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The American Film Institute gives these Hollywood stars top billing, as they are considered some of the greatest of all time!
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10. Charlie Chaplin
From silent films such as 1921’s The Kid to his turn in 1940’s The Great Dictator, Hollywood’s Little Tramp blended humor and emotion to become the first big international movie star. And, marveled Robert Downey Jr., who portrayed him in the 1992 biopic Chaplin, “he is still the most recognizable image on this planet. Still! That’s what I believe.”
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9. Spencer Tracy
“The guy’s good,” shared Clark Gable of Spencer — the first actor to win back-to-back Oscars with 1937’s Captains Courageous and 1938’s Boys Town. “There’s nobody who can touch him, and you’re a fool to try.”
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8. James Cagney
With a range that stretched from a gangster in 1931’s The Public Enemy to a song-and-dance man in 1942’s Yankee Doodle Dandy, noted admirer Orson Welles called Jimmy “maybe the greatest actor to ever appear in front of a camera. There’s not a fake minute in a Cagney movie.”
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7. Clark Gable
“I’m no actor, and I never have been,” insisted Clark, despite iconic turns in 1934’s It Happened One Night and 1939’s Gone With the Wind. “What people see on the screen is me.”
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6. Henry Fonda
“I don’t think if you took a stick and beat him he could do anything false, he’s incapable,” said Sidney Lumet, who directed Hank in 1957’s 12 Angry Men and knew the key to his greatness. “As a performer, as a man, he’s pure. He’s like a barometer of truth.”
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5. Fred Astaire
“Can’t sing. Can’t act. Can dance a little,” was one exec’s evaluation after Fred’s first screen test. But in pics such as 1935’s Top Hat or 1957’s Funny Face, Fred tapped into distinction by approaching everything the same way. “Do it big, do it right, and do it with style.”
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4. Marlon Brando
While his work on films such as 1953’s The Wild One and 1954’s On the Waterfront should speak for themselves, pal Jack Nicholson had the last word on his idol Marlon. “His impact in the movies was bigger than anybody else’s — ever.”
Jimmy became a legend across 80 films, including The Philadelphia Story, It’s a Wonderful Life and Vertigo, but got criticized for always playing himself. To which he said, “I just quote Larry Olivier: ‘I always play myself with deference to the character.’ Well, if it’s good enough for Olivier, it’s good enough for Stewart!”
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2. Cary Grant
He never won an Oscar, but Cary got major kudos from Alfred Hitchcock, his director on four films, including 1959’s North by Northwest. “Knowing Cary is the greatest association I’ve had with any film actor. Cary is the only actor I ever loved in my life.”
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1. Humphrey Bogart
From The Maltese Falcon to Casablanca and The African Queen, Bogey’s greatness came from the pride in what he was doing. “I don’t approve of the John Waynes and the Gary Coopers saying, ‘Shucks, I ain’t no actor.’ If they aren’t actors, what the hell are they getting paid for? I have respect for my profession. I worked hard at it.”
