Famous Actors of All Time

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It is generally considered that a famous actor is the key to the success of a film, but no consensus has been reached on what is the key to the success of an actor. Many a highly qualified, professional, and handsome actors cannot make their way beyond the mediocre class, while many actors with an unimpressive debut rose to the heights of international superstars. It is not only the protagonist that makes the film a success, but much depends upon the performance of an equally strong antagonist too. In spite of the best efforts on the part of filmmakers, the result is not in their hands, It is quite unpredictable. Films released just a few days before the Pearl Harbor Attack failed for obvious reasons. Cleopatra was the most expensive film with world-renowned actors, but it ran into a loss ultimately.

 1.  Humphrey  DeForest Bogart

Humphrey DeForest Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart

Humphrey DeForest Bogart was born on December 25, 1899 and lived until January 14, 1957. He got an iconic standing in the film industry of America. His first successful film was his role as Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest released in 1936. He became famous with the release of High Sierra in 1941. Casablanca raised him to the peak of his career, but he won his Academy Award for the performance in The African Queen in 1951. He played in 75 films, a few of them being:  To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, Key Largo (with his wife Lauren Bacall), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, In a Lonely Place, Sabrina, and The Caine Mutiny.  HumphreyDeForestBogart’s last film was The Harder They Fall. The American Film Institute rated him as the greatest male star of the American film industry.

2.   Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio

Born on November 11th, 1974 Los Angeles, California, USA. Leonardo’s family name is Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio, and his nickname is LeoLenny D. The six-foot-tall actor started from TV commercials and became a household name after his performance as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. It was followed by his peak role in Titanic in 1997; an all-time profitable movie beating all box office records up to that time. As a living legend, he is a teen heartthrob. DiCaprio is a committed environmentalist and is involved in many environmental causes like his contribution in The 11th Hour, a documentary about the state of the natural environment.

3.    Amitabh Harvansh Bachan

Amitabh Harvansh Bachan
Amitabh Harvansh Bachan

Amitabh Harvansh Bachan was born in Allahabad, British India in October, 1942. He is the all-time most famous film actor and living legend of India. He worked in more than 180 films and also performed as a producer, singer and television presenter. His film Sholay meaning ‘flames’ released in August, 1975 was the Indian all-time, highest-grossing movie, earning in Indian rupees 2,364,500,000 EQ U.S. $60 million. The BBC declared it the ‘Film of the Millennium.’ He was an elected member of the Indian Parliament from 1984-87. His wax statue is present in Madame Tussauds museum in London.

4.   Marlon Brando, Jr.

Marlon Brando Jr.
Marlon Brando Jr.

Marlon Brando, Jr. was born on April 3rd, 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA and died on July 1, 2004 in Los Angles, California, USA. Excepting Charlie Chaplain, Brando was the only actor named by Time magazine as one of 1999’s ‘100 Persons of the Century.’ Quigley Publications ranked him three times as one of the ‘Top Ten Money-Making Stars.’ According to the ‘Guinness Book of World Records,’ Brando was paid a record 3.7 million for his 13 days’ work for playing Jor-El in Superman. He was also paid 11.75 per cent of the gross profits in addition from the film.

 5. Charles Spencer Chaplain

Charles Spencer Chaplain
Charles Spencer Chaplain

Popularly known as Charlie Chaplain, he was born on April 16, 1889, in Walworth, London, England and died on December 25, 1977 in Vevey, Switzerland. CharlieChaplain was the most famous English comic actor. He was also a film director and composer, best known for his work in the era of silent films. He became the most famous film star before the end of WW2 and continued till 1920. His best role was in The Tramp.

6.  Eldred Gregory Peck 

Eldred Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck

Eldered Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916 in La Jolla, California, USA and died on June 12, 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was nominated four times for an Academy Award. He was nominated for The Keys of the Kingdom, The Yearling, Gentleman’s Agreement, and Twelve O’Clock High. For his role as Atticus Finch in the film To Kill a Mockingbird, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. U.S. President Lyndon Johnson honored him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2011, U.S. postage issued a commemorative stamp bearing his portrait.

7.  Peter O’Toole

Peter O'Toole
Peter O’Toole

Peter O, Toole was born on August 2nd, 1932 in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. His birth name was Peter Seamus O’Toole. Beginning as a newspaper copy boy, he was raised to the height of playing as hero in Lean’s masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia which made him an international superstar. He was nominated for an Oscar seven times but was never awarded. Alcohol affected his heath badly. With his blue eyes and deep voice, he remains as one of the greatest actors of his time.

8. Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Jacob Radcliffe was born on July 23, 1989 in London, England. He made his debut at the BBC at the age of ten years playing as David Copperfield in a BBC movie. He became famous for playing the role of Harry Potter in eight of the Harry Potter film series starting from the 2001 film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Harry Potter is the most popular film among teenagers and their parents.

9.  Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford is an American actor. He was born on July 13, 1942. He is best known for his performance as Han Solo in the original three Star Wars film series. He won the Best Actor Award from the Academy of Science Fiction for his performance in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. He topped the list of ‘The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time.’ Ford is the number three U.S. box office star. He is number 11 of 196,367 all-time stars.

10. George Orson Welles

George Orson Welles
George Orson Welles

George Orson Welles was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA on May 6, 1915 and died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California on October 10, 1985. He was an American film actor, director, producer and screenwriter. Welles’ first film; CitizenKane, is considered the greatest American film of all time. Citizen Kane was nominated for Academy awards in nine categories and won the Academy Award for Best Writing of the screenplay written by Herman Mankiewicz and Welles.

Conclusion:

Many actors became famous as a result of their personality, beauty, or personal traits consisting at times of their height, blue eyes, and deep voice, etc. A deep probe into the lives of famous actors reveals that they shared one common trait, and that was ‘determination.’ Charlie Chaplain rose from a very unimpressive, rather poor background, and the heights attained were not in a sudden flight. In his own words, ‘I was a news vendor, printer toymaker, doctor’s boy, etc. But during these occupational digressions, I never lost sight of my ultimate aim to become a doctor. So between jobs I would polish my shoes, brush my clothes, put on a clean collar, and make periodic calls at a theatrical agency.’ It can be concluded that what happened next was only perhaps a part of destiny or the luck factor. It is the determination and commitment that counts ultimately.

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