Top 10 Actors Who Became Famous In the 20th Century

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 Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director and narrator. He has appeared in a range of film genres portraying character roles and is particularly known for his distinctive deep voice. Freeman won an Academy Award in 2005 for Best Supporting Actor with Million Dollar Baby (2004), ...read more.

3 Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry is an American actress. Berry won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the romantic drama Monster's Ball. As of 2018, she is the only black woman to have won the award.

4 James Dean James Byron Dean was an American actor. He is a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause, in which he starred as troubled teenager Jim Stark.

5 Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson Baker; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress, singer and model. Decades after her unexpected death, she has remained one of Hollywood's greatest sex symbols with her eye-catching style, champagne blond hair, and breathless manner of speaking. She continues to be considered a major popular culture icon. ...read more.

6 John Stamos

7 Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor with a career spanning more than five decades.

8 Macaulay Culkin Macaulay Carson Culkin is an American actor, author, painter, podcaster, musician and president of Bunnyears. He became famous as a child actor for his role as Kevin McCallister in the family comedy Home Alone, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical ...read more.

9 Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and social critic. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed vulgarities and profanity, as well as racial epithets.

10 Paul Hogan

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 Steve McQueen Terence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American actor. Called "The King of Cool", his "anti-hero" persona, developed at the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw of the 1960s and 1970s.

13 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.

14 Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (August 25, 1930 - October 31, 2020) was a Scottish actor and producer. He won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. He was best known for playing James Bond in the James Bond series, Jim Malone in The Untouchables, and Dr. Henry Jones Sr. in Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade.

15 Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe is an actor, film producer and musician. Although a New Zealand citizen, he has lived most of his life in Australia and identifies himself as an Australian.

16 Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the silent era. He is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry.

17 Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996), known as Gene Kelly, was an American dancer, actor of film, stage and television, singer, film director, producer and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style, his good looks, and the likeable characters that he played on screen. ...read more.

18 Asta Nielsen

19 Cary Grant Cary Grant, born Archibald Alexander Leach (January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986) was a British-American actor, known as one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men. He began a career in Hollywood in the early 1930s, and became known for his transatlantic accent, debonair demeanor, and light-hearted approach to acting and sense of comic timing. He became an American citizen in 1942. ...read more.

20 Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood" or just simply as "The King". Gable is considered one of the most consistent box-office performers in history, appearing on Quigley Publishing's annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll 16 times. He was named the 7th greatest male star of classic American cinema by the American Film Institute. Gable won an Academy Award for Best Actor for It Happened One Night (1934), and was nominated for leading roles in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and for his arguably best-known role as Rhett Butler in the epic Gone with the Wind (1939).

21 Jane Fonda Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model and fitness guru.

22 Greta Garbo Greta Garbo, born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson (18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990), was a Swedish-born American film actress during the 1920s and 1930s.

Garbo was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress and received an honorary one in 1954 for her "luminous and unforgettable screen performances". In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth on their list of the greatest female stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema, after Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, and Ingrid Bergman. ...read more.

23 Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" Dietrich (27 December 1901 – 6 May 1992) was a German actress and singer who held both German and American citizenship. This internationally famed actress cum singer was a frontline performer with an amazing long career in the show business. One of the highest paid actresses of her time she reached super stardom and was named the 9th greatest female star of classic Hollywood Cinema by the American Film Institute.

24 Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 - June 10, 1967) was an American actor, noted for his natural style and versatility. During his career, Tracy appeared in 75 films and developed a reputation among his peers as one of the screen's greatest actors.

25 Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy. ...read more.