The 30 best actors of all time
by ethan_dominates | created - 08 Jan 2011 | updated - 09 Jan 2011 | Publicwell of my time anyway...
1. Al Pacino
Actor | Serpico
Alfredo James "Al" 'Pacino established himself as a film actor during one of cinema's most vibrant decades, the 1970s, and has become an enduring and iconic figure in the world of American movies.
He was born April 25, 1940 in Manhattan, New York City, to Italian-American parents, Rose (nee Gerardi)...
All time greatest actor in films like The Godfather Trilogy, Heat, Righteous Kill, Scent of a Woman, Devil's Advocate, Any Given Sunday and so on
2. Leonardo DiCaprio
Actor | Inception
Few actors in the world have had a career quite as diverse as Leonardo DiCaprio's. DiCaprio has gone from relatively humble beginnings, as a supporting cast member of the sitcom Growing Pains (1985) and low budget horror movies, such as Critters 3 (1991), to a major teenage heartthrob in the 1990s,...
The most diverse actor of his time, In the silver spot for films like Blood Diamond, The Aviator, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Don's Plum, Basketball Diaries, The Departed... pretty much every movie he's been in, most recently Inception which was one of his best. Can't wait for the J. Edgar Hoover movie
3. Viggo Mortensen
Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Since his screen debut as a young Amish farmer in Peter Weir's Witness (1985), Viggo Mortensen's career has been marked by a steady string of well-rounded performances.
Mortensen was born in New York City, to Grace Gamble (Atkinson) and Viggo Peter Mortensen, Sr. His father was Danish, his mother ...
Doesn't do many movies but when he does, he does them stupendously. Lord of the Rings Trilogy, History of Violence, Eastern Promises, The Road.
4. Christian Bale
Actor | The Dark Knight
Christian Charles Philip Bale was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK on January 30, 1974, to English parents Jennifer "Jenny" (James) and David Bale. His mother was a circus performer and his father, who was born in South Africa, was a commercial pilot. The family lived in different countries ...
A teriffic actor with many impressive roles under his belt, The Batman Movies, 3.10 to Yuma, American Psyco, Terminator Salvation, Shaft, The Prestige, Empire of the Sun, Public Enemies
5. Johnny Depp
Actor | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, to Betty Sue Palmer (née Wells), a waitress, and John Christopher Depp, a civil engineer. He was raised in Florida. He dropped out of school when he was 15, and fronted a series of music-garage bands, including one ...
Whether he's playing serious or hilarious you have to love Johnny D. No doubt he is fantastic, his roles in Tim Burtons movies earning him the career he has today. Terrific roles in Pirates of the Carribean, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd, What's eating Gilbert Grape, Public Enemies, Donnie Darko, Don Juan, Benny and Joon.
6. Daniel Day-Lewis
Actor | There Will Be Blood
Born in London, England, Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is the second child of Cecil Day-Lewis, Poet Laureate of the U.K., and his second wife, actress Jill Balcon. His maternal grandfather was Sir Michael Balcon, an important figure in the history of British cinema and head of the famous Ealing ...
Purely here because he delivered the greatest performance of all time in Gangs of New York as Bill the Butcher and his oscar winning role in There Will Be Blood
7. Mel Gibson
Actor | Braveheart
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born January 3, 1956 in Peekskill, New York, USA, as the sixth of eleven children of Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman, and Anne Patricia (Reilly) Gibson (who died in December of 1990). His mother was Irish, from County Longford, while his American-born father is ...
For great roles such as We were Soldiers, The Patriot and Bravehear and more Mel Gibson is one of the best
8. Edward Norton
Actor | Fight Club
American actor, filmmaker and activist Edward Harrison Norton was born on August 18, 1969, in Boston, Massachusetts, and was raised in Columbia, Maryland.
His mother, Lydia Robinson "Robin" (Rouse), was a foundation executive and teacher of English, and a daughter of famed real estate developer ...
Great performances in Red Dragon, American History X, Fight Club and so on have proved Edward Norton to be a great actor
9. Brad Pitt
Actor | Fight Club
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt was born on December 18, 1963 in Shawnee, Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri to Jane Etta Pitt (née Hillhouse), a school counselor & William Alvin "Bill" Pitt, a truck company manager. At Kickapoo High School, Pitt was involved in sports, debating, student ...
An actor who has his ups and downs, mostly ups. Brad Pitt has stunned many in Inglorious Basterds, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Assassination of Jesse James, Burn After Reading, Fight Club, Se7en,
10. Denzel Washington
Actor | Fences
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. was born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. He is the middle of three children of a beautician mother, Lennis, from Georgia, and a Pentecostal minister father, Denzel Washington, Sr., from Virginia. After graduating from high school, Denzel enrolled at ...
A great actor who is powerful and frightening in movies such as American Gangster, Training Day, Unstoppable, Book of Eli,
11. Peter O'Toole
Actor | Lawrence of Arabia
A leading man of prodigious talents, Peter O'Toole was born and raised in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, the son of Constance Jane Eliot (Ferguson), a Scottish nurse, and Patrick Joseph O'Toole, an Irish metal plater, football player and racecourse bookmaker. Upon leaving school, he decided to become a...
A great actor with many films over his life that are absoluteky wonderful. From Lawrence of Arabia to Venus Peter O'Toole is a quirky man who plays many different enthralling chartacters
12. Heath Ledger
Actor | Brokeback Mountain
When hunky, twenty-year-old heart-throb Heath Ledger first came to the attention of the public in 1999, it was all too easy to tag him as a "pretty boy" and an actor of little depth. He spent several years trying desperately to sway this image, but this was a double-edged sword. His work comprised ...
A tragedy happened to the film business when this already fantastic actor with such a bright future died. But he made his mark in the business with films like, 10 Things I Hate About You, Four Feathers, The Dark Knight, Ned Kelly, A Knights Tale
13. Robert De Niro
Actor | Cape Fear
One of the greatest actors of all time, Robert De Niro was born on August 17, 1943 in Manhattan, New York City, to artists Virginia (Admiral) and Robert De Niro Sr. His paternal grandfather was of Italian descent, and his other ancestry is Irish, English, Dutch, German, and French. He was trained ...
A great old actor who is impossible to impersonate but easy to love in fims such as Goodfellas, Casino, Godfather Part II, Hide and Seek, The Raging Bull and More
14. Jamie Foxx
Actor | Collateral
Jamie Foxx is an American actor, singer and comedian. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, for his work in the biographical film Ray (2004). The same year, he was nominated for the Academy...
For his legendary performance in Ray as Ray Charles Jamie Foxx earns a top spot in the actor category. also with good performances in The Kingdom, Jarhead, Stealth, Any Given Sunday and the Soloist
15. Hugh Jackman
Actor | Les Misérables
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor, singer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer and producer. Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as superhero, period, and romance characters. He is best known for his long-running role as Wolverine in the X-Men film ...
A charming actor with astounding potential, loved him in The Prestige, X-Men, Deception he has plenty more great movies to make a name for himself to come
16. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Actor | Inception
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt was born February 17, 1981 in Los Angeles, California, to Jane Gordon and Dennis Levitt. Joseph was raised in a Jewish family with his late older brother, Dan Gordon-Levitt, who passed away in October 2010. His parents worked for the Pacifica Radio station KPFK-FM and ...
A young actor starting from 3rd Rock from the Sun, he has shown the world he is no child any more in films such as Brick, G.I Joe, Uncertainty, Inception, Mysterious Skin, Stop Loss and The Lookout.
17. Russell Crowe
Actor | Les Misérables
Russell Ira Crowe was born in Wellington, New Zealand, to Jocelyn Yvonne (Wemyss) and John Alexander Crowe, both of whom catered movie sets. His maternal grandfather, Stanley Wemyss, was a cinematographer. Crowe's recent ancestry includes Welsh (where his paternal grandfather was born, in Wrexham),...
An actor who has moments of trouble in his acting and yet shines in films such as State of Play, American Gangster, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind and more
18. Morgan Freeman
Actor | Driving Miss Daisy
With an authoritative voice and calm demeanor, this ever popular American actor has grown into one of the most respected figures in modern US cinema. Morgan was born on June 1, 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, to Mayme Edna (Revere), a teacher, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, a barber. The young Freeman...
For his great roles in The Batman movies, Shawshank Redemption, Se7en and more
19. Brendan Gleeson
Actor | Calvary
Brendan Gleeson was born in Dublin, Ireland, to Pat and Frank Gleeson. From a very young age, he loved to learn, especially reading classical text in and outside the classroom. He took great attention to Irish play writers such as Samuel Beckett, which eventually led to him performing in his high ...
for his roles in The Gathering Storm, Into the Storm, In Bruges, The Green Zone
20. Gary Oldman
Actor | The Dark Knight
Gary Oldman is a talented English movie star and character actor, renowned for his expressive acting style. One of the most celebrated thespians of his generation, with a diverse career encompassing theatre, film and television, he is known for his roles as Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy (1986), ...
For his stunning performances in Book of Eli, Sid and Nancy, Batman movies and more
21. Tom Hanks
Producer | Cast Away
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born in Concord, California, to Janet Marylyn (Frager), a hospital worker, and Amos Mefford Hanks, an itinerant cook. His mother's family, originally surnamed "Fraga", was entirely Portuguese, while his father was of mostly English ancestry. Tom grew up in what he has ...
for such movies as Saving Private Ryan, Green Mile, Forrest Gump and others Tom Hanks is a brilliant actor
22. Sam Rockwell
Actor | Moon
Sam Rockwell was born on November 5, 1968, in San Mateo, California, the only child of two actors, Pete Rockwell and Penny Hess. The family moved to New York when he was two years old, living first in the Bronx and later in Manhattan. When Sam was five years old, his parents separated, at which ...
despite not doing many movies Sam Rockwell is still terrific in every one, such as Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Moon, Choke, Green Mile and so on
23. Ian McKellen
Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Widely regarded as one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native Great Britain and internationally, twice nominated for the Oscar and recipient of every major theatrical award in the UK and US, Ian Murray McKellen was born on May 25, 1939 in Burnley, Lancashire, England, to Margery ...
For his roles in X-men, Lord of the Rings and more
24. Kevin McKidd
Actor | Trainspotting
Kevin McKidd was born and raised in Elgin, Scotland, the son of Kathleen, a secretary, and Neil McKidd, a plumber. He was a member of the Moray Youth Theatre, before going on to study Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. While at the university, Kevin became involved with Bedlam Theatre, the...
Purely for his performance in the TV series Rome, Kevin McKidd was amazing
25. James Purefoy
Actor | Rome
James Brian Mark Purefoy was born and brought up in Taunton, Somerset, England, the son of Shirley (Taylor), who ran an employment agency, and Anthony Chetwynd Purefoy. After leaving school at the age of sixteen, he took a succession of different jobs, including working on a pig farm and as a ...
For his role as Mark Antony in Rome and for other performances such as Soloman Kane and Knights Tale he is a very talented man
26. Ray Stevenson
Actor | The Three Musketeers
An imposing figure (standing at 6'3") with intense, penetrating eyes and possessed of a larger-than-life personality, the actor George Raymond Stevenson began life as one of three sons, born in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, to a British pilot in the Royal Air Force. Raised near Newcastle in ...
For his role in the tv series Rome as Titus Pullo as well as in Book of Eli, Punisher: War Zone, The Other Guys and More
27. Ralph Fiennes
Actor | The Constant Gardener
Actor Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born on December 22, 1962 in Suffolk, England, to Jennifer Anne Mary Alleyne (Lash), a novelist, and Mark Fiennes, a photographer. He is the eldest of six children. Four of his siblings are also in the arts: Martha Fiennes, a director; Magnus ...
For his fantastic roles in Schindlers List, Harry Potter, The Hurt Locker, The Reader,
28. Liam Neeson
Actor | Kinsey
Liam Neeson was born on June 7, 1952 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, to Katherine (Brown), a cook, and Bernard Neeson, a school caretaker. He was raised in a Catholic household. During his early years, Liam worked as a forklift operator for Guinness, a truck driver, an assistant architect and an ...
For his roles in Schindlers List, A-team, Taken and more
29. Cuba Gooding Jr.
Actor | Jerry Maguire
Cuba Gooding Jr. was born on January 2, 1968, in The Bronx, New York. His mother, Shirley (Sullivan), was a backup singer for The Sweethearts. His father, Cuba Gooding, was the lead vocalist for the R&B group The Main Ingredient, which had a hit with the song "Everybody Plays The Fool". His ...
For his role in Jerry Maguire, and Wrong turn at Tahoe
30. Jackie Earle Haley
Actor | Little Children
Jackie Earle Haley is an American actor who started his career with The Bad News Bears. He had more adult roles in Little Children, the cult classic Zack Snyder film Watchmen, Alita: Battle Angel, and Freddy Krueger from a remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. He has been married three times and has...
For his role as Rorschach
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