Acting

Screen performances and the people behind them.

People in Acting

361 profiles

Actor

Angelina Jolie

Playing Lara Croft and Maleficent.

Actor

Brad Pitt

Playing Tyler Durden and producing 12 Years a Slave.

Actor

Jon Voight

Starring in Midnight Cowboy and Coming Home.

Actor

Audrey Hepburn

Playing Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Actor

Charlie Chaplin

Creating the bowler-hatted Tramp.

Actor

Meryl Streep

Playing Miranda Priestly and Margaret Thatcher.

Actor

Kate Bosworth

Playing a surfer in Blue Crush and Lois Lane in Superman Returns.

Actor

Rowan Atkinson

Playing Mr. Bean, Blackadder and Johnny English.

Actor

Nicolas Cage

Starring in Leaving Las Vegas, Face/Off and National Treasure.

Actor

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Playing Elaine Benes in Seinfeld and Selina Meyer in Veep.

Actor

Paul Newman

Starring in The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Broadcaster

Oprah Winfrey

Hosting The Oprah Winfrey Show and building her own media company.

Actor

Clark Gable

Playing Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind.

Actor

Simon Pegg

Co-writing and starring in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

Actor

Rashida Jones

Playing Ann Perkins in Parks and Recreation and co-directing Quincy.

Actor

Lupita Nyong'o

Playing Patsey in 12 Years a Slave and Nakia in Black Panther.

Actor

Chuck Norris

Starring in Walker, Texas Ranger and martial-arts action films.

Actor

William H. Macy

Playing Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo and Frank Gallagher in Shameless.

Actor

Jerry Lewis

Starring in The Nutty Professor and performing with Dean Martin.

Actor

Bruce Willis

Playing John McClane in Die Hard.

Actor

Gary Oldman

Playing Sirius Black, Commissioner Gordon and George Smiley.

Actor

Steve McQueen

Starring in The Great Escape, Bullitt and The Thomas Crown Affair.

Actor

Keira Knightley

Playing Elizabeth Swann and Elizabeth Bennet.

Actor

Ewan McGregor

Playing Mark Renton in Trainspotting and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars.

Actor

Bette Davis

Playing formidable, complicated women in films including All About Eve.

Actor

Mary Pickford

Becoming a silent-film star who also helped take control of film distribution.

Actor

Shirley Temple

Becoming a major child star before a second career in American diplomacy.

Filmmaker

Orson Welles

Directing and starring in Citizen Kane.

Actor

Henry Fonda

Playing principled Americans in The Grapes of Wrath and 12 Angry Men.

Actor

Ian McKellen

Playing Gandalf and Magneto alongside a major Shakespearean stage career.

Actor

Marilyn Monroe

Starring in Some Like It Hot and becoming an enduring Hollywood icon.

Actor

Hattie McDaniel

Becoming the first Black performer to win an Academy Award.

Actor

Nicole Kidman

Starring in Moulin Rouge!, The Hours and Big Little Lies.

Actor

Tom Hanks

Playing Forrest Gump, Captain Miller and the voice of Woody.

Actor

Daniel Radcliffe

Playing Harry Potter throughout the eight-film series.

Actor

Clara Bow

Becoming silent cinema’s original It Girl.

Actor

Halle Berry

Becoming the first Black woman to win the leading-actress Oscar.

Filmmaker

Gene Kelly

Turning athletic dance into cinematic storytelling.

Actor

Keanu Reeves

Playing Neo in The Matrix and the assassin John Wick.

Actor

Peter Sellers

Playing Inspector Clouseau and three roles in Dr. Strangelove.

Actor

Sophia Loren

Winning an Oscar for the Italian-language drama Two Women.

Actor

Julie Andrews

Playing Mary Poppins and Maria in The Sound of Music, with a voice inseparable from both films.

Filmmaker

Buster Keaton

Turning dangerous stunts, precise visual jokes and an unchanging expression into silent-film classics.

Actor

Kate Winslet

Playing Rose in Titanic and emotionally complex women in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Actor

Amitabh Bachchan

Defining Hindi cinema’s “angry young man” in Zanjeer and Deewaar, then building a second career as an elder leading actor.

Actor

Bela Lugosi

Giving Dracula the voice, gaze and commanding presence that helped define the screen vampire.

Actor

Shah Rukh Khan

Becoming one of Hindi cinema’s defining romantic stars, from DDLJ to Devdas.

Actor

Vivien Leigh

Playing Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind and Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Actor

Sally Field

Moving from television comedy to Oscar-winning performances in Norma Rae and Places in the Heart.

Actor

Grace Kelly

Starring in Hitchcock thrillers before becoming Princess of Monaco.

Actor

Whoopi Goldberg

Combining dramatic roles, comedy and television, from The Color Purple to Sister Act.

Actor

Julianne Moore

Playing complex, vulnerable women in films including Boogie Nights, Far from Heaven and Still Alice.

Actor

Vanessa Hudgens

Playing Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical films.

Actor

Milla Jovovich

Playing Leeloo in The Fifth Element and Alice in the Resident Evil films.

Actor

Jonah Hill

Starring in Superbad and earning Oscar nominations for Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Actor

Jane Fonda

Starring in Klute, Coming Home and 9 to 5, alongside a long public life in activism.

Actor

Ava Gardner

Starring in The Killers, Mogambo and The Night of the Iguana.

Actor

Denzel Washington

Starring in Malcolm X, Training Day and Glory, with major roles on both screen and stage.

Comedian

Ricky Gervais

Co-creating The Office and playing David Brent, the boss desperate to be liked.

Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio

Starring in Titanic, Inception and The Revenant.

Actor

Tom Cruise

Playing Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible and Maverick in Top Gun.

Actor

Jackie Chan

Combining martial arts, comedy and elaborate stunt work in films such as Police Story.

Actor

Bruce Lee

Making martial-arts cinema an international phenomenon through Enter the Dragon.

Actor

Rajinikanth

Becoming a defining star of Tamil cinema through films such as Baashha and Enthiran.

Actor

Michelle Yeoh

Starring in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Actor

Viola Davis

Playing Annalise Keating in How to Get Away with Murder and Rose in Fences.

Actor

Dwayne Johnson

Becoming wrestling’s The Rock before starring in action films and voicing Maui in Moana.

Actor

Johnny Depp

Playing Jack Sparrow and unconventional leads in films such as Edward Scissorhands.

Actor

Robert Downey Jr.

Playing Iron Man and winning an Oscar for Oppenheimer.

Actor

Al Pacino

Playing Michael Corleone in The Godfather films and Tony Montana in Scarface.

Actor

Morgan Freeman

Playing Red in The Shawshank Redemption and bringing a distinctive voice to film narration.

Actor

Jack Nicholson

Playing memorable outsiders in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Chinatown and The Shining.

Actor

Anthony Hopkins

Playing Hannibal Lecter and portraying dementia in The Father.

Actor

Katharine Hepburn

Winning four Best Actress Oscars and creating a screen image of independence.

Actor

Ingrid Bergman

Playing Ilsa in Casablanca and leading films across Swedish, American and Italian cinema.

Actor

Frances McDormand

Playing sharply drawn characters in Fargo, Three Billboards and Nomadland.

Actor

Cate Blanchett

Playing roles from Elizabeth I and Galadriel to the conductor in Tár.

Actor

Emma Stone

Winning Oscars for La La Land and Poor Things after breaking through in comedy.

Actor

Octavia Spencer

Winning an Oscar for The Help and portraying Dorothy Vaughan in Hidden Figures.

Actor

Mahershala Ali

Winning supporting-actor Oscars for Moonlight and Green Book.

Actor

Forest Whitaker

Winning an Oscar as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.

Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis

Winning three Best Actor Oscars for My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood and Lincoln.

Actor

Jamie Foxx

Winning an Oscar for portraying Ray Charles while maintaining careers in comedy and music.

Actor

Olivia Colman

Winning an Oscar as Queen Anne in The Favourite after a career spanning comedy and drama.

Actor

Brie Larson

Winning an Oscar for Room and playing Captain Marvel.

Actor

Jessica Chastain

Winning an Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye and leading films including Zero Dark Thirty.

Actor

Susan Sarandon

Winning an Oscar for Dead Man Walking and starring in Thelma & Louise.

Actor

Jennifer Lawrence

Leading The Hunger Games and winning an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook.

Actor

Will Smith

Moving from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to global film stardom and an Oscar for King Richard.

Actor

Julia Roberts

Starring in Pretty Woman and winning an Oscar for Erin Brockovich.

Actor

Jennifer Aniston

Playing Rachel Green in Friends and leading The Morning Show.

Actor

Aamir Khan

Leading films including Lagaan, 3 Idiots and Dangal.

Actor

Salman Khan

Becoming a major Hindi-film star through romances, action films and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Actor

Deepika Padukone

Becoming a leading Hindi-film actor through Om Shanti Om, Piku and historical dramas.

Actor

Genevieve Nnaji

Becoming a leading Nollywood actor and directing Lionheart.

Actor

Gong Li

Starring in Raise the Red Lantern and other defining films of modern Chinese cinema.

Actor

Sidney Poitier

Becoming the first Black winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Actor

Wes Studi

Bringing commanding Native American characters to major films.

Actor

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde

Becoming a leading Nollywood performer through films including Mortal Inheritance.

Actor

Emma Watson

Playing Hermione Granger throughout the Harry Potter film series.

Actor

Alan Rickman

Playing Hans Gruber in Die Hard and Severus Snape in Harry Potter.

Actor

Maggie Cheung

Starring in In the Mood for Love and winning leading acting prizes at Berlin and Cannes.

Actor

Salma Hayek

Portraying Frida Kahlo and building a career across Mexican and Hollywood film.

Actor

Omar Sharif

Starring in Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago.

Actor

Lily Gladstone

Portraying Mollie Burkhart in Killers of the Flower Moon.

Actor

Penélope Cruz

Building an international film career and winning an Oscar for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Actor

Margot Robbie

Playing Harley Quinn and Barbie while building a film-production career.

Actor

Funke Akindele

Creating Jenifa and building a major Nigerian screen-production career.

Actor

Christian Bale

Playing Batman and transforming himself for demanding dramatic roles.

Actor

Tony Leung Chiu-wai

Giving restrained, expressive performances in Hong Kong cinema.

Actor

Sônia Braga

Bringing Brazilian screen performances to international audiences.

Actor

Adel Emam

Becoming one of the Arab world’s best-known comedy and film stars.

Actor

Heath Ledger

Playing the Joker in The Dark Knight and Ennis in Brokeback Mountain.

Actor

Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Building a film and television career across India and the United States.

Actor

Chow Yun-fat

Defining a style of Hong Kong action cinema through films with John Woo.

Actor

Fernanda Montenegro

Leading Central Station and becoming a major figure in Brazilian theatre and cinema.

Actor

Soad Hosny

Becoming an enduring star of Egyptian film musicals and dramas.

Actor

Deborah Mailman

Creating memorable Indigenous Australian characters across television and film.

Actor

Hugh Jackman

Playing Wolverine while sustaining a major musical-theatre career.

Actor

Javier Bardem

Playing Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men and leading major Spanish dramas.

Actor

Donnie Yen

Portraying Ip Man and developing a distinctive screen-fighting style.

Actor

Ricardo Darín

Leading internationally acclaimed Argentine films including The Secret in Their Eyes.

Actor

Faten Hamama

Becoming a defining dramatic actor in Egyptian cinema.

Actor

Chris Hemsworth

Playing Thor in Marvel films.

Actor

Kamal Haasan

Building a versatile Tamil film career as actor and filmmaker.

Actor

Antonio Banderas

Building an international career from Almodóvar films to Hollywood.

Actor

Jet Li

Bringing elite wushu technique to martial-arts cinema.

Actor

Yalitza Aparicio

Playing Cleo in Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma.

Actor

Samuel L. Jackson

Creating memorable roles from Pulp Fiction to Marvel’s Nick Fury.

Actor

Madhuri Dixit

Combining leading Hindi-film performances with celebrated dance sequences.

Actor

Toshiro Mifune

Giving Akira Kurosawa’s films a commanding, volatile screen presence.

Actor

Pedro Pascal

Leading The Mandalorian and The Last of Us.

Actor

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Starring in Indian cinema after winning Miss World in 1994.

Actor

Juliette Binoche

Moving between intimate French dramas and international films, with an Oscar for The English Patient.

Actor

Isabelle Huppert

Intense, ambiguous performances in films including The Piano Teacher and Elle.

Actor

Marion Cotillard

Transforming into Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose and winning the Best Actress Oscar.

Actor

Catherine Deneuve

A defining presence in French cinema, from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg to Belle de Jour.

Actor

Isabelle Adjani

Emotionally extreme performances in The Story of Adèle H., Possession and Camille Claudel.

Actor

Emmanuelle Riva

The unforgettable leads of Hiroshima mon amour and Amour, made more than fifty years apart.

Actor

Jeanne Moreau

Playing Catherine in Jules et Jim and becoming a central face of the French New Wave.

Actor

Anna Magnani

The defiant mother in Rome, Open City and an Oscar-winning turn in The Rose Tattoo.

Actor

Monica Vitti

The searching, alienated figures in Michelangelo Antonioni’s films, followed by a major career in comedy.

Actor

Marcello Mastroianni

Playing Federico Fellini’s restless protagonists in La Dolce Vita and 8½.

Actor

Roberto Benigni

Performing in Down by Law and directing Johnny Stecchino.

Actor

Shabana Azmi

Leading performances in Indian parallel cinema, including Ankur, Arth and Paar.

Actor

Marlon Brando

Playing Stanley Kowalski, Terry Malloy and Vito Corleone in performances that changed screen acting.

Actor

Elizabeth Taylor

Starring in Cleopatra, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Actor

Sridevi

Leading Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films including Mr. India, Chandni and English Vinglish.

Actor

Zhang Ziyi

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers and The Grandmaster.

Actor

Song Kang-ho

Playing the father in Parasite and leading roles in Memories of Murder and The Host.

Actor

Takeshi Kitano

Hana-bi, Sonatine and a career spanning crime films, comedy and Takeshi’s Castle.

Actor

Nora Aunor

Playing Elsa in Himala and portraying women facing poverty, injustice and difficult choices.

Actor

Gael García Bernal

Starring in Amores perros, Y tu mamá también and The Motorcycle Diaries.

Actor

Charlize Theron

Playing Aileen Wuornos in Monster and Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road.

Actor

Cheng Pei-pei

Playing Golden Swallow in Come Drink with Me and Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Actor

Humphrey Bogart

Playing Rick Blaine in Casablanca and Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon.

Actor

Cary Grant

His comic elegance in screwball comedies and starring role in North by Northwest.

Actor

Dilip Kumar

His dramatic performances in Devdas, Mughal-e-Azam and Gunga Jumna.

Actor

Zhou Xun

The Chinese actor known for Suzhou River, Perhaps Love and Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace.

Actor

Choi Min-sik

The actor behind Oldboy’s imprisoned protagonist and Admiral Yi Sun-sin in The Admiral: Roaring Currents.

Actor

Setsuko Hara

The star of Late Spring and Tokyo Story, central to some of Japanese cinema’s most enduring family dramas.

Actor

Tony Jaa

The martial-arts star whose acrobatic fighting in Ong-Bak brought Thai action cinema to a worldwide audience.

Actor

Wagner Moura

The Brazilian actor known for Elite Squad, Narcos and his Cannes-winning performance in The Secret Agent.

Actor

Pete Edochie

The Nigerian actor whose portrayal of Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart became a defining television role.

Actor

Mona Zaki

Starring in Egyptian films and television dramas including Sleepless Nights and Under Guardianship.

Actor

James Stewart

Starring in It’s a Wonderful Life, Vertigo and classic American films.

Actor

Sean Connery

Defining James Bond on film and winning an Oscar for The Untouchables.

Actor

Sharmila Tagore

Bridging Bengali art cinema and Hindi stardom in films including The World of Apu and Aradhana.

Actor

Raj Kapoor

Creating Hindi cinema classics including Awara and Shree 420.

Actor

Zhao Wei

Playing Little Swallow in My Fair Princess and directing So Young.

Actor

Lee Byung-hun

Starring in Joint Security Area and portraying the Front Man in Squid Game.

Actor

Hiroyuki Sanada

The Japanese actor known internationally for The Last Samurai and his Emmy-winning role in Shōgun.

Actor

Iko Uwais

The martial-arts star of The Raid who helped bring Indonesian silat to international action cinema.

Actor

Diego Luna

The actor behind Cassian Andor in Star Wars and the breakthrough Mexican film Y tu mamá también.

Actor

Olu Jacobs

The actor whose career connected British theatre and international films with the growth of Nollywood.

Actor

Yousra

The Egyptian screen star known for films with Adel Emam and Youssef Chahine, and for major television dramas.

Actor

Jodie Foster

The two-time Oscar-winning actor who played Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs.

Actor

Idris Elba

The actor known for Stringer Bell in The Wire and detective John Luther.

Actor

Irrfan Khan

The actor whose understated performances connected Indian cinema with films such as The Namesake and Life of Pi.

Actor

Fan Bingbing

Starring in My Fair Princess, Buddha Mountain and I Am Not Madame Bovary.

Actor

Jung Woo-sung

Leading Korean films including Beat, The Good, the Bad, the Weird and Innocent Witness.

Actor

Ken Watanabe

Bridging Japanese and international cinema in The Last Samurai and Letters from Iwo Jima.

Actor

Joe Taslim

Bringing elite martial-arts experience to The Raid, Warrior and Mortal Kombat.

Actor

Fernanda Torres

Playing Eunice Paiva in I’m Still Here and winning major international acting awards.

Actor

Joke Silva

Building a long stage and screen career in Nigerian drama.

Actor

Gregory Peck

Playing Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird and leading classic Hollywood dramas.

Actor

Richard Burton

Bringing a powerful Welsh voice to Shakespeare, cinema and dramatic leading roles.

Actor

Mammootty

Becoming a leading figure in Malayalam cinema through versatile dramatic performances.

Actor

Li Bingbing

Starring in Chinese dramas and international action films.

Actor

Gong Yoo

Starring in Train to Busan, Coffee Prince and Guardian.

Actor

Tadanobu Asano

Playing distinctive roles in Japanese cinema and Lord Yabushige in Shōgun.

Actor

Dian Sastrowardoyo

Playing Cinta in Ada Apa dengan Cinta? and Dasiyah in Cigarette Girl.

Actor

Alice Braga

Playing Teresa Mendoza in Queen of the South after breaking through in City of God.

Actor

Rita Dominic

Becoming a leading Nollywood actor through films including The Meeting and Shattered.

Actor

Lauren Bacall

Bringing a distinctive voice and screen presence to To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep.

Actor

Peter O'Toole

Playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia.

Actor

Mohanlal

Leading Malayalam cinema through films such as Bharatham, Vanaprastham and Drishyam.

Actor

Tang Wei

Starring in Lust, Caution and Decision to Leave.

Actor

Hyun Bin

Leading Korean dramas including Secret Garden and Crash Landing on You.

Actor

Koji Yakusho

Starring in Shall We Dance?, Cure and Perfect Days.

Actor

Lázaro Ramos

His breakthrough performance in Madame Satã and leading roles across Brazilian cinema and television.

Actor

Spencer Tracy

Winning consecutive acting Oscars and forming a celebrated screen partnership with Katharine Hepburn.

Actor

Richard Harris

Starring in This Sporting Life and playing Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films.

Actor

Dev Anand

Starring in Guide and helping shape Hindi cinema through Navketan Films.

Actor

Shu Qi

Starring in Millennium Mambo, Three Times and The Assassin.

Actor

Son Ye-jin

The star of Crash Landing on You, The Classic and The Last Princess.

Actor

Rinko Kikuchi

Her Oscar-nominated performance in Babel and her role as Mako Mori in Pacific Rim.

Actor

Selton Mello

Brazilian films including A Dog’s Will, The Clown and I’m Still Here.

Actor

James Cagney

Bringing explosive energy to gangster films and Oscar-winning dancing to Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Actor

Ben Affleck

Co-writing Good Will Hunting and directing the Best Picture-winning thriller Argo.

Actor

Roger Moore

Playing James Bond in seven films and television adventurer Simon Templar in The Saint.

Filmmaker

Guru Dutt

Creating Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool, landmark films about aspiration, art and disillusionment.

Actor

Brigitte Lin

Becoming a star of Taiwanese romance and Hong Kong martial-arts cinema.

Actor

Jun Ji-hyun

Starring in My Sassy Girl and My Love from the Star.

Actor

Rie Miyazawa

Starring in The Twilight Samurai, Tony Takitani and Her Love Boils Bathwater.

Actor

Edward G. Robinson

Defining the screen gangster in Little Caesar and playing memorable roles in film noir.

Actor

Timothy Dalton

Playing James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill.

Actor

Nargis

Playing the resilient mother at the centre of Mother India.

Actor

Andy Lau

Starring in Infernal Affairs and becoming a leading Hong Kong film and Cantopop performer.

Actor

Song Hye-kyo

Leading Korean television dramas including Full House, Descendants of the Sun and The Glory.

Actor

Hideko Takamine

Playing enduring roles in Twenty-Four Eyes, Floating Clouds and When a Woman Ascends the Stairs.

Actor

Burt Lancaster

Starring in From Here to Eternity, Elmer Gantry and The Leopard.

Actor

Pierce Brosnan

Playing James Bond in four films, beginning with GoldenEye.

Actor

Madhubala

Playing Anarkali in Mughal-e-Azam and becoming a defining star of Hindi cinema.

Actor

Stephen Chow

Turning absurdist comedy into hits such as Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle.

Actor

Kim Hye-soo

Leading Korean films and dramas including Tazza and Juvenile Justice.

Actor

Kinuyo Tanaka

Starring in Japanese cinema classics and pioneering a career behind the camera.

Actor

Kirk Douglas

Playing Spartacus and helping challenge the Hollywood blacklist.

Actor

Daniel Craig

Playing James Bond from Casino Royale to No Time to Die.

Actor

Meena Kumari

The emotionally powerful performances of Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam and Pakeezah.

Singer

Aaron Kwok

Becoming one of Cantopop’s Four Heavenly Kings and an acclaimed screen actor.

Actor

Jeon Do-yeon

Becoming the first Korean performer to win an acting prize at Cannes.

Actor

Machiko Kyō

Starring in Rashomon, Ugetsu and other landmarks of Japanese cinema.

Actor

Robert Mitchum

Giving film noir some of its most memorable outsiders and villains.

Actor

Michael Caine

Bringing a distinctive Cockney voice to films from Alfie to The Dark Knight.

Actor

Waheeda Rehman

Performances in Indian cinema classics including Pyaasa and Guide.

Actor

Kim Min-hee

Starring in The Handmaiden and winning Berlin’s acting award for On the Beach at Night Alone.

Actor

Takashi Shimura

Playing the central roles in Ikiru and Seven Samurai.

Actor

Tilda Swinton

Playing Orlando and winning an Oscar for Michael Clayton.

Actor

Vyjayanthimala

Bringing classical dance and dramatic acting together in Indian cinema.

Actor

Hend Sabry

Starring in The Silences of the Palace, Asmaa and Finding Ola.

Actor

Jeremy Brett

Portraying Sherlock Holmes in Granada’s television adaptations.

Actor

Anna Paquin

Winning an Oscar for The Piano and starring in True Blood.

Actor

Sanjeev Kumar

Playing contrasting dramatic and comic roles in Hindi cinema.

Actor

Emma Thompson

Winning Oscars for acting in Howards End and adapting Sense and Sensibility.

Actor

Indrani Haldar

Performing across Bengali cinema and television.

Actor

Anthony Quinn

Portraying Zorba and winning two supporting-actor Oscars.

Actor

Claudette Colbert

Winning an Oscar for It Happened One Night.

Actor

Colin Firth

Playing Mr Darcy and the Oscar-winning role of George VI.

Actor

Maximilian Schell

Playing the defence lawyer in Judgment at Nuremberg.

Actor

Sean Lau

Starring in Hong Kong dramas and thrillers including Mad Detective.

Actor

Uttam Kumar

Becoming a defining star of Bengali cinema, including Nayak.

Actor

Glenda Jackson

Winning major acting awards across film, television and theatre.

Actor

Keerthy Suresh

Portraying Savitri in the biographical film Mahanati.

Actor

Christoph Waltz

Winning Oscars for Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained.

Actor

Saranya Ponvannan

Playing complex maternal roles in Tamil cinema.

Actor

Harold Russell

Winning two Oscars for The Best Years of Our Lives.

Actor

Samal Yeslyamova

Winning the Cannes acting prize for Ayka.

Actor

Sylvia Chang

Acting in and directing films including Passion and 20 30 40.

Actor

Bharat Gopy

Playing Sankarankutty in Kodiyettam.

Actor

Geoffrey Rush

Playing David Helfgott in Shine and Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Actor

Peggy Ashcroft

Combining a major Shakespearean stage career with acclaimed screen performances.

Actor

Jean Dujardin

Playing silent-film star George Valentin in The Artist.

Actor

Margaret Rutherford

Playing Miss Marple in British film comedies.

Actor

Judi Dench

Playing Shakespearean heroines and M in the James Bond films.

Actor

Bae Doona

Starring in The Host, Cloud Atlas and Sense8.

Actor

Alicia Vikander

Starring in Ex Machina and winning an Oscar for The Danish Girl.

Actor

Louis Koo

Starring in Hong Kong television dramas and films including Paradox.

Actor

Russell Crowe

Starring in Gladiator, The Insider and A Beautiful Mind.

Actor

Kim Hye-ja

Playing complex mothers in Korean television and Bong Joon-ho’s Mother.

Actor

Eddie Garcia

Building a seven-decade career in Philippine acting and filmmaking.

Actor

Edmund Gwenn

Playing Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street.

Actor

Marie Dressler

Winning an Oscar for Min and Bill after a late-career comeback.

Actor

Bill Murray

Starring in Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day and Lost in Translation.

Actor

Maiara Walsh

Playing Meena in Cory in the House and Ana Solis in Desperate Housewives.

Actor

Akshay Kumar

Combining action and comedy in Khiladi, Hera Pheri and Hindi cinema.

Actor

Sandra Bullock

Leading Speed, Miss Congeniality and Gravity.

Actor

Jessie Buckley

Bringing dramatic and musical intensity to Wild Rose, The Lost Daughter and Cabaret.

Actor

Cillian Murphy

Playing Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders and J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Actor

Balan K. Nair

Playing forceful character roles in Malayalam cinema, including Oppol.

Actor

Greer Garson

Portraying wartime resilience in Mrs. Miniver.

Actor

Adam Sandler

Leading comedies such as Happy Gilmore and dramas including Uncut Gems.

Actor

Jiang Qinqin

Playing leading roles in Chinese television, including Qiao’s Grand Courtyard.

Actor

Donald Crisp

Playing the Morgan family father in How Green Was My Valley.

Actor

Alia Bhatt

Playing leading roles in Raazi, Gangubai Kathiawadi and Highway.

Actor

Haing S. Ngor

Winning an Oscar for his debut performance in The Killing Fields.

Actor

John Mills

Playing Pip in Great Expectations and winning an Oscar for Ryan’s Daughter.

Actor

Barry Fitzgerald

Winning an Oscar for Father Fitzgibbon in Going My Way.

Actor

Emil Jannings

Receiving the first Academy Award for Best Actor.

Actor

Katina Paxinou

Winning an Oscar for playing Pilar in For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Actor

Simone Signoret

Starring in Casque d’or and winning an Oscar for Room at the Top.

Actor

Youn Yuh-jung

Winning an Oscar for playing Soon-ja in Minari.

Actor

Julie Christie

Starring in Darling, Doctor Zhivago and Don’t Look Now.

Actor

Yū Aoi

Starring in Hana and Alice and Hula Girls.

Actor

Prilly Latuconsina

Starring in Ganteng Ganteng Serigala and the Danur films.

Actor

Monisha Unni

Winning the National Film Award for her debut in Nakhakshathangal.

Actor

Miyoshi Umeki

Winning an Oscar for Sayonara and starring in Flower Drum Song.

Actor

M. G. Ramachandran

Combining Tamil screen stardom with leadership of Tamil Nadu.

Actor

Lila Kedrova

Winning an Oscar and a Tony for portraying Madame Hortense.

Actor

Will Ferrell

Playing Buddy in Elf and Ron Burgundy in Anchorman.

Actor

Ha Jung-woo

Starring in The Chaser and Along with the Gods.

Actor

Ashok Kumar

Starring in Achhut Kannya, Kismet and Mahal.

Actor

Peter Finch

Playing Howard Beale in Network.

Actor

Yul Brynner

Playing King Mongkut in The King and I.

Actor

Ronald Colman

Starring in Lost Horizon and A Double Life.

Actor

Madhabi Mukherjee

Playing the central roles in Mahanagar and Charulata.

Actor

Joseph Schildkraut

Playing Alfred Dreyfus and Otto Frank on screen.

Actor

Suhasini Maniratnam

Starring in Sindhu Bhairavi and directing Indira.

Actor

Brenda Fricker

Winning an Oscar for My Left Foot.

Actor

Zhou Dongyu

Starring in Soul Mate and Better Days.

Actor

Maggie Smith

Playing Jean Brodie, Professor McGonagall and Downton Abbey’s Violet Crawley.

Actor

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Playing Velma Kelly in Chicago and Elena in The Mask of Zorro.

Actor

George Sanders

Playing Addison DeWitt in All About Eve and voicing Shere Khan.

Actor

Karl Malden

Playing Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire and Mike Stone on television.

Actor

Christopher Plummer

Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music and an acclaimed stage career

Actor

Walter Huston

His Oscar-winning performance in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Actor

Jeremy Irons

Brideshead Revisited and his Oscar-winning role in Reversal of Fortune

Actor

George Arliss

His Academy Award-winning portrayal of Disraeli

Actor

Charles Laughton

The Private Life of Henry VIII and directing The Night of the Hunter

Actor

Rex Harrison

Playing Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady

Actor

Paul Scofield

Portraying Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons

Actor

Judy Holliday

Playing Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday

Actor

Luise Rainer

Becoming the first performer to win consecutive acting Oscars.

Actor

Uzoamaka Power

Performances in Mami Wata, The Weekend and With Difficulty Comes Ease.

Actor

Joan Fontaine

Her leading performances in Rebecca and Suspicion.

Actor

Ben Kingsley

His Oscar-winning portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi.

Actor

Marlee Matlin

Her Oscar-winning debut in Children of a Lesser God.

Actor

John Gielgud

Shakespearean stage performances and his Oscar-winning role in Arthur.

Actor

Vikram Gokhale

Performances across Marathi theatre, cinema and Hindi films.

Actor

Kim Hunter

Playing Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire and Zira in Planet of the Apes.

Actor

Susan Hayward

Intense screen performances including I Want to Live!

Actor

Robert Donat

The 39 Steps and his Oscar-winning performance in Goodbye, Mr. Chips.

Actor

Nana Patekar

Forceful performances in Hindi and Marathi cinema.

Actor

P. J. Antony

The temple oracle in Nirmalyam.

Actor

Vanessa Redgrave

An extensive stage and screen career, including Julia.

Actor

Alec Guinness

Versatile film roles from Ealing comedies to Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Actor

Hugh Griffith

Character performances in Ben-Hur and Tom Jones.

Actor

Vikram

Transformative performances in Tamil cinema.

Actor

Celeste Holm

Ado Annie in Oklahoma! and Oscar-winning film work.

Actor

Amy Madigan

Stage and screen roles from Field of Dreams to Weapons.

Actor

Alan Arkin

Comic and dramatic character acting across seven decades.

Actor

Joanne Woodward

Nuanced portrayals including The Three Faces of Eve.

Actor

Jessica Tandy

Creating Blanche DuBois on Broadway and starring in Driving Miss Daisy.

Actor

Brendan Fraser

The Mummy adventures and an Oscar-winning performance in The Whale.

Actor

Anil Kapoor

Hindi-film roles from Mr. India to international productions.

Actor

Faye Dunaway

Leading roles in Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown and Network.

Actor

Laurence Olivier

Shakespeare on stage and screen and founding Britain’s National Theatre company.

Actor

Kriti Sanon

A National Film Award-winning performance in Mimi.

Actor

Mithun Chakraborty

Disco Dancer and award-winning roles across Indian cinema.

Actor

Paul Lukas

An Oscar-winning performance in Watch on the Rhine.

Actor

Rami Malek

Playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody and Elliot in Mr. Robot.

Actor

Ellen Burstyn

Oscar-winning work in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.

Actor

Kirron Kher

Award-winning performances in Indian cinema and a later parliamentary career.

Actor

Peter Ustinov

Oscar-winning supporting roles and portrayals of Hercule Poirot.

Actor

George Clooney

Leading roles in ER and Ocean’s Eleven, and filmmaking including Good Night, and Good Luck.

Actor

Janet Gaynor

Becoming the first winner of the best-actress Academy Award.

Actor

David Niven

An Oscar-winning role in Separate Tables.

Actor

George Kennedy

Playing Dragline in Cool Hand Luke.

Actor

Liao Fan

Winning Berlin’s acting award for Black Coal, Thin Ice.

Actor

Tabu

Complex characters in Hindi and regional Indian cinema.

Actor

Frank Donga

Playing an unassuming job-seeker in The Interview.