Travis DuncanTop 5 Actors of All Time
April 27th 2008 10:53
At number five is a man who was born on the 2nd of April, 1914 in London, England and played arguably one of the greatest characters of the twentieth century. Alex Guinness is the man who played the character Obi-Wan Kenobi in the well known Sci-Fi, thriller Star Wars. Contrary to many rumours that he did in fact hate Star Wars and that it was his idea to kill off his character so he could cease involvement in the film, Guinness actually didn’t hate Star Wars but hated how Star War fans would only remember him for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi and not for his other achievements. He is the only cast member in the entire Star Wars epic to receive an Oscar nomination for his performance, and his biggest payday coming from Star Wars at 150,000 dollars plus two percent of the profits. Guinness was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1959 and has won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for The Bridge on the River Kwai. Guinness was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in The Lavender Hill Mob, nominated for two Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Little Dorrit and Star Wars. He also received a nomination for an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium in the Horses Mouth. Alex Guinness died on the 5th of August, 2000 in Sussex, England from liver cancer.
Coming in at number four is the man from the West James Stewart. Born on the 20th May, 1908 in Pennsylvania, Stewart is one of a very few select group to host the Academy Awards twice, in 1946 alongside Bob Hope and in 1958 alongside David Niven, Jack Lemmon, Rosalind Russell, and Bob Hope again. Stewart’s biggest payday coming from Winchester ’73 in which he was paid 600,000 dollars, he also worked as far back as to when actors were paid per week rather then per film before the 1940’s, he commanded 350 dollars per week. He and best friend Henry Fonda once got into a fistfight early in their friendship over politics, Stewart being a republican and Fonda being a democrat, it was one by Fonda. After that day they apparently never discussed politics again. Stewart won one Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in The Philadelphia Story, he also received four nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Anatomy of a Murder, Harvey, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Stewart also received an honorary award for services to film in 1985. He died in Los Angeles on the 2nd of July, 1997 of cardiac arrest and pulmonary embolism following raspatory problems.
The third greatest actor of all time is none other then Robert De Niro. Born in New York on the 17th of August, 1943 he was the first actor to receive an Oscar for a performance in a sequel in The Godfather part 2. In what has being a glittery career, De Niro has turned down some of the biggest roles. He was offered the role of Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ, considered for the role of Willy Wonka in the remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, offered the role of Dick Tracy in Dick Tracy, turned down the role to play Tony D’Amato in Any Given Sunday which went to Al Pacino, and passed up the role of Frank Costello in The Departed to work his second directorial in The Good Shepherd, the role later going to Jack Nicholson. Some of De Niro’s biggest pay days were the sequels Meet the Fockers and Analyse That, where he was paid 20 million dollars each, he was paid 17.5 million to star with Eddie Murphy in Showtime. He publicly announced he would never return to France after being caught up in a prostitution ring investigation, denying any involvement. De Niro has won two Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Raging Bull and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Godfather part 2. He has being nominated for four Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Cape Fear, Awakenings, The Deer Hunter, and Taxi Driver. He thanked Joey LaMotta, the brother of Jake in his 1980 Oscar acceptance speech even though Joey was suing United Artist for his portrayal in Raging Bull by Joe Pesci. The only actor on this list still alive, there is surely more achievements to follow.
Born on the 22nd of May, 1907 in Surrey, England, the man ranked the second greatest actor ever is Laurence Olivier. Tackling some of the biggest roles seen to actors, Olivier is one of the most highly decorated actors of all time. He has been nominated for 13 academy awards, 10 for acting making him only behind Jack Nicholson and Katherine Hepburn with twelve acting nominations each. He has won one Oscar for best actor in a leading role in Hamlet, nominated for an Oscar for best actor in a leading role in the Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, The Chronicle History of King Henry the fifth with his Battle Fought at Agincourt in France, Richard III, The Entertainer, Othello, Sleuth, and The Boys from Brazil. He was also nominated for Best actor in a supporting role in Marathon Man and nominated for Best Director in Hamlet. To top off these awards, Olivier has received two Academy Honorary awards in 1974 and 1979 for services to film. He was set to play the role of Don Vito Corleone and had perfected his Italian accent however, he fell ill and the part went to Marlon Brando. Olivier’s biggest payday was Inchon and The Jazz Singer where he both received one million dollars. Laurence Olivier died on the 11th of July, 1989 in Sussex, England due to complication from a muscle disorder.
Finally, the man who holds the mantle as the greatest actor of all time, born on the 3rd of April, 1924 in Nebraska, is the unusual flare and forever controversial Marlon Brando. At one time Brando was so big that when he signed checks they were often never cashed because the signature on the check was seen to be worth more then the check itself. Brando, who was expelled from his high school for riding a motorcycle in the hall, has won two Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role in On the Water Front and The Godfather. He famously refused to accept the Oscar for The Godfather in protest for the US to stop discriminating against Native Americans, he did not attend the awards rather sending a fake Indian woman in his place. Brando received five nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Ultimo Tango a Parigi, Sayonara, Julius Caesar, Viva Zapata, and a Streetcar Named Desire. He also picked up a nomination for Best actor in a supporting role in a Dry White Season. Brando who refused to remember the lines in most of his movies read them off a baby diaper in Superman, his biggest payday coming from Superman where he was paid 3.7 million against a percentage of a gross totaling 14 million, and Apocalypse Now being paid 2.5 million plus eight percent of the gross over 30 million, unheard of money back then. Marlon Brando died on the 1st of July, 2004 at Los Angeles from pulmonary fibrosis, leaving behind countless memorable performances doing it only his way.
Through all the great actors there has been, we have narrowed it down to a pretty acceptable candidates. Some of the controversial decisions of the list were Jack Nicholson at 8, Al Pacino at 14, Sydney Poitier at 16, Anthony Hopkins at 20, John Wayne at 41, Sean Connery at 44, Steve McQueen at 55, Tom Hanks at 63, and Clint Eastwood at 65. Should this be the official list? There will undoubtedly be a lot of debate.
Travis Duncan
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