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GREATEST FILM
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GREATEST FILM
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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
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The 100 Greatest Films that have been selected at this site are identified by a yellow star
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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
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Definitive Screen Role | Other Great Film Roles |
 Leonardo DiCaprio (1974- ) |
Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997) | Toby Wolff in This Boy's Life (1993) Arnie Grape in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries (1995) Fee "The Kid" Herod in The Quick and the Dead (1995) Hank in Marvin's Room (1996) Romeo in William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996) Brandon Darrow in Celebrity (1998) King Louis XIV/Philippe in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) Richard in The Beach (2000) Frank Abagnale, Jr. in Catch Me If You Can (2002) Amsterdam Vallon in Gangs of New York (2002) Howard Hughes in The Aviator (2004) Danny Archer in Blood Diamond (2006) Billy Costigan in The Departed (2006) |
 #9 Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) |
Lola Frohlich in The Blue Angel (1930) and Helen Faraday in Blonde Venus (1932) |
Amy Jolly in Morocco (1930) Shanghai Lily (Madeline) in Shanghai Express (1932) Catherine II/Sophia Frederica in The Scarlet Empress (1934) Frenchy in Destry Rides Again (1939) Erika von Schluetow in A Foreign Affair (1948) Altar Keane in Rancho Notorious (1952) Tanya in Touch of Evil (1958)Christine Helm/Vole in Witness for the Prosecution (1958) Madame Bertholt in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) |
Troy Donahue (1937-2001) |
Johnny Hunter in A Summer Place (1959) | Frankie in Imitation of Life (1959) Parrish McLean in Parrish (1961) Don Porter in Rome Adventure (1962) Jim in Palm Springs Weekend (1963) 2nd Lieut. Matthew "Matt" Hazard in A Distant Trumpet (1964) Ben Gunther in My Blood Runs Cold (1964) Merle Johnson (his real name) in
The Godfather, Part II (1974)Hatchet's Father in Cry-Baby (1990) |
 Robert Donat (1905-1958) |
Mr. Charles Chipping in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) | Thomas Culpepper in The Private Life
of Henry VIII (1933) Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps (1935) Dr. Andrew Mason in The Citadel (1938) Sir Robert Morton in The Winslow Boy (1948) The Mandarin in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) |
 Brian Donlevy (1889-1972) |
Sgt. Markoff in Beau Geste (1939) | Kent in Destry Rides
Again (1939) Dan McGinty in The Great McGinty (1940) Paul Madvig in The Glass Key (1942) Assistant D.A. Louie DeAngelo in Kiss of Death (1947) McClure in The Big Combo (1955) |
 #17 Kirk Douglas (1916- ) |
Spartacus in Spartacus (1960) | Whit Sterling in Out of the Past (1947) Midge Kelly in Champion (1949) Jonathan Shields in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) Vincent Van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956) Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) Colonel Dax in Paths of Glory (1957)Einar in The Vikings (1958) Jack Burns in Lonely Are the Brave (1962) Col. Martin 'Jiggs' Casey in Seven Days in May (1964) Mitchell Gromberg in It Runs in the Family (2003) |
 Melvyn Douglas (1901-1981) |
Count Leon Dalga in
Ninotchka (1939) |
Roger Penderell in The Old Dark House
(1932) Mr. Cheyne in Captains Courageous (1937) Bill Cole in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) Homer Bannon in Hud (1963) Tom Garrison in I Never Sang For My Father (1970) Benjamin Rand in Being There (1979) |
 Michael Douglas (1944- ) |
Gordon Gekko in Wall Street (1987) | Richard Adams in The China Syndrome (1979) Jack Colton in Romancing the Stone (1984) Dan Gallagher in Fatal Attraction (1987) Nick Conklin in Black Rain (1989) Oliver Rose in The War of the Roses (1989) Detective Nick Curran in Basic Instinct (1992) William Foster in Falling Down (1993) Tom Sanders in Disclosure (1994) Pres. Andrew Shepherd in The American President (1995) Nicholas Van Orton in The Game (1997) Steven Taylor in A Perfect Murder (1998) Robert Hudson Wakefield in Traffic (2000) Grady Tripp in Wonder Boys (2000) Dr. Nathan Conrad in Don't Say a Word (2001) Mr. Burmeister in One Night at McCool's (2001) Alex Gromberg in It Runs in the Family (2003) Steve Tobias in The In-Laws (2003) Pete Garrison in The Sentinel (2006) Mr. Thompson in You, Me and Dupree (2006) |
 Robert Downey Jr. (1965-) |
Charlie Chaplin in Chaplin (1992) | Julian Wells in Less Than Zero (1987) Jack Jericho in The Pick-Up Artist (1987) Alex Finch in Chances Are (1989) Ralph in 1969 (1989) Billy Covington in Air America (1990) David Barnes in Soapdish (1991) Thomas Reilly in Heart and Souls (1993) Wayne Gale in Natural Born Killers (1994) Earl Rivers in Richard III (1996) Charlie in One Night Stand (1997) Blake Allen in Two Girls and a Guy (1997) Clyde Pell in The Gingerbread Man (1998) John Royce in U.S. Marshals (1998) Terry Crabtree in Wonder Boys (2000) Pete Graham in Gothika (2003) Dan Dark in The Singing Detective (2003) Harry Lockhart in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) Dr. Kozak in The Shaggy Dog (2006) |
 Marie Dressler (1869-1934) |
Min Divot in Min and Bill (1930) | Tillie Banks in Tillie's Punctured Romance
(1914) Mrs. Callahan in The Callahans and the Murphys (1927) Marthy Owens in Anna Christie (1930) Carlotta Vance in Dinner at Eight (1933) |
 Richard Dreyfuss (1947- ) |
Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) | Curt Henderson in American
Graffiti (1973) Duddy in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974) Matt Hooper in
Jaws (1975)Elliott Garfield in The Goodbye Girl (1977) Paul Dietrich in The Competition (1980) Ken Harrison in Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981) Dave Whiteman in Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) Aaron Levinsky in Nuts (1987) Chris Lecce in Stakeout (1987) Bill "BB" Babowsky in The Tin Men (1987) Pete Sandich in Always (1989) Player King in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990) Dr. Leo Marvin in What About Bob? (1991) Glenn Holland in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) Richard Nelson in Poseidon (2006) |
 Margaret Dumont (1889-1965) |
Mrs. Claypool in
A Night at the Opera (1935) |
Mrs. Rittenhouse in Animal
Crackers (1930) Mrs. Teasdale in
Duck Soup (1933)Emily Upjohn in A Day At the Races (1937) Mrs. Hemogloben in Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941) |
 Faye Dunaway (1941- ) |
Bonnie Parker in
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) |
Vicki Anderson in The Thomas Crown Affair
(1968) Mrs. Pendrake in Little Big Man (1970) Evelyn Mulwray in
Chinatown (1974)Diana Christensen in Network (1976) Laura Mars in Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) Annie in The Champ (1979) Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981) Selena in Supergirl (1984) Marilyn Mickler in Don Juan DeMarco (1995) Aunt Lee in The Chamber (1996) Yolande d'Aragon in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) The Psychiatrist in The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) Kitty Olchin in The Yards (2000) |
 Irene Dunne (1898-1990) |
Lucy Warriner in The Awful Truth (1937) | Sabra Cravatin in Cimarron (1931) Stephanie in Roberta (1935) Magnolia Hawks in Show Boat (1936) Terry McKay in Love Affair (1939) Ellen Arden in My Favorite Wife (1940) Julie Gardiner Adams in Penny Serenade (1941) Dorinda Durston in A Guy Named Joe (1943) Anna Owens in Anna and the King of Siam (1946) Vinnie Day in Life With Father (1947) Mama Hansen in I Remember Mama (1948) |
 Jimmy Durante (1893-1980) |
Pop Wonder in Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962) | James in Speak Easily (1932) Jimmy Potts in What! No Beer? (1933) Knobby Walsh in Palooka (1934) Jimmy Clayton in Little Miss Broadway (1938) Jefferson Twitchell in Sally, Irene and Mary (1938) Billy Kipp in Two Girls and a Sailor (1944) "Spike" in Two Sisters from Boston (1946) Nick Lombardi in It Happened in Brooklyn (1947) Mr. Amendola in The Great Rupert (1950) Smiler Grogan in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) |
 Deanna Durbin (1921- ) |
Penny Craig in Three Smart Girls (1936)
and Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939) |
Patricia Cardwell in One Hundred Men and
a Girl (1937) Gloria Harkinson in Mad About Music (1938) Alice Fullerton in That Certain Age (1938) Connie Harding in First Love (1939) Pamela Drake in It's A Date (1940) Anne Terry in It Started With Eve (1941) Jane Dana in Nice Girl? (1941) Ruth Kirke in The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (1943) Penny Craig in Hers to Hold (1943) Ann Carter in His Butler's Sister (1943) Caroline Frost in Can't Help Singing (1944) Nikki Collins in Lady on a Train (1945) Kim Walker in Because of Him (1946) Mary Peppertree in For the Love of Mary (1948) Rosie Moore in Up in Central Park (1948) |
