They've Done The Best... and The Worst

1. George Clooney

George Timothy Clooney was born on May 6, 1961, in Lexington, Kentucky, to Nina Bruce (née Warren), a former beauty pageant queen, and Nick Clooney, a former anchorman and television host (who was also the brother of singer Rosemary Clooney). He has Irish, English, and German ancestry. Clooney ...

500 Greatest - Out of Sight; The Thin Red Line; Ocean's Eleven 50 Worst - Batman & Robin

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Actor | Terminator 2: Judgment Day

With an almost unpronounceable surname and a thick Austrian accent, who would have ever believed that a brash, quick talking bodybuilder from a small European village would become one of Hollywood's biggest stars, marry into the prestigious Kennedy family, amass a fortune via shrewd investments and...

500 Greatest - The Long Goodbye; The Terminator; Predator; Terminator 2: Judgment Day 50 Worst - Batman & Robin

3. Al Pacino

Actor | Serpico

Alfredo James "Al" 'Pacino established himself as a film actor during one of cinema's most vibrant decades, the 1970s, and has become an enduring and iconic figure in the world of American movies.

He was born April 25, 1940 in Manhattan, New York City, to Italian-American parents, Rose (nee Gerardi)...

500 Greatest - The Godfather; The Godfather: Part II; Dog Day Afternoon; Scarface; The Godfather Part III; Glengarry Glen Ross; Carlito's Way; Heat 50 Worst - Gigli

4. Morgan Freeman

Actor | Driving Miss Daisy

With an authoritative voice and calm demeanor, this ever popular American actor has grown into one of the most respected figures in modern US cinema. Morgan was born on June 1, 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, to Mayme Edna (Revere), a teacher, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman, a barber. The young Freeman...

500 Greatest - Unforgiven; The Shawshank Redemption; Se7en; Batman Begins; The Dark Knight 50 Worst - Dreamcatcher

5. Michael Caine

Actor | The Dark Knight

Michael Caine was born as Maurice Joseph Micklewhite in London, to Ellen (née Burchell), a cook, and Maurice Micklewhite Sr., a fish-market porter. He had a younger brother, Stanley Caine, and an older maternal half-brother named David Burchell. He left school at age 15 and took a series of ...

500 Greatest - Zulu; Get Carter; The Man Who Would Be King; Batman Begins; Children of Men; The Prestige; The Dark Knight 50 Worst - Jaws: The Revenge

6. John Travolta

Actor | Pulp Fiction

John Joseph Travolta was born in Englewood, New Jersey, one of six children of Helen Travolta (née Helen Cecilia Burke) and Salvatore/Samuel J. Travolta. His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry. His father owned a tire repair shop called Travolta Tires in Hillsdale, ...

500 Greatest - Carrie; Grease; Blow Out; Pulp Fiction; Hairspray 50 Worst - Battlefield Earth

7. Mark Wahlberg

Producer | The Fighter

American actor Mark Wahlberg is one of a handful of respected entertainers who successfully made the transition from teen pop idol to acclaimed actor. A Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee for The Departed (2006) who went on to receive positive critical reviews for his performance in The Fighter (...

500 Greatest - Boogie Nights; The Departed 50 Worst - The Happening; Max Payne

8. Lee Arenberg

Actor | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Lee Arenberg has the remarkable ability to morph himself into frightening aliens, twisted psychotherapists, lascivious entertainment executives and everything in between. Most frequently referred to as a character actor, Arenberg maintains a flourishing acting career--almost 20 years spanning ...

500 Greatest - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 50 Worst - Dungeons & Dragons

9. Samuel L. Jackson

Actor | Pulp Fiction

Samuel L. Jackson is an American producer and highly prolific actor, having appeared in over 100 films, including Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Unbreakable (2000), Shaft (2000), Formula 51 (2001), Black Snake Moan (2006), Snakes on a Plane (2006), and the Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999-2005), ...

500 Greatest - Goodfellas; Jurassic Park; Pulp Fiction; Jackie Brown; Out of Sight; Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace; Unbreakable; Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith; Kill Bill: Vol. 2; The Incredibles 50 Worst - The Spirit

10. M. Night Shyamalan

Producer | Lady in the Water

Born in Puducherry, India, and raised in the posh suburban Penn Valley area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, M. Night Shyamalan is a film director, screenwriter, producer, and occasional actor, known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots.

He is the son of Jayalakshmi, a Tamil ...

500 Greatest - The Sixth Sense; Unbreakable 50 Worst - The Happening

11. Cameron Diaz

Actress | Vanilla Sky

Cameron Diaz, an American actress, was born in 1972 in San Diego, the daughter of a Cuban-American father and a German mother. Self described as "adventurous, independent and a tough kid," Cameron left home at 16 and for the next 5 years lived in such varied locales as Japan, Australia, Mexico, ...

500 Greatest - Being John Malkovich 50 Worst - The Sweetest Thing

12. Keanu Reeves

Actor | The Matrix

Keanu Charles Reeves, whose first name means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian, was born September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon. He is the son of Patric Reeves, a showgirl and costume designer, and Samuel Nowlin Reeves, a geologist. Keanu's father was born in Hawaii, of British, Portuguese...

500 Greatest - Point Break; Speed; The Matrix 50 Worst - The Matrix Revolutions

13. Jeremy Irons

Actor | Dead Ringers

British actor Jeremy Irons was born in Cowes, Isle of Wight, a small island off the south coast of England. He is the son of Barbara Anne Brereton (Sharpe) and Paul Dugan Irons, an accountant. Young Jeremy didn't prove very fond of figures. He visited mainland England only once a year. He wound up ...

50 Greatest - The Lion King 50 Worst - Dungeons & Dragons; Eragon; The Pink Panther 2

14. Sean Connery

Actor | The Rock

The tall, handsome and muscular Scottish actor Sean Connery is best known as the original actor to portray James Bond in the hugely successful movie franchise, starring in seven films between 1962 and 1983. Some believed that such a career-defining role might leave him unable to escape it, but he ...

500 Greatest - Goldfinger; The Man Who Would Be King; The Untouchables; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 50 Worst - Highlander II: The Quickening; The Avengers

15. Uma Thurman

Actress | Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Uma Karuna Thurman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, into a highly unorthodox and internationally-minded family. She is the daughter of Nena Thurman (née Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge), a fashion model and socialite who now runs a mountain retreat, and of Robert Thurman (Robert Alexander ...

500 Greatest - Pulp Fiction; Kill Bill: Vol. 1; Kill Bill: Vol. 2 50 Worst - Batman & Robin; The Avengers

16. Zooey Deschanel

Actress | New Girl

Zooey Deschanel was born in 1980 into a showbiz family. Her father, Caleb Deschanel, is an Academy Award-nominated cinematographer (perhaps most notably for The Passion of the Christ (2004)) and her mother, Mary Jo Deschanel (née Weir), is an actress who appeared in Twin Peaks (1990). Her paternal ...

500 Greatest - Almost Famous 50 Worst - The Happening

17. Jack Black

Actor | School of Rock

Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black was born on August 28, 1969 in Santa Monica, California and raised in Hermosa Beach, California to Judith Love Cohen & Thomas William Black, both satellite engineers. He is of Russian Jewish & British-German ancestry. Black attended the University of California at Los ...

500 Greatest - High Fidelity; School of Rock; Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy; King Kong 50 Worst - Year One

18. Tom Sizemore

Actor | Saving Private Ryan

Tom Sizemore rose in prominence throughout the 1990s, establishing himself as a memorable tough-guy actor, sought by the most respected directors in the business.

Thomas Edward Sizemore, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Judith (Schannault), an ombudsman staff member, and Thomas Edward Sizemore, ...

500 Greatest - Point Break; Heat; Saving Private Ryan 50 Worst - Dreamcatcher

19. Hugh Jackman

Actor | Les Misérables

Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor, singer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer and producer. Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as superhero, period, and romance characters. He is best known for his long-running role as Wolverine in the X-Men film ...

500 Greatest - X-Men 2; The Fountain; The Prestige 50 Worst - Van Helsing

20. Jamie Kennedy

Actor | Son of the Mask

James Harvey Kennedy was born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, on May 25, 1970. He became interested in acting at the age of 15, and appeared in a movie for the first time at age 19, as an extra in Dead Poets Society (1989). His first role in a movie was as Brad in the film Road to Flin Flon (2000), ...

500 Greatest - Scream 50 Worst - Son of the Mask

21. Christopher Walken

Actor | The Deer Hunter

Lead and supporting actor of the American stage and films, with sandy colored hair, and pale complexion. He won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Deer Hunter (1978), and has been seen in mostly character roles, often portraying psychologically unstable individuals, though...

500 Greatest - Annie Hall; The Deer Hunter; True Romance; Pulp Fiction; The Addiction; Hairspray 50 Worst - Heaven's Gate; Gigli

22. Forest Whitaker

Actor | The Last King of Scotland

Forest Steven Whitaker has packaged a king-size talent into his hulking 6' 2", 220 lb. frame. He won an Academy Award for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the film The Last King of Scotland (2006), and has also won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. He is the fourth African-American male to...

500 Greatest - Platoon; Good Morning, Vietnam 50 Worst - Battlefield Earth

23. Shia LaBeouf

Actor | Honey Boy

Shia LaBeouf's natural talent and raw energy have secured his place as one of Hollywood's leading men.

Most recently, LaBeouf starred alongside Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn in Kornel Mundruczo's Oscar® nominated Pieces of a Woman. In the critically acclaimed film, a grieving couple (Kirby/LaBeouf...

500 Greatest - Transformers 50 Worst - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

24. Megan Fox

Actress | Transformers

Megan Denise Fox was born on May 16, 1986 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and raised in Rockwood, Tennessee to Gloria Darlene Tonachio (née Cisson), a real estate manager & Franklin Thomas Fox, a parole officer. She began her drama and dance training at age 5 and at age 10, she moved to Port St. Lucie, ...

500 Greatest - Transformers 50 Worst - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

25. Michael Bay

Producer | Armageddon

A graduate of Wesleyan University, Michael Bay spent his 20s working on advertisements and music videos. His first projects after film school were in the music video business. He created music videos for Tina Turner, Meat Loaf, Lionel Richie, Wilson Phillips, Donny Osmond and Divinyls. His work won...

500 Greatest - Transformers 50 Worst - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

26. Barry Pepper

Self | 'Saving Private Ryan': Boot Camp

Barry Robert Pepper was born on April 4, 1970, in Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada. He has two older brothers named Alex and Doug Pepper. The Peppers didn't stick around Campbell River for too long. They had been building a ship in their backyard for years. When Barry was five years old, ...

500 Greatest - Saving Private Ryan; The Green Mile 50 Worst - Battlefield Earth

27. Charlton Heston

Actor | Ben-Hur

With features chiseled in stone, and renowned for playing a long list of historical figures, particularly in Biblical epics, the tall, well-built and ruggedly handsome Charlton Heston was one of Hollywood's top leading men of his prime and remained active in front of movie cameras for over sixty ...

500 Greatest - Touch of Evil; The Big Country; Ben-Hur; Planet of the Apes 50 Worst - Town & Country

28. John Leguizamo

Actor | Moulin Rouge!

Fast-talking and feisty-looking John Leguizamo has continued to impress movie audiences with his versatility: he can play sensitive and naïve young men, such as Johnny in Hangin' with the Homeboys (1991); cold-blooded killers like Benny Blanco in Carlito's Way (1993); a heroic Army Green Beret, ...

500 Greatest - Carlito's Way; Romeo + Juliet; Moulin Rouge! 50 Worst - The Happening

29. Tobey Maguire

Actor | Brothers

Tobias Vincent Maguire was born in Santa Monica, California. His parents were 18 and 20, and not yet married, when he was born. His mother, Wendy (Brown), did advertising, publicity, and acting in Hollywood for years as she coached and managed Tobey. His father, Vincent Maguire, was a cook and ...

500 Greatest - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; Wonder Boys; Spider-Man; Spider-Man 2 50 Worst - Spider-Man 3

30. Michael Cera

Actor | Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Canadian actor Michael Cera was born in Brampton, Ontario, to parents who worked for Xerox. His mother, Linda, who is from Quebec, has English, Irish, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry, and his father, Luigi Cera, is Italian (from Sicily). Michael is the middle child between two sisters. He was educated...

500 Greatest - Juno; Superbad 50 Worst - Year One

31. Carrie-Anne Moss

Actress | The Matrix

Carrie-Anne Moss was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. At age 20, after studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she moved to Europe to pursue a career in modeling. While in Spain she was cast in the TV show Dark Justice which was produced in Barcelona for its first season and Los ...

500 Greatest - The Matrix; Memento 50 Worst - The Matrix Revolutions

32. J.K. Simmons

Actor | Whiplash

J.K. Simmons is an American actor.

He was born Jonathan Kimble Simmons in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, to Patricia (Kimble), an administrator, and Donald William Simmons, a music teacher. He attended the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; University of Montana, Missoula, MT (BA in Music).

He had ...

500 Greatest - Spider-Man; Spider-Man 2; Juno 50 Worst - Spider-Man 3

33. Mark Gatiss

Actor | The League of Gentlemen

Mark Gatiss is an accomplished author, actor and playwright. Originally from Sedgefield, County Durham, he graduated from Bretton Hall Drama College with a BA (honors) in Theatre Arts.

He was one-quarter of the award-winning comedy team The League of Gentlemen (1999), and became heavily involved in ...

500 Greatest - Shaun of the Dead 50 Worst - Sex Lives of the Potato Men

34. Mackenzie Crook

Actor | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Mackenzie Crook, one of British comedy's best-known faces, who collected Star Wars figurines as a child, is now immortalized in plastic as a six-inch-high pirate action figure. He was born Paul Mackenzie Crook on September 29, 1971, in Maidstone, Kent, England, UK. His father worked for British ...

500 Greatest - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 50 Worst - Sex Lives of the Potato Men

35. Jason Lee

Actor | Almost Famous

Born in Santa Ana, California in 1970, Jason Lee is an American film photographer, actor, producer, and director. Well known for having been a professional skateboarder during skateboarding's very pivotal late 80s and early 90s, Lee would go on to pursue acting in 1993, working in film, television,...

500 Greatest - Almost Famous, The Incredibles 50 Worst - Dreamcatcher

36. Guy Ritchie

Director | Sherlock Holmes

Guy Ritchie was born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK on September 10, 1968. After watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) as a child, Guy realized that what he wanted to do was make films. He never attended film school, saying that the work of film school graduates was boring and ...

500 Greatest - Snatch. 50 Worst - Swept Away

37. David Wenham

Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

David Wenham is an Australian actor who is known for his portrayals of Faramir from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Friar Carl from the Van Helsing franchise and Dilios from 300. He also acted in Moulin Rouge, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Dark City, Top of the Lake, SeaChange ...

500 Greatest - Moulin Rouge!; The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; 300 50 Worst - Van Helsing

38. Kris Kristofferson

Actor | Blade

Kris Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas, to Mary Ann (Ashbrook) and Lars Henry Kristofferson. His paternal grandparents were Swedish, and his father was a United States Air Force general who pushed his son to a military career. Kris was a Golden Gloves boxer and went to Pomona College in ...

500 Greatest - Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid 50 Worst - Heaven's Gate; Blade: Trinity

39. Marlon Wayans

Actor | White Chicks

Marlon Wayans is an American actor, writer and comedian. He is known for playing Tyrone C. Love in Requiem for a Dream, Shorty Meeks from Scary Movie, Marcus Anthony Copeland II from White Chicks and Thunder from Marmaduke. He played Drake Winston/Robin in deleted scenes of Batman Returns and ...

500 Greatest - Requiem for a Dream 50 Worst - Dungeons & Dragons; Scary Movie; White Chicks; Norbit

40. Andy Garcia

Actor | Ocean's Eleven

One of Hollywood's most private and guarded leading men, Andy Garcia has created iconic characters while at the same time staying true to his acting roots and personal projects.

Garcia was born Andrés Arturo García Menéndez on April 12, 1956, in Havana, Cuba, to Amelie Menéndez, a teacher of English...

500 Greatest - The Godfather: Part III 50 Worst - The Pink Panther 2

41. Ben Affleck

Producer | Argo

Benjamin Géza "Ben" Affleck-Boldt was born on August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to mother Chris Anne (Boldt), a school teacher, and father Timothy Byers "Tim" Affleck, a social worker. Ben has a younger brother, actor Casey Affleck, who was born in 1975...

500 Greatest - Field of Dreams; Dazed and Confused; Good Will Hunting 50 Worst - Gigli

42. Crispin Glover

Actor | What Is It?

While he's never been a typical leading man, Crispin Glover has distinguished himself as one of the most intriguing personalities in the movie business. His unusual characters and personal projects have inspired a cult-like following that has dubbed him both madman and genius.

The son of actress and...

500 Greatest - Back to the Future; Back to the Future: Part II 50 Worst - Epic Movie

43. Jean Reno

Actor | Léon

Jean Reno was born Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez in Casablanca, Morocco, to Spanish parents (from Andalucía) who moved to North Africa to seek work. His father was a linotypist. Reno settled in France at 17. He began studying drama and has credits in French television and theater as well as films. ...

500 Greatest - Leon: The Professional 50 Worst - The Pink Panther 2

44. Kyle MacLachlan

Actor | Twin Peaks: The Return

The "boy next door, if that boy spent lots of time alone in the basement", is how Rich Cohen described Kyle MacLachlan in a 1994 article for "Rolling Stone" magazine. That distinctly askew wholesomeness made MacLachlan a natural to become famous as the alter ego of twisted director David Lynch.

...

500 Greatest - Blue Velvet 50 Worst - Showgirls

45. John Cleese

Actor | A Fish Called Wanda

John Cleese was born on October 27, 1939, in Weston-Super-Mare, England, to Muriel Evelyn (Cross) and Reginald Francis Cleese. He was born into a family of modest means, his father being an insurance salesman; but he was nonetheless sent off to private schools to obtain a good education. Here he ...

500 Greatest - Monty Python and the Holy Grail; Life of Brian 50 Worst - Parting Shots; The Pink Panther 2

46. Ralph Fiennes

Actor | The Constant Gardener

Actor Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born on December 22, 1962 in Suffolk, England, to Jennifer Anne Mary Alleyne (Lash), a novelist, and Mark Fiennes, a photographer. He is the eldest of six children. Four of his siblings are also in the arts: Martha Fiennes, a director; Magnus ...

500 Greatest - Schindler's List; The English Patient 50 Worst - The Avengers

47. Gene Hackman

Actor | The French Connection

Eugene Allen Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, the son of Anna Lyda Elizabeth (Gray) and Eugene Ezra Hackman, who operated a newspaper printing press. He is of Pennsylvania Dutch (German), English, and Scottish ancestry, partly by way of Canada, where his mother was born. After ...

500 Greatest - The French Connection; The Conversation; Young Frankenstein; Superman; Unforgiven; The Royal Tenenbaums 50 Worst - Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

48. Rachel Weisz

Actress | The Constant Gardener

Rachel Hannah Weisz was born on 7 March, 1970, in London, U.K., to Edith Ruth (Teich), a psychoanalyst, and George Weisz, an inventor. Her parents both came to England around 1938. Her father is a Hungarian Jewish immigrant, and her mother, from Vienna, was of Italian and Austrian Jewish heritage. ...

500 Greatest - The Fountain 50 Worst - Eragon

49. John Malkovich

Actor | Being John Malkovich

John Gavin Malkovich was born in Christopher, Illinois, to Joe Anne (Choisser), who owned a local newspaper, and Daniel Leon Malkovich, a state conservation director. His paternal grandparents were Croatian. In 1976, Malkovich joined Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, newly founded by his friend Gary ...

500 Greatest - Being John Malkovich 50 Worst - Eragon

50. Betty Buckley

Actress | Split

Betty Buckley, who has been called "The Voice of Broadway," is one of theater's most respected and legendary leading ladies. She is an actress/singer whose career spans theater, film, television and concert halls around the world. She is a 2012 Theatre Hall of Fame inductee and the 2017 recipient ...

500 Greatest - Carrie 50 Worst - The Happening

51. Ben Kingsley

Actor | Sexy Beast

Ben Kingsley was born Krishna Bhanji on December 31, 1943 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England. His father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, was a Kenyan-born medical doctor, of Gujarati Indian descent, and his mother, Anna Lyna Mary (Goodman), was an English actress. Ben began to act in stage plays during ...

500 Greatest - Schindler's List, A.I. Artificial Intelligence 50 Worst - Parting Shots; The Love Guru

52. Jessica Alba

Actress | Fantastic Four

Jessica Marie Alba was born on April 28, 1981, in Pomona, CA, to Catherine (Jensen) and Mark David Alba, who served in the US Air Force. Her father is of Mexican descent (including Spanish and Indigenous Mexican roots), and her mother has Danish, Welsh, English, and French ancestry. Her family ...

500 Greatest - Sin City 50 Worst - The Love Guru

53. Jason Robards

Actor | All the President's Men

Powerful and highly respected American actor Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Hope Maxine (Glanville) and stage and film star Jason Robards Sr. He had Swedish, English, Welsh, German, and Irish ancestry. Robards was raised mostly in Los Angeles. A star athlete at ...

500 Greatest - Once Upon a Time in the West; All the President's Men 50 Worst - Raise the Titanic

54. Thandiwe Newton

Actress | Crash

Thandiwe Newton was born in London. She is the daughter of Zimbabwean mother Nyasha, a health-care worker from the Shona tribe, and British father Nick Newton, who worked as a lab technician. She lived in Zambia until political unrest caused her family to move back to the UK, where she lived in ...

500 Greatest - Crash 50 Worst - Norbit

55. Halle Berry

Actress | Catwoman

Halle Maria Berry was born Maria Halle Berry on August 14, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Oakwood, Ohio to Judith Ann Berry (née Hawkins), a psychiatric nurse & Jerome Jesse Berry, a hospital attendant. Her father was African-American and her mother is of mostly English and German descent. ...

500 Greatest - X-Men 2 50 Worst - Catwoman

56. Christian Slater

Actor | Very Bad Things

Christian Michael Leonard Slater was born on August 18, 1969 in New York City, to Michael Hawkins, a well-known soap actor, and Mary Jo Slater (née Lawton), a casting agent. Christian started in show business early, appearing on the soap opera The Edge of Night (1956) in 1976 at the age of 7. He ...

500 Greatest - Heathers; True Romance; Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles 50 Worst - Alone in the Dark

57. Elizabeth Banks

Actress | The Hunger Games

Elizabeth Banks was born Elizabeth Mitchell in Pittsfield, a small city in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts near the New York border, on February 10, 1974. She is the daughter of Anne Marie (Wallace), who worked in a bank, and Mark Phineas Mitchell, a factory worker. Elizabeth describes ...

500 Greatest - Spider-Man; Spider-Man 2 50 Worst - Swept Away; Spider-Man 3

58. Willem Dafoe

Actor | Spider-Man

Having made over one hundred films in his legendary career, Willem Dafoe is internationally respected for bringing versatility, boldness, and daring to some of the most iconic films of our time. His artistic curiosity in exploring the human condition leads him to projects all over the world, large ...

500 Greatest - Platoon; The English Patient; American Psycho; Spider-Man; Finding Nemo; Spider-Man 2 50 Worst - Heaven's Gate; Speed 2: Cruise Control; Spider-Man 3

59. Alan Cumming

Actor | The Anniversary Party

Alan Cumming was born on January 27, 1965, in Aberfeldy, Scotland, to Mary (Darling), an insurance company secretary, and Alex Cumming. His family lived nearby in Dunkeld, where his father was a forester for Atholl Estate. The family (including his brother, Tom) moved to Fassfern near Fort William,...

500 Greatest - X-Men 2 50 Worst - Son of the Mask

60. Christopher Reeve

Actor | Superman

Christopher D'Olier Reeve was born September 25, 1952, in New York City, to journalist Barbara Johnson (née Barbara Pitney Lamb) and writer/professor F.D. Reeve (Franklin D'Olier Reeve). He came from an upper-class family; his paternal grandfather was CEO of Prudential Financial, and one of his ...

500 Greatest - Superman 50 Worst - Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

61. Laurence Fishburne

Actor | The Matrix

Critically hailed for his forceful, militant, authoritative figures and one of Hollywood's most talented and versatile performers, Laurence (John) Fishburne III has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a number of NAACP Image honors.

Born in Augusta, Georgia on July 30, 1961, to Hattie ...

500 Greatest - Apocalypse Now; The Matrix 50 Worst - The Matrix Revolutions

62. Lorraine Gary

Actress | Jaws: The Revenge

Lorraine Gary was born on August 16th, 1937 in New York. Lorraine was raised in Los Angeles. At age 16, she won a best actress award in a competition at the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse. She was offered a scholarship to enroll at the Pasadena Playhouse, but declined said offer and attended ...

500 Greatest - Jaws 50 Worst - Jaws The Revenge

63. Jeffrey Jones

Actor | Amadeus

Jeffrey Duncan Jones was born in Buffalo, New York. He is a very tall, fair-haired character actor who is recognized all over for his excellent work. He is a veteran stage actor having such plays as "The Elephant Man" and Neil Simon's "London Suite" under his belt. His first film role was in The ...

500 Greatest - Amadeus; Ferris Bueller's Day Off 50 Worst - Howard the Duck

64. Thomas Haden Church

Actor | Sideways

Thomas Haden Church was born Thomas Richard McMillen in Yolo, California, to Maxine (Sanders) and Carlos Richard McMillen, who was a U.S. marine and surveyor. He was raised in Texas. His mother remarried George Quesada, a widowed WWII veteran who served in Guam, in 1969. He adopted this surname ...

500 Greatest - Sideways 50 Worst - Spider-Man 3

65. Sharon Stone

Actress | Basic Instinct

Sharon Stone was born and raised in Meadville, a small town in Pennsylvania. Her strict father was a factory worker, and her mother was a homemaker. She was the second of four children. At the age of 15, she studied in Saegertown High School, Pennsylvania, and at that same age, entered Edinboro ...

500 Greatest - Casino 50 Worst - Catwoman

66. Bob Hoskins

Actor | The Long Good Friday

Bob Hoskins was described by the director John Mackenzie as "an actor from the British tradition but with an almost American approach, an instinctive approach to acting and knowing how to work with the camera". He was born on October 26, 1942, in Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk, where his mother was ...

500 Greatest - Who Framed Roger Rabbit 50 Worst - Parting Shots; Son of the Mask

67. John Hurt

Actor | Nineteen Eighty-Four

One of stage, screen and TV's finest transatlantic talents, slight, gravel-voiced, pasty-looking John Vincent Hurt was born on January 22, 1940, in Shirebrook, a coal mining village, in Derbyshire, England. The youngest child of Phyllis (Massey), an engineer and one-time actress, and Reverend ...

500 Greatest - Alien; The Elephant Man; V for Vendetta; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 50 Worst - Heaven's Gate

68. Kirsten Dunst

Actress | Spider-Man

Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, who also holds German citizenship. She was born on April 30, 1982 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, to parents Inez (née Rupprecht), who owned an art gallery, and Klaus Dunst, a medical services executive. She has a younger brother named Christian Dunst, ...

500 Greatest - Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles; The Virgin Suicides; Spider-Man; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Spider-Man 2 50 Worst - Spider-Man 3

69. Tim Robbins

Actor | Mystic River

Born in West Covina, California, but raised in New York City, Tim Robbins is the son of former The Highwaymen singer Gil Robbins and actress Mary Robbins (née Bledsoe). Robbins studied drama at UCLA, where he graduated with honors in 1981. That same year, he formed the Actors' Gang theater group, ...

500 Greatest - Top Gun; The Shawshank Redemption, High Fidelity 50 Worst - Howard the Duck

70. Bruce Campbell

Actor | Bubba Ho-Tep

In 1979 with his Detroit friends, Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, Bruce Campbell raised $350,000 for a low-budget film, The Evil Dead (1981), in which he starred and co-executive produced. Completed piecemeal over four years, the film first gained notoriety in England where it became the best-selling ...

500 Greatest - Evil Dead II; Army of Darkness; Spider-Man; Spider-Man 2 50 Worst - Spider-Man 3

71. Lea Thompson

Actress | Back to the Future

Lea Katherine Thompson was born May 31, 1961 in Rochester, Minnesota. She is the youngest of five children. Her parents are Barbara and Cliff Thompson. Since all her siblings were much older than her, Lea says it seemed like she had more than two parents. The family lived in the Starlight motel, ...

500 Greatest - Back to the Future; Back to the Future Part II 50 Worst - Howard the Duck

72. Peter Cullen

Actor | Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Peter Cullen is a Canadian-American voice actor who is widely known for voicing Optimus Prime in the Transformers franchise as well as the Michael Bay film series. He is also known for providing the vocal effects of the Predator from the 1987 film of the same name, Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, ...

500 Greatest - Predator; Transformers 50 Worst - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

73. Diane Keaton

Actress | Annie Hall

Diane Keaton was born Diane Hall in Los Angeles, California, to Dorothy Deanne (Keaton), an amateur photographer, and John Newton Ignatius "Jack" Hall, a civil engineer and real estate broker. She studied Drama at Santa Ana College, before dropping out in favor of the Neighborhood Playhouse in New ...

500 Greatest - The Godfather; The Godfather: Part II: Love and Death; Annie Hall; The Godfather: Part III 50 Worst - Town & Country

74. Christina Applegate

Actress | Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

Christina Applegate was born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, to record producer/executive Robert Applegate and singer-actress Nancy Priddy. Her parents split-up shortly after her birth. She has two half-siblings from her father's re-marriage - Alisa (b. October 10, 1977) and Kyle (b. July 15...

500 Greatest - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy 50 Worst - The Sweetest Thing

75. Thomas Jane

Actor | Boogie Nights

Thomas Jane is an American actor who is known for portraying Frank Castle from the 2004 Marvel Comics film The Punisher and the 2012 fan film Dirty Laundry. He also was in Boogie Nights, The Thin Red Line, Deep Blue Sea, The Predator, 1922, The Mist and Evening Raga of the West.

500 Greatest - The Thin Red Line 50 Worst - The Sweetest Thing; Dreamcatcher

76. Oliver Reed

Actor | Gladiator

Robert Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. His notable films include The Trap (1966), playing Bill Sikes in the Best Picture Oscar winner Oliver! (1968), Women in Love (1969), Hannibal Brooks (1969), The Devils (1971), Revolver (1973), ...

500 Greatest - Gladiator 50 Worst - Parting Shots

77. Ben Stein

Actor | Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Ben Stein (Benjamin J. Stein) was born on Nov. 25, 1944 in Washington, D.C. The son of noted economist and writer Herbert Stein, he grew up in Silver Spring, Md., and attended Montgomery Blair High School. Some of his classmates included journalist Carl Bernstein, and actors Goldie Hawn and ...

500 Greatest - Ferris Bueller's Day Off 50 Worst - Son of the Mask

78. Kevin J. O'Connor

Actor | Deep Rising

Kevin's first dream was to be a cartoonist, but in later years decided to on acting. Getting his early training in Chicago, his first movie role was in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986). He has since appeared in over 30 films as well as ABC's short-lived Gideon's Crossing (2000). He recently appeared in...

500 Greatest - There Will Be Blood 50 Worst - Van Helsing

79. Warren Beatty

Actor | Heaven Can Wait

Since starring in his first film, Splendor in the Grass (1961), Warren Beatty has been said to have demonstrated a greater longevity in movies than any actor of his generation. Few people have taken so many responsibilities for all phases of the production of films as producer, director, writer, ...

500 Greatest - McCabe & Mrs. Miller; Shampoo 50 Worst - Town & Country

80. Hugo Weaving

Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Hugo Wallace Weaving was born on April 4, 1960 in Nigeria, to English parents Anne (Lennard), a tour guide and teacher, and Wallace Weaving, a seismologist. Hugo has an older brother, Simon, and a younger sister, Anna, who both also live and work in Australia. During his early childhood, the ...

500 Greatest - The Matrix; The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King; V for Vendetta; Transformers 50 Worst - The Matrix Revolutions; Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

81. Parker Posey

Actress | Scream 3

Parker Posey was born two months premature in Baltimore, Maryland, to Lynda (Patton) and Chris Posey. The family moved to Monroe, La. and then Laurel, Mississippi, where Chris became owner of Laurel's own Posey Chevrolet. Parker attended high school at R. H. Watkins High School in Laurel, and ...

500 Greatest - Dazed and Confused; Superman Returns 50 Worst - The Sweetest Thing; Blade: Trinity

82. Harold Ramis

Writer | Ghostbusters

Born on November 21, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, Harold Allen Ramis got his start in comedy as Playboy magazine's joke editor and reviewer. In 1969, he joined Chicago's Second City's Improvisational Theatre Troupe before moving to New York to help write and perform in "The National Lampoon Show" ...

500 Greatest - Ghostbusters; Groundhog Day 50 Worst - Year One

83. David Cross

Actor | Arrested Development

David Cross is an American actor, writer and comedian who is known for playing Tobias Fünke from Arrested Development, Minion from Megamind, Crane from Kung Fu Panda, Ian Hawke from Alvin and the Chipmunks, Yivo from Futurama and Happy Time Harry from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. He also acted in Grand ...

500 Greatest - Men in Black; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 50 Worst - Year One

84. Thora Birch

Actress | Ghost World

For some people, oatmeal starts the day off right - for Thora Birch, it launched a healthy career in front of the camera. It's hard to believe that the actress, who slunk into stardom with her turn as the disillusioned daughter in American Beauty (1999), is even related to the apple-cheeked blonde ...

500 Greatest - American Beauty; Ghost World 50 Worst - Dungeons & Dragons

85. Robert Carlyle

Actor | The Full Monty

Robert Carlyle was born in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland, to Elizabeth, a bus company employee, and Joseph Carlyle, a painter and decorator. He was raised by his father after his mother left him when he was four. At the age of 21, after reading Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," he enrolled in acting ...

500 Greatest - Trainspotting 50 Worst - Eragon

86. Tara Reid

Actress | American Pie

Born in Wyckoff, New Jersey, USA on November 8, 1975. She got her career start at six, when she appeared on a children's game show called Child's Play (1982). Later, she appeared in commercials for Jell-O, McDonald's, and Crayola. She attended the Professional Children's School in New York City. Her...

500 Greatest - The Big Lebowski 50 Worst - Alone in the Dark

87. Jürgen Prochnow

Actor | Dune

Jürgen Prochnow is the son of a telecommunications engineer. He has an older brother, Dieter Prochnow, who is also in the acting profession. Jürgen's parents encouraged him initially to study the banking trade. However, their son had other ideas and began working on the side as an extra and a ...

500 Greatest - Das Boot; The English Patient 50 Worst - House of the Dead

88. Rosemary Harris

Actress | Spider-Man

Rosemary Harris is an English actress. She has won 4 Drama Desk Awards, and nominated 9 times for Tony Awards. In 1966, she won the "Tony Award for Best Actress" for her role as Eleanor of Aquitaine in "The Lion in Winter". In films, she is better known for portraying May Reilly Parker in the "...

500 Greatest - Spider-Man; Spider-Man 2 50 Worst - Spider-Man 3

89. James Franco

Actor | Spring Breakers

Known for his breakthrough starring role on Freaks and Geeks (1999), James Franco was born April 19, 1978 in Palo Alto, California, to Betsy Franco, a writer, artist, and actress, and Douglas Eugene "Doug" Franco, who ran a Silicon Valley business. His mother is Jewish and his father was of ...

500 Greatest - Spider-Man; Spider-Man 2 50 Worst - Spider-Man 3

90. Cuba Gooding Jr.

Actor | Jerry Maguire

Cuba Gooding Jr. was born on January 2, 1968, in The Bronx, New York. His mother, Shirley (Sullivan), was a backup singer for The Sweethearts. His father, Cuba Gooding, was the lead vocalist for the R&B group The Main Ingredient, which had a hit with the song "Everybody Plays The Fool". His ...

500 Greatest - Jerry Maguire; As Good As It Gets 50 Worst - Norbit

91. Sandra Bullock

Producer | The Proposal

Sandra Annette Bullock was born in Arlington, a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. Her mother, Helga Bullock (née Helga Mathilde Meyer), was a German opera singer. Her father, John W. Bullock, was an American voice teacher, who was born in Alabama, of German descent. Sandra grew up on the road ...

500 Greatest - Speed; Crash 50 Worst - Speed 2: Cruise Control

92. Terrence Howard

Actor | Crash

Terrence Howard was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Anita Jeanine Williams (née Hawkins) and Tyrone Howard. He was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. His love for acting came naturally, through summers spent with his great-grandmother, New York stage actress Minnie Gentry. He later began his acting career ...

500 Greatest - Crash; Iron Man 50 Worst - Glitter

93. Simon Callow

Actor | Four Weddings and a Funeral

Simon Callow was born on June 13, 1949 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Shakespeare in Love (1998) and A Room with a View (1985). He has been married to Sebastian Fox since June 2016.

500 Greatest - Amadeus; Four Weddings and a Funeral 50 Worst - Street Fighter

94. Kylie Minogue

Soundtrack | Moulin Rouge!

Kylie Ann Minogue was born on 28 May, 1968. The eldest of three children, Kylie's acting career began early, but it was her role as "Charlene" in the Australian soap, Neighbours (1985), which established Kylie as an international star. Her singing career began, purely by accident, when a record ...

500 Greatest - Moulin Rouge! 50 Worst - Street Fighter

95. Milla Jovovich

Actress | Le Cinquième Élément

Milla Jovovich is a Ukrainian-American actress, supermodel, fashion designer, singer and public figure, who was on the cover of more than a hundred magazines, and starred in such films as The Fifth Element (1997), Ultraviolet (2006), and the Resident Evil (2002) franchise.

Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich...

500 Greatest - Dazed and Confused 50 Worst - Ultraviolet

96. Alfred Molina

Actor | Spider-Man 2

Alfred Molina was born in 1953 in London, England. His mother, Giovanna (Bonelli), was an Italian-born cook and cleaner, and his father, Esteban Molina, was a Spanish-born waiter and chauffeur. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. His stage work includes two major Royal ...

500 Greatest - Raiders of the Lost Ark; Boogie Nights; Magnolia; Spider-Man 2 50 Worst - The Pink Panther 2

97. William Fichtner

Actor | Crash

A small-town guy with a big heart, William Fichtner has been captivating the hearts of Western New Yorkers for decades. Bill was born in 1956 on Long Island, New York, to Patricia A. (Steitz) and William E. Fichtner. He is of German, Irish, and English descent.

Fichtner was raised in Cheektowaga, ...

500 Greatest - Heat; Crash; The Dark Knight 50 Worst - Ultraviolet

98. Anthony Michael Hall

Actor | War Machine

Anthony Michael Hall was born in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. His parents are Mercedes Hall, an actress-blues and jazz singer, and Larry Hall, who owned an auto body shop. His stepfather is a show-business manager. His sister, Mary Christian, is also a performer. He has Irish and Italian ancestry. ...

500 Greatest - The Breakfast Club; Edward Scissorhands; The Dark Knight 50 Worst - Freddy Got Fingered

99. James Cromwell

Actor | L.A. Confidential

Born in Los Angeles but raised in Manhattan and educated at Middlebury College and Carnegie-Mellon University, James Cromwell is the son of film director John Cromwell and actress Kay Johnson. He studied acting at Carnegie-Mellon, and went into the theatre (like his parents) doing everything from ...

500 Greatest - L.A. Confidential; The Green Mile 50 Worst - Spider-Man 3

100. Virginia Madsen

Actress | Sideways

One of the hottest stars of the mid-1980s, Virginia Madsen has since played a variety of roles that have cemented her reputation as a fantastic actress who can adapt to any part.

Virginia was born in Chicago, Illinois, and belongs to an acting family -- with her brother, Michael Madsen, also an ...

500 Greatest - Sideways 50 Worst - Highlander II: The Quickening