George Chakiris

George Chakiris is an American actor and dancer who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Bernardo in the 1961 film West Side Story.

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West Side Story (1961 film): A 1961 American musical film adapted from the Broadway stage musical of the same name. Chakiris won his Oscar for playing Bernardo in this film.
Rita Moreno: Puerto Rican-American actor, dancer, and singer who played Anita in the 1961 film West Side Story. Moreno shared the film's central dance and drama with Chakiris and also won an Oscar.
Ballet: A theatrical dance form characterized by codified technique, structured choreography, and performance to music. Chakiris trained as a dancer before becoming widely known as a film actor.
Academy Awards: Annual awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film. Chakiris's supporting-actor win was one of the film's ten Academy Awards.
Bernardo Nuñez: The leader of the Sharks in West Side Story, a Puerto Rican immigrant in New York City. Chakiris's performance made Bernardo his signature screen role.
Natalie Wood: American actor who played Maria in the 1961 film West Side Story. Wood's Maria is Bernardo's sister and one of the story's central characters.
Hollywood musical: A film genre that integrates songs and dance into its storytelling. Chakiris's early screen career developed within this musical-film tradition.
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: An award recognizing an ensemble's acting performance in a motion picture. The 1961 film's cast also received major recognition as an ensemble.
West Side Story (musical): A stage musical by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, and Jerome Robbins, first produced in 1957. The film that brought Chakiris fame adapted this Broadway musical.
Robert Wise: American film director and editor who co-directed the 1961 film West Side Story. Wise directed Chakiris's Oscar-winning screen performance.