The Greatest Modern Actors

Written by Ben Pogany

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Marlin Brando once said "To grasp the full significance of life is the actor's duty, to interpret it is his problem, and to express it his dedication."  Just a short generation later, Jim Carrey would observe "Until Ace Ventura, no actor had considered talking through his ass."  Yes, there is no recipe for what makes great acting and no surefire way to distinguish it from the talking asses of the world, perhaps in no small part because when it's at it's best, it doesn't seem like acting at all.  Ranking artistry is never easy, if not downright impossible.  It's undeniably subjective, contentious, and almost sure to offend.  Of course, that's never stopped us before.  

Rankings were made taking into account overall ability and range, strength of the roles taken, longevity, influence, and awards won.  Listed alongside are each actor's best works, also loosely ranked according to how each exemplifies their talents. With all due respect to the likes of Dennis Hopper, Heath Ledger, and Paul Newman, actors must be living and relatively active for consideration.

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. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Michael Caine: Sleuth, Alfie, Dark Knight, The Cider House Rules, Educating Rita, Hannah and Her Sisters, Little Voice, The Quiet American, The Italian Job, Harry Brown.
9. Anthony Hopkins: Silence of the Lambs, The Remains of the Day, Shadowlands, Nixon, Amistad.
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. Robert Duvall: The Godfather, The Apostle, Apocalypse Now, Tender Mercies, The Great Santini, A Civil Action, Get Low, To Kill a Mockingbird, MASH, The Natural.
12. Dustin Hoffman: Rain Man, Midnight Cowboy, The Graduate, Kramer vs. Kramer, Tootsie.
13. 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.
14. Ben Kingsley: Gandhi, Schindler's List, House of Sand and Fog, Sexy Beast, Shutter Island.
15. Leonardo DiCaprio: Blood Diamond, The Departed, The Basketball Diaries, Shutter Island, Inception, Gangs of New York, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Aviator, Catch Me If You Can, Titanic, Revolutionary Road, The Man in the Iron Mask.
16. Geoffrey Rush: Shine, The King's Speech, Quills, Pirates of the Caribbean.
17. Martin Sheen: Apocalypse Now, The Departed, Badlands, The American President, Wall Street.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. Ed Harris: Pollock, Apollo 13, The Truman Show, A Beautiful Mind, The Hours, Gone Baby Gone, A History of Violence, Empire Falls, The Rock, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Abyss.
21. Willem Defoe: Platoon, The Last Temptation of Christ, Boondock Saints, Shadow of the Vampire, To Live and Die in L.A.
22. Ralph Fiennes: Schindler's List, Harry Potter Franchise, The English Patient, The Constant Gardener, Bernard and Doris.
23. Jon Voight: Coming Home, Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance, Runaway Train, Ali.
24. Gene Hackman: The French Connection, Unforgiven, Mississippi Burning, Superman, The Royal Tenenbaums.
25. Harrison Ford: Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Fugitive, Bladerunner, Witness.
26. Warren Beatty: Bonnie and Clyde, Heaven Can Wait, Reds, Bugsy, Bulworth.
27. Richard Dreyfus: Jaws, American Graffiti, The Goodbye Girl, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Mr. Holland's Opus.
28. 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.
29. Brad Pitt: Se7en, Fight Club, The Asassination of Jessie James, Twelve Monkeys, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, Sleepers, Ocean's Eleven, Babel, Inglourious Bastards, Snatch, True Romance, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Legends of the Fall, Interview with the Vampire.
30. Christian Bale: The Machinist, The Prestige, The Fighter, The Dark Knight, American Psycho, Batman Begins, 3:10 to Yuma, Empire of the Sun, Rescue Dawn, I'm Not There.
31. Ian McKellan: Gods and Monsters, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Richard III, X-Men, Apt Pupil.
32. 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.
33. 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.
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. Liam Neeson: Schindler's List, Kinsey, Batman Begins, Taken, Michael Collins.
36. 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.
37. Jeff Bridges: The Big Lebowski, Crazy Heart, True Grit, Starman, The Fabulous Baker Boys.
38. Christopher Walken: The Deer Hunter, Catch Me If You Can, A View to Kill, The Dead Zone, At Close Range.
39. 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.
40. Tommy Lee Jones: The Fugitive, JFK, No Country For Old Men, In the Valley of Elah, Men in Black.
41. Gary Oldman: JFK, The Dark Knight, Leon, Harry Potter, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
42. Javier Bardem: No Country For Old Men, Biutiful, Before Night Falls, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Mondays in the Sun.
43. Harvey Keitel: Mean Streets, Bugsy, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Taxi Driver.
44. Mel Gibson: Braveheart, The Patriot, Lethal Weapon, Ransom, Mad Max.
45. Will Smith: The Pursuit Of Happiness, Ali, Six Degrees of Separation.
46. Robin Williams: Goodwill Hunting, Good Morning Vietnam, One Hour Photo, Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire.
47. Don Cheadle: Hotel Rwanda, Traffic, Crash, Devil in a Blue Dress, Ocean's Eleven.
48. Samuel L. Jackson: Pulp Fiction, A Time to Kill, Jackie Brown, The Negotiator, Against the Wall.
49. Billy Bob Thorton: Monster's Ball, Sling Blade, A Simple Plan, The Man Who Wasn't There, Friday Night Lights.
50. Paul Giamatti: Sideways, Cinderella Man, American Splendor, The Illusionist, Cold Souls.
51. Joaquin Pheonix: Gladiator, Walk the Line, Quills, The Yards, Ladder 49.
52. Kevin Costner: Dances with Wolves, Field of Dreams, JFK, The Untouchables, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
53. Michael Douglas: Wall Street, Traffic, Wonder Boys, The American President, Basic Instinct.
54. John Hurt: The Elephant Man, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Alien, Scandal, The Hit.
55. Bruce Willis: The Sixth Sense, Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys, Sin City.
56. Kevin Bacon: Animal House, The Woodsman, Sleepers, Apollo 13, Mystic River.
57. Robert Downey Jr.: Chaplin, Tropic Thunder, Less than Zero, Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes.
58. George Clooney: O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, Michael Clayton, Up in the Air.
59. James Woods: Salvador, Once Upon a Time in America, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, Contact.
60. Bill Murray: Lost in Translation, Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, Rushmore, Ghostbusters.
61. Josh Brolin: No Country for Old Men, W., Milk, True Grit, Goonies.
62. Tim Robbins: The Shawshank Redemption, Mystic River, The Player.
63. Jim Carrey: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Man on the Moon, The Truman Show.
64. Forest Whitaker: Last King of Scotland, Good Morning, Vietnam, Bird, Panic Room, American Gun.
65. John Travolta: Pulp Fiction, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Primary Colors, A Civil Action.
66. Donald Sutherland: MASH, The Dirty Dozen, JFK.
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, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
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. Jamie Foxx: Ray, Collateral, Any Given Sunday.
73. Joe Pesci: Goodfellas, Raging Bull, My Cousin Vinny, Casino, Lethal Weapon, Home Alone.
74. Gary Sinise: Forrest Gump, Of Mice and Men, Ransom.
75. Laurence Fishbourne: The Matrix, Apocalypse Now, What's Love Got to Do with It.
76. Nick Nolte: Affliction, The Thin Red Line, The Prince of Tides, Cape Fear.
77. Nicholas Cage: Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation, The Rock, Face/Off.
78. James Franco: Pineapple Express, Milk, 127 Hours, Spiderman, Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
79. William H. Macy: Fargo, Seabiscuit, Boogie Nights.
80. Mark Wahlberg: Boogie Nights, The Departed, The Fighter, Three Kings, Fear.
81. John Turturro: Barton Fink, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Quiz Show, The Big Lebowski, Miller's Crossing.
82. Daniel Craig: Casino Royale, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Road to Perdition, Defiance, Munich.
83. Chris Cooper: American Beauty, The Bourne Identity, Capote.
84. Christoph Waltz: Inglourious Bastards
85. Casey Affleck: Gone Baby Gone, The Assassination of Jesse James, Good Will Hunting, Ocean's Eleven, Chasing Amy.
86. Mark Ruffalo: The Kids Are All Right, Shutter Island, You Can Count on Me.
87. William Hurt: Kiss of the Spider Woman, Children of a Lesser God, Broadcast News.
88. Adrien Brody: The Pianist, King Kong, The Jacket.
89. Ryan Gosling: Half-Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl, Blue Valentine, Drive, The Ides of March.
90. Jude Law: Road to Perdition, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain.
91. Guy Pierce: Memento, LA Confidential, The King's Men.
92. Colin Farrell: In Bruges, Minority Report, Phone Booth.
93. Tom Wilkinson: Michael Clayton, In the Bedroom, The Full Monty.
94. Jeremy Renner: The Hurt Locker, The Town, Dahmer.
95. Elijah Wood: Lord of the Rings, Sin City, North, The Good Son.
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. Jake Gyllenhaal: Brokeback Mountain, Donnie Darko, Zodiac.
99. Andy Serkis: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Longford, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
100. Ewan McGregor: Trainspotting, Moulin Rouge!, Star Wars Prequels.