Cinema Scholars recently conducted a poll on social media where we asked people to provide their ten favorite performers (actors and actresses in one list). Below are the results.
50. Daniel Craig
Birth Name: Daniel Wroughton Craig
Born: March 2, 1968 – Chesire, England
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 0/0
49. Laurence Olivier
Birth Name: Laurence Kerr Olivier
Born: May 22, 1907 – Surrey, England
Died: July 11, 1989 – West Sussex, England
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 10/1
48. Doris Day
Birth Name: Doris Mary Kappelhoff
Born: April 3, 1922 – Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: May 13, 2019 – Carmel Valley, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 1/0
47. Mickey Rooney
Birth Name: Joseph Yule Jr.
Born: September 23, 1920 – New York, New York
Died: April 6, 2014 – Los Angeles, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 4/0
46. William Powell
Birth Name: William Horatio Powell
Born: July 29, 1892 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died: March 5, 1984 – Palm Spring, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 3/0
45. Marlon Brando
Birth Name: Marlon Brando Jr.
Born: April 3, 1924 – Omaha, Nebraska
Died: July 1, 2004 – Los Angeles, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 8/2
44. William Holden
Birth Name: William Franklin Beedle Jr.
Born: April 17, 1918 – O’Fallon, Illinois
Died: November 12, 1981 – Santa Monica, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 3/1
43. Sam Rockwell
Birth Name: Sam Rockwell
Born: November 5, 1968 – Daly City, California
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 2/1
42. Maureen O’Hara
Birth Name: Maureen FitzSimons
Born: August 17, 1920 – Dublin, Ireland
Died: October 24, 2015 – Boise, Idaho
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 0/0
41. Robert De Niro
Birth Name: Robert Anthony De Niro
Born: August 17, 1943 – New York, New York
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 7/2
40. Sean Connery
Birth Name: Thomas Connery
Born: August 25, 1930 – Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: October 31, 2020 – Lyford Cay, Bahamas
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 1/1
39. Rock Hudson
Birth Name: Roy Harold Scherer Jr.
Born: Novermber 17, 1925 – Winnetka, Illinois
Died: October 2, 1985 – Beverly Hills, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 1/0
38. Spencer Tracy
Birth Name: Spencer Bonaventure Tracy
Born: April 5, 1920 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Died: June 10, 1967 – Beverly Hills, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 9/2
37. Michael Caine
Birth Name: Maurice Joseph Micklewhite
Born: March 14, 1933 – London, England
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 6/2
36. Charlton Heston
Birth Name: John Charles Carter
Born: October 4, 1923 – Wilmette, Illinois
Died: April 5, 2008 – Beverly Hills, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 1/1
35. Yul Brynner
Birth Name: Yuliy Borisovich Briner
Born: July 11, 1920 – Vladivostok, Russia
Died: October 10, 1985 – New York, New York
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 1/1
34. Harrison Ford
Birth Name: Harrison Ford
Born: July 13, 1942 – Chicago, Illinois
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 1/0
33. Judy Garland
Birth Name: Frances Ethel Gumm
Born: June 10, 1922 – Grand Rapids, Michigan
Died: June 22, 1969 – London, England
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 2/0
32. James Coburn
Birth Name: James Harrison Coburn III
Born: August 31, 1928 – Laurel, Nebraska
Died: November 18, 2002 – Beverly Hills, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 1/1
31. Ginger Rogers
Birth Name: Virginia Katherine McMath
Born: July 16, 1911 – Independence, Missouri
Died: April 25, 1995 – Rancho Mirage, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 1/1
30. Katharine Hepburn
Birth Name: Katharine Houghton Hepburn
Born: May 12, 1907 – Hartford, Connecticut
Died: June 29, 2003 – Fenwick, Connecticut
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 12/4
29. Meryl Streep
Birth Name: Mary Louise Streep
Born: June 22, 1949 – Summit, New Jersey
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 21/3
28. Fred Astaire
Birth Name: Frederick Austerlitz
Born: May 10, 1899 – Omaha, Nebraska
Died: June 22, 1987 – Los Angeles, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 1/0
27. Vivien Leigh
Birth Name: Vivian Mary Hartley
Born: November 5, 1913 – Darjeeling, India
Died: July 8, 1967 – London, England
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 2/2
26. Denzel Washington
Birth Name: Denzel Hayes Washington Jr.
Born: December 28, 1954 – Mount Vernon, New York
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 9/2
25. Philip Seymour Hoffman
Birth Name: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Born: July 23, 1967 – Fairport, New York
Died: February 2, 2014
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 4/1
24. Jack Lemmon
Birth Name: John Uhler Lemmon III
Born: February 8, 1925 – Newton, Massachusetts
Died: June 27, 2001 – Los Angeles, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 8/2
23. Tony Randall
Birth Name: Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg
Born: February 26, 1920 – Tulsa Oklahoma
Died: May 17, 2004 – New York, New York
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 0/0
22. Clark Gable
Birth Name: William Clark Gable
Born: February 1, 1901 – Cadiz, Ohio
Died: November 16, 1960 – Los Angeles, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 3/1
21. Ingrid Bergman
Birth Name: Ingrid Bergman
Born: August 29, 1915 – Stockholm, Sweden
Died: August 29, 1982 – London, England
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 7/3
20. Errol Flynn
Birth Name: Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn
Born: June 20, 1909 – Tasmania, Australia
Died: October 14, 1959 – Vancouver, Canada
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 0/0
19. Barbara Stanwyck
Birth Name: Ruby Catherine Stevens
Born: July 16, 1907 – Brooklyn, New York
Died: January 20, 1990 – Santa Monica, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins:4/0
18. Gregory Peck
Birth Name: Eldred Gregory Peck
Born: April 5, 1916 – San Diego, California
Died: June 12, 2003 – Los Angeles, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 2/1
17. Myrna Loy
Birth Name: Myrna Adele Williams
Born: August 2, 1905 – Helena, Montana
Died: December 14, 1993 – New York, New York
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 0/0
16. Clint Eastwood
Birth Name: Clinton Eastwood Jr.
Born: May 31, 1930 – San Francisco, California
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 11/4
15. Boris Karloff
Birth Name: William Henry Pratt
Born: November 23, 1887 – Surrey, England
Died: February 2, 1969 – Sussex, England
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 0/0
14. Al Pacino
Birth Name: Alfredo James Pacino
Born: April 25, 1940 – New York, New York
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 9/1
13. James Cagney
Birth Name: James Francis Cagney Jr.
Born: July 17, 1899 – New York, New York
Died: March 30, 1986 – Stanford, New York
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 3/1
12. Marilyn Monroe
Birth Name: Norma Jeane Mortenson
Born: June 1, 1926 – Los Angeles, California
Died: August 4, 1962 – Los Angeles, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 0/0
11. John Wayne
Birth Name: Marion Robert Morrison
Born: May 26, 1907 – Winterset, Iowa
Died: June 11, 1979 – Los Angeles, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 2/1
10. Leonardo DiCaprio
Birth Name: Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio
Born: November 11, 1974 – Los Angeles, California
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 6/1
9. Charlie Chaplin
Birth Name: Charles Spencer Chaplin
Born: April 16, 1889 – London, England
Died: December 25, 1977 – Corsier – sur – Vevey, Switzerland
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 4/1
8. Julianne Moore
Birth Name: Julie Anne Smith
Born: December 3, 1960 – Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 5/1
7. Daniel Day-Lewis
Birth Name: Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis
Born: April 29, 1957 – London, England
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 6/3
6. Bette Davis
Birth Name: Ruth Elizabeth Davis
Born: April 5, 1908 – Lowell, Massachusetts
Died: October 6, 1989 – Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 10/2
5. James Stewart
Birth Name: James Maitland Stewart
Born: May 20, 1908 – Indiana, Pennsylvania
Died: July 2, 1997 – Beverly Hills, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 5/1
4. Jack Nicholson
Birth Name: John Joseph Nicholson
Born: April 22, 1937 – Neptune City, New Jersey
Died: N/A
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 12/3
3. Paul Newman
Birth Name: Paul Leonard Newman
Born: January 26, 1925 – Shaker Heights, Ohio
Died: September 26, 2008 – Westport, Connecticut
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 10/1
2. Humphrey Bogart
Birth Name: Humphrey DeForest Bogart
Born: December 25, 1899 – New York, New York
Died: January 14, 1957 – Los Angeles, California
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 3/1
1. Cary Grant
Birth Name: Archibald Alec Leach
Born: January 18, 1904 – Bristol, England
Died: November 29, 1986 – Davenport, Iowa
Academy Award Nominations/Wins: 2/0
