Best American Actors

How's this for a range, both of character and time: with Dustin Hoffman in "Midnight Cowboy" in 1969 and as Mr. Sir in "Holes" in 2003. Got to act with his daughter Angelina Jolie in "Laure Croft Tomb Raider" - that had to be cool.

Never won an academy award for acting - but personifies a lot of great characters (Dirty Harry, the man with no name, Gunny Highway)

In the 50's - the number 1 top actor. From Ben Hur, to Ten Commandments, to El Cid, his range is phenomenal. Carries Planet of the Apes in the 70's. Chuck should be in the top 10 easily.

Now before you go "huh?" - hear me out. Compare these five films against any other actors best five films: Good Will Hunting (good guy psycharistrist), Insomnia (bad guy psycopath), Jack (10 year old trapped in a 40 year old body), Mrs. Doubtfire (in drag), and Dead Poet's Society (against the current professor). Look at the range. Still, I doubt he'll ever win an Academy Award - too much baggage.

Another tough guy from the 70's, could play a good guy or bad guy equally well. My favorite role is the leader of the Dirty Dozen, but if you want to study acting - check he and Toshiro Mifune (top 10 Japanese actor, if anyone's making a list) in "Hell In the Pacific" - two actors, neither speaks the other's language.

The impact Elvis had on rock-n-roll music, Brando had on film acting. Revolutionized acting for film - blending subtlety and character motivation to produce realism. Career went downhill when he got old, but take a look at his films from the 50's and 60's. (See "On the Waterfront")

Another guy that can play the hero (Longest Day), the villian (Cape Fear) or in between (They Drive at Night). My favoritie Mitchum character is Sheriff Harah in "El Dorado" with John Wayne.

I cannot name a movie Tracy made where he acted poorly. Like Joe Dimaggio, he never mailed it in. Even played a bad guy once in Dr Jeykll / Mr Hyde.

Hard to tell if this guy was ever acting, or if this was really just the way he was. A lot of good films on his resume.

Gotta be Top 100, right?

Citizen Kane - a top 10 movie, carried by Welles. The Third Man - Welles plays a "likeable" bad guy. "Touch of Evil" - Welles plays a bad guy you don't like. A true cinematic genious. (Note: Welles was the guy who did thefamous radio broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1939 Halloaween night.)

Check out To Kill a Mocking Bird - portrays a quiet hero, but not perfect. In back to back to back years he played the father in the Omen, Generla Douglas MacArthur, and Dr. Josef Mengele (in Boys from Brazil) - unbelievebale range.

Watch Red River if you want to see a slightly-built man tangle with John Wayne and hold his own. Check out From Here to Eternity - same thing, Clift against Ernest Borgnine. He died too young.

Before "Streets of San Francisco", Malden had a very good film career. Rarely got to paly the lead, but also just as rarely to he ever get truly outshined by the lead. He held his own playing opposite some of the heaviest hitters of his time.

Easily in the top 100. Top 50? Hard to say. Made his fame playing gangsters. Did a few good guy roles. Still, I never saw him do a bad job acting.

To know how good an actor Scott is. Watch Patton, but go in knowing the writer and director wanted to show how much a sonvabItch Patton was. Scott portarys him with all his flaws and bravado and intelligence - you root for him, and cheer for him. The role (and from what I've heard, the real man) was not a likeable one.

Should be #1 for one reason - could play a hero or a villian equally great. Hero: Rick in Casablanca, villian: Capt Quig (sp?) in the Caine Mutiny. How does a guy that short "sell" us that he's a tough guy? Answer: great actor.

I'm just throwing his name out here for the top 100. He could be #98 or #102. It's very possible there are 100 better actors than him, but I liked watching the guy work.

Another very good character actor that will probably never win an Academy Award. Got to play an imaginary friend oppsite Russell Crowe's "Beautiful Mind". Played the controller in Apollo 13. Played Pollack in Pollack. Good actor.

Top 10 American Actor, can't keep this guy out of the top 10. Too many memorable roles (see Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cool Hand Luke, The Sting, Butch and Sundance, all the way to Road to Perdition. Hard to pick a best role.

From Sonny in the Godfather to Jonathon E in Rollerball, James Caan was "the" top actor in the early 70's. A tough guy with a romantic side.

Check out "Dog Day Afternoon", then "Heat". Complicated characters drive this guy. Sandwiched in between are the three "Godfather" movies. Again, how many people have actually watched Scarface - but lots of people remmebr "Say heloo to my little friend!" Pacino should be in Top 10 of any list of American Film Actors.

- Good looks, great actor (The Razor's Edge, Mark of Zorro). How can someone that good not be included?

3 academy awards for acting (Philadelphia, Apollo 13 and one other I think). Even tried to play a bad guy in Road to Perdition. Want to see a great scene by an actor: the Green Mile, Hanks as Paul Edgecombe trying to make it to the outhouse with a urinary tract infection - he sells the pain.

Hugely versatile actor. Should have won a legitimate Oscar for either Grapes of Wrath or "Once Upon on Time in the West". One of only a few actors to play the same role (Adm Chester Nimitz) in two different movies ("In Harm's Way" and "Midawy") adecade apart (1965 and 1976)

Unmistakable voice. Played good guys and bad guys (some very bad guys.)

Tends to play best as a cowboy, but two of his top 3 roles were not: (the was that was: Lonesome Dove, the other two: Kilgore in Apocalypse Now and Hagen in "the Godfather". How many actors get to deliver a line that an entire society knows, even if they haven't seen the movie (and even if they don't get the line right) - "I love the smell of napalm in the morning...." (..."smells like victory")

Another very intelligent actor. Best role is probably as the Head Marshal in the Fugitive. You could argue his best work was with Will Smith in MIB (because of his age at that point.) The movie "Under Siege" was terrible, but I still liked watching TLJ work. Trivia: was Al Gore's roommate at Harvard.

Before he was Rockford, he had a string of top noth roles in film.

The other half of Butch and Sundance and "The Sting", he was a better actor than many give him credit for. Very watchable actor. Did a great job in the Horse Whisperer.

Every actor can play a good guy. Lionel Barrymore played one of the nastiest characters ever put on film playing Potter in "It's a Wonderful Life". Did it from a wheel chair too.

Jeez - just watch this guy's movies. Spartacus. Play's a hero and a bad guy (same character) in "In Harm's Way". Watch this guy in "Path's of Glory". Watch :Lust for Life" - he play's Vincent van Gogh.

Too many good roles to ignore. Would he have made it in Hollywood without his famous father - he has the talent, would have needed a break. Another actor with many good roles, one of my favorites is as Gordon Gecho in "Wall Street". (Then he reprised the role some 20 years later.)

Top 20 at least. Very, very good emotional actor. Portrayed strong black characters when white America was just coming to grips with a stronger black community in the 1960's. That had to be tough.

Could do film and television with equal panache. Easily a Top 100 guy.

Very good actor - only crticism: he never played a bad guy. I don't think he could do it. But for good guy, hero roles - one of the best. See "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo", the "Brigadoon". Can play up and down (joy to sadness back to joy) roles better than anyone.

I'd put him in the top 100. Watch "Manchurian Candidate" and "From Here to Eternity"

How good is this guy - watch "Marathon Man", then "Kramer vs Kramer". I hated the concept of "Tootsie", but try watching it and hating it - you can't do it - because of Hoffman.

Here is a guy that could play a plotting, scheming bad guy. The "bad" colonel in Dirty Dozen, the head honcho in "Bad Day at Black Rock", and then can play good guy John the Baptist in "King of Kings"

Check out Dirty Dozen (slow witted soldier), Klute (hardened detective) and Backdraft (jailed arsonist). I don't have a favorite roll - he creates such good characters - see tank commander in "Kelly's Heroes" vs ex-pilot in "Space Cowboys"

Too many roles to list. This guy can act. Forget about his off-the-field troubles. Would rank him in the Top 25. Not higher only because you're talking darn near a century now of "talkies" - he's up against some legends.

One of the most intelligently speaking actors you'll find. Cannot play an idiot. I think he played the first black President of the US. See "Shawshank Redemption". Another man with a voice you can identify in 5 seconds.

Before his money troubles, realed off a numbit of hit films. Check out his role in Demolition Man. You can tell he had fun with the bad guy role.

This guy has really grown. From his TV days as the Fresh Prince, check him out in "Pursuit of Happiness", "Seven Pounds" and "Ali". Very heavy roles. (Of course, he is capable of making stinkers like "Hancock", also.)

This guy died way too young. Hi Joker in the Dark Knight is a triumph for an arch-villian. Holds his own with Mel Gibson in the Patriot.

Check him out in Apocalypse Now. Good work. Best film work was early with "Badlands", best TV work was late as the President in "West Wing". Also, you should get extra credit if two of your kids go into acting (Charlie Sheen and Emilo Estevez (Sheen's real last name))

Very decent actor. Again, compare his roles in these five films against another actor's five best: Good Will Hunting, The Bourne Identity, True Grit (the remake), the Departed (although I like Leo Dicaprio better), and the Talented Mr. Ripley. I'm not saying he's top 10, but top 50 probably.