O Oscar de melhor curta-metragem em live action passou a ser concedido na trigésima cerimônia em 1957. O prêmio é o resultado da fusão das categorias Oscar de melhor curta-metragem em live-action: 1 bobina e Oscar de melhor curta-metragem em live-action: 2 bobinas, que foram concedidos entre 1936 e 1956.
A expressão Live Action designa o curta-metragem (de ficção ou documentário) feito não com as técnicas da animação, mas, sim, utilizando seres vivos e/ou inanimados. Rubens Ewald Filho chama essa categoria de curta dramático,FILHO, Rubens Ewald, O Oscar e Eu, São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 2003 enquanto Fernando Albagli prefere curta (ao vivo).ALBAGLI, Fernando, Tudo Sobre o Oscar, Rio de Janeiro: EBAL - Editora Brasil-América, 1988
Vencedores e indicados Ano Vencedor País(es) de origem Outros indicados 1958 The Wetback Hound EUA A Chairy TaleCity of GoldFoothold on AntarcticaPortugal 1959 Grand Canyon EUA Journey into SpringThe KissSnows of AorangiT Is for Tumbleweed 1960 Histoire d'un Poisson Rouge França Between the TidesMysteries of the DeepThe Running, Jumping and Standing-Still FilmSkyscraper 1961 Day of the Painter EUA The Creation of WomanIslands of the SeaA Sport Is Born 1962 Seawards the Great Ships Reino Unido Ballon VoleThe Face of JesusRooftops of New YorkVery Nice, Very Nice 1963 Heureux Anniversaire França Big City BluesThe CadillacThe Cliff DwellersPan 1964 La Rivière du Hibou França The ConcertHome-Made CarSix-Sided TriangleThat's Me 1965 Casals Conducts EUA Help! My Snowman's Burning DownThe Legend of Jimmy Blue Eyes 1966 Le Poulet França Fortress of PeaceSkaterdaterSnowTime Piece 1967 Wild Wings Reino Unido Turkey the BridgeThe Winning Strain 1968 A Place to Stand Canadá Paddle to the SeaSky Over HollandStop, Look and Listen 1969 Robert Kennedy Remembered EUA The DoveDuoPrelude 1970 The Magic Machines EUA BlakePeople Soup 1971 The Resurrection of Broncho Billy EUA Shut Up... I'm CryingSticky My Fingers...Fleet My Feet 1972 Centinelas del Silencio México/EUA Good MorningThe Rehearsel 1973 Norman Rockwell's World... An American Dream EUA Frog StorySolo 1974 The Bolero EUA ClockmakerLife Times Nine 1975 Les... Borgnes Sont Roi França ClimbThe ConcertPlanet OceanThe Violin 1976 Angel and Big Joe EUA Conquest of LightDawn FlightA Day in the Life of Bonnie ConsoloDoubletalk 1977 In the Region of Ice EUA KudzuThe Morning SpiderNightlifeNumber One 1978 I'll Find a Way Canadá The Absent-Minded WaiterFloating FreeNotes on the Popular ArtsSpaceborne 1979 Teenage Father EUA A Different ApproachMandy's GrandmotherStrange Fruit 1980 Board and Care EUA Bravery in the FieldOh Brother, My BrotherThe Solar FilmSolly's Dinner 1981 The Dollar Bottom Reino Unido Fall LineA Jury of Her Peers 1982 Violet Canadá/EUA Couples and RobbersFirst Winter 1983 A Shocking Accident Reino Unido Ballet RobotiqueThe SilenceSplit Cherry TreeSredni Vashtar 1984 Boys and Girls Canadá Goodie Two ShoesOvernight Sensation 1985 Up EUA The Painted DoorTales of Meeting and Parting 1986 Molly's Pilgrim EUA GraffitiRainbow War 1987 Precious Images EUA ExitLove Struck 1988 Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall EUA Making WavesShoeshine 1989 The Appointments of Dennis Jennings EUA Cadillac DreamsGullah Tales
Década de 1990 1990: Work Experience – James Hendrie Amazon Diary – Robert Nixon The Childeater – Jonathan Tammuz
1991: The Lunch Date – Adam Davidson Bronx Cheers – Raymond De Felitta e Matthew Gross Dear Rosie – Peter Cattaneo e Barnaby Thompson Senzeni Na? – Bernard Joffa e Anthony E. Nicholas 12:01 PM – Jonathan Heap e Hillary Ripps
1992: Session Man – Rob Fried e Seth Winston Birch Street Gym – Thomas R. Conroy e Stephen Kessler Last Breeze of Summer – David Massey
1993: Omnibus – Sam Karmann Contact – Jonathan Darby e Jana Sue Memel Cruise Control – Matt Palmieri The Lady in Waiting – Christian Taylor Swan Song – Kenneth Branagh e David Parfitt
1994: Schwarzfahrer – Pepe Danquart Down on the Waterfront – Jonathan Penner e Stacy Title The Dutch Master – Jonathan Brett e Susan Seidelman Partners – Jana Sue Memel e Peter Weller La Vis – Didier Flamand
1995: Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life – Peter Capaldi e Ruth Kenley-Letts Trevor – Peggy Rajski e Randy Stone Kangaroo Court – Sean Astin e Christine Astin On Hope – Michele McGuire e JoBeth Williams Syrup – Paul Unwin e Nick Vivian
1996: Lieberman in Love – Christine Lahti e Jana Sue Memel Brooms – Luke Cresswell e Steve McNicholas Duke of Groove – Thom Colwell e Griffin Dunne Little Surprises – Jeff Goldblum e Tikki Goldberg Tuesday Morning Ride – Dianne Houston e Joy Ryan
1997: Dear Diary – David Frankel e Barry Jossen De Tripas, Corazon – Antonio Urrutia Ernst & Lyset – Anders Thomas Jensen e Kim Magnusson Esposados – Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Wordless – Bernadette Carranza e Antonello De Leo
1998: Visas and Virtue – Chris Donahue e Chris Tashima Dance Lexie Dance – Tim Loane e Pearse Moore It's Good to Talk – Roger Goldby e Barney Reisz Sweethearts? – Birger Larsen e Thomas Lydholm Wolfgang – Anders Thomas Jensen e Kim Magnusson
1999: Valgaften – Anders Thomas Jensen e Kim Magnusson Culture – Josh Gordon e Will Speck Holiday Romance – Alexander Jovy e J. J. Keith La Carte Postale – Vivian Goffette Victor – Joel Bergvall e Simon Sandquist
Década de 2000 2000: My Mother Dreams the Satan's Disciples in New York – Barbara Schock e Tamara Tiehel Bror, Min Bror – Henrik Ruben Genz e Michael W. Horsten Killing Joe – Mehdi Norowzian e Steve Wax Kleingeld – Marc-Andreas Bochert e Gabriele Lins Major and Minor Miracles – Marcus Olsson
2001: Quiero Ser – Florian Gallenberger By Courier – Ericka Frederick e Peter Riegert Uma História de Futebol – Paulo Machline One Day Crossing – Christina Lazaridi e Joan Stein Seraglio – Colin Campbell e Gail Lerner
2002: The Accountant – Lisa Blount e Ray McKinnon Copy Shop – Virgil Widrich Gregor's Greatest Invention – Johannes Kiefer Meska Sprawa – Sławomir Fabicki e Bogumil Godfrejow Speed for Thespians – Kalman Apple e Shameela Bakhsh
2003: Der Er En Yndig Mand – Martin Strange-Hansen Fait D'Hiver – Dirk Beliën e Anja Daelemans J'attendrai le Suivant... – Thomas Gaudin e Philippe Orreindy Inja – Steven Pasvolsky e Joe Weatherstone Johnny Flynton – Lexi Alexander e Alexander Buono
2004: Two Soldiers – Andrew J. Sacks e Aaron Schneider Die Rote Jacke – Florian Baxmeyer Most – Bobby Garabedian e William Zabka Squash – Lionel Bailliu (A) Torzija – Stefan Arsenijević
2005: Wasp – Andrea Arnold Everything in This Country Must – Gary McKendry Little Terrorist – Ashvin Kumar 7:35 de la Mañana – Nacho Vigalondo Two Cars, One Night – Ainsley Gardiner e Taika Waititi
2006: Six Shooter – Martin McDonagh Ausreißer – Ulrike Grote Cashback – Sean Ellis e Lene Bausager Síðasti Bærinn – Rúnar Rúnarsson e Thor S. Sigurjónsson Our Time Is Up – Pia Clemente e Rob Pearlstein
2007: West Bank Story – Ari Sandel Binta y la Gran Idea – Javier Fesser e Luis Manso Éramos Pocos – Borja Cobeaga Helmer og Søn – Søren Pilmark e Kim Magnusson The Saviour – Stuart Parkyn e Peter Templeman
2008: Le Mozart des Pickpockets – Philippe Pollet-Villard Om Natten – Christian E. Christiansen e Louise Vesth Il Supplente – Andrea Jublin Tanghi Argentini – Anja Daelemans e Guido Thys The Tonto Woman – Daniel Barber e Matthew Brown
2009: Spielzeugland – Jochen Alexander Freydank Auf der Strecke – Reto Caffi Manon on the Asphalt – Elizabeth Marre e Olivier Pont New Boy – Tamara Anghie e Steph Green The Pig – Dorte Høgh e Tivi Magnusson
Década de 2010 2010: The New Tenants – Joachim Back e Tivi Magnusson Istället för Abrakadabra – Patrik Eklund e Mathias Fjellström Kavi – Gregg Helvey Miracle Fish – Drew Bailey e Luke Doolan The Door – James Flynn e Juanita Wilson
2011: God of Love – Luke Matheny The Confession – Tanel Toom The Crush – Michael Creagh Na Wewe – Ivan Goldschmidt Wish 143 – Ian Barnes e Samantha Waite
2012: The Shore – Terry George e Oorlagh George Pentecost – Peter McDonald e Eimear O'Kane Raju – Stefan Gieren e Max Zähle Time Freak – Andrew Bowler e Gigi Causey Tuba Atlantic – Hallvar Witzø
2013: Curfew – Shawn Christensen Asad – Bryan Buckley e Mino Jarjoura Buzkashi Boys – Sam French e Ariel Nasr Dood van een Schaduw – Tom Van Avermaet e Ellen De Waele Henry – Yan England
2014: Helium – Kim Magnusson e Anders Walter Aquel No Era Yo – Esteban Crespo Avant que de Tout Perdre – Alexandre Gavras e Xavier Legrand Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? – Kirsikka Saari e Selma Vilhunen The Voorman Problem – Mark Gill e Baldwin Li
2015: The Phone Call – Mat Kirkby e James Lucas Aya – Oded Binnun e Mihal Brezis Boogaloo e Graham – Ronan Blaney e Michael Lennox La Lampe au Beurre de Yak – Julien Féret e Hu Wei Parvaneh – Stefan Eichenberger e Talkhon Hamzavi
2016: Stutterer Alles wird gut Ave Maria Day One Shok
2017: Mindenki – Kristóf Deák e Anna Udvardy Timecode – Juanjo Giménez Ennemis Intérieurs – Sélim Azzazi La femme et le TGV – Timo von Gunten e Giacun Caduff Silent Nights – Aske Bang e Kim Magnusson
2018: The Silent Child – Chris Overton e Rachel Shenton DeKalb Elementary - Reed Van Dyk The Eleven O'Clock - Derin Seale e Josh Lawson My Nephew Emmett - Kevin Wilson Jr. Watu Wote/All of Us - Katja Benrath e Tobias Rosen
2019: Skin - Guy Nattiv e Jaime Ray Newman Detainment - Vincent Lambe e Darren Mahon Fauve - Jeremy Comte e Maria Garcia Turgeon Marguerite - Marianne Farley e Marie-Hélène Panisset Mother - Rodrigo Sorogoyen e María del Puy Alvarado
Década de 2020 2020: The Neighbors' Window - Marshall Curry Brotherhood - Meryam Joobeur e Maria Gracia Turgeon Nefta Football Club - Yves Piat e Damien Megherbi Saria - Bryan Buckley e Matt Lefebvre A Sister - Delphine Girard
2021: Two Distant Strangers – Travon Free e Martin Desmond Roe Feeling Through – Doug Roland e Susan Ruzenski The Letter Room – Elvira Lind e Sofia Sondervan The Present – Farah Nabulsi White Eye – Tomer Shushan e Shira Hochman
2022: The Long Goodbye – Aneil Karia e Riz Ahmed Ala Kachuu – Take and Run – Maria Brendle e Nadine Lüchinger The Dress – Tadeusz Łysiak e Maciej Ślesicki On My Mind – Martin Strange-Hansen e Kim Magnusson Please Hold – K.D. Dávila e Levin Menekse
2023: An Irish Goodbye – Tom Berkely e Ross White Ivalu – Anders Walter e Rebecca Pruzan Le pupille – Alice Rohrwacher e Alfonso Cuarón Night Ride – Eirik Tveiten e Gaute Lid Larssen The Red Suitcase – Cyrus Neshvad
2024: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – Wes Anderson e Steven Rales The After – Misan Harriman e Nicky Bentham Invincible – Vincent René-Lortie e Samuel Caron Ridder Lykke – Lasse Lyskjær Noer e Christian Norlyk Red, White and Blue – Nazrin Choudhury e Sara McFarlane
2025: Ik ben geen robot – Victoria Warmerdam e Trent A Lien – Sam Cutler-Kreutz e David Cutler-Kreutz Anuja – Adam J. Graves e Suchitra Mattai The Last Ranger – Cindy Lee e Darwin Shaw Čovjek koji nije mogao šutjeti – Nebojša Slijepčević e Danijel Pek
2026: The Singers (empate) – Sam A. Davis e Jack Piatt Two People Exchanging Saliva (empate) – Alexandre Singh e Natalie Musteata Butcher's Stain – Meyer Levinson-Blount e Oron Caspi A Friend of Dorothy – Lee Knight e James Dean Jane Austen's Period Drama – Julia Aks e Steve Pinder
Curta live action