Top of the World: 2nd Ultimate Top 100 Favourite Actors (2019 Edition)

Here I am again, with another top list! But that’s not an ordinary one. Three years ago, I presented you a top 100 of my most favourite actors and, today, I’ve decided to do the same exercise because, obviously, in three years, tastes change. I discovered new actors. When I completed my new list, I was under the impression that it hadn’t changed a lot since the last time but, when I compared both lists, I realized it had. Some actors rank higher now and some rank lower. Some aren’t on the list anymore, and we can observe new additions. You might think that it is difficult to do such a list. Yes, it is. I  initinally just made a list of actors that I liked and the final number was 164 (and I’m sure I forgot some). I other words, I had to sacrifice 64 actors in order to reduce the countdown to 100. Some heartbreaking decisions had to be made. Among the constraints I gave myself for this list, there was the following ones:

• I must have seen the actor in AT LEAST three films. It was two for the first list but making it to three for this one would make the elimination easier. But, I agree with you that, sometimes, you just need to see the actor in one film for him to become a favourite. I’ve decided not to include films where the said actor is uncredited. However, I’ve included TV shows.

• I also gave myself the duty to list actors that I like and not to try to please the crowd by saying to myself. “Hum, maybe I should include this actor, everybody likes him.” Therefore, you might see some unusual choices and not only A-list actors.

• And you’ve guessed it, this list is very subjective. Here I chose actors I personally love but I’m not claiming these are the best actors, just that I love him. So, I ask you to respect my choices.

• If your favourite actor isn’t on the list, there are a few possible reasons why: maybe he was among the 64 ones I had to eliminate, maybe I don’t like him (that’s possible!) or maybe I haven’t seen enough of his movies for him to be on the list. But, I respect everyone’s tastes of course.

Well, I think that’s enough for now. I know you’re impatient to see the list! This time, I’ve decided to present it in decreasing order. I think it makes the whole thing more… suspenseful!

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100-Gig Young (favourite performance: Teacher’s Pet)

99- Yul Brynner (favourite performance: The King and I)

98- Hume Cronyn (favourite performance: Lifeboat)

97- Brad Pitt (favourite peformance: Se7en)

96- Tom Hanks (favourite peformance: Forrest Gump)

95- Alan Arkin (favourite performance: Little Miss Sunshine)

94- Dennis Hopper (favourite peformance: Gunfight at the O.K. Corral)

93- John Garfield (favourite performance: Air Force)

92- Eddie Albert (favourite peformance: You Gotta Stay Happy)

91- Daniel Day-Lewis (favourite performance : In the Name of the Father)

90- Johnny Depp (favourite performance: Ed Wood)

89- Jean Gabin (favourite peformance:La grande illusion)

88- Richard Widmark (favourite performance: Pickup On South Street)

87- Russ Tamblyn (favourite performance: Peyton Place)

86- Glenn Ford (favourite performance: Blackboard Jungle)

85- Michel Côté (favourite peformance:C.R.A.Z.Y– PS: I saw him at the movie theatre were I work the other day. OMG!)

84- Roddy McDowall (favourite performance: The Poseidon Adventure)

83- Frank Gorshin (favourite peformance: Where the Boy Are. But I could also mention his top-notch impressions of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas)

82- Gene Hackman (favourite performance: The Poseidon Adventure)

81- Charles Coburn (favourite performance: Heaven Can Wait)

80- Robin Williams (favourite performance: Dead Poets Society)

79- Richard Conte (favourite peformance: The Big Combo)

78- Don Taylor (favourite performance: The Naked City)

77- Thomas Mitchell (favourite peformance: Stagecoach)

76- Edmond O’Brien (favourite performance: White Heat)

75- Walter Matthau (favourite peformance: Cactus Flower)

74- Louis Calhern (favourtie peformance: High Society. Sadly, this was his last performance before his death in 1956, the same year the film was released).

73- George Raft (favourite performance: They Drive by Night)

72 – Morgan Freeman (favourite performance: The Shawshank Redemption)

71- George Sanders (favourite peformance: Foreign Correspondent)

70- Eli Wallach (favourite performance: The Misfits)

69- Bill Murray (favourite performance: Rushmore)

68- Alan Mowbray (favourite performance: Merrily We Live)

67- Kirk Douglas (favourite performance: Seven Days in May)

66- Basil Radford (favourite peformance: The Lady Vanishes)

65- Michael Rennie (favourite performance: The Day the Earth Stood Still)

64- Paul Newman (favourite performance: Cool Hand Luke)

63- Charles Laughton (favourite peformance: Witness for the Prosecution)

62- Naunton Wayne (favourite performance: The Lady Vanishes)

61- Henry Fonda (favourite performance: 12 Angry Men)

60- Tony Curtis (favourite performance: The Defiant Ones)

59- Robert Young (favourite performance: Father Knows Best – TV Show)

58- Robert Ryan (favourite performance: Born to Be Bad)

57- Joel McCrea (favourite performance: Foreign Correspondent)

56- Edward Norton (favourite performance: Moonrise Kingdom)

55- Lionel Barrymore (favourite performance: Lady Be Good)

54- Richard Basehart (favourite performance: 14 Hours)

53- Leonardo DiCaprio (favourite performance: What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?)

52- Montgomery Clift (favourite performance: From Here to Eternity)

51- George Kennedy (favourite performance: Cool Hand Luke)

50- John Williams (favourite performance: To Catch A Thief)

49- Paul Douglas (favourite performance: 14 Hours)

48- John Gielgud (favourite performance: Julius Caesar)

47- Sterling Hayden (favourite performance: Dr. Strangelove)

46- Dustin Hoffman (favourite performance: The Graduate)

45- Robert Mitchum (favourite performance: The Night of the Hunter)

44- S.Z. Sakall (favourite performance: Romance on the High Seas)

43- Karl Malden (favourite performance: A Streetcar Named Desire)

42- Dana Andrews (favourite performance:The Best Years of Our Lives)

41- Anthony Hopkins (favourite performance: The Elephant Man)

40- John Mills (favourite performance: Great Expectations)

39- Paul Henreid (favourite performance: Night Train to Munich)

38- Lee J. Cobb (favourite performance: 12 Angry Men)

37- Herbert Marshall (favourite performance: Murder!)

36- Paul Dupuis (favourite performance: Sleeping Car to Trieste)

35- Lew Ayres (favourite performance: All Quiet On the Western Front)

34- Earl Holliman (favourite performance: The Rainmaker)

33- Walter Pidgeon (favourite performance: Mrs. Miniver)

32- Cliff Robertson (favourite performance: Obsession)

31- Brian Aherne (favourite performance: The Swan)

30- Eric Blore (favourite performance: Music In My Heart)

29- Peter Lorre (favourite performance: Secret Agent)

28- Robert De Niro (favourite performance: Taxi Driver)

27- Spencer Tracy (favourite performance: San Francisco)

26- Laurence Olivier (favourite performance: Rebecca)

25- Humphrey Bogart (favourite performance: The Big Sleep)

24- Jack Carson (favourite performance: Romance On the High Seas)

23- Claude Rains (favourite performance: Casablanca)

22- Frank Sinatra (favourite performance: The Man With the Golden Arm)

21- Clark Gable (favourite performance: Gone With the Wind)

20- James Mason (favourite performance: Caught)

19- Charlie Chaplin (favourite performance: Modern Times)

18- Michael Redgrave (favourite performance: The Lady Vanishes)

17- Jack Nicholson (favourite performance: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)

16- Jack Lemmon (favourite performance: Some Like It Hot)

15- Peter O’Toole (favourite performance: Lawrence Of Arabia)

14- Marlon Brando (favourite performance: On the Waterfront)

13- Buster Keaton (favourite performance: Blacksmith)

12- James Cagney (favourite performance: White Heat)

11- Gary Cooper (favourite performance: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town)

10- Gregory Peck (favourite performance: To Kill A Mockingbird)

9- Ray Milland (favourite performance: Ministry of Fear)

8- Sidney Poitier (favourite performance: Lilies of the Fields)

7- Fredric March (favourite performance: The Best Years of Our Lives. Fun fact: This is also my favourite Oscar-winning performance by an actor.)

6- Joseph Cotten (favourite performance: Shadow of A Doubt)

5- Burt Lancaster (favourite performance: From Here to Eternity )

4- Cary Grant (favourite performance: Bringing Up Baby)

3- Arthur Kennedy (favourite performance: Bright Victory)

2- William Holden (favourite performance: Sunset Boulevard)

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1- James Stewart (favourite performance: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington)

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Well, that’s it! Even if it’s a very subjective list as I’ve said earlier, I hope you enjoyed discovering which actors were part of it! Of course, don’t hesitate to share your favourite actors in the comments!

In case you want to check the first list and compare it with this one, here it is.

See you!