Thanks for detailed breakdown, AyaMelie. Without you I am sure we would mess up order of almost all French actors.

Pete Postlethwaite

Acclaimed British character actor with roles in many modern classics to his credit, including In the Name of the Father, Usual Suspects, Lost World, Dragonheart, Romeo + Julet, Inception and the Town, among others. Honorable mention, I guess.

Tyrone Power

Member of notable acting dynasty, he's best remembered for his swashbuckler film roles during '30s and '40s. I would say he deserves honorable mention.

Richard Pryor

Popular comedian with strong run during '70s and less impressive material since that. I would say possible honorable mention.

Antony Quayle

Decorated British actor probably more notable for his theatre work, but with some high profile film supporting roles as well, including Wrong Man, Guns of Navarone, Lawrence of Arabia, Anne of Thousand Days. I'd say honorable mention.

Basil Rathbone

Among more notable portrayals of Sherlock Holmes in film history, spanning fourteen films. His credentials are not limited to it, with appearance in classics like David Copperfield and Adventures of Robin Hood and two Academy nominations. Possible listmaker.

Wallace Reid

Was among most prolific and popular actors of 1910s, probably best remembered for his roles in Birth of Nation and Intolerance. Possible listmaker.

Jean Reno

One of most popular modern French actors internationally, notable collaborator of Luc Besson, but rarely got significant critical acclaim aside from their collaboration. Possible honorable mention.

Burt Reynolds

One of the most popular American actors of '70s and '80s, not very criticalacclaimed aside from his turn in Boogie Nights. I'd say he can be on main list but not guaranteed of placement by any means.

Jean Rochefort

One of the greatest French character actors, impressive filmography spanning five decades, was scheduled to play Don Quixote in Gilliam's The Man who Killed Don Quixote before it's cancelation. Possible listmaker.


Roy Rogers

One of the most significant singing cowboys, was named most popular Western perfomer ten times. Possible listmaker.

Gilbert Roland

American actor of Mexican descent, popular leading man first and pretty accomplished supporting actor later on. Possible honorable mention.

Tim Roth

British actor, probably most associated with his roles in Tarantino movies, with other notable performances in The Hit, Vinent and Teo, The Cook, the Chief, His Wife and Her Lover, Rob Roy, Planet of the Apes, Selma, among others. Possible honorable mention.

Richard Roundtree

One of first black action stars, best remembered for his title role in Shaft, not too impressive career after it. I would probably leave him out.

Kurt Russell

One of most beloved genre actors, honorary Saturn award, acclaimed partnership with John Carpenter, seems to have some sort of career revival nowadays with roles in Hateful Eight, Bone Tomahowk and Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2. Outside candidate for main list.

Joseph Shildkrout

Austrian born American actor, first gained prominence as matinee idol and later on had impressive supporting career resulting in Academy award for Life of Emile Zola and beloved performance in The Diary of Anne Frank as Anne's father, first on stage and later on screen. Possible honorable mention.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Might be controversial but I think he deserves spot on main list. Numerous action classics before focusing on political career, near universal name recognition.

Randolph Scott

One of Western genre's icons, really strong and diverse filmography collaborationg with leading directors of his time resulting in his roles in Seven Men from Now, Tall T, Ride the High Country, My Favorite Wife, among others. Strong candidate for main list.

Naseeruddin Shah

Indian film legend, one of most significant figures in Indian Parallel Cinema and later on had a mainstream success and critical acclaim in Bollywood as well, rumored to be one of candidates for playing Dumbledore in Harry Potter series. Has a credintials to be high on main list.

Michael Shannon

Highly acclaimed American actor, initially in smaller roles but nowadays seems to be in spotlight more often, Academy nominations for Road to Perdition and Nocturnal Animals, not to mention his powerful leading role in Take Shelter. Main list candidate.

Last cluster:

Timothy Spall
Sylvester Stallone
Terence Stamp
Dean Stockwell
David Strathairn
The Three Stooges
Henry Travers
John Turturro
Peter Ustinov
Lee Van Cleef
Lino Ventura
Anton Walbrook
M. Emmett Walsh
Christoph Waltz
Jack Warden
Tom Wilkinson
Bruce Willis
Louis Wolheim
Anthony Wong

41. Kirk Douglas l 1916 l EUA
124. Dilip Kumar l 1922 l Paquistão
126. Jerry Lewis l 1923 l EUA
57. Michel Piccoli l 1925 l França
212. Harry Dean Stanton l 1926 l EUA
23. Sidney Poitier l 1927 l EUA
254. Martin Landau l 1928 l EUA
33. Max von Sydow l 1929 l Suécia
29. Gene Hackman l 1930 l EUA
36. Clint Eastwood l 1930 l EUA
47. Sean Connery l 1930 l Reino Unido
90. Jean-Louis Trintignant l 1930 l França
242. Armin Mueller-Stahl l 1930 l Russia
48. Robert Duvall l 1931 l EUA
217. James Earl Jones l 1931 l EUA
287. Ian Holm l 1931 l Reino Unido
74. Tatsuya Nakadai l 1932 l Japão
30. Michael Caine l 1933 l Reino Unido
37. Jean-Paul Belmondo l 1933 l França
249. Alan Arkin l 1934 l EUA
56. Alain Delon l 1935 l França
81. Woody Allen l 1935 l EUA
120. Donald Sutherland l 1935 l Canadá
52. Robert Redford l 1936 l EUA
94. Albert Finney l 1936 l Reino Unido
277. Bruce Dern l 1936 l EUA
6. Jack Nicholson l 1937 l EUA
13. Dustin Hoffman l 1937 l EUA
42. Morgan Freeman l 1937 l EUA
54. Anthony Hopkins l 1937 l Reino Unido
102. Warren Beatty l 1937 l EUA
202. Tom Courtney l 1937 l Reino Unido
286. Ned Beatty l 1937 l EUA
139. Jon Voight l 1938 l EUA
128. Ian McKellan l 1939 l Reino Unido
207. Harvey Keitel l 1939 l EUA
264. John Cleese l 1939 l Reino Unido
7. Al Pacino l 1940 l EUA
224. Martin Sheen l 1940 l EUA
247. James Caan l 1940 l EUA
187. Bruno Ganz l 1941 l Suiça
267. Franco Nero l 1941 l Itália
268. Jurgen Prochnow l 1941 l Alemanha
282. Nick Nolte l 1941 l EUA
59. Harrison Ford l 1942 l EUA
86. Amitabh Bachchan l 1942 l India
244. Giancarlo Giannini l 1942 l Itália
245. Bob Hoskins l 1942 l Reino Unido
4. Robert De Niro l 1943 l EUA
76. Ben Kingsley l 1943 l Reino Unido
119. Christopher Walken l 1943 l EUA
225. Joe Pesci l 1943 l EUA
92. Jean-Pierre Léaud l 1944 l França
123. Michael Douglas l 1944 l EUA
262. Rutger Hauer l 1944 l Holanda
253. Steve Martin l 1945 l EUA
169. Tommy Lee Jones l 1946 l EUA
158. Richard Dreyfuss l 1947 l EUA
230. Takeshi Kitano l 1947 l Japão
234. James Woods l 1947 l EUA
281. Kevin Kline l 1947 l EUA
26. Gerard Depardieu l 1948 l França
122. Samuel L. Jackson l 1948 l EUA
138. Jeremy Irons l 1948 l Reino Unido
85. Jeff Bridges l 1949 l EUA
83. Bill Murray l 1950 l EUA
151. William Hurt l 1950 l EUA
157. Daniel Auteuil l 1950 l Argélia
168. Ed Harris l 1950 l EUA
132. Geoffrey Rush l 1951 l Austrália
191. Stellan Skarsgård l 1951 l Suécia
152. Liam Neeson l 1952 l Irlanda
220. Roberto Benigni l 1952 l Itália
266. John Goodman l 1952 l EUA
284. Mickey Rourke l 1952 l EUA
199. Nanni Moretti l 1953 l Itália
208. John Malkovich l 1953 l EUA
34. Denzel Washington l 1954 l EUA
150. Jackie Chan l 1954 l China
233. John Travolta l 1954 l EUA
116. Chow Yun-fat l 1955 l China
183. Willem Dafoe l 1955 l EUA
250. Brendan Gleeson l 1955 l Irlanda
271. Kevin Costner l 1955 l EUA
276. Billy Bob Thornton l 1955 l EUA
21. Tom Hanks l 1956 l EUA
214. Mel Gibson l 1956 l EUA
15. Daniel Day-Lewis l 1957 l Reino Unido
219. Steve Buscemi l 1957 l EUA
84. Gary Oldman l 1958 l Reino Unido
205. Viggo Mortensen l 1958 l EUA
256. Tim Robbins l 1958 l EUA
121. Kevin Spacey l 1959 l EUA
66. Sean Penn l 1960 l EUA
141. Kenneth Branagh l 1960 l Reino Unido
288. Colin Firth l 1960 l Reino Unido
98. George Clooney l 1961 l EUA
275. Forest Whitaker l 1961 l EUA
73. Tom Cruise l 1962 l EUA
103. Ralph Fiennes l 1962 l Reino Unido
104. Tony Leung Chiu Wai l 1962 l China
144. Jim Carrey l 1962 l Canadá
181. Choi Min-sik l 1962 l Coréia do Sul
218. Robert Downey Jr l 1962 l EUA
75. Johnny Depp l 1963 l EUA
140. Brad Pitt l 1963 l EUA
291. Jet Li l 1963 l China
97. Russell Crowe l 1964 l Nova Zelândia
190. Nicolas Cage l 1964 l EUA
258. Don Cheadle l 1964 l EUA
172. Aamir Khan l 1965 l Índia
296. Masahiro Motoki l 1965 l Japão
261. Vincent Cassel l 1966 l França
211. Benicio Del Toro l 1967 l Porto Rico
285. Mark Ruffalo l 1967 l EUA
174. Will Smith l 1968 l EUA
149. Javier Bardem l 1969 l Espanha
163. Edward Norton l 1969 l EUA
252. Matthew McConaughey l 1969 l EUA
147. Matt Damon l 1970 l EUA
43. Leonardo DiCaprio l 1974 l EUA
170. Christian Bale l 1974 l Reino Unido
229. Joaquin Phoenix l 1974 l Porto Rico
263. Michael Fassbender l 1977 l Alemanha
299. Chiwetel Ejiofor l 1977 l Reino Unido
246. Gael Garcia Bernal l 1978 l México
189. Ryan Gosling l 1980 l Canadá
231. Jake Gyllenhaal l 1980 l EUA

Timothy Spall

Character actor, succesful career in Britain with two BAFTA best actor noms, best known to international audiences as Wormtail from Harry Potter series, possible honorable mention.

Sylvester Stallone

One of the biggest action stars, usually critically panned but his performances in likes of Rocky, First Blood and Cop Land are generally highly regarded. Outside candidate for main list.

Terrence Stamp

British actor with succesful career spanning from '60s to nowadays, notable roles in Billy Budd, Superman, Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of Desert, Collector and Limey, among others. Deserves honorable mention

Dean Stockwell

One of few child actors to have a genuinely impressive adult career, including roles in Married to Mob, Blue Velvet, Paris Texas, Dune, Air Force One, among others. Honorable mention, I'd say

David Strathairn

Busy American character actor, initially making a name in indies and starting to appear in high budget movies later on. Worthy of honorable mention.


The Three Stooges

Possibly most popular and legendary comedy team of twentieth century. Probably should be on main list unless you guys think lack of feature film credits hurt them.

Henry Travers

British character actor on screen and stage, probably most associated with role of Clarence Odbody, guardian angel in It's a Wonderful Life, but a strong filmography besides it, including Shadow of Doubt, Invisible Man and Bells of St. Mary, usually played kind grandfatherly characters. Honorable mention.

John Turturro

One of leading character actors of last thirty years, probably most associated with Coen Brothers' films but strong filmography besides it. I would say possible listmaker.

Peter Ustinov

One of the most acclaimed film actors during his peak in '50s - '60s, however his appearances in movies since that are pretty sporadic due to him focusing on his other artistic and political interests. I'd say outside candidate for main list.

Lee Van Cleef

Relatively unimpressive career before his co-lead roles in For a Few Dollars More and The Good, Bad and Ugly, which turned him into genre's legend and minor cultural icon. Possible honorable mention.

Yes, deserve to be on the main list.

Switch?

Lino Ventura

Italian actor with distinguished career in French cinema, late starter but was among busiest supporting and later on lead actors since his debut in 1959 and before his death in 1987. Possible listmaker.

Anton Walbrook

Highly acclaimed Austrian actor building an impressive body of work both in Germany and later on in Britain with his roles in Powell and Pressburger films. Deserves honorable mention.

M. Emmett Walsh

Highly distinctive character actor, both among busiest and more notable, subject of Stanton - Walsh rule by Roger Ebert saying no movie can be altogether bad if either of these actors are in it. Possible listmaker.

Christoph Waltz

Austrian actor, highly lauded for his performance in Inglorious Bastards and to lesser extent, Django Unchained. I would say his career has become stagnant since that but he keeps getting high profile roles, usually as sinister yet charming characters. Outside candidate for main list.

Jack Warden

American character actor, with career spanning from 1948 to his retirement in 2000, notable films including 12 Angry Men, Being There, Shampoo, Heaven Can Wait, ...And Justice for All. Possible listmaker.

More names:

Patrick Stewart
Guy Pearce
Jamie Foxx
Ulrich Tukur

I will look into them. But I'd say we first have to integrate Luuk's current suggestions into main list and honorable mentions.

Willis and Wikinson go to main list candidates while Wolheim and Wong both deserve honorable mention.

Sir Luuk (or someone else), since I am done with short write ups, can you please summarize all 150 actors in four categories: listmakers, potential listmakers / honorable mentions, possible honorable mentions, drop outs? I would appreciate it.

Well sure I'd love to, and thanks for your great work in doing the summaries, Tim. But I don't have too much time on my hands at the moment. Maybe I can do some work Sunday, or else it will be Monday evening or something like that.

I can do it if that's okay with everybody, but maybe we should take a look before that at your own honorable mentions list, Tim. There are some interesting names there as well.