Through unforgettable performances, several actors have established themselves as the greatest of all time. After more than a century of cinematic history, there have been myriad actors and actresses who have enjoyed their fair share of the spotlight. A long list of stars from the industry's past and present, ranging from Charlie Chaplin to Clint Eastwood, have achieved reputations as movie legends.

The diverse list of movie genres lends itself well to the massive pool of movie stars whom audiences have followed over the years. Some developed a mastery over a certain medium, with actors like John Wayne and James Cagney becoming synonymous with Westerns and gangster films respectively. Others tried to showcase their versatility by appearing in all sorts of different films. In one way or another, numerous actors have made enough contributions to movie history to earn their place among the best.

30 Morgan Freeman

Notable Movies: The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, Million Dollar Baby

Any movie looking to add gravitas to the production need only cast Morgan Freeman in a role. The actor is known for his commanding voice, which has made him a favorite narrator in umpteen projects, but his on-screen presence is even more impressive, as he has played everything from a convict to the President of the United States of America to God himself.

After starting out on the children's program The Electric Company, Freeman got his big break and his first Oscar nomination in the crime drama Street Smart. Freeman earned four other Oscar nominations in his career for performances in The Shawshank Redemption, Driving Miss Daisy, Invictus, and Million Dollar Baby, the latter of which won him his first Oscar. Freeman has also shown him powerful range and elevated characters with his nuanced approach in movies like Unforgiven, Se7en, and Glory.

29 Gene Hackman

Notable Movies: The French Connection, Superman, Unforgiven

Though he has been retired for a number of years, Gene Hackman's performances have stayed with audiences and left a lasting legacy as one of the greatest and most compelling actors in Hollywood history. Hackman emerged out of the auteur-driven era of Hollywood in the late 1960s and 1970s, which saw more complex and morally grey protagonists leading movies. Hackman had the skill and boldness to take on such challenging roles.

After earning his first Oscar nomination for his ing role in Bonnie & Clyde, Hackman became a leading man with his Academy Award-winning turn as the determined but unethical New York City detective Popeye Doyle in The French Connection. Hackman won his second Oscar for his chilling villainous turn as another brutal lawman in Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven. As well-known as he was for his intense roles, Hackman also had great comedic skills, seen in movies like Superman, Young Frankenstein, and The Royal Tenenbaums.

28 s McDormand

Notable Movies: Fargo, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Nomadland

s McDormand is an actor who has remained a critical favorite throughout her career, earning at least one Oscar nomination in every decade since the 1980s. She is also one of the most awarded actors of all time with three Best Actress Oscars, a record only bested by Katharine Hepburn. McDormand first gained attention starring in the Coen Brothers' debut movie, Blood Simple, and starting a long and fruitful collaboration with them (including marrying Joel Coen).

Each of McDormand's Oscar wins showcases her incredible versatility as the lead of a story. In Fargo, McDormand is hilarious and heartwarming as the caring yet determined police officer following a bloody trail of violence. In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, she is aggressive, rageful, and heartbroken as a mourning mother pushed to drastic action. Nomadland finds her playing a quieter and nuanced character as a woman looking for her place in the world. They are stunning showcases of an actor who continues to wow the audience.

27 Humphrey Bogart

Notable Movies: The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Humphrey Bogart is a perfect example of the marriage between a talented actor and a movie star. He is one of the most influential figures of the classic Hollywood tradition while also starring in several movies that are considered among the greatest of all time. He started out in ing roles, usually playing gangsters, but he used that tough guy persona to his advantage, eventually leading to his breakout role in what is considered one of the greatest noir movies of all time, The Maltese Falcon.

Bogart's easy and suave performance instantly made him an icon and became a persona he would lean on throughout his career. However, he was also not afraid to play around with the audience's perception of him, adding in a romantic angle with his legendary role in Casablanca, playing more comedic in his Oscar-winning turn in The African Queen, and challenging heroic antics altogether with his role in the classic Western, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

26 Anthony Hopkins

Notable Movies: The Silence Of The Lambs, The Remains Of The Day, The Father

Anthony Hopkins remains a prolific and acclaimed actor despite having started his career in the theater back in the 1960s. He made his movie debut alongside acting legends like Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn in The Lion in Winter, proving himself worthy of sharing the screen with acting royalty. After notable roles in movies like The Elephant Man and A Bridge Too Far, Hopkins became renowned with his Oscar-winning role as one of the greatest movie villains of all time, Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.

Hopkins delivers an iconic performance as the cannibal serial killer, but fans need only look to his next nominated role to understand the versatility of the actor. He followed the chilling performance by playing the reserved and quiet butler in The Remains of the Day, making an astonishing transformation. While many other peers have since retired or slowed down in their careers, Hopkins won his second Oscar in 2021 for The Father, becoming the oldest person to win an acting Oscar at the age of 83.

25 Viola Davis

Notable Movies: Doubt, The Help, Fences

While Viola Davis has been working steadily in Hollywood for decades now, it has only been in the last 15 years that she has really started to be recognized as one of the best actors working today. After years of ing roles in which she delivered compelling performances, Davis earned her first Oscar nomination for her one-scene appearance in Doubt, in which she stole the entire scene from Meryl Streep — no easy task.

That powerful performance led to her starring role in The Help, for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Five years later, Davis once again proved that she could hold her own and steal scenes from some of the best actors in the world, acting opposite Denzel Washington in Fences, for which she won her first Oscar. Davis continues to show new signs of her talents in movies like Widows and The Woman King. Outside of movies, she is just as impressive, becoming an EGOT winner.

24 Jack Nicholson

Notable Movies: Chinatown, Batman, Once Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Jack Nicholson holds the record as the male actor with the most Oscar nominations in his career — 12 nods with three wins. The level of stardom that Nicholson reached is even more impressive given the fact that he began his career in low-budget B-movies. However, that primed him to be part of the New Hollywood movement in the late 1960s as he emerged as a new kind of leading man who wasn't interested in being stoic or likable, but rather only focused on delivering memorable performances.

Nicholson's breakthrough role came in Easy Rider, where his irreverent and wild performance added to the counter-culture reputation of the film. He received his first Oscar nomination for that movie and followed it up with his amazing leading performance in Five Easy Pieces. Nicholson excelled at playing complex and flawed protagonists, such as in Chinatown and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but later in his career, he had a lot of fun with villain performances, such as in Batman and A Few Good Men. Though retired now, Nicholson has left behind an unforgettable career.

23 Nicole Kidman

Notable Movies: Moulin Rouge!, The Hours, Babygirl

While Nicole Kidman's career has largely been focused on prestige television shows in recent years, for which she has delivered some of her best work, she continues to prove herself both a movie star and a brilliant character actor. Kidman's breakthrough role came in the 1989 Australian thriller Dead Calm, which helped to launch her Hollywood career. With beauty and grace, Kidman balanced flashy movies with some that allowed her to show off her skills, including To Die For. This made for a busy and successful era of the '90s for Kidman, but her talents shone in the early 2000s.

Kidman earned her first Oscar nomination while also showcasing her musical talents in Moulin Rouge! Since then, she has earned five Oscar nominations in total, with her latest for Being the Ricardos coming two decades after that first nomination. With her incredibly varied roles, including her Oscar-winning turn as Virginia Woolf in The Hours, Kidman showcases the wide range of her talents she lends to projects both big and small.

22 Philip Seymour Hoffman

Notable Movies: Capote, Boogie Nights, The Master

Few actors embodied the archetype of a character actor as effectively as Philip Seymour Hoffman. He was an actor who could disappear into any role, take on a character of any size, and play characters audiences could love or hate, and he would always be the most interesting part of the movie. Even with his career tragically cut short, Hoffman earned four Oscar nominations, showcasing his incredible versatility.

Hoffman won the Oscar for his performance as Truman Capote in Capote, completely transforming into the iconic writer. However, he can then take on a role like in Charlie Wilson's War, playing a boisterous and volatile character, then turn around and give a reserved, compelling performance in Moneyball. Hoffman's work on several movies with Paul Thomas Anderson is a perfect display of the fact that there was nothing he could not do and how his mere presence elevated a movie.

21 Robert De Niro

Notable Movies: The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull

Along with being one of the best actors of all time, Robert De Niro is also one of the most influential. In an era of intense method actors taking on challenging roles in acclaimed movies, De Niro was seen as the pinnacle of American acting in the 1970s. He scored his first Oscar win in one of his earliest and most daunting roles, taking over the part of Don Vito Corleone from Marlon Brando in The Godfather Part II.

Of course, it is impossible to talk about De Niro's career without discussing his work in Martin Scorsese movies. The actor-director pair made 11 movies to date, many being regarded among the best of all time, such as Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, and Raging Bull, the latter of which earned him a second Oscar. Though De Niro has focused more on comedic and ing roles later in his career, movies like The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon are a reminder of his amazing talents.