• Ordinary People
  • The Elephant Man
  • The Ninth Configuration
  • Raging Bull
  • The Stunt Man

• Coal Miner's Daughter
  • Airplane!
  • Fame
  • The Idolmaker
  • Melvin and Howard

• Robert De Niro – Raging Bull as Jake La Motta
  • John Hurt – The Elephant Man as John Merrick
  • Jack Lemmon – Tribute as Scottie Templeton
  • Peter O'Toole – The Stunt Man as Eli Cross
  • Donald Sutherland – Ordinary People as Calvin Jarrett

• Mary Tyler Moore – Ordinary People as Beth Jarrett
  • Ellen Burstyn – Resurrection as Edna Mae McCauley
  • Nastassja Kinski – Tess as Tess Durbeyfield
  • Deborah Raffin – Touched by Love as Lena Canada
  • Gena Rowlands – Gloria as Gloria Swenson

• Ray Sharkey – The Idolmaker as Vinnie Vacarri
  • Neil Diamond – The Jazz Singer as Yussel Rabinovitch
  • Tommy Lee Jones – Coal Miner's Daughter as Doolittle Mooney Lynn
  • Paul Le Mat – Melvin and Howard as Melvin Dummar
  • Walter Matthau – Hopscotch as Miles Kendig

• Sissy Spacek – Coal Miner's Daughter as Loretta Lynn
  • Irene Cara – Fame as Coco Hernandez
  • Goldie Hawn – Private Benjamin as Judy Benjamin
  • Bette Midler – Divine Madness! as Herself / The Divine Miss M
  • Dolly Parton – 9 to 5 as Doralee Rhodes

• Timothy Hutton – Ordinary People as Conrad Jarrett
  • Judd Hirsch – Ordinary People as Tyrone Berger
  • Joe Pesci – Raging Bull as Joey LaMotta
  • Jason Robards – Melvin and Howard as Howard Hughes
  • Scott Wilson – The Ninth Configuration as Capt. Billy Cutshaw

• Mary Steenburgen – Melvin and Howard as Lynda Dummar
  • Lucie Arnaz – The Jazz Singer as Molly Bell
  • Beverly D'Angelo – Coal Miner's Daughter as Patsy Cline
  • Cathy Moriarty – Raging Bull as Vicki LaMotta
  • Debra Winger – Urban Cowboy as Sissy Davis

• Robert Redford – Ordinary People
  • David Lynch – The Elephant Man
  • Roman Polanski – Tess
  • Richard Rush – The Stunt Man
  • Martin Scorsese – Raging Bull

• The Ninth Configuration – William Peter Blatty
  • The Elephant Man – Eric Bergren and Christopher De Vore
  • Ordinary People – Alvin Sargent
  • Raging Bull – Mardik Martin and Paul Schrader
  • The Stunt Man – Lawrence B. Marcus

• The Stunt Man – Dominic Frontiere
  • American Gigolo – Giorgio Moroder
  • The Competition – Lalo Schifrin
  • The Empire Strikes Back – John Williams
  • Fame – Michael Gore
  • Somewhere in Time – John Barry

• "Fame" (Michael Gore, Dean Pitchford) – Fame
  • "9 to 5" (Dolly Parton) – 9 to 5
  • "Call Me" (Giorgio Moroder, Debbie Harry) – American Gigolo
  • "Love on the Rocks" (Neil Diamond, Gilbert Bécaud) – The Jazz Singer
  • "Yesterday's Dreams" (Michel Legrand, Carol Connors, Johnny Mathis) – Falling in Love Again

• Timothy Hutton – Ordinary People as Conrad Jarrett
  • Christopher Atkins – The Blue Lagoon as Richard LeStrange
  • William Hurt – Altered States as Dr. Edward Jessup
  • Michael O'Keefe – The Great Santini as Ben Meechum
  • Steve Railsback – The Stunt Man as Cameron

• Nastassja Kinski – Tess as Tess Durbeyfield
  • Nancy Allen – Dressed to Kill as Liz Blake
  • Cathy Moriarty – Raging Bull as Vicki LaMotta
  • Dolly Parton – 9 to 5 as Doralee Rhodes
  • Debra Winger – Urban Cowboy as Sissy Davis

• Tess (United Kingdom)
  • 'Breaker' Morant (Australia)
  • Kagemusha (Japan)
  • The Last Metro (France)
  • My Brilliant Career (Australia)
  • Special Treatment (Yugoslavia)

• Dallas
• Hart to Hart
• Lou Grant
• Vega$
• The Scarlett O'Hara War

• Alice
• The Love Boat
• M*A*S*H
• Soap

• Edward Asner - Lou Grant as Lou Grant
• Larry Hagman - Dallas as J.R. Ewing
• Robert Urich - Vega$ as Dan Tanna
• Robert Wagner - Hart to Hart as Jonathan Hart

• Barbara Bel Geddes - Dallas as Miss Ellie Ewing Farlow
• Melissa Gilbert - Little House on the Prairie as Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Linda Gray - Dallas as Sue Ellen Ewing
• Stefanie Powers - Hart to Hart as Jennifer Hart

• Judd Hirsch - Taxi as Alex Reiger
• Hal Linden - Barney Miller as Capt. Bernard "Barney" Miller
• Gavin MacLeod - The Love Boat as Capt. Merrill Stubing
• Wayne Rogers - House Calls as Dr. Charley Michaels

• Loni Anderson - WKRP in Cincinnati as Jennifer Marlowe
• Polly Holliday - Flo as Florence "Flo" Castleberry
• Linda Lavin - Alice as Alice Hyatt
• Lynn Redgrave - House Calls as Ann Atkinson

Vic Tayback - Alice as Mel Sharples (tie)

• Danny DeVito - Taxi as Louie De Palma
• Andy Kaufman - Taxi as Latka Gravas
• Geoffrey Lewis - Flo as Earl Tucker

Diane Ladd - Alice as Isabelle "Belle" Dupree (tie)

• Marilu Henner - Taxi as Elaine O'Connor Nardo
• Beth Howland - Alice as Vera Gorman Novak
• Linda Kelsey - Lou Grant as Billie Newman

• The Diary of Anne Frank
• The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd
• Playing for Time
• A Tale of Two Cities