Best actors ever

Jerome Silberman (June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016), known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, singer-songwriter and author.

Wilder began his career on stage, and made his screen debut in an episode of the TV series The Play of the Week in 1961. Although his first film role was portraying a hostage in the 1967 motion picture Bonnie and Clyde,[1] Wilder's first major role was as Leopold Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This was the first in a series of collaborations with writer/director Mel Brooks, including 1974's Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, which Wilder co-wrote, garnering the pair an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Wilder is known for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and for his four films with Richard Pryor: Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), and Another You (1991).[1] Wilder directed and wrote several of his own films, including The Woman in Red (1984).

His third wife was actress Gilda Radner, with whom he starred in three films, the last two of which he also directed. Her 1989 death from ovarian cancer led to his active involvement in promoting cancer awareness and treatment, helping found the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Center in Los Angeles[1] and co-founding Gilda's Club.

After his last contribution to acting in 2003 – a guest role on Will & Grace for which he received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor – Wilder turned his attention to writing. He produced a memoir in 2005, Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art; a collection of stories, What Is This Thing Called Love? (2010); and the novels My French Whore (2007), The Woman Who Wouldn't (2008) and Something to Remember You By (2013).

Danny Trejo (born May 16, 1944) is an American actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, often as villains and anti-heroes. His films include Heat (1995), Con Air (1997), and Desperado (1995), the latter with frequent collaborator Robert Rodriguez. Trejo is perhaps most recognized as the character Machete, originally developed by Rodriguez for the Spy Kids series of movies and later expanded into Trejo's own series of films aimed at a more adult audience. He has appeared in TV shows such as Breaking Bad, The X-Files, and Sons of Anarchy. He also appeared in the spoof movie Delta Farce as the killer Carlos Santana who in the movie keeps getting mistaken for the musician.

Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. (June 13, 1918 – April 8, 1996) was an American stuntman, world champion rodeo cowboy, and Academy Award-winning actor. The son of a rancher, Johnson arrived in Hollywood to deliver a consignment of horses for a film. He did stunt-double work for several years before breaking into acting through the good offices of John Ford. Tall and laconic, Johnson brought further authenticity to many roles in Westerns with his extraordinary horsemanship. An elegiac portrayal of a former cowboy theatre owner in the 1950s coming-of-age drama, The Last Picture Show, won Johnson the 1971 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. He operated a horse-breeding farm throughout his career. Although he said he had succeeded by sticking to what he knew, shrewd real estate investments made Johnson worth an estimated $100 million by his latter years.[1]

Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison; May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed Duke, was an American actor and filmmaker.[1] An Academy Award-winner for True Grit (1969), Wayne was among the top box office draws for three decades.[2][3]

Born in Winterset, Iowa, Wayne grew up in Southern California. He found work at local film studios when he lost his football scholarship to the University of Southern California as a result of a bodysurfing accident.[4]:63–64 Initially working for the Fox Film Corporation, he appeared mostly in small bit parts. His first leading role came in Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail (1930), which led to leading roles in numerous B movies throughout the 1930s, many of them in the Western genre.

Wayne's career took off in 1939, with John Ford's Stagecoach making him an instant star. He went on to star in 142 pictures. Biographer Ronald Davis said, "John Wayne personified for millions the nation's frontier heritage. Eighty-three of his movies were Westerns, and in them he played cowboys, cavalrymen, and unconquerable loners extracted from the Republic's central creation myth."[5]

Wayne's other well-known Western roles include a cattleman driving his herd north on the Chisholm Trail in Red River (1948), a Civil War veteran whose young niece is abducted by a tribe of Comanches in The Searchers (1956), and a troubled rancher competing with a lawyer for a woman's hand in marriage in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He is also remembered for his roles in The Quiet Man (1952), Rio Bravo (1959), and The Longest Day (1962). In his final screen performance, he starred as an aging gunfighter battling cancer in The Shootist (1976). He appeared with many important Hollywood stars of his era, and his last public appearance was at the Academy Awards ceremony on April 9, 1979.[6][7][8]

Heywood "Woody" Allen[1] (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; December 1, 1935)[2] is an American director, writer, actor, comedian, playwright, and musician whose career spans more than six decades.

He worked as a comedy writer in the 1950s, writing jokes and scripts for television and publishing several books of short humor pieces. In the early 1960s, Allen began performing as a stand-up comedian, emphasizing monologues rather than traditional jokes. As a comedian, he developed the persona of an insecure, intellectual, fretful nebbish, which he maintains is quite different from his real-life personality.[3] In 2004, Comedy Central[4] ranked Allen in fourth place on a list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians, while a UK survey ranked Allen as the third greatest comedian.[5]

By the mid-1960s Allen was writing and directing films, first specializing in slapstick comedies before moving into dramatic material influenced by European art cinema during the 1970s, and alternating between comedies and dramas to the present. He is often identified as part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmakers of the mid-1960s to late 1970s.[6] Allen often stars in his films, typically in the persona he developed as a standup. Some of the best-known of his over 40 films are Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979), and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). In 2007 he said Stardust Memories (1980), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), and Match Point (2005) were his best films.[7] Critic Roger Ebert described Allen as "a treasure of the cinema."[8]

Allen won four Academy Awards: three for Best Original Screenplay and one for Best Director (Annie Hall). He also won nine British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards. His screenplay for Annie Hall was named the funniest screenplay by the Writers Guild of America in its list of the "101 Funniest Screenplays."[9] In 2011, PBS televised the film biography Woody Allen: A Documentary on the American Masters TV series.[10]

Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni, Knight Grand Cross (Italian pronunciation: [marˈtʃɛllo mastroˈjanni]; 28 September 1924 – 19 December 1996) was an Italian film actor. His prominent films include: La Dolce Vita; 8½; La Notte; Divorce, Italian Style; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; Marriage Italian-Style; The 10th Victim; A Special Day; City of Women; Henry IV; Dark Eyes; and Stanno tutti bene. His honours included British Film Academy Awards, Best Actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival and two Golden Globe Awards.

Brion Howard James (February 20, 1945 – August 7, 1999) was an American character actor. Known for playing the character of Leon Kowalski in the movie Blade Runner, James portrayed a variety of colorful roles in well-known films such as Southern Comfort, 48 Hrs., Another 48 Hrs., Tango & Cash, Red Heat, The Player and The Fifth Element. Diplomatic Siege with Peter Weller, 1999, may have been his last role

James' commanding screen presence and formidable physique at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall[1] usually resulted in his casting as a heavy, appearing more frequently in lower-budget horror and action films and TV shows throughout the 1980s and 1990s. James appeared in more than 100 films before he died of a heart attack, aged 54.

Mako Iwamatsu (岩松 マコ Iwamatsu Mako?, December 10, 1933 – July 21, 2006) was a Japanese American actor and voice artist who was nominated for numerous awards. Many of his acting roles credited him simply as Mako, where he omitted his surname. He is best known for his roles as Po-Han in The Sand Pebbles (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), Akiro the Wizard in Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer, and for his voice roles as Aku in Samurai Jack and Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7095 Hollywood Blvd.

John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer who became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of Citizen Kane and his storied collaboration with writer Raymond Chandler's intoxicated screenplay rendering as producer of The Blue Dahlia. He is perhaps best known for his role as Professor Charles W. Kingsfield in the film The Paper Chase (1973), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He reprised his role as Kingsfield in the subsequent television series adaptation of The Paper Chase. Houseman was also known for his commercials for the brokerage firm Smith Barney. He had a distinctive Mid-Atlantic English accent, in common with many actors of his generation.

Forest Steven Whitaker III (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, producer, and director.

Whitaker has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird, Platoon, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and The Butler,[1][2] and for his work in independent films and for his recurring role as LAPD Internal Affairs Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the Emmy Award-winning television series The Shield.[3]

For his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland, Whitaker won the Academy Award, British Academy Film Award, Golden Globe Award, National Board of Review Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and various critics groups awards.

William James "Bill" Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. He made his film debut in the 1986 film Ruthless People, and has since gone on to star in other films, such as Spaceballs (1987), While You Were Sleeping (1995), Casper (1995), Independence Day (1996) and Lost Highway (1997). He has also appeared regularly on television, usually in films and miniseries, though he also had a starring role in the one-season show 1600 Penn.

Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian actor. He portrayed Michael Bergen on the ABC sitcom Two Guys and a Girl (1998–2001), Billy Simpson in the YTV Canadian teen soap opera Hillside (1991), as well as Marvel Comics characters Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity (2004), Wade Wilson / Weapon XI in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and the title character in Deadpool (2016) for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination.

Additionally, he portrayed the Hal Jordan version of the DC Comics superhero Green Lantern in the 2011 film of the same name. Reynolds has also starred in films such as National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002), The Amityville Horror (2005), Definitely, Maybe (2008), The Proposal (2009), Buried (2010), The Croods (2013), and Woman in Gold (2015).

John Marwood Cleese (/ˈkliːz/; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, voice actor, screenwriter, producer, and comedian. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report. In the late 1960s, he co-founded Monty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus and the four Monty Python films: And Now for Something Completely Different, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life.

In the mid-1970s, Cleese and his first wife, Connie Booth, co-wrote and starred in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, with Cleese receiving the 1980 BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance. Later, he co-starred with Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis, and former Python colleague Michael Palin in A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures, both of which he also wrote. He also starred in Clockwise and has appeared in many other films, including two James Bond films as R and Q, two Harry Potter films, and the last three Shrek films.

With Yes Minister writer Antony Jay, he co-founded Video Arts, a production company making entertaining training films. In 1976, Cleese co-founded The Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International.

Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 3 October 1998), known as Roddy McDowall, was an English-American actor, voice artist, film director and photographer. He is best known for portraying Cornelius and Caesar in the original Planet of the Apes film series, as well as Galen in the spin-off television series. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in How Green Was My Valley (1941), My Friend Flicka (1943) and Lassie Come Home (1943).

As an adult, McDowall appeared most frequently as a character actor on radio, stage, film, and television. For portraying Augustus in the historical drama Cleopatra (1963), he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. Other titles include The Longest Day (1962), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Inside Daisy Clover (1968), That Darn Cat! (1968), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Funny Lady (1975), The Black Hole (1979), Class of 1984 (1982), Fright Night (1985), Fright Night Part 2 (1988) and A Bug's Life (1998). He also served in various positions on the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Selection Committee for the Kennedy Center Honors, further contributing to various charities related to the film industry and film preservation.

William George "Billy" Zane, Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for playing Hughie in the thriller Dead Calm (1989), Kit Walker / The Phantom in the superhero film The Phantom (1996), Caledon Hockley in the epic romantic disaster film Titanic (1997), and for his television role as John Wheeler in the serial drama series Twin Peaks.

His other film credits include roles in the science fiction comedies Back to the Future (1985) and Back to the Future Part II (1989), the Western film Tombstone (1993), the horror film Demon Knight (1995), and the comedy-drama CQ (2001).

Raúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor who received international recognition in America.[1] Born in San Juan, he gained interest in acting while still in school. Upon completing his studies, Juliá decided to pursue a career in acting. After performing locally for some time, he was convinced by entertainment personality Orson Bean to move and work in New York City. Juliá, who had been bilingual since his childhood, soon gained interest in Broadway and Off-Broadway plays. He took over in the role of Orson in the Off-Broadway hit Your Own Thing, a rock musical updating of Twelfth Night. He performed in mobile projects, including The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre.

Juliá was eventually noticed by Joseph Papp, who offered him work in the New York Shakespeare Festival. After gaining visibility, he received roles in two television series, Love of Life and Sesame Street. For his performance in Two Gentlemen of Verona, he received a nomination for the Tony Award and won a Drama Desk Award. Between 1974 and 1982, Juliá received Tony Award nominations for Where's Charley?, The Threepenny Opera and Nine. During the 1980s, he worked in several films, receiving nominations for the Golden Globe Awards, for his performance in Tempest, and Kiss of the Spider Woman, winning the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for the latter.

In 1991 and 1993, Juliá portrayed Gomez Addams in two film adaptations of The Addams Family. In 1994, he filmed The Burning Season, for which he won a Golden Globe Best Actor award, and a film adaptation of the Street Fighter video games. Later that year, Juliá suffered several health afflictions, eventually dying after suffering a stroke. His funeral was held in Puerto Rico, being attended by thousands. For his work in The Burning Season, Juliá won a posthumous Golden Globe, Emmy and SAG Award.

Leslie William Nielsen, OC (11 February 1926 – 28 November 2010) was a Canadian actor, comedian, and producer.[1][2] He appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters.[3]

Nielsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and later worked as a disc jockey before receiving a scholarship to study theatre at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Making his acting debut in 1950, appearing in 46 live television programs a year. Nielsen made his film debut in 1956, with supporting roles in several drama, western, and romance films produced between the 1950s and the 1970s.

Although his performances in the films Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure gave him standing as a serious actor, Nielsen later gained enduring recognition for his deadpan comedy roles during the 1980s, after being cast against type for the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker comedy film Airplane!. In his routines, Nielsen specialized in his portrayal of characters oblivious to and complicit in their absurd surroundings, which gave him a reputation as a comedian.[4] Airplane! marked Nielsen's turning point, which made him "the Olivier of spoofs" according to film critic Roger Ebert;[5] his work on the film also led to further success in the genre with The Naked Gun film series, which are based on their earlier short-lived television series Police Squad!, in which he also starred. Nielsen received a variety of awards and was inducted into the Canada and Hollywood Walks of Fame.

Sir John Mills, CBE (22 February 1908 – 23 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. On screen, he often played people who are not at all exceptional, but become heroes because of their common sense, generosity and good judgment. He received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Ryan's Daughter (1970).

Robert Hays (born July 24, 1947) is an American actor,[1] best known for his role as pilot Ted Striker in the film Airplane! (also known as Flying High)[2] and for his role as Robert Seaver in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.[1]

Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American character actor. He played John Locke on the TV series Lost, the title role in The Stepfather and Stepfather II and was cast in 1996 as Peter Watts in Millennium, which ran for three seasons (1996–1999).

Jonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight (/vɔɪt/; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He is the winner of one Academy Award, having been nominated for four. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards and was nominated for eleven. He is the father of actress Angelina Jolie and actor James Haven.

Voight came to prominence in the late 1960s with his performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo in Midnight Cowboy (1969). During the 1970s, he became a Hollywood star with his portrayals of a businessman mixed up with murder in Deliverance (1972); a paraplegic Vietnam veteran in Coming Home (1978), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Leading Actor; and a penniless ex-boxing champion in the remake of The Champ (1979).

Although his output slowed during the 1980s, Voight received critical acclaim for his performance as a ruthless bank robber in Runaway Train (1985). During the 1990s, Voight made somewhat of a comeback, starring in Michael Mann's cult classic Heat (1995) opposite Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. He portrayed the antagonists in Mission: Impossible (1996), Enemy of the State (1998) and as an unscrupulous showman attorney in Francis Ford Coppola's The Rainmaker (1997), which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Voight gave critically acclaimed biographical performances during the 2000s, appearing as sportscaster Howard Cosell in Ali (2001) for which he was nominated for an Academy Award, as Nazi officer Jürgen Stroop in Uprising (2001), as Franklin D. Roosevelt in Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor (2001) and as Pope John Paul II in the eponymous miniseries (2005). Voight also appears in Showtime's Ray Donovan TV series as Mickey Donovan, a role that brought him newfound critical and audience praise and his fourth Golden Globe win in 2014.