Every culture has its own symbols and icons. The Hollywood actor is one of these icons. The concept of the Hollywood actor has been around since the beginning of the Hollywood movie industry, certainly since the 1930s, when movies began to be made on a large commercial scale with big budgets, big stars and big egos.
Most people have a favorite actor or actress who they will never tire of watching on screen. The list below highlights ten of the greatest Hollywood actors in recent history and what makes them so special in my opinion.
10. Leonardo DiCaprio
This young man has matured into one of the finest actors around today. He hit a vein of gold with his performance in Titanic and then followed that up with a string of powerful performances in The Man In The Iron Mask, Gangs Of New York and Catch Me If You Can to name but a few.
9. Sean Connery
The quintessential James Bond, this Scottish actor has enjoyed an incredibly varied career from 007 to Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade to Highlander to The Name Of The Rose and much more besides.
1. Al Pacino
Al Pacino is the greatest actor of all time because he has a varied list of roles in his career, and he performs his roles with versatility and originality. He is not only a gifted actor, but he also has the ability to change his appearance and personality for each role that he acts in. This is shown by his numerous awards, including an Oscar, a Tony, and two Emmys as well as another seven nominations. He often works with the same directors, such as Brian De Palma and Francis Ford Coppola and many others.
2. Robert De Niro
Robert de Niro is perhaps one of the most versatile actors of his generation. He was born in New York City in 1943 to artists who divorced when he was two years old. He began acting at a young age, and eventually went on to study at the Stella Adler Conservatory as well as the Actors Studio under Elia Kazan. He rose to fame with his role in Mean Streets in 1973 and was noticed by Martin Scorsese who would go on to cast him in several other films including Taxi Driver(1976) which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
3. Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
10. Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio is an American Actor who gained popularity and fame after acting in the movie Titanic. He has acted in many other roles which include The Aviator, The Departed, Catch me if you can and many more. In the year 2016 he was awarded the Oscar Award for his role in the movie Revenant.
9. Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp is an American actor, producer and musician. He is one of the most popular Hollywood actors who have been acting in movies since 1984 until now. Some of his popular movies are Edward Scissorhands, Pirates of the Caribbean, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd etc.
8. Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington is a very well known American actor and filmmaker who has won numerous awards such as Golden Globes awards, Tony Awards and 2 Academy Awards for his acting. A few of his movies are Man on Fire, The Book of Eli, Flight, Malcolm X etc. He has also directed some films like Antwone Fisher and Fences which was nominated for best picture at Oscars 2017
7. Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks is an American actor and producer who has won multiple awards including Academy Awards and Golden Globe awards. Some of his
1. Leonardo DiCaprio
The Revenant (2015)
Leonardo has starred in many films that have earned him Oscars and other film awards. He has starred in films like Titanic, Inception, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Revenant.
2. Tom Hanks
Forrest Gump (1994)
Tom Hanks is an American actor, director and producer. He is known for his roles in movies like Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, Cast Away and Saving Private Ryan.
3. Morgan Freeman
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Morgan Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Mayme Edna, a school teacher and Morgan Porterfield Freeman Sr., a barber who died when he was young. The young Freeman attended Los Angeles City College before serving several years in the US Air Force as a mechanic between 1955 and 1959. He moved to New York City to study acting at the Actors Studio and the Pasadena Playhouse in California. By 1965 he had appeared on Broadway in Hello Dolly! with Pearl Bailey and The Niggerlovers with James Earl Jones. His first notable film part came as the villainous “Easy” Windly in 1971’s Who Says I Can’t Ride A Rainbow! After this appearance, people told
1. Al Pacino: Al Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy and Tony Montana in Scarface, though he has also appeared several times on the other side of the law—as a police officer, a detective and a lawyer. His role as Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman won him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1992 after receiving seven previous Oscar nominations.
2. Jack Nicholson: John Joseph “Jack” Nicholson is an American actor, film director and producer. He is noted for his often dark-themed portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for twelve Academy Awards, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: one for the drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the other for the romantic comedy As Good as It Gets. He also won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the comedy-drama Terms of Endearment.
3. Robert De Niro: Robert De Niro, Jr., is an American actor, director, and producer whose career spans more than four decades. He was cast as the young Vito Corleone in the 1974 film The Godfather
Robert De Niro – The Godfather Part II (1974), Goodfellas (1990)
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood (2007), Gangs of New York (2002)
Marlon Brando – The Godfather (1972), On the Waterfront (1954)
Al Pacino – The Godfather Part II (1974), Serpico (1973)
Dustin Hoffman – Rain Man (1988), Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Tom Hanks – Forrest Gump (1994), Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Humphrey Bogart – The Maltese Falcon(1941), Casablanca(1942)
Paul Newman – Cool Hand Luke(1967), Hud(1963)
Denzel Washington – Malcolm X(1992), American Gangster(2007)
Jack Nicholson – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest(1975), Chinatown(1974)
1. Leonardo DiCaprio: The Revenant, Titanic, Django Unchained
2. Robert De Niro: Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Heat
3. Al Pacino: The Godfather, Serpico, Scarface
4. Johnny Depp: Pirates of the Caribbean, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd
5. Christian Bale: Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Fighter
6. Daniel Day-Lewis: There Will Be Blood, Gangs of New York, Lincoln
7. Matt Damon: Good Will Hunting, Bourne Identity, Ocean’s Eleven
8. Tom Cruise: Top Gun, Mission Impossible III & IV
9. Tom Hanks: Saving Private Ryan, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13
10. Brad Pitt: Fight Club, Snatch!, Seven
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