I had in my consideration, besides Oscar recognition, the actor's status in today's industry and cinema history, how he's seen by critics and by audiences, career prospects and "body of work vs quality of work" relation
1.
Jack Nicholson
Born: April 22, 1937 - Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Breakthrough Performance: Easy Rider (1969)
5 Best Performances: Chinatown (1974); One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975); Terms of Endearment (1983); As Good as It Gets (1997); The Departed (2006)
Oscar recognition: 12 nominations | 3 wins (Best Leading Actor for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Best Supporting Actor for Terms of Endearment; Best Leading Actor for As Good as It Gets)
2.
Daniel Day-Lewis
Born: April 29, 1957 - Greenwich, London, England, UK
Breakthrough Performance: A Room With a View (1985)
5 Best Performances: My Left Foot (1989); In the Name of the Father (1993); The Boxer (1997); Gangs of New York (2002); There Will Be Blood (2007)
Oscar recognition: 4 nominations | 2 wins (Best Leading Actor for My Left Foot; Best Leading Actor for There Will Be Blood)
3.
Robert De Niro
Born: August 17, 1943 - New York City, New York, USA
Breakthrough Performance: Mean Streets (1973)
5 Best Performances: The Godfather: Part II (1974); Taxi Driver (1976); Raging Bull (1980); Cape Fear (1991); Meet the Parents (2000)
Oscar recognition: 6 nominations | 2 wins (Best Supporting Actor for The Godfather: Part II; Best Leading Actor for Raging Bull)
4.
Dustin Hoffman
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Born: August 8, 1937 - Los Angeles, California, USA
Breakthrough Performance: The Graduate (1967)
5 Best Performances: Midnight Cowboy (1969); Kramer Vs Kramer (1979); Tootsie (1982); Rain Man (1988); Last Chance Harvey (2008)
Oscar recognition: 7 nominations | 2 wins (Best Leading Actor for Kramer Vs Kramer; Best Leading Actor for Rain Man)
5.
Sean Penn
Born: August 17, 1960 - Santa Monica, California, USA
Breakthrough Performance: Bad Boys (1983)
5 Best Performances: Dead Man Walking (1995); Sweet and Lowdown (1999); I Am Sam (2001); Mystic River (2003); Milk (2008)
Oscar recognition: 5 nominations | 2 wins (Best Leading Actor for Mystic River; Best Leading Actor for Milk)
6.
Al Pacino
Born: April 25, 1940 - New York City, New York, USA
Breakthrough Performance: The Godfather (1972)
5 Best Performances: The Godfather (1972); Serpico (1973); The Godfather: Part II (1974); Scarface (1983); Scent of a Woman (1992)
Oscar recognition: 8 nominations | 1 win (Best Leading Actor for Scent of a Woman)
7.
Russell Crowe
Born: April 7, 1964 - Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
Breakthrough Performance: Proof (1991)
5 Best Performances: The Insider (1999); Gladiator (2000); A Beautiful Mind (2001); Cinderella Man (2005); 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Oscar recognition: 3 nominations | 1 win (Best Leading Actor for Gladiator)
8.
Gary Oldman
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Breakthrough Performance: Sid and Nancy (1986)
5 Best Performances: Prick Up Your Ears (1987); State of Grace (1990); Léon: The Professional (1994); The Contender (2000); Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Oscar recognition: 1 nomination
9.
Denzel Washington
9.
Denzel Washington
Born: December 28, 1954 - Mount Vernon, New York, USA
Breakthrough Performance: Cry Freedom (1987)
5 Best Performances: Cry Freedom (1987); Glory (1989); Malcom X (1992); Training Day (2001); American Gangster (2007);
Oscar recognition: 5 nominations | 2 wins (Best Supporting Actor for Glory; Best Leading Actor for Training Day)
10.
Javier Bardem
10.
Javier Bardem
Born: March 1, 1969 - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
Breakthrough Performance: Jamón, jamón (1992)
5 Best Performances: Before Night Falls (2000); Mondays in the Sun (2002); The Sea Inside (2004); No Country for Old Men (2007); Biutiful (2010)
Oscar recognition: 3 nominations | 1 win (Best Supporting Actor for No Country for Old Men)
11.
Tom Hanks
11.
Tom Hanks
Born: July 9, 1956 - Concord, California, USA
Breakthrough Performance: Big (1988)
5 Best Performances: Philadelphia (1993); Forrest Gump (1994); Saving Private Ryan (1998); Cast Away (2000); Road to Perdition (2002)
Oscar recognition: 5 nominations | 2 wins (Best Leading Actor for Philadelphia; Best Leading Actor for Forrest Gump)
12.
Johnny Depp
12.
Johnny Depp
Born: June 9, 1963 - Owensboro, Kentucky, USA
Breakthrough Performance: Edward Scissorhands (1990)
5 Best Performances: Ed Wood (1994); Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003); Finding Neverland (2004); Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007); Alice In Wonderland (2010)
Oscar recognition: 3 nominations
13.
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Born: July 23, 1967 - Fairport, New York, USA
Breakthrough Performance: Boogie Nights (1997)
5 Best Performances: Almost Famous (2000); Capote (2005); The Savages (2007); Charlie's Wilson War (2007); Doubt (2008)
Oscar recognition: 3 nominations | 1 win (Best Leading Actor for Capote)
14.
Ryan Gosling
Breakthrough Performance: The Believer (2001)
5 Best Performances: Half Nelson (2006); Lars and the Real Girl (2007); Blue Valentine (2010); Drive (2011); Crazy Stupid Love (2011)
Oscar recognition: 1 nomination
15.
Morgan Freeman
Born: June 1, 1937 - Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Breakthrough Performance: Street Smart (1987)
5 Best Performances: Driving Miss Daisy (1989); The Shawshank Redemption (1994); Se7en (1995); Million Dollar Baby (2004); Invictus (2009)
Oscar recognition: 5 nominations | 1 win (Best Supporting Actor for Million Dollar Baby)
16.
Born: March 14, 1933 - Rotherhithe, London, England, UK
Breakthrough Performance: The Ipcress File (1965)
5 Best Performances: Alfie (1966); Educating Rita (1983); Hannah and Her Sisters (1986); The Cider House Rules (1999); The Quiet American (2002)
Oscar recognition: 6 nominations | 2 wins (Best Supporting Actor for Hannah and Her Sisters; Best Supporting Actor for The Cider House Rules)
17.
Jeff Bridges
Born: December 4, 1949 - Los Angeles, California, USA
Breakthrough Performance: The Last Picture Show (1971)
5 Best Performances: The Fisher King (1991); The Big Lebowski (1998); The Contender (2000); Crazy Heart (2009); True Grit (2010)
Oscar recognition: 6 nominations | 1 win (Best Leading Actor for Crazy Heart)
16.
Michael Caine
Breakthrough Performance: The Ipcress File (1965)
5 Best Performances: Alfie (1966); Educating Rita (1983); Hannah and Her Sisters (1986); The Cider House Rules (1999); The Quiet American (2002)
Oscar recognition: 6 nominations | 2 wins (Best Supporting Actor for Hannah and Her Sisters; Best Supporting Actor for The Cider House Rules)
17.
Jeff Bridges
Breakthrough Performance: The Last Picture Show (1971)
5 Best Performances: The Fisher King (1991); The Big Lebowski (1998); The Contender (2000); Crazy Heart (2009); True Grit (2010)
Oscar recognition: 6 nominations | 1 win (Best Leading Actor for Crazy Heart)
18.
Christian Bale
Born: January 30, 1974 - Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Breakthrough Performance: Empire of the Sun (1987)
5 Best Performances: American Psycho (2000); The Machinist (2004); The Prestige (2006); Rescue Dawn (2007); The Fighter (2010)
Oscar recognition: 1 nomination | 1 win (Best Supporting Actor for The Fighter)
19.
Geoffrey Rush
19.
Geoffrey Rush
Born: July 6, 1951 - Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Breakthrough Performance: Shine (1996)
5 Best Performances: Shine (1996); Shakespeare in Love (1998); Quills (2000); Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl (2003); The King's Speech (2010)
Oscar recognition: 4 nominations | 1 win (Best Leading Actor for Shine)
20.
Michael Fassbender
20.
Michael Fassbender
Born: April 2, 1977 - Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Breakthrough Performance: Hunger (2008)
5 Best Performances: Hunger (2008); Fish Tank (2009); A Dangerous Method (2011); Shame (2011); Prometheus (2012)
Oscar recognition: 0 nominations
21.
Bill Murray
Born: September 21, 1950 - Wilmette, Illinois, USA
Breakthrough Performance: Ghostbusters (1984)
5 Best Performances: Rushmore (1998); Lost In Translation (2003); Broken Flowers (2005); Get Low (2010); Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Oscar recognition: 1 nomination
22.
Leonardo DiCaprio
22.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Born: November 11, 1974 - Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
Breakthrough Performance: What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
5 Best Performances: What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993); The Aviator (2004); The Departed (2006); Revolutionary Road (2008); J. Edgar (2011)
Oscar recognition: 3 nominations
23.
Anthony Hopkins
23.
Anthony Hopkins
Born: December 31, 1937 - Margam, Port Talbot, West Glamorgan, Wales, UK
Breakthrough Performance: The Lion in Winter (1968)
5 Best Performances: Magic (1978); The Silence of the Lambs (1991); Shadowlands (1993); Amistad (1997); Proof (2005)
Oscar recognition: 4 nominations | 1 win (Best Leading Actor for The Silence of the Lambs)
24.
Brad Pitt
24.
Brad Pitt
Born: December 18, 1963 - Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA
Breakthrough Performance: Thelma & Louise (1991)
5 Best Performances: 12 Monkeys (1995); Babel (2006); Burn After Reading (2008); The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008); The Tree of Life (2011)
Oscar recognition: 3 nominations
25.
25.
George Clooney
Born: May 6, 1961 - Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Breakthrough Performance: One Fine Day (1996)
5 Best Performances: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000); Syriana (2005); Michael Clayton (2007); Up In the Air (2009); The Descendants (2011)
Oscar recognition: 4 nominations | 1 win (Best Supporting Actor for Syriana)
26.
Edward Norton
Born: August 18, 1969 - Baltimore, Maryland, USA
26.
Edward Norton
Breakthrough Performance: Primal Fear (1996)
5 Best Performances: Everyone Says I Love You (1996); Primal Fear (1996); American History X (1998); Fight Club (1999); The Painted Veil (2006)
Oscar recognition: 2 nominations
27.
Joaquin Phoenix
Born: October 28, 1974 - San Juan, Puerto Rico
27.
Joaquin Phoenix
Breakthrough Performance: To Die For (1995)
5 Best Performances: Quills (2000); Gladiator (2000); Walk the Line (2005); We Own the Night (2007); Two Lovers (2008)
Oscar recognition: 2 nominations
28.
Born: November 22, 1967 - Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
Breakthrough Performance: You Can Count On Me (2000)
5 Best Performances: You Can Count On Me (2000); Blindness (2008); What Doesn't Kill You (2008); The Kids Are All Right (2010); The Avengers (2012)
Oscar recognition: 1 nomination
29.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
28.
Mark Ruffalo
Breakthrough Performance: You Can Count On Me (2000)
5 Best Performances: You Can Count On Me (2000); Blindness (2008); What Doesn't Kill You (2008); The Kids Are All Right (2010); The Avengers (2012)
Oscar recognition: 1 nomination
29.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Born: February 17, 1981 - Los Angeles, California, USA
Breakthrough Performance: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
5 Best Performances: Manic (2001); Mysterious Skin (2004); Brick (2005); (500) Days of Summer (2009); 50/50 (2011)
Oscar recognition: 0 nominations
30.
Will Smith
Breakthrough Performance: Men In Black (1997)
5 Best Performances: Men In Black (1997); Ali (2001); Hitch (2005); The Pursuit of Happyness (2006); I Am Legend (2007)
Oscar recognition: 2 nominations
Title: TOP 30 Actors Working Today: 2012
Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
8:22 AM
Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
8:22 AM
