Top 10 Best Actors of the 2000s

The 2000s gave us a run of unforgettable performances and transformations that made sitting through three-hour dramas or CGI-filled blockbusters completely worth it. These actors weren't just filling seats. They carried entire films on their shoulders, redefined careers, and sometimes disappeared so deep into roles you had to check the credits twice.

Some of them played heroes you rooted for. Others played villains you hated to admit were cool. A few turned quirky, offbeat characters into cultural icons. And more than one showed up in practically every big movie of the decade, leaving you wondering if they even took vacations.

Now it's your turn. Scroll through, vote for the names you think delivered the goods during the 2000s, and see how your favorites compare to what other fans have already decided.

The Top Ten

Tom Hanks

Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker.
He is known for his performances 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... read more
Jason Statham

Jason Statham is an English actor. He is known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and Revolver. Statham later became an international action star through leading roles in The Transporter series, Crank, The Expendables, and the Fast & Furious franchise... read more

Since he came onto the scene, he cranked it up. In the Name of the King, Safe, Transporter 1 & 2, Crank, The Italian Job, The Expendables, The Mechanic...
Johnny Depp

John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor, producer, and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. His role in a movie is often rather big. His character is often on the "loopy side" and his character being in a darker state... read more

Johnny Depp is the best character actor in history, in my opinion. He is not like Nicolas Cage or Will Smith (one of my favorites) as he can play any role, no matter how odd, as if it were a completely different person playing the part.

Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Sweeney Todd.

Really awesome. My favorites with him are Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Rango.
Christian Bale

Christian Charles Philip Bale (born January 30, 1974) is an English actor known for his versatility and physical transformations for roles. He has been a leading man in films across several genres and has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2014, Forbes... read more

His acting is on another level! He turns himself into the character he is playing and does a terrific job. Bale's performance as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho was outstanding.

Not only is he Batman, but Christian Bale has rocked the 2000s. He was brilliant in American Psycho and The Machinist. Bonus points for his role in The Fighter.

For this decade, Christian Bale for sure... Amazing actor, complete dedication to his roles. Most importantly, he has picked all the right scripts.
Matt Damon

Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He is ranked among Forbes magazine's most bankable stars and is one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. Damon gained fame with Good Will Hunting (1997), which he co-wrote with Ben Affleck and for which they won... read more

ACTION, Comedy, Drama... I was actually making a list of the things he can do, but it would be easier to make a list of what he can't do: overacting, making you hate him, and other things that most actors do, but not BOURNE.

A veteran character actor who delivers.

Bourne movies, Ocean movies, The Departed, The Good Shepherd, and The Legend of Bagger Vance.
Orlando Bloom

Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. He gained international fame for his role as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) and reprised the role in The Hobbit film series (2013-2014). He further rose to stardom by starring in epic fantasy, historical epic, and fantasy adventure... read more

He deserves to be number one! I mean, Matt Damon? Come on! Orlando Bloom totally dominates him! He's hot and such an amazing actor!

Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lord of the Rings, Kingdom of Heaven, Ned Kelly, Elizabethtown, Haven, The Calcium Kid, etc.
Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix is an American actor and producer born on October 28, 1974, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Coming from a family of performers, he began his acting career as a child with appearances in various television shows and films.... read more
Jake Gyllenhaal

Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal (born December 19, 1980) is an American actor known for his performances in films such as Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain, Prisoners, and Nightcrawler. He is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner. Jake and his sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal,... read more

Just watch Nightcrawler... You'll know the kind of greatness he is headed towards.
Heath Ledger

Heath Andrew Ledger was an Australian actor and director. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger left for the United States in 1998 to develop his film career. He received critical acclaim for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight and posthumously won the... read more

There never was one like Heath Andrew Ledger. I have never seen an actor like him, ever. He changed the way we see acting, similar to Brando. From The Patriot to Monster's Ball to Brokeback Mountain to The Dark Knight, he's left us with a unique body of work that can never be replicated.
He may have left us far too soon, but I'm sure he would have a smile on his face seeing the response to his work from people across the world. With what he was able to accomplish in the time he had on this earth, he dove deep into his characters and was unrecognizable. In my opinion, the greatest and most diverse actor of all time, who left behind a unique and enduring legacy. He will live on. RIP Heath.
Javier Bardem

Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem is a Spanish actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the psychopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in the 2007 Coen Brothers film No Country for Old Men.
Bardem has also received acclaim for roles in films such as Biutiful and Skyfall.

The Newcomers

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Ewan McGregor

Ewan Gordon McGregor OBE (born March 31, 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and charity.... read more
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Ian McDiarmid

The Contenders

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg is an American actor, producer, businessman, former model, rapper, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the frontman of the hip hop group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Wahlberg later transitioned to acting, earning critical acclaim for roles in films such as Boogie Nights... read more
Brad Pitt

William Bradley "Brad" Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and three Academy Award nominations for acting, in addition to three more nominations and one win as a producer under his company, Plan B Entertainment.... read more

Fight Club, Seven, Snatch, Ocean's trilogy, A River Runs Through It, Moneyball, The Tree of Life - those movies are AWESOME, and he is the reason those movies are awesome. That is why I voted for him.

Snatch, Babel, Troy, Ocean movies, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Eric Bana

Eric Bana is an Australian actor and comedian. He began his entertainment career in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before earning critical acclaim for his performance in the biographical crime film Chopper. Bana later gained international recognition for his roles in major films such as Black... read more
Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator recognized for his authoritative voice and commanding screen presence. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Million Dollar Baby (2004) and received Oscar nominations for Street Smart (1987), Driving Miss... read more

A character actor who will be remembered for many years to come.
Keanu Reeves

Keanu Charles Reeves (born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor, director, producer, and musician. He gained fame with his starring role in the Bill & Ted films and has since delivered several blockbuster performances, including in The Matrix and John Wick franchises.
Will Smith

Willard Carroll "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, producer, and rapper.
He is best known for his acting career, including roles in the Men in Black franchise, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, Hitch, Ali, and Bad Boys. He is widely regarded as one of the most... read more

A well-rounded character actor. It will be interesting to see what Will chooses to do in his veteran years.

Ali, Men in Black II, I, Robot, Hitch, I Am Legend, and Hancock.
Robert Pattinson

Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, producer, model, and musician. He began his film career by playing Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a 2005 fantasy film. He later gained worldwide recognition for his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight film series.
Tom Cruise

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV is an American actor and producer with a career spanning more than four decades. He has received various accolades for his work, including three Golden Globe Awards and four Academy Award nominations. Cruise is best known for starring in the Mission: Impossible franchise, which... read more

Cruise stamped his persona as a star by churning out many hit movies in the new millennium. Be it his death-defying stunts in the Mission: Impossible movies or his epic performance in The Last Samurai, he showed versatility. And who could forget his role as the badass Vincent in Collateral? It's highly underrated but one of the best of all time.
Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for his work in biopics and period films, he's received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. As of 2019, his films have grossed over... read more

He is an inspirational and humble actor who is great at what he does. I think a lot of his movies have shown that, which is why he should be number one, as it is well deserved.

Leonardo has successfully changed hats on more than one occasion in his career. He strikes me as a hard worker.

What? How is he not number one? Compare all of his 2000s movies to anyone else on this list, and it's clear he is better.
Sean Penn

Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, director, and political activist. He's won two Academy Awards for Best Actor for Mystic River (2003) and Milk (2008), and has directed films such as Into the Wild and The Pledge. Penn is also known for his outspoken political views and humanitarian work, including... read more
Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (born December 22, 1962) is an English actor, director, and producer. A noted Shakespeare interpreter, he first achieved success on stage at the Royal National Theatre.
Fiennes' portrayal of Nazi war criminal Amon Göth in Schindler's List (1993) earned... read more
Vin Diesel

Mark Sinclair, better known by his stage name Vin Diesel, is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter.
He rose to prominence in the 2000s for his long-lasting role as Dominic Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise. Beyond living his life a quarter mile at a time on screen, this... read more

Boiler Room (2000), Pitch Black (2000), The Fast and the Furious (2001), Knockaround Guys (2001), xXx (2002), A Man Apart (2003), The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), The Pacifier (2005), Find Me Guilty (2006), Babylon A.D. (2008), Fast & Furious (2009).
Tobey Maguire

Tobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire is an American actor and film producer best known for his roles in films such as "Pleasantville," "The Cider House Rules," "Wonder Boys," "Spider-Man," "Seabiscuit," "Spider-Man 2," "The Good German," "Spider-Man 3," "Brothers," and "The Great Gatsby." He was nominated... read more

Spider-Man movies, Wonder Boys, Seabiscuit.
Liam Neeson

Liam John Neeson, OBE, is an actor from Northern Ireland. In 1976, he joined the Lyric Players' Theatre in Belfast, where he performed for two years. He later appeared in the 1981 Arthurian film Excalibur, which helped launch his film career.
Robert Downey Jr.

Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His early career included both critical acclaim and commercial success.
He battled substance abuse and legal troubles in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He experienced a major career resurgence with his role as Tony... read more

This man belongs on this list, no question. He's the best!