According to popular belief, acting is one of the second-oldest professions in our world. Together with, of course, pickpockets, pirates, spies, and gangsters, just to name a few. A fun bunch, indeed! And, of course, with such eon-spanning traditions of the craft and such respectability its professionals have gained in our society, there’s no wonder that we, as a human collective, decided to name who is the best of them all and who shall wear the pretend crown. Picking out the best is basic human nature! So, here we are, with our list of the best actors ever! And because we are pretty sure that our ranking will cause some discussion, don’t forget that we have that vote button if you’d like to change up the sequence in which these Hollywood stars are listed!
From the legends of the Golden Era of Hollywood to stars of the ‘70s to modern-day icons, this list has all the best actors in it. Not all of them have won the elusive Oscar or garnered a myriad of accolades, but we think that awards aren’t always the measure of success. What’s also interesting is that, say, in the top 20 of our actors, almost all of them started acting almost by accident, having worked a heap of odd jobs beforehand. So, if you still don’t know what talents you have, just remember that neither did they!
So, check out our list of the greatest actors just a bit further down and vote for your own favorites. Also, don’t forget to share this article with your movie-crazed friends too!
#1 Morgan Freeman

Notable movies - The Shawshank Redemption, Unforgiven, Seven
Interesting fact - mister Freeman is a unique persona, and there’s so much interesting stuff about him that we couldn’t decide on just one! So, from being an expert beekeeper just like Henry Fonda to writing a cookbook and breaking Academy Awards and golfing records, it seems like no day is boring in the world of Morgan Freeman.
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89points
#2 Tom Hanks

Notable movies - Forrest Gump, Castaway, Saving Private Ryan
Interesting fact - Tom Hanks is a distant relative of President Abraham Lincoln.
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88points
#4 Gregory Peck

Notable movies - To Kill A Mockingbird, Cape Fear, The Omen
Interesting fact - Peck probably had the most durable career of any Hollywood star as it spanned from as early as the 1940s and ended in the 2000s. During that time, he starred in at least 57 movies!
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67points
#6 Anthony Hopkins

Notable movies - The Silence Of The Lambs, Fracture, The Father
Interesting fact - Anthony Hopkins is a real-life knight! He received his title from Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 for his services to the arts.
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66points
#8 Michael Caine

Notable movies - The Cider House Rules, The Italian Job, Batman Begins
Interesting fact - Michael Caine isn’t his real name, it’s Maurice Micklewhite, and he never legally changed it out of respect for his family.
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63points
#9 Robert Duvall

Notable movies - The Apostle, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather Part I and II
Interesting fact - before being discovered, Robert Duvall worked plenty of odd jobs, one of them being a post clerk. He left the position after half a year, fearing that if he stayed any longer, he’d never quit!
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62points
#11 Gene Hackman

Notable movies - The French Connection, Unforgiven, The Royal Tenenbaums
Interesting fact - besides being a world-renowned actor, Gene Hackman is also a novelist, with his first book - Payback At Morning Peak - published in 2011.
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58points
#12 Sidney Poitier

Notable movies - In The Heat Of The Night, A Raisin In The Sun, The Defiant Ones
Interesting fact - besides being the first black person to win the title of Best Actor for his role in Lilies Of The Field, being a civil rights activist, and a real-life knight, Sidney Poitier was also a Bahamian ambassador to Japan, holding this title for ten consecutive years!
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58points
#13 Paul Newman

Notable movies - The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cars
Interesting fact - Paul Newman loved pranks, with his most notable being faking his own death. From lying under a wrecked car to dropping a look-alike dummy off of a 60-foot building, he sure did scare plenty of Hollywood directors.
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56points
#14 Clint Eastwood

Notable movies - Good, Unforgiven, Dirty Harry
Interesting fact - in 1951, a then 21-year-old Eastwood survived a plane crash in shark-infested waters. Turns out, his action star roles also followed him into real life!
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54points
#15 Denzel Washington

Notable movies - Remember The Titans, Glory, Training Day
Interesting fact - his fate of becoming a world-renowned actor was told to him by a fortune teller. That’s why he deems his fate a pulpit for doing the greater good!
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54points
#16 Dustin Hoffman

Notable movies - The Graduate, Being John Malkovich, Rain Man
Interesting fact - before “catching the acting bug,” Dustin Lee Hoffman was studying to become a classical pianist. However, we’re not a tiny bit sad about his change in aspirations!
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53points
#17 Charlie Chaplin

Notable movies - City Lights, The Gold Rush, Modern Times
Interesting fact - Charlie once entered a “Charlie Chaplin look-alike” contest and… lost it!
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52points
#18 Henry Fonda

Notable movies - Once Upon A Time In The West, 12 Angry Men, The Grapes Of Wrath
Interesting fact - Henry Fonda had a quite unusual hobby of beekeeping. In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he incorporated the practice into his movie Ulee’s God. Also, Henry is the father of two other Hollywood megastars - Jane Fonda and Peter Fonda.
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52points
#19 Humphrey Bogart

Notable movies - Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen
Interesting fact - ever wondered why mister Bogart speaks in an unusual way? Well, it isn’t really a fun story - his father, a surgeon, beat him up as a kid and split his lip. He stitched it up so badly that Bogart was left with a permanent lisp.
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52points
#20 James Stewart

Notable movies - Rear Window, Vertigo, It’s A Wonderful Life
Interesting fact - James Stewart, besides being an iconic actor, also had a degree in architecture. But, because he had earned it during the time of the Great Depression, he thought there was no reason to chase this career.
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52points






