The Greatest Actors & Actresses in Entertainment History
This is a list of the best actors and actresses of all time, ranked by film fans worldwide. This list of greatest actors and actresses attempts to answer the question, "Who are the best actors of all time?"
Keep in mind, as you vote that we are rating these actors on their body of work, not just what they have done recently! Some of the greatest movie stars of all time have not necessarily acted in a project in the past five years, but they still deserve to be on this greatest Hollywood actors and actresses list.
Top actors and actresses in films are judged by their acting ability and their mastery of roles over the years. Many of these popular actors and actresses have been nominated for or won Academy Awards, as well as Golden Globe Awards. Some from this list of movie stars have even won the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Scroll down through the top actors and actresses and vote up the ones you believe to be the most talented. Then check back to see if your favorites topped our list! Then, to see lists separated by gender, check out the best actors of all time and the best actresses in film history.
- 1Summit, New Jersey, United States of America
- Credits (Film): The Deer Hunter, Out of Africa, Kramer vs. Kramer, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Manhattan
- 2Margam, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): The Silence of the Lambs, Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Legends of the Fall
Won for Best Actor Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and The Father (2020
- 3Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Credits (Film): Aladdin, Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire, Hook
- 4East Harlem, New York, USA
- Credits (Film): The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Scarface, Heat, Dog Day Afternoon
- 5Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America
- Credits (Film): The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman Begins, The Shawshank Redemption, Seven
- 6Neptune City, New Jersey, United States of America
- Credits (Film): The Shining, Batman, The Departed, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Chinatown
- 7Greenwich Village, New York City, New York
- Credits (Film): Goodfellas, The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Deer Hunter
- 8California, United States of America
- Credits (Film): Good, Unforgiven, Dirty Harry, Million Dollar Baby, Back to the Future Part II
- 9Shaker Heights, Ohio, United States of America
- Credits (Film): The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cars, Cool Hand Luke, Road to Perdition
- 10Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Credits (Film): Titanic, Inception, The Departed, Django Unchained, Gangs of New York
- 11Concord, California, USA
- Credits (Film): Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Toy Story, Toy Story 3, Toy Story 2
Won for Best Actor Oscar for Philadelphia (1994) and Forrest Gump (1995)
Won for Best Actor Golden Globe for Big (1989), Philadelphia (1994), Forrest Gump (1995), and Cast Away (2001)
Winner of the Cecil B. DeMille Award (2020)
- 12Fountainbridge, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Goldfinger, The Untouchables, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Dr. No, The Rock
- 13Mount Vernon, New York, USA
- Credits (Film): Remember the Titans, Glory, Training Day, Philadelphia, American Gangster
- 14Rotherhithe, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman Begins, Inception, The Prestige
- 15Greenwich, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Gangs of New York, The Last of the Mohicans, There Will Be Blood, Lincoln, Gandhi
- 16Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Credits (Film): Star Wars, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Blade Runner, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Apocalypse Now
- 17San Diego, California, USA
- Credits (Film): The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, To Kill a Mockingbird, MASH
Won for Best Actor Oscar for Tender Mercies (1983)
Won for Best Actor Golden Globe for Tender Mercies (1983)
Won for Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for Apocalypse Now (1979)
- 18La Jolla, San Diego, California
- Credits (Film): To Kill a Mockingbird, Cape Fear, The Omen, Roman Holiday, How the West Was Won
- 19Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Die Hard, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- 20Ixelles, Belgium
- Credits (Film): Breakfast at Tiffany's, My Fair Lady, Roman Holiday, Charade, Wait Until Dark
- 21Heworth, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Casino Royale, Skyfall, Shakespeare in Love, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, GoldenEye
- 22Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Monsters University, The Prince of Egypt, Excalibur, RED, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- 23Ilford, London, United Kingdom
- Credits (Film): Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- 24San Saba, Texas, USA
- Credits (Film): No Country for Old Men, Men in Black, Captain America: The First Avenger, Batman Forever, Men in Black 3
- 25Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America
- Credits (Film): The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Superman, On the Waterfront, Superman Returns
