Greatest Deceased Actors

The Top Ten
1 Marlon Brando (1924-2004) Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American actor, film director, and activist. He is credited with bringing a gripping realism to film acting, and is often cited as one of the greatest and most influential actors of all time. He died on July 1, 2004 at the age of 80.

The best actor ever, he should've won an oscar for all his roles, definitely deserves top spot

I Love Brando I loved him in The Godfather, On The Waterfront, Superman, Apocalypse Now and A Street Car Named Dissire

Could he be any better? I don't think so. Being perfect is being complete after all.

2 Heath Ledger (1979-2008) 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.

This movie got a rating of 9/10 by IMDb just because of heath ledger. His acting as the joker in the dark knight was exceptionally spectacular. The moment I saw his characterisation and potrayal of the joker that was the moment I feel in love with him Being a heart throb to every woman around the world and potraying role of a psychopathic Mastermind criminal who is actually vigilant is the definition of true artist. Heath unfortunately left his world really soon just at the age of 28 I have heard that good people and pure souls leave the world soon because gods don't wanna see good souls getting torchured in this living hell and people still adore him and admire him as the best actor of all time. He is unparalleled no one can act like him

All these actors are amazing but I think Heath Ledger is the best. He was great in all his movies and always chose difficult roles because he was a true artist. His performance as the joker will go down in history because it was absolutely stunning. An wow I had no idea so many people passed away in 2008.R.I. P

3 James Stewart (1908-1997) James Stewart (May 20, 1908 - July 2, 1997) was an American movie star, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest actors of all time. He is best remembered for his roles in Rear Window, It's a Wonderful Life, Vertigo, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Stewart was known for his distinctive drawl and down-to-earth persona, which often helped him portray American middle-class men struggling... read more
4 James Dean (1931-1955) 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.

Will always live on as America's Rebel. A very rare individual with so much potential and talent, such a shame to see him go so young.

Hilary Duff made a song based on him which is named after the deceased actor (1931-1955).

5 Paul Newman (1925-2008) Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, professional racing driver and team owner, environmentalist, activist and philanthropist.
6 Gregory Peck (1916-2003) Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor who was one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s. Peck continued to play major film roles until the late 1980s. His performance as Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor... read more
7 Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) 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.

Better than Ledger

8 Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014) Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character roles— eccentrics, lowlifes, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical productions, including leading roles, from the early 1990s until his death in 2014. He was voted one of the 50 greatest actors of all time in a 2022 readers' poll by Empire... read more

Beyond brilliant and so unique!

9 Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American screen actor whose performances in iconic 1940s films noir such as The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, and The Big Sleep earned him status as a cultural icon.

Play it again Sam - Humphrey Bogart Casablanca. Hang on! He never sed dat!

10 Bruce Lee (1940-1973) Bruce Lee (November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist, martial arts instructor, actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that is often credited with paving the way for modern mixed martial arts (MMA). Lee is considered by critics, media,... read more

The Newcomers

? M. Emmet Walsh (1935-2024)
The Contenders
11 Robin Williams (1951-2014) 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.

He was one of the best actors who appeared alongside John Travolta, Kirsten Dunst, Hugh Jackman, Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Lopez, Bill Cosby, Phil Collins, Julia Roberts, Joanna "JoJo" Levesque and Linda Larkin.

12 Errol Flynn (1909-1959)
13 Patrick Swayze (1952-2009) Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer, singer, and songwriter. Having gained fame with appearances in films during the 1980s, he became popular for playing tough guys and romantic lead males.
14 Graham Chapman (1941-1989) Graham Arthur Chapman was an English comedian, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python.
15 John Wayne (1907-1979) Marion Mitchell Morrison, known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed Duke, was an American actor, director, and producer.
16 Richard Burton (1925-1984) Richard Burton was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable performance of Hamlet in 1964. He was called "the natural successor to Olivier" by critic and dramaturge Kenneth Tynan.
17 John Cazale (1935-1978)
18 Alan Rickman (1946-2016)
19 Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier was an English actor who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century.

Laurence Kerr Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, England, to Agnes Louise (Crookenden) and Gerard Kerr Olivier, a High Anglican priest. His surname came from a great-great-grandfather who was of French Huguenot... read more
20 Henry Fonda (1905-1982) Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor with a career spanning more than five decades.
21 James Mason (1909-1984) James Neville Mason (15 May 1909 – 27 July 1984) was an English actor. After achieving much success in the United Kingdom, where he was the top box office attraction in 1944 and 1945, he made the transition to the United States and became one of Hollywood's biggest stars.

His iconic films included Odd Man Out, The Desert Fox, A Star Is Born, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Lolita, North by... read more
22 River Phoenix (1970-1993) River Jude Phoenix, born River Jude Bottom (August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor, musician, and activist. He was the older brother of Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix and Summer Phoenix.
23 Burt Lancaster (1913-1994)
24 Montgomery Clift (1920-1966) Edward Montgomery "Monty" Clift (October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American film and stage actor. Along with Marlon Brando and James Dean, Clift was one of the original method actors in Hollywood and was one of the first actors to be invited to study in the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan. He also executed a rare move by not signing a contract after arriving in Hollywood,... read more
25 William Powell (1892-1984) William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the popular Thin Man series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Powell was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times: for The Thin Man (1934), My Man Godfrey (1936), and Life... read more
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