Katharine Hepburn: 1940s
Katharine Hepburn was the dominant leading lady of the 1940s, known for her strong-willed and independent personality that made her one of classic Hollywood’s greatest stars. Over a career that spanned more than 60 years, she won four Academy Awards for Best Actress for her roles in Morning Glory, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, The Lion in Winter, and On Golden Pond.
Marlon Brando: 1950s
In the 1950s, Marlon Brando was everywhere. The method actor had a massive decade, earning critical and audience praise along with multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards. Some of his biggest films from that era include A Streetcar Named Desire, Julius Caesar, and On the Waterfront.
Humphrey Bogart: 1940s
Humphrey Bogart got his start on Broadway, but once he made it to Hollywood in the 1940s, audiences loved him for playing those cynical guys who turned out to be good at heart. Movies like Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, To Have and Have Not, and Key Largo made him one of the greatest male actors of Classical Hollywood cinema.
Cary Grant: 1930s
Cary Grant had this naturally easy, funny way of acting that made his comedic timing genuinely impressive, and it helped make him one of the biggest leading men of 1930s Hollywood. He worked alongside major stars like Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart in films like The Philadelphia Story, and those collaborations really cemented his place as one of the defining actors of that era.
Meryl Streep: 1970s
Meryl Streep is widely considered the best actress of her generation, and her career is hard to pin to just one era. That said, her 1970s work was some of her finest, including her first Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress in Kramer vs. Kramer. She went on to rack up a record 21 Academy Award nominations with 3 wins, plus 32 Golden Globe nominations and 8 wins. Next up is the “eternal outsider” who also helped define the 1970s.
Charlie Chaplin: 1920s
Charlie Chaplin is one of the most influential people in cinema history. He made his name in the silent film era of the 1920s playing The Tramp, and he was a total perfectionist about his work, directing, composing the music, editing, and producing most of his films himself while also starring in them. Some of his most acclaimed work from that period includes The Kid, A Woman in Paris, and The Circus.
Daniel Day-Lewis: 1990s
Daniel Day-Lewis is widely considered the greatest actor of his generation, often called a “cinematic chameleon” for his ability to completely transform himself for any role. He played Nathaniel “Hawkeye” Poe in The Last of the Mohicans, Gerry in In the Name of the Father, and Newland Archer in The Age of Innocence, and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for all three, making him the first person ever to win three times in that category.
Leonardo DiCaprio: 2000s
Leonardo DiCaprio won an Academy Award and had some big movies in the 90s, but the 2000s were really his peak decade. That’s when he starred in films like The Departed, Catch Me If You Can, and Gangs of New York. He’s taken on plenty of biopics and period pieces over the years, which shows just how wide his range is as an actor.
Judy Garland: 1940s
Judy Garland was a dramatic actress and musical performer who became an international star in the 1940s, best known for playing Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939). Over a 45-year career, she became a true Hollywood force, appearing in countless critically acclaimed films as a triple threat in acting, singing, and dancing.
Jack Nicholson: 1970s
Jack Nicholson built his career playing outsiders and drifters, the kind of guy who makes you squirm in your seat watching him on screen. But those rebel characters are some of the most iconic in movie history. He’s been nominated for 12 Academy Awards, making him the most-nominated male actor ever, and yes, that includes his role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Al Pacino: 1970s
During the 1970s, Al Pacino and Michael Corleone were basically the same name. He played the head of the Corleone Crime Family in The Godfather Part I and II, and that role completely took Hollywood by storm. It made Pacino one of the go-to actors in the mobster and crime genres, and he’s an Academy Award winner on top of it all.
Sidney Poitier: 1960s
Martin Scorsese probably put it best when he said, “He had a vocal precision and physical power and grace that at moments seemed almost supernatural.” Through the 1960s, Poitier kept pushing boundaries, taking on roles in films like In the Heat of the Night, and his performances earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Marilyn Monroe: 1950s
By 1953, Marilyn Monroe was already one of the hottest names in Hollywood, with movies like Monkey Business, Clash By Night, and Don’t Bother to Knock helping her get there. She became one of the biggest stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age and has stayed a cultural icon ever since.
James Stewart: 1940s
James Stewart was basically the perfect picture of the American everyman, someone who stood for honor, integrity, and freedom every time he appeared on screen. He was one of the biggest actors of the 1940s, starring in beloved films like The Philadelphia Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. He was nominated for five Academy Awards total and took home his one and only Best Actor win for The Philadelphia Story.
Clint Eastwood: 1960s
Clint Eastwood made his name playing the Man with No Name in The Dollars Trilogy, which basically defined the Spaghetti Western genre. He became a massive cultural icon for his tough, masculine screen presence. He never took home an acting Oscar, but behind the camera he was dominant, winning four Academy Awards total, two for Best Picture and two for Best Director. Next up is an actor who defined the 1990s, with a little help from Tim Burton.
Robert De Niro: 1970s
Robert De Niro got his first real attention playing a baseball player in Bang the Drum Slowly. From there he blew up, taking on roles like corrupt mobsters in The Godfather Part II and vigilante outcasts in Taxi Driver. His work with director Martin Scorsese put him in some of the best films ever made and earned him two Academy Awards.
Harrison Ford: 1980s
Playing Indiana Jones and Han Solo made Harrison Ford one of the biggest stars of the 1980s. Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars both became massive cultural phenomena, and Ford was the face of both. He’s also worked with some of Hollywood’s heaviest hitters, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and Ridley Scott.
Robert Redford: 1970s
Playing Harry Longabaugh, better known as the Sundance Kid, in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid made Robert Redford a star when the film came out in 1969. The 1970s turned out to be some of his best years, with role after role playing up that cool, tough charm he was known for. Over his career he earned four Academy Award nominations and took home one win, Best Director for Ordinary People.
John Wayne: 1960s
John Wayne is basically synonymous with Westerns and war movies. He got his start back in the silent film era, but really hit his stride in the 1950s and 1960s, becoming a global star thanks to movies like True Grit, The Longest Day, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
Johnny Depp: 1990s
Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton made some seriously iconic movies together starting in the 1990s, including Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, and Ed Wood. They kept collaborating through the 2000s and 2010s, which helped push Depp into mainstream fame.