|
GREATEST FILM
STAR |
|
|
GREATEST FILM
STAR |
|
|
Greatest Film Star Roles and Filmographies (see below) contains a selected sampling of the starring roles that best define the screen presence or persona of some of the greatest stars of the American cinema. The definitive screen role is often the one for which the actor or actress is best-remembered. In some cases, some actors/actresses - over a long, prolific career - have had more than one exemplary or essential example of their acting portrayed in films.
The 25 Greatest Men and 25 Greatest Women Screen Legends in the First Century of American Film, according to the AFI polling of June 1999, are identified by their rankings and this graphic symbol
.
The 100 Greatest Films that have been selected at this site are identified by a yellow star
.
Alphabetical By Last Name
A1 A2-B1 B2 B3 B4 B5-C1 C2 C3 C4-D1 D2
D3 D4-F1 F2 F3-G1 G2 G3-H1 H2 H3 H4-J1 J2-K1
K2-L1 L2 L3-M1 M2 M3 M4 N O-P1 P2 P3-R1
R2 R3 R4-S1 S2 S3 S4-T1 T2 U-W1 W2 W3-Z
|
|
Definitive Screen Role | Other Great Film Roles |
 Jane Darwell (1879-1967) |
Ma Joad in
The Grapes of Wrath (1940) |
Ma Stone in The Devil and Daniel Webster
(1941) Ma Grier in The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) Kate Nelson in
My Darling Clementine (1946) |
 Marion Davies (1897-1961) |
Peggy Pepper in Show People (1928) | Patricia O'Day in Little Old New York
(1923) Janice Meredith in Janice Meredith (1924) Fely/Anne in Lights of Old Broadway (1925) Mamie Smith in Zander the Great (1925) Beverly Calhoun in Beverly of Graustark (1926) Marion in The Fair Co-ed (1927) Patricia Harrington in The Patsy (1927) Phoebe Throssel in Quality Street (1927) Tina in The Red Mill (1927) Sally in The Cardboard Lover (1928) Specialty in The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929) Daisy in The Floradora Girl (1930) Dulcinea 'Dulcy' Parker in Not So Dumb (1930) Jennifer Rarick in Five and Ten (1931) Sylvia Bruce in Going Hollywood (1933) Miss Marjorie 'Marge' Winton (aka Sadie Day) in Ever Since Eve (1937) |
 #2 Bette Davis (1908-1989) |
Margo Channing in All About Eve (1950) |
Mildred Rogers in Of
Human Bondage (1934) Joyce Heath in Dangerous (1935) Gabrielle Maple in The Petrified Forest (1936) Julie Morrison in Jezebel (1938) Judith Traherne in Dark Victory (1939) Charlotte Lovell in The Old Maid (1939) Henriette Deluzy-Desportes in All This and Heaven Too (1940) Leslie Crosbie in The Letter (1940) Regina Hubbard Giddens in The Little Foxes (1941) Maggie Cutler in The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) Charlotte Vale in Now, Voyager (1942) Sara Muller in Watch on the Rhine (1943) Fanny Trellis Skeffington in Mr. Skeffington (1944) Rosa Moline in Beyond the Forest (1949) Jane Hudson in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) Charlotte Hollis in Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) Libby Strong in The Whales of August (1987) |
 Geena Davis (1957- ) |
Thelma Dickinson in Thelma & Louise (1991) | April in Tootsie (1982) Larry in Fletch (1985) Veronica Quaife in The Fly (1986) Muriel in The Accidental Tourist (1988) Barbara in Beetlejuice (1988) Valerie Dale in Earth Girls Are Easy (1989) Gale Gayley in Hero (1992) Dottie Hinson in A League of Their Own (1992) Julia in Speechless (1994) Morgan Adams in Cutthroat Island (1995) Samantha Caine/Charly Baltimore in The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) Mrs. Eleanor Little (voice) in Stuart Little (1999), Stuart Little 2 (2002), and Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild (2005) |
 Doris Day (1924- ) |
Jan Morrow in Pillow Talk (1959) | Judy Adams in It's A Great Feeling (1949) Calamity Jane in Calamity Jane (1953) Laurie Tuttle in Young At Heart (1954) Ruth Etting in Love Me or Leave Me (1955) Jo McKenna in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) Kate "Babe" Williams in The Pajama Game (1957) Erica Stone in Teacher's Pet (1958) Kate Mackay in Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960) Carol Templeton in Lover Come Back (1962) Cathy Timberlake in That Touch of Mink (1962) |
Daniel Day-Lewis (1957- ) |
Hawkeye in The Last of the Mohicans (1992) | Colin in Gandhi (1982) Fryer in The Bounty (1984) Johnny in My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) Cecil Vyse in A Room With a View (1986) Tomas in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989) Gerald Conlon in In the Name of the Father (1993) Newland Archer in The Age of Innocence (1993) John Proctor in The Crucible (1996) Danny Flynn in The Boxer (1997) William Cutting (Bill the Butcher) in Gangs of New York (2002) Jack Slavin in The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005) |
 #18 James Dean (1931-1955) |
Jim in Rebel Without A Cause (1955) |
Cal Trask in East
of Eden (1955) Jett Rink in Giant (1956) |
 Yvonne De Carlo (1922-2007) |
Anna in Criss Cross (1949) | Salome in Salome Where She Danced (1945) Gina Ferrara in Brute Force (1947) Francesca in Slave Girl (1947) Cara de Talavera in Song of Scheherazade (1947) Sephora in The Ten Commandments (1956) Mrs. Louise Warren in McLintock! (1963) |
 Sandra Dee (1942-2005) |
Gidget (Frances Lawrence) in Gidget (1959) | Jane Broadbent in The Reluctant Debutante
(1958) Melinda Grant in The Restless Years (1958) Susie in Imitation of Life (1959) Pat Beasley in A Stranger in My Arms (1959) Molly Jorgenson in A Summer Place (1959) Rosalie Stocker in The Wild and the Innocent (1959) Sandy Stevens in Come September (1961) Tammy Tyree in Tammy, Tell Me True (1961) Mollie Michaelson in Take Her, She's Mine (1963) Tammy Tyree in Tammy and the Doctor (1963) Daphne in Rosie! (1967) Nancy Wagner in The Dunwich Horror (1970) |
 Olivia de Havilland (1916- ) |
Melanie Hamilton in
Gone With the Wind (1939) |
Arabella Bishop in Captain Blood (1935) Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) Elsa Campbell in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) Angela Guisseppi in Anthony Adverse (1936) Maid Marian in
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)Abbie Irving in Dodge City (1939) Amy Lind in The Strawberry Blonde (1941) Emmy Brown in Hold Back the Dawn (1941) Roy Timberlake in In This Our Life (1942) Miss Josephine Norris in To Each His Own (1946) Virginia Stuart Cunningham in The Snake Pit (1948) Catherine Sloper in The Heiress (1949) Miriam Deering in Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) |
 Dame Judi Dench (1934- ) |
Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998) | Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (1978) Miss Eleanor Lavish in A Room With a View (1986) Mrs. Beaver in A Handful of Dust (1988) Mistress Quickly in Henry V (1989) M in GoldenEye (1995) Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown (1997) M in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) Arabella in Tea With Mussolini (1999) M in The World is Not Enough (1999) Armande Voizin in Chocolat (2000) Iris Murdoch in Iris (2001) Agnis Hamm in The Shipping News (2001) M in Die Another Day (2002) Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) Aereon in The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) M in GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004) and Casino Royale (2006) Lady Catherine de Bourg in Pride & Prejudice (2005) Mrs. Laura Henderson in Mrs. Henderson Presents (2006) Barbara Covett in Notes on a Scandal (2006) |
 Robert De Niro (1943- ) |
Travis Bickle in
Taxi Driver (1976) |
Bruce Pearson in Bang the Drum Slowly
(1973) Johnny Boy in Mean Streets (1973) Vito Corleone in
The Godfather, Part II (1974)Michael in The Deer Hunter (1978) Jake La Motta in
Raging Bull (1980)Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy (1983) David "Noodles" Aaronson in Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Al Capone in The Untouchables (1987) James "Jimmy" Conway in GoodFellas (1990) Lt. Rimgale in Backdraft (1991) Max Cady in Cape Fear (1991) Lorenzo Anello in A Bronx Tale (1993) Wayne "Mad Dog" Dobie in Mad Dog and Glory (1993) The Creature in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) Sam (Ace) Rothstein in Casino (1995) Neil McCauley in Heat (1995) Father Bobby in Sleepers (1996) Conrad "Connie" Brean in Wag the Dog (1997) Sam in Ronin (1998) Boss Paul Vitti in Analyze This (1999) Jack Byrnes in Meet the Parents (2000) Eddie Fleming in 15 Minutes (2001) Nick in The Score (2001) Mitch Preston in Showtime (2002) Vincent LaMarca in City by the Sea (2002) Paul Vitti in Analyze That (2002) Jack Byrnes in Meet the Fockers (2004) Archbishop of Peru of The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004) David Callaway in Hide and Seek (2005) General Bill Sullivan in The Good Shepherd (2006) |
 Johnny Depp (1964- ) |
Ed Wood in Ed Wood (1994) and Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and in Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (2007) |
Glen Lantz in A Nightmare on Elm Street
(1984) Edward Scissorhands in Edward Scissorhands (1990) Sam in Benny & Joon (1993) Gilbert Grape in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) Don Juan DeMarco in Don Juan DeMarco (1995) Donnie Brasco/Joe Pistone in Donnie Brasco (1997) Raoul Duke in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) Spencer Armacost in The Astronaut's Wife (1999) Dean Corso in The Ninth Gate (1999) Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow (1999) George Jung in Blow (2001) Inspector Fred Abberline in From Hell (2001) James Barrie in Finding Neverland (2004) Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) Voice of Victor Van Dort in Corpse Bride (2005) |
 Laura Dern (1966- ) |
Rose in Rambling Rose (1991) | Connie in Smooth Talk (1985) Sandy Williams in Blue Velvet (1986) Lula Pace Fortune in Wild at Heart (1990) Dr. Ellie Sattler in Jurassic Park (1993) Ruth Stoops in Citizen Ruth (1996) Miss Riley in October Sky (1999) Ruby in Daddy and Them (1999) Gertrude Hart in Focus (2001) Jean Noble in Novocaine (2001) Randy Carpenter in I Am Sam (2001) Terry Linden in We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004) Nikki Grace/Susan Blue in Inland Empire (2006) |
 Danny DeVito (1944- ) |
Ralph in Romancing the Stone (1984) and The Jewel of the Nile (1985) | Martini in
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) Sam Stone in Ruthless People (1986) Owen Lift in Throw Momma From the Train (1987) Ernest Tilley in Tin Men (1987) Vincent Benedict in Twins (1988) Gavin D'Amato in The War of the Roses (1989) Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin in Batman Returns (1992) Dr. Larry Arbogast in Junior (1994) Martin Weir in Get Shorty (1995) Harry Wormwood in Matilda (1996) Sid Hudgeons in L.A. Confidential (1997) Deck Shifflet in The Rainmaker (1997) Pat in Living Out Loud (1998) George Shapiro in Man on the Moon (1999) Bergman in Heist (2001) Burke Bennett in Death to Smoochy (2002) Amos Calloway in Big Fish (2003) Buddy Hall in Deck the Halls (2006) Wayne the Pool Guy in The OH in Ohio (2006) |
 Cameron Diaz (1972- ) |
Mary Jensen Matthews in There's Something About Mary (1998) | Tina Carlyle in The Mask (1994) Celine Naville in A Life Less Ordinary (1997) Kimberly (Kim/Kimmy) Wallace in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) Laura Garrety in Very Bad Things (1998) Christina Pagniacci in Any Given Sunday (1999) Lotte Schwartz in Being John Malkovich (1999) Natalie Cook in Charlie's Angels (2000) and in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) Princess Fiona (voice) in Shrek (2001) and in Shrek 2 (2004) Julie Gianni in Vanilla Sky (2001) Jenny Everdeane in Gangs of New York (2002) Christina Walters in The Sweetest Thing (2002) Maggie Feller in In Her Shoes (2005) Amanda in The Holiday (2006) |
