The chances that you’ve seen at least one film by each actor and actress on this list are probably close to 100%. Read about Hollywood’s earliest stars and starlets who have paved the way for today’s biggest celebrities.
Fred Astaire
Regarded as the most influential dancer in the history of film, Astaire is best known for his work in films like “Swing Time” and “Shall We Dance.”
Christian Bale
Bale is best known for his work in “American Psycho,” “Batman Begins,” and “Vice.” He is known for his intense method acting style, and goes to extreme lengths to transform himself into his characters.
Javier Bardem
Bardem won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2007’s “No Country For Old Men.” He married actress Penelope Cruz in 2010.
Humphrey Bogart
Bogart has been deemed a cultural icon for his work from the Classical Hollywood era. He is best known for his work in “Casablanca” and “To Have and Have Not.”
Marlon Brando
Brando’s impressive career spanned nearly 60 years. He is featured in “The Godfather,” “Apocolypse Now,” and “A Streetcar Named Desire.” He has won two Academy Awards.
Richard Burton
Burton established himself as a Shakespearean actor in the 1950’s, and gave an impressive performace of “Hamlet” in 1964. He is also known for his work in “Cleaopatra,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “The Taming of the Shrew.”
Daniel Day-Lewis
The elusive Daniel Day-Lewis is most known for threatening to quit acting at the peaks of his career. He delivered groundbreaking performances in “The Last of the Mohicans,” “There Will Be Blood,” and “Lincoln.”
James Dean
Dean died in a car crash in 1955 when he was just 24 years old, just as his career was picking up. His breakout roles were in “East of Eden,” and “Rebel Without a Cause.” He embodied the 1950’s “troubled teen” motif that still persists today.
Robert De Niro
De Niro is one of our most celebrated actors. He is a recipient of two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and a Cecil B DeMille Award. He is best known for “Taxi Driver,” “Goodfellas,” and “Cape Fear.”
Dustin Hoffman
Hoffman has been called one of the greatest actors of all time. He’s starred in works like “Rain Man,” “The Graduate,” and “Tootsie.” He’s known for his versatile portrayal of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters.
Robert Duvall
Duvall’s acting and filmmaking career has spanned over six decades. He has been nominated for seven Academy Awards and seven Golden Globes, and has won a BAFTA, a Screen Actor’s Guild Award, and an Emmy Award. He can be seen in “The Godfather,” “Apocalypse Now,” and “Secondhand Lions.”
Morgan Freeman
Freeman is an actor, director, and film narrator. He won an Academy Award in 2005 for Best Supporting Actor with “Million Dollar Baby,” and he has received Oscar nominations for his performances in “Street Smart,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” and “Invictus.”
Clark Gable
Gable was an American film actor who is often referred to as “The King of Hollywood”. He began his career as an extra in Hollywood silent films between 1924 and 1926, and progressed to supporting roles with a few films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1930.
Cary Grant
Grant was an English-born American actor, known as one of classic Hollywood’s definitive leading men. He began a career in Hollywood in the early 1930s and became known for his transatlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing.
Tom Hanks
Hanks is best known for his comedic and dramatic roles, ranging from Woody in Pixar’s “Toy Story” to the titular character in “Forrest Gump.”
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Hoffman was an American actor, director, and producer. Best known for his distinctive supporting and character roles – typically lowlifes, eccentrics, bullies, and misfits – Hoffman acted in many films from the early 1990s until his death in 2014.
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1992, and was nominated three additional times. Hopkins has also won three BAFTAs, two Emmys, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award. In 1993, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts.
Paul Newman
Newman was an American actor, film director, producer, race car driver, entrepeneur, and philanthropist. He has starred in “The Sting,” “Cool Hand Luke, ” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
Jack Nicholson
Nicholson is an American actor and filmmaker who has performed for over sixty years. He is known for playing a wide range of starring or supporting roles, including satirical comedy, romance, and dark portrayals of anti-heroes and villainous characters.
Gary Oldman
Oldman is an English actor and filmmaker who has performed in theatre, film, and television. Known for his versatility and expressive acting style, Oldman is regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation.
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier has the fourth-most Academy Award nominations (10) in four acting categories of all time. He starred in more than fifty cinema roles.
Al Pacino
Household name Al Pacino has starred in films for fifty years. His most notable roles are in “The Godfather,” “Scarface,” “Heat,” and “The Devil’s Advocate.”
Gregory Peck
Peck was one of the most popular film stars through the 1940’s-1960’s. His most notable works are “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Roman Holiday” alongside Audrey Hepburn, and “The Yearling.”
Sean Penn
Sean Penn has starred in award-winning films like “Mystic River,” “Milk,” and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.“
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian-American actor and film director. In 1964, Poitier became the first Bahamian and first black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field.
James Stewart
Stewart was an American military officer who became one of the most honored and popular stars in American film history. He was featured in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Rear Window,” and “Vertigo.”
Spencer Tracy
Tracy was an American actor, noted for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Tracy won two Academy Awards for Best Actor from nine nominations, sharing the record for nominations in the category with Laurence Olivier.
Denzel Washington
Washington is an American actor, director, and producer. He has won two Golden Globe Awards, a Tony Award, and two Academy Awards. He can be seen in “Training Day” and “Man on Fire.”
Orson Welles
Welles was an American actor, director, writer and producer who is remembered for his innovative work in radio, theatre and film. He is considered one of the greatest film directors of all time.
Robin Williams
Williams was an actor and comedian, starring in films like “The Birdcage,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” Disney’s “Aladdin,” and “Hook.” He suffered from depression and committed suicide in 2014.
Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore got her start when she was a kid, playing Elliot’s sister in “ET,” and later starred in films like “The Wedding Singer” and “Never Been Kissed.”
Francis Bay
Frances Evelyn Bay was a Canadian-American character actress. In a career that spanned 35 years, she acted in a variety of roles both in film and television. Bay was inducted in Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2008.
Halle Berry
Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the romantic drama film Monster’s Ball, becoming the only woman of African American descent to have won the award.
Beth Grant
Grant has starred in “No Country for Old Men,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” and “Donnie Darko.” She has an extensive filmography that even include’s Hulu’s “The Mindy Project.”
Julie Christie
Christie is a two-time Oscar nominee for her work in “Afterglow” and “Away From Her.”
Joan Crawford
The “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane Star” also spawned a biopic based on her life: “Mommie Dearest.” Her famed feud with Bette Davis also inpsired the first season of the FX anthology series: “Feud: Bette and Joan.”
Jamie Lee Curtis
Curtis’s breakout role was in John Carpenter’s original “Halloween,” and she reprised her role several times throughout the franchise, the most recent release being in 2018.
Dame Judy Dench
The seven-time Oscar nominee has only won once: for her role in “Shakespeare in Love.” She has also appeared in “Pride and Prejudice” and “Chocolat.”
Cameron Diaz
Though Diaz’s last role was in 2014, there’s no denying that she was a star in the 90’s and 2000’s. Her iconic role in “There’s Something About Mary” alongside Ben Stiller is still one of her most recognized characters.
Faye Dunaway
Dunaway has earned herself three Golden Globes and an Emmy Award. She portrayed Joan Crawford in “Mommie Dearest,” a role that she regrets.
Carrie Fisher
Her most famed role, Princess Leia, lives on after her death in J.J. Abram’s new “Star Wars” films. Her advocacy for mental health stigma is charitable work that will not be forgotten.
Cloris Leachman
Though she is an actress, Leachman received PETA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.
Lois Maxwell
Maxwell is best known for playing Miss Moneypenny 14 times in the “James Bond” franchise.
Julianne Moore
After five Academy Award nominations, with her first coming in 1998, Julianne Moore finally took home the coveted golden statue for her 2015 work in “Still Alice.”
Maureen O’Sullivan
O’Sullivan played the role of Jane in “Tarzan” six times. She also has seven children – one of them being actress Mia Farrow.
Natalie Portman
This young starlet has been seen in everything from “Star Wars,” “V For Vendetta,” “Black Swan,” and a Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis biopic.
Lin Shaye
Also co-starring in “Something About Mary,” Shaye is most known for her roles in “Nightmare of Elm Street” and “Insidious.”
Dame Maggie Smith
The “Harry Potter” and “Downton Abbey” star has earned herself three Emmy Awards.
Meryl Streep
You’ve seen her in everything from “The Devil Wears Prada” to “Mama Mia” to “Big Little Lies.” Streep’s extensive career has made her a household name and award winner.
Mary Ellen Trainor
Trainor’s most notable appearance was in the film “Lethal Weapon,” where she starred alongside Mel Gibson and Danny Glover.
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver’s career has followed her through generations of fans, with boomers likening her work to 1988’s “Gorillas in the Mist” and millennials remembering her for her portrayal of Warden Louise Walker in 2003’s “Holes.”
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe has played several real-life people. He has taken on roles such as T.S. Elliot and Vincent Van Gogh.
Johnny Depp
An icon since the 1980’s, Depp starred in the cult classic “Cry Baby,” Pirates of the Caribbean,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” and several other indie films.
Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi has a successful Hollywood career, with notable acts including “Armageddon” and “Reservoir Dogs.” The Emmy Award winner joins a fraternity of several actors who have tried their hands in a director’s chair, his most recent project being 2007’s “Interview.”
Sean Connery
Connery was the first-ever actor to play James Bond, reprising the role seven times between 1962-1983.
Sir Christopher Lee
Lee has starred in films such as “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.” He is also incredibly charitable, and was knighted for his efforts.
Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo has a knack for playing the villain, and his acting credits prove that he was incredible in those roles. Comedic film devotees probably remember him from the 2004’s “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.”
Harrison Ford
The “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” alum has racked up several Academy Award nominations.
Vincent Price
Price has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for film and one for television.
Robbie Coltrane
Most known for his role as Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” franchise, Coltrane also lent his voice to Pixar’s “Brave.”