These men need no introduction. The male actors on this list not only dominated films, they defined an era and transcended generations of moviegoers with their cinematic magic. Kids not even born when these preeminent icons were in their primes know who they are because of the classic movies they starred in and the seminal performances they delivered.
Below is the list of the 20 greatest actors of all time, as compiled by SlashFilm and MSN.com
Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise is best known for the Mission: Impossible and Top Gun, but Cruise may be the best setup man ever. His ability to play reformed scumbags and degenerates have helped other actors win Oscars in Rain Man and Jerry Maguire, or get others Academy Award nominations in The Firm, Tropic Thunder and Collateral.
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman owns one of the most recognizable baritone voices this side of James Earl Jones, and has been putting in the work since the 1960s. His breakthrough year came in 1989 with the release of Glory, Lean on Me, and Driving Miss Daisy. His most beloved film might be the dark prison film, The Shawshank Redemption.
Al Pacino
Al Pacino has become synonymous with gripping gangster fare, with The Godfather being the best film ever from that genre. But he also shined in Scarface, Donnie Brasco, Carlito’s Way and Heat. Pacino has shown his diverse range by being nominated for an Oscar in five consecutive years, from 1972-76 with The Godfather, Serpico, The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon, and … And Justice for All.
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy came to fame in the 1930s playing working-class characters with an earnest heart of gold in movies like Captains Courageous and Boys Town.
Jack Nicholson
Nicholson has won three Academy Awards for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Terms of Endearment, and As Good as it Gets. He’s also thrived as a crazed man in The Shining, as well as in antagonistic roles, like Batman, A Few Good Menand The Departed, often stealing scenes from the hero characters he opposed.
Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin was the biggest of the great actors from the silent movie era more than 100 years ago.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio was a child actor who became internationally known as a pretty-boy ladies’ man in Titanic. He then powered through one classic film after another, including The Aviator, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Django Unchained, and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Gene Hackman
Hackman became known in the 1960s with Bonnie and Clyde, before moving on to The French Connection, The Conversation, The Poseidon Adventure, Superman, Reds, Unforgiven, and The Firm.
Lawrence Olivier
Olivier’s impressive on-screen work spoke for itself. His contributions to acting led to the British equivalent of the Tony Awards being named after him.
Peter O’Toole
Considered one of the greatest actors to never win a competitive Academy Award despite eight nominations across his career.
Jimmy Stewart
Stewart was beloved for his everyman idealism, like in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It’s a Wonderful Life.
Robert De Niro
De Niro is widely considered one of the most versatile actors in modern cinematic history with The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Deer Hunter, and the comedy Meet the Fockers.
Sidney Poitier
A pioneer in every sense of the word, Sidney Poitier delivered quiet intensity and intelligence on the screen, particularly in his groundbreaking Academy Award-nominated role in The Defiant Ones and the 1963 dramedy Lillies in the Field.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Phillip Seymour Hoffman was adept at playing anything from comedic buffoons in movies like The Big Lebowski, Twisterand Boogie Nights to charismatically complex figures in Doubt, The Master and The Hunger Games.
Cary Grant
Cary Grant is best known for his Alfred Hitchcock collaborations including Notorious, To Catch a Thief, and North by Northwest.
Daniel Day-Lewis
Known as the supreme character actor of his generation, Daniel Day-Lewis has marveled theatergoers worldwide, winning three Oscars, with his enthralling performances in such films as Gangs of New York and Lincoln.
Toshiro Mifune
Arguably the greatest Japanese actor ever, known for his roles in “Seven Samurai,” “Yojimbo,” and “High and Low.”
Paul Newman
Paul Newman was the previous generation’s matinee idol whom women swooned over in such films as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Hustler, Hud, Cool Hand Luke, and The Sting.
Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington is the quintessential actor whom other great actors look up to. Even the great Tom Hanks, who also won Academy Awards, said playing alongside Washington in Philadelphia was like going to “film school.” The native New Yorker won his Oscars playing a Civil War soldier in Glory and a diabolical cop in Training Day, but also sizzled on the screen with The Equalizer, Malcolm X, The Hurricane, Cry Freedom, Man on Fire, Antwone Fisher and Fences.
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando effortlessly played nuanced characters of all kinds in memorable films such as A Streetcar Named Desireand On the Waterfront, a proto-counterculture rebel in The Wild One, a musical role in Guys and Dolls, a superhero’s father in Superman and the patriarch of a crime syndicate in The Godfather.
