2006. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
363,450
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
629
Last 3 plays: WhiskeyZulu (8/10), Guest 4 (8/10), Guest 152 (5/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Getting assassinated seems to be a good route to a Best Actor Oscar. Which of these actors won his first Academy Award for playing a fictional character who was assassinated? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. All of these actors won an Oscar for a role in which they were shot. Who won his first Oscar for a character who was shot by Latin American revolutionaries? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. What actor has the wild distinction of winning an Oscar for a film in which he shot himself - in a duel? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. What actor won an Academy Award for playing an alcoholic who drinks himself to death? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Alec Guinness won his Oscar for playing a British colonel in "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957). What were Colonel Nicholson's last words? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Jack Nicholson won his first Academy Award for playing Randle Patrick McMurphy in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975). Who killed McMurphy at the end of the film? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Paul Scofield won his Academy Award for playing a man who was killed for standing up to the King of England. But which king was it? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. While all of these actors died in an Academy-Award winning role, which one died more violently than the others? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Which of these actors is matched up correctly with the way his character died in the actor's first Oscar winning role? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Of these actors, only one got killed in both roles which won them their first two Oscars. Who was the unlucky thespian to die twice? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 17 2024 : WhiskeyZulu: 8/10
Mar 16 2024 : Guest 4: 8/10
Mar 10 2024 : Guest 152: 5/10
Mar 07 2024 : Guest 86: 6/10
Mar 07 2024 : Guest 173: 9/10
Feb 29 2024 : Guest 209: 9/10
Feb 22 2024 : Guest 148: 4/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Getting assassinated seems to be a good route to a Best Actor Oscar. Which of these actors won his first Academy Award for playing a fictional character who was assassinated?

Answer: Broderick Crawford

Broderick Crawford won for playing Willie Stark in "All the King's Men" (1948). Stark was a corrupt politician modeled on Louisiana Governor Huey Long, who was assassinated in real life in 1935. Penn won his second Oscar in 2009 for playing gay rights activist Harvey Milk, who was assassinated by Dan White in November 1978. Daniel Day-Lewis won his third Oscar in 2013 for playing Abraham Lincoln, who was shot by John Wilkes Booth in April 1865. Kingsley won for playing Mohandas Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement, who was assassinated in January 1948.

In all three cases of real people, the winning film titles were their last names: "Gandhi" (1982), "Milk" (2008) and "Lincoln" (2012).
2. All of these actors won an Oscar for a role in which they were shot. Who won his first Oscar for a character who was shot by Latin American revolutionaries?

Answer: William Hurt

William Hurt won for playing Luis Molina, who was in a Brazilian jail for being a homosexual, in "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1985). Molina was shot in a gun battle with revolutionaries, and later died in police custody. Spacey was shot by Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper), after he mistook Lester Burnham for a homosexual, in ("American Beauty" 1995). McLaglen was gunned down by revolutionaries, but they were members of the Irish Republican Army ("The Informer" 1935). Finch was also gunned down by revolutionaries as Howard Beale in "Network" (1976), but those revolutionaries were members of the Ecumenical Liberation Army.
3. What actor has the wild distinction of winning an Oscar for a film in which he shot himself - in a duel?

Answer: Lee Marvin

Lee Marvin won for the dual role of Kid Shelleen and Tim Strawn in "Cat Ballou" (1965). Sheleen was a washed-up, alcoholic gunfighter hired by Cat Ballou (Jane Fonda) to avenge her father. Strawn was the villain of the movie. When he sobered up, Shelleen gunned down Strawn, who turned out to be his brother. Chaplin was nominated in 1940 for his dual role in "The Great Dictator" playing a Jewish barber and comic parody of Hitler. Sellers was nominated for his triple role in "Doctor Strangelove" (1964). Guinness quite notably played eight characters in "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949).
4. What actor won an Academy Award for playing an alcoholic who drinks himself to death?

Answer: Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage won for playing Ben Sanderson in "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995). Cage played a washed up Hollywood screenwriter who strikes up a strange relationship with a prostitute (Elisabeth Shue) while slowly drinking himself to death in a Las Vegas hotel room. Milland won for playing alcoholic Don Birnam in "The Lost Weekend" (1945), but he was alive at the end of the film. Jack Lemmon was nominated for playing an alcoholic in "The Days of Wine and Roses" (1962), but did not win. Lemmon did win for "Save the Tiger" (1973) but his character did not die. Dudley Moore was nominated for his turn as an alcoholic in "Arthur" (1981), and of course, Arthur was alive and well at the end of the film (even starred in a bad sequel).
5. Alec Guinness won his Oscar for playing a British colonel in "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957). What were Colonel Nicholson's last words?

Answer: "What Have I Done?"

"The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957) was based on a true incident, of British troops being forced to construct a bridge for the Japanese. Guinness played Colonel Nicholson, who was obsessive about constructing the bridge. At the end, when faced by a dying William Holden, he realized the insanity of his actions and asked, "What have I done?"
Nicholson was struck by mortar fire as a group of commandos attempted to blow up the bridge. In his dying act, Nicholson blew up the bridge he had spent months constructing. It was Major Clipton (James Donald) who commented on the scene with "Madness, Madness."
"The Horror" were Marlon Brando's last words in "Apocalypse Now" and came from the Joseph Conrad novel "Heart of Darkness". "Oh God" were the last words of Mohandas Gandhi, after he was shot.
6. Jack Nicholson won his first Academy Award for playing Randle Patrick McMurphy in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975). Who killed McMurphy at the end of the film?

Answer: Chief Bromden

McMurphy attacked Ratched after Billy Bibbitt committed suicide. As a result, McMurphy was lobotomized. When Chief Bromden found McMurphy in a vegetative state, the chief smothered him with a pillow, and then escaped from the hospital. Louise Fletcher won the Best Actress Oscar for playing the vile Nurse Ratched. Nathan George played Attendant Washington, and Dean Brooks was Doctor Spivey.
7. Paul Scofield won his Academy Award for playing a man who was killed for standing up to the King of England. But which king was it?

Answer: Henry VIII

Scofield played Thomas More in "A Man for All Seasons" (1966). More, the Lord Chancellor of England, split with Henry VIII over his divorce and the formation of the Anglican Church. More was arrested and beheaded in London on July 6, 1535. The film had an outstanding cast including Orson Welles as Cardinal Woolsey and Robert Shaw as Henry VIII. Peter O'Toole was nominated for playing Henry II in "The Lion in Winter" (1968). Laurence Olivier was nominated for playing Henry V in the 1946 film based on the Shakespeare play, and Kenneth Branagh was nominated for the same role in 1989. Colin Firth won the Best Actor award for playing George VI in "The King's Speech" (2010).
8. While all of these actors died in an Academy-Award winning role, which one died more violently than the others?

Answer: Wallace Beery

Wallace Beery won his Oscar for "The Champ" (1930), in which he played an alcoholic, gambling former heavyweight champion seeking to make a comeback. At the end of the movie, he fought the champion and won, but the injuries he suffered were so severe that he died afterwards. Jannings played Duke Sergius Alexander, a former aristocrat ousted in the Russian Revolution.

He died from the strain of inspiring his troops patriotically. ("The Last Command" 1928). Yul Brynner had a fairly peaceful death as King Mongkhut in "The King and I" (1956), and Marlon Brando keeled over while playing with his grandson in "The Godfather" (1972).
9. Which of these actors is matched up correctly with the way his character died in the actor's first Oscar winning role?

Answer: Tom Hanks, AIDS

Tom Hanks won his first Academy Award for playing Andrew Beckett, an attorney who was dying of AIDS, in "Philadelphia" (1993). The film featured great performances from Denzel Washington and Antonio Banderas as well. Olivier was poisoned and stabbed by Laertes in the title role of "Hamlet" (1948), Benigni was executed by Nazis in "Life is Beautiful" (1998), and Jose Ferrer was run over by a carriage in "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1950).
10. Of these actors, only one got killed in both roles which won them their first two Oscars. Who was the unlucky thespian to die twice?

Answer: Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington won his first Oscar as the doomed Private Silas Tripp, who died at the Battle of Fort Wagner in "Glory" (1989). Washington won the Best Actor Oscar for "Training Day" (2002), in which he was gunned down by Russian gangsters.
Brando did die in "The Godfather" (1972) but was alive at the end of "On the Waterfront" (1954). Kevin Spacey was shot in "American Beauty" (1999) but was one of the few people to survive in "The Usual Suspects" (1995). Spencer Tracy died in "Captains Courageous" (1937) but survived as Father Flanagan in "Boys Town" (1938).
Source: Author parrotman2006

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor jmorrow before going online.
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