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Started By
Message
Who are the five most famous/recognizable actors and actresses in movie history?
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:07 pm
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:07 pm
Actors
1. John Wayne
2. Charlie Chaplin
3. James Stewart
4. Clint Eastwood
5. Cary Grant
IMO, John Wayne is the most famous actor of all-time. Everybody all over the world knows who he is due to the popularity of his westerns. He's the only actor to be ranked among the ten most popular movie stars in the Harris Poll for the last 20 years even though he's been dead since 1979. He was bigger than life and no actor personified America more. And I think playing the same type of character all the time enhanced his fame tremendously. When an actor becomes closely identified with a certain type of character, it becomes easier for an actor to stand out and be recognized. The same thing can be said about Eastwood although he's shown a lot more versatility than Wayne throughout his career.
Actresses
1. Marilyn Monroe
2. Audrey Hepburn
3. Grace Kelly
4. Judy Garland
5. Joan Crawford
The top 3 was very easy for me. Marilyn Monroe is the most famous movie star of all-time. I don't think there's any debate about that. Audrey Hepburn was enormously popular due to her beauty, style and humanitarian work. I don't think any actress was influential as Audrey. And Grace Kelly has to be in the top 3 for being Princess of Monaco and all of the iconic films she appeared in. Garland and Crawford round out my top 5. I have Garland at #4 based on The Wizard of Oz and her singing career. As for Crawford, her longevity was virtually unparalleled. She was a huge star in the mid 20s from her silent pictures and had a strong career up until the mid '50s to early '60s. There's been a few actresses with that kind of longevity but not many of them were popular movie stars like Crawford was.
1. John Wayne
2. Charlie Chaplin
3. James Stewart
4. Clint Eastwood
5. Cary Grant
IMO, John Wayne is the most famous actor of all-time. Everybody all over the world knows who he is due to the popularity of his westerns. He's the only actor to be ranked among the ten most popular movie stars in the Harris Poll for the last 20 years even though he's been dead since 1979. He was bigger than life and no actor personified America more. And I think playing the same type of character all the time enhanced his fame tremendously. When an actor becomes closely identified with a certain type of character, it becomes easier for an actor to stand out and be recognized. The same thing can be said about Eastwood although he's shown a lot more versatility than Wayne throughout his career.
Actresses
1. Marilyn Monroe
2. Audrey Hepburn
3. Grace Kelly
4. Judy Garland
5. Joan Crawford
The top 3 was very easy for me. Marilyn Monroe is the most famous movie star of all-time. I don't think there's any debate about that. Audrey Hepburn was enormously popular due to her beauty, style and humanitarian work. I don't think any actress was influential as Audrey. And Grace Kelly has to be in the top 3 for being Princess of Monaco and all of the iconic films she appeared in. Garland and Crawford round out my top 5. I have Garland at #4 based on The Wizard of Oz and her singing career. As for Crawford, her longevity was virtually unparalleled. She was a huge star in the mid 20s from her silent pictures and had a strong career up until the mid '50s to early '60s. There's been a few actresses with that kind of longevity but not many of them were popular movie stars like Crawford was.
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:12 pm to Bench McElroy
Your list is racist. Need at least one token black in there somewhere. Maybe Morgan Freeman, Denzel, or Sydney P.
Oprah would be good also.
Oprah would be good also.
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:12 pm to Bench McElroy
id put bruce lee in there with the actors
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:21 pm to Bench McElroy
I'd put Tom Cruise ahead of Jimmy Stewart. Your list is lacking modern actors.
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:24 pm to weagle99
quote:
Nicolas Cage
This thread is for most recognizable actor, not best actor ever.
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:30 pm to PsychTiger
This post was edited on 5/7/15 at 7:31 pm
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:37 pm to Bench McElroy
Your list is good for US audiences. If you are more interested in popularity worldwide I imagine the Indian and Chinese audiences would change that entirely.
For an American Audience today everyone from a grandparent to an adolescent would probably recognize:
Connery as Bond
Stallone as Rocky
AS as the Terminator
Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry
Harrison Ford as Han Solo
Michael J Fox as Marty McFly
For an American Audience today everyone from a grandparent to an adolescent would probably recognize:
Connery as Bond
Stallone as Rocky
AS as the Terminator
Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry
Harrison Ford as Han Solo
Michael J Fox as Marty McFly
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:39 pm to Bench McElroy
In his time, Charlie Chaplin (the Tramp) was a global figure. Hitler wanted him dead. He would be my top choice. Hard to argue your top five actors, others I would consider: Humphrey Bogart, Henry Fonda, Kirk Douglas, Brando, James Dean.
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:44 pm to Bench McElroy
quote:
Actors
1. John Wayne
2. Charlie Chaplin
3. James Stewart
4. Clint Eastwood
5. Cary Grant
Can't argue with any of those choices.
quote:
I'd put Tom Cruise ahead of Jimmy Stewart
No way
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:47 pm to Brosef Stalin
quote:
I'd put Tom Cruise ahead of Jimmy Stewart. Your list is lacking modern actors.
Tom Cruise is a movie star, Jimmy Stewart was an actor. Any list without Sir Lawrence Olivier is a fricking joke.
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:49 pm to glassman
If we're going for recognizable, then Cruise would have to be pretty high up there.
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:52 pm to Bench McElroy
I disagree entirely. Not because I don't think these people aren't as famous as you say they are, but because the evolution of information technology and social media has created a much more wide spread audience for everything.
Everything reaches more people these days.
Everything reaches more people these days.
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:54 pm to Brosef Stalin
But, he sucks. Daniel Day Lewis, DiCaprio and Sean Penn are much better actors. Recognizable doesn't resonate for me. Can they do it on stage? That is real acting. It goes against the premise of the thread, but there is a huge difference between a "star" and an actor.
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:58 pm to glassman
quote:
Any list without Sir Lawrence Olivier is a fricking joke.
If Laurence Olivier was alive and he walked down the street in New York, how many people would recognize him? Olivier was a great actor but he wasn't a movie star or huge box office draw by any means.
Posted on 5/7/15 at 7:59 pm to Bench McElroy
If you're talking worldwide, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee should probably be on the list.
Posted on 5/7/15 at 8:07 pm to Bench McElroy
quote:
1. John Wayne
2. Charlie Chaplin
3. James Stewart
4. Clint Eastwood
5. Cary Grant
Just due to population growth, I'd put Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the top 5. At this point, a lot more humans have seen Terminator or Top Gun compared to Cary Grant.
Posted on 5/7/15 at 8:16 pm to northshorebamaman
quote:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Has to be on the list.
I would say replace Chaplin. Here is why. Recognizable implies actors who the most people would recognize. Chaplin was incredibly famous for his time. However, Schwarzenegger would be recognizable to more people than anyone on that list, other than Wayne. The rest of the list would be higher up than Chaplin too.
This post was edited on 5/7/15 at 8:19 pm
Posted on 5/7/15 at 8:21 pm to Hugo Stiglitz
quote:
Your list is racist. Need at least one token black in there somewhere. Maybe Morgan Freeman, Denzel, or Sydney P.
Oprah would be good also.
He clearly seems to be going with the classic actors and actresses. Take that shite somewhere else. And I know Sydney Portier is a classic but he isn't in the league of the others listed as far as pure recognition.
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