Best Actors Born In the '50s

1 Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his roles in Splash, Big, Turner & Hooch, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, You've Got Mail, The Green Mile, the Toy Story Franchise, Cast Away, The Da Vinci Code, Captain Phillips, and Saving Mr. Banks.

2 Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received three Golden Globe awards, a Tony Award, and two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for the historical war drama film Glory and Best Actor for his role as a corrupt cop in the crime thriller Training Day.

3 Mel Gibson Mel Colmcille Gerard Gibson AO is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his action hero roles, namely his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films in the Mad Max post-apocalyptic action series, and as Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon buddy cop film series.

4 Daniel Day-Lewis Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor. He holds both British and Irish citizenship. He has won 3 Academy Awards for Best Actor for My Left Foot, There Will be Blood, and Lincoln.

5 Liam Neeson Liam John Neeson, OBE is an actor from Northern Ireland. In 1976, he joined the Lyric Players' Theatre in Belfast for two years. He then acted in the Arthurian film, Excalibur.

6 Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler KBE (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades for his performances on stage and screen including two Academy Awards, a Tony Awards, two Laurence Olivier Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He received nominations for a Grammy Award as well as twelve Primetime Emmy Awards. Spacey received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999, and was named an honorary Commander and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2010 and 2015, respectively. ...read more.

7 Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American actor and musician whose films include musical-drama film Footloose, the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller JFK, the legal drama A Few Good Men, the historical docudrama Apollo 13, and the mystery drama Mystic River.

8 Gary Oldman Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, filmmaker, musician, and author. Renowned for his "big" acting style, Oldman is one of the most celebrated thespians of his generation, with a diverse career encompassing theatre, film, and television. He has received a Golden Globe award and an Academy Award: ...read more.

9 Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), professionally known as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is best known for portraying the DC Comics superhero Bruce Wayne / Batman in the films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), and is set to reprise the role in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) ...read more.

10 John Malkovich John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor, producer, director, and fashion designer. Over the last 30 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. ...read more.

The Contenders

11 Tim Robbins Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, and musician. He is known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film The Shawshank Redemption, and has won an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards for his roles in the films Mystic River (2003), ...read more.

12 Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He has received two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

13 Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor who played DC comic book superhero Superman, beginning with the acclaimed Superman, for which he won a BAFTA Award.

14 Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams was an American actor and comedian. Starting as a stand-up comedian in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, he is credited with leading San Francisco's comedy renaissance. He died in 2014.

15 John Travolta John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer, and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease.

16 William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. ...read more.