The Greatest Modern Day Movie Actors

Submitted by podizz on Tue, 10/14/2008 - 09:46
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  1. Robert De Niro: The Godfather II, The Deer Hunter, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Heat, Cape Fear, Casino, Meet the Parents, Once Upon a Time in America.
  2. Al Pacino: The Godfather, The Godfather II, Scarface, Heat, Scent of a Woman, Carlito's Way, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, Donnie Brasco, The Insider
  3. Jack Nicholson: The Departed, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Shining, Easy Rider, Chinatown, Batman, A Few Good Men, As Good as it Gets, Terms of Endearment, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pledge.
  4. Tom Hanks: Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, The Green Mile, Road to Perdition, Cast Away, A League of Their Own, Big, Philadelphia, Apollo 13, Catch Me if You Can
  5. Sean Penn: 21 Grams, Mystic River, Milk, Dead Man Walking, Carlito's Way, The Thin Red Line, I Am Sam, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Colors, Sweet and Lowdown.
  6. Daniel Day-Lewis: There Will Be Blood, Gangs of New York, My Left Foot, The Last of the Mohicans, In the Name of the Father, The Age of Innocence, The Crucible, The Boxer, Nine, A Room With a View.
  7. Michael Caine: Sleuth, Dark Knight, The Cider House Rules
  8. Anthony Hopkins: Silence of the Lambs, The Remains of the Day, Shadowlands, Nixon, Amistad.
  9. Geoffrey Rush: Shine, The King's Speech, Quills, Pirates of the Caribbean.
  10. Morgan Freeman: The Shawshank Redemption, Unforgiven, Se7en, Glory, The Dark Knight, Million Dollar Baby, Gone, Baby, Gone, Driving Miss Daisy, Street Smart, The Sum of All Fears, Batman Begins, Outbreak, Amistad, Along Came a Spider, High Crimes.
  11. Dustin Hoffman: Rain Man, Midnight Cowboy, The Graduate, Kramer vs. Kramer, Tootsie
  12. Denzel Washington: Malcolm X, Training Day, Glory, American Gangster, Inside Man, Remember The Titans, Courage Under Fire, Philadelphia, The Hurricane, Crimson Tide, The Bone Collector, The Manchurian Candidate, The Siege, Antwone Fisher, He Got Game.
  13. Ben Kingsley: House of Sand and Fog, Gandhi, Schindler's List, Sexy Beast, Shutter Island.
  14. Leonardo DiCaprio: Blood Diamond, The Departed, The Basketball Diaries, Shutter Island, Inception, Gangs of New York, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Aviator, The Beach, The Man in the Iron Mask, Catch Me If You Can, Titanic.
  15. Clint Eastwood: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Dirty Harry, Gran Torino, Escape from Alcatraz, In the Line of Fire, The Bridges of Madison Country, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Hang Em High.
  16. Kevin Spacey: Se7en, The Usual Suspects, American Beauty, LA Confidential, The Negotiator, A Time to Kill, Glengarry Glen Ross, Outbreak, Superman Returns, The United States of Leland.
  17. Russell Crowe: LA Confidential, Gladiator, The Insider, Cinderella Man, A Beautiful Mind, Romper Stomper, 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster, Master and Commander. Blood Oath.
  18. Ed Harris: Pollock
  19. Willem Defoe: Platoon, Shadow of the Vampire, The Last Temptation of Christ, Boondock Saints, To Live and Die in L.A.
  20. Ralph Fiennes: Schindler's List, Harry Potters, The English Patient, The Constant Gardener, Bernard and Doris.
  21. Jon Voight: Coming Home, Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance, Runaway Train, Ali.
  22. Gene Hackman: The French Connection, Unforgiven, Mississippi Burning, Scarecrow, The Royal Tenenbaums.
  23. Harrison Ford: Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Fugitive, Bladerunner, Witness.
  24. Warren Beatty: Bonnie and Clyde, Heaven Can Wait, Reds, Bugsy, Bulworth.
  25. Richard Dreyfus: Jaws, American Graffiti, The Goodbye Girl, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Mr. Holland's Opus.
  26. Matt Damon: The Departed, Good Will Hunting, Saving Private Ryan, Rounders, The Bourne Identity, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ocean's 11, Syriana, School Ties, Dogma.
  27. Brad Pitt: Se7en, Fight Club, The Asassination of Jessie James, Twelve Monkeys, Sleepers, Ocean's Eleven, Babel, Inglourious Bastards, Snatch, True Romance.
  28. Johnny Depp: Edward Scissorhands, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Blow, Finding Neverland, Donnie Brasco, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Platoon, Sleepy Hollow, Ed Wood.
  29. Christian Bale: The Machinist, The Prestige, The Fighter, The Dark Knight, American Psycho, Batman Begins, 3:10 to Yuma, Equilibrium, Rescue Dawn, I'm Not There.
  30. Edward Norton: Fight Club, American History X, Rounders, The Illusionist, 25th Hour, Primal Fear, Keeping the Faith, The Italian Job, Red Dragon, The People vs. Larry Flynt
  31. Ian McKellan: Gods and Monsters, Lord of the Rings, Richard III, X-Men, Apt Pupil.
  32. Sean Connery
  33. Benicio Del Toro: The Usual Suspects, Traffic, 21 Grams, Che, Sin City, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Snatch, Guerrilla, The Argentine, The Pledge, The Way of the Gun.
  34. Phillip Seymour Hoffman: Capote, Magnolia, Doubt, Almost Famous, Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, Charlie Wilson's War, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Flawless, Punch-Drunk Love.
  35. Tommy Lee Jones: The Fugitive, JFK, No Country For Old Men, In the Valley of Elah, Men in Black.
  36. Robert Duvall: The Godfather, The Apostle, Tender Mercies, The Great Santini
  37. Liam Neeson: Schindler's List, Kinsey, Batman Begins, Taken, Michael Collins.
  38. Jeff Bridges: The Big Lebowski, Crazy Heart, True Grit, Starman, The Fabulous Baker Boys.
  39. Christopher Walken: The Deer Hunter, Catch Me If You Can, A View to Kill, The Dead Zone, At Close Range.
  40. Gary Oldman: JFK, The Dark Knight, Leon, Harry Potters, The Book of Eli.
  41. Tom Cruise: Rain Man, Magnolia, A Few Good Men, Born on the Fourth of July, Minority Report, Risky Business, The Color of Money, Jerry Maguire, The Last Samurai, The Firm, Mission Impossible, Tropic Thunder, Top Gun, Vanilla Sky, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicle.
  42. Josh Brolin: No Country for Old Men, W., Milk, True Grit, Goonies.
  43. Tim Robbins: The Shawshank Redemption, Mystic River, The Player
  44. Harvey Keitel: Mean Streets, Bugsy, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Taxi Driver.
  45. Mel Gibson: Braveheart, The Patriot, Lethal Weapon, Ransom, Mad Max,
  46. Will Smith: The Pursuit Of Happiness, Ali, Six Degrees of Separation
  47. Robin Williams: Goodwill Hunting, Good Morning, Vietnam, One Hour Photo, Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire.
  48. Jim Carrey: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Man on the Moon, The Truman Show,
  49. Don Cheadle: Hotel Rwanda, Traffic, Crash, Devil in a Blue Dress, Ocean's Eleven.
  50. Paul Giamatti: Sideways, Cinderella Man, American Splendor, The Illusionist, Cold Souls.
  51. Samuel L. Jackson: Pulp Fiction, A Time to Kill, Jackie Brown, The Negotiator, Against the Wall.
  52. Joaquin Pheonix: Gladiator, Walk the Line, Quills, The Yards, Ladder 49.
  53. Kevin Costner: Dances with Wolves, Field of Dreams, JFK, The Untouchables, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
  54. Billy Bob Thorton: Monster's Ball, Sling Blade, A Simple Plan, The Man Who Wasn't There, Friday Night Lights.
  55. Michael Douglas: Wall Street, Traffic, Wonder Boys, The American President, Basic Instinct.
  56. John Hurt: The Elephant Man, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Alien, Scandal, The Hit.
  57. Bruce Willis: The Sixth Sense, Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys, Sin City.
  58. Javier Bardem: No Country For Old Men, Biutiful, Before Night Falls, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Mondays in the Sun.
  59. Kevin Bacon: Anima House, The Woodsman, Sleepers, Apollo 13, Mystic River.
  60. Robert Downey Jr.: Chaplin, Tropic Thunder, Less than Zero
  61. George Clooney: O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, Michael Clayton, Up in the Air.
  62. Laurence Fishbourne: The Matrix, Apocalypse Now, What's Love Got to Do with It
  63. Forest Whitaker: Last King of Scotland, Good Morning, Vietnam, Bird, Panic Room, American Gun
  64. John Travolta: Pulp Fiction, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Primary Colors, A Civil Action.
  65. Donald Sutherland: MASH, The Dirty Dozen, JFK.
  66. James Woods: Salvador, Once Upon a Time in America, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, Contact.
  67. John Malkovich: Places in the Heart, The Killing Fields, In the Line of Fire, Of Mice and Men, Being John Malkovich.
  68. Colin Firth: The King's Speech, A Single Man.
  69. Mickey Rourke: The Wrestler, Sin City, Diner, Barfly, Angel Heart.
  70. Viggo Mortenson: Lord of the Rings, A History of Violence, The Road, Eastern Promises
  71. Steve Buschemi: Fargo, Living in Oblivion, Ghost World, The Big Lebowski, Reservoir Dogs.
  72. Bill Murray: Lost in Translation, Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, Rushmore, Ghostbusters.
  73. Jamie Foxx: Ray, Collateral, Any Given Sunday.
  74. Nick Nolte: Affliction, The Thin Red Line, The Prince of Tides, Cape Fear.
  75. Nicholas Cage: Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation, The Rock, Face/Off.
  76. Colin Farrell: In Bruges, Minority Report.
  77. James Franco: Pineapple Express, Milk, Spiderman, 127 Hours.
  78. William H. Macy
  79. Mark Wahlberg: Boogie Nights, The Departed, The Fighter, Three Kings, Fear.
  80. Gary Sinise: Forrest Gump, Of Mice and Men, Ransom.
  81. Chris Cooper: American Beauty, The Bourne Identity, Capote
  82. Christoph Waltz: Inglourious Bastards
  83. Joe Pesci: Goodfellas, Raging Bull, My Cousin Vinny, Casino, Lethal Weapon, Home Alone.
  84. Casey Affleck: Gone, Baby, Gone, The Assassination of Jesse James, Good Will Hunting, Ocean's Eleven, Chasing Amy
  85. Mark Ruffalo: The Kids Are All Right, Shutter Island, You Can Count on Me.
  86. William Hurt: Kiss of the Spider Woman, Children of a Lesser God, Broadcast News.
  87. Adrien Brody: The Pianist, King Kong, The Jacket.
  88. Ryan Gosling: Half-Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl, Blue Valentine.
  89. Jude Law: Road to Perdition, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain.
  90. John Turturro: Barton Fink, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Quiz Show, The Big Lebowski, Miller's Crossing.
  91. Guy Pierce: Memento, LA Confidential, The King's Men.
  92. Tom Wilkinson: Michael Clayton, In the Bedroom, The Full Monty.
  93. Daniel Craig: Casino Royale, Defiance, Munich.
  94. Jeremy Renner: The Hurt Locker, The Town, Dahmer.
  95. Elijah Wood: Lord of the Rings, Sin City, North.
  96. Woody Harrelson: White Men Can't Jump, The People vs Larry Flynt, The Messenger, Natural Born Killers, Kingpin.
  97. Clive Owen: Children of Men, Closer, Inside Man.
  98. Michael Clark Duncan: The Green Mile, Armageddon, THe Whole Nine Yards.
  99. Ewen McGregor: Trainspotting, Moulin Rouge!, Star Wars Prequels.
  100. Matthew McConaughey: Dazed and Confused, A Time to Kill
  101. Richard Gere
  102. Ben Affleck
  103. Bill Pullman: Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway.
  104. Daniel Radliffe: Harry Potter
  105. Jake Gyllenhaal
  106. Ethan Hawke: Training Day
  107. Kurt Russell
  108. Jeff Daniels
  109. Tom Sizemore
Author Comments: 

Must be alive and relatively active
Rankings based on quality and breadth of work, box office success, awards and nominations
prolific cash cow movie stars (Will Smith, Tom Cruise), multi-generation spanning (Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall) up-and-comers (Jeremy Renner, Casey Affleck). You've got your heartthrobs you can't help but respect (Leonardo Dicaprio, Brad Pitt) and the titans you wish you could ignore (Mel Gibson); the prolific (Harrison Ford) and the underrated (Chris Cooper).
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