15 Favorite American Actors and Actresses All Time.

[Yoda1978]

I will take 15 Actors and 15 Actresses all time and try To Make a List. These actors or actresses are for Them Born In America

Actors

1 Harrison Ford

2 Morgan Freeman

3 Gary Cooper

4 John Wayne

5 Robert Duvall

6 Al Pacino

7 Robert Deniro

8 Robin Williams

9 Kirk Douglas

10 Samual L Jackson

11 Tom Hanks

12 Alan Alda

13 Daniel Day Lewis

14 Robert Downey Jr

15 Clint Eastwood

Actresses

1 Carrie Fisher

2 Sissy Spacek

3 Angelina Jolie

4 Sally Field

5 Halle Berry

6 Nicole Kidman

7 Gwyneth Paltrow

8 Angie Dickinson

9 June Lockheart

10 Sharon Stone

11 Lynda Carter

12 Lauren Becall

13 Michelle Phieiffer.

14 Ashley Judd

15 Katherine Hepburn

 

Boy that ways hard because allot of actresses I like seemed to be english or australian

[sewhite2000]

I would definitely have Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty in my Top 15 actors. She's really hated around here, but I would probably put Meryl Streep on the actresses list. I like almost all of your pics.

[Yoda1978]

June Lockheart is a tv actress but Her part as Timmys Mother On Lassie was pretty good. And she was stunning if go back and look at other tv moms in comparison back then.

[sagebrush]

10 hours ago, sewhite2000 said:

She's really hated around here, but I would probably put Meryl Streep on the actresses list.

I wasn't aware of this. Why is she so hated?

[sewhite2000]

You'd have to ask someone besides me, but I've seen a lot of negative comments about her on here over the years. Or at least a lot of people purporting to be completely unimpressed by her.

[jamesjazzguitar]

5 hours ago, sewhite2000 said:

You'd have to ask someone besides me, but I've seen a lot of negative comments about her on here over the years. Or at least a lot of people purporting to be completely unimpressed by her.

I do recall that there were some users here that made negative comments but from what I recall most were in the she-is-not-so-great category;    I.e.  that there was still a lot of respect for many of her performances but just that she wasn't the greatest,  or the best of her generation.     We often see similar comments about Bette Davis and Katherine Hepburn.   I.e. those  regarded as being at the top of their profession are often easy targets for being knocked down a peg or two.

 

[Sepiatone]

This may take some time, and some will fall prey to the "coin-toss"  decision process...

No particular order.....

MARLON BRANDO

CLARK GABLE

JAMES CAGNEY

HUMPHREY BOGART

HENRY FONDA

JIMMY STEWART

GLENN FORD

ANTHONY QUINN

JAMES GARNER

JOHN WAYNE

JOHN GARFIELD

GREGORY PECK

KIRK DOUGLAS

BURT LANCASTER

SIDNEY POITIER

 

MYRNA LOY

CLAUDETTE COLBERT

JUDY GARLAND 

GENE TIERNEY

JEAN HARLOW

CONSTANCE BENNETT

TERESA WRIGHT

KATY JURADO

GRACE KELLY

DIANE KEATON

MAUREEN O'HARA

ETHEL BARRYMORE

DOROTHY DANDRIDGE

ANGELA BASSETT

MARILYN MONROE

 

And believe me, there were at least 15 more on each list that lost the flip.     And.....  Just as I can't(and refuse to) limit my interests I can't(and refuse to) limit my likes and dislikes.  Dig-------

I once worked for a guy who had 17 children.  For kicks, I asked him if he had any favorite kids.  His answer?----

"Those kids livin' next door seem pretty nice."     Point being he didn't like or love any of his kids more than any other of his kids.  

Sepiatone

 

 

[Princess of Tap]

Bette Davis

Katharine Hepburn

Barbara Stanwyck

Carole Lombard

 Faye Dunaway

Susan Hayward

Hattie McDaniel

 Sandra Dee

Lana Turner

Natalie Wood

 Doris Day

Lucille Ball

Irene Dunne

Loretta Young

Gail Patrick

 

Spencer Tracy

Humphrey Bogart

William Holden

Sidney Poitier

Al Pacino

Clark Gable

Richard Widmark

Robert Stack

Raymond Burr

Fred MacMurray

Fred Astaire

Morgan Freeman

Richard Chamberlain

James Cagney

James Stewart

 

 

 

[jamesjazzguitar]

Ok,  I'll give this a try: 

Bette Davis

Barbara Stanwyck

Olivia DeHavilland    (yea,  I view her as American  over British given her film legacy).  

Jean Arthur

Carole Lombard

Katharine Hepburn

Rosalind Russell

Myrna Loy  

Joan Crawford

Claire Trevor

Gloria Grahame 

Irene Dunne

Ava Gardner

Joan Bennett

Judy Garland

 

Humphrey Bogart

Cary Grant (ok,  I can see how one would say he was British,  but Wiki says British born, American actor).

William Powell

Robert Mitchum

James Cagney

Gary Cooper

Errol Flynn (an Australian born, American actor)

Alan Ladd

Clark Gable

William Holden

Sidney Poitier

John Garfield

Richard Widmark

James Stewart

Spencer Tracy

[Yoda1978]

I kept wanting to add Maureen O Hara but am certain she was born in Ire Land

[chaya bat woof woof]

Too many to name.

 

I would add:

 

Judy Holliday

George Sanders

Cary Grant is British (as was Charlie C.)

I wouldn't put Harrison Ford or Cary F. on the list.

Dana Andrews

Fred March

Kevin Kline (Sophie's Choice to A Fish Called Wanda)

Martin Sheen (any one seen him in Badlands)

Walter Huston

Sharon Stone - no

Nicole Kidman is an Aussie

Some of the character actors (John Carradine sp?)

I like Meryl but she became too political for some people.

I agree with many of the answers.

[Princess of Tap]

3 hours ago, chaya bat woof woof said:

Too many to name.

 

I would add:

 

Judy Holliday

*George Sanders

Cary Grant is British (as was Charlie C.)

I wouldn't put Harrison Ford or Cary F. on the list.

Dana Andrews

Fred March

Kevin Kline (Sophie's Choice to A Fish Called Wanda)

Martin Sheen (any one seen him in Badlands)

Walter Huston

Sharon Stone - no

Nicole Kidman is an Aussie

Some of the character actors (John Carradine sp?)

I like Meryl but she became too political for some people.

I agree with many of the answers.

*George Sanders was born in Russia and was British.

[GGGGerald]

On 5/14/2020 at 3:25 PM, Yoda1978 said:

I will take 15 Actors and 15 Actresses all time and try To Make a List. These actors or actresses are for Them Born In America

Actors

13 Daniel Day Lewis ????

 

 

Boy that ways hard because allot of actresses I like seemed to be english or australian

That's the problem when you impose limits on the arts. You either leave out someone good. Or you include someone who doesn't really fit the criteria.

I'll have to think on this to make a proper list.

[Bogie56]

Robert De Niro

Jack Nicholson

Humphrey Bogart

Al Pacino

Marlon Brando

Gene Hackman

Robert Duvall

Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Spencer Tracy

Sean Penn

Anthony Quinn

James Cagney

Paul Newman

Jack Lemmon

Jeff Bridges

 

Mery; Streep

Katharine Hepburn

Bette Davis

Diane Keaton

Ellen Burstyn

Jessica Lange

Sissy Spacek

Jane Fonda

Julianne Moore

Faye Dunaway

Amy Adams

Irene Dunne

Annette Bening 

Thelma Ritter

Shirley Maclaine

 

I had to disqualify Olivia de Havilland and Claudette Colbert

[Allhallowsday]

9 hours ago, jamesjazzguitar said:

Errol Flynn (an Australian born, American actor)

He's an all-time favorite, but I also excluded EDWARD G. ROBINSON (probably #1 or 2 on all-time favorites regardless of where born - in his case, Romania).  I stuck to American-born. 

TERESA WRIGHT
BETTE DAVIS
JOAN CRAWFORD
FAYE DUNAWAY
BARBARA HERSHEY
AGNES MOOREHEAD
BARBARA STANWYCK  
EVE ARDEN
ROSALIND RUSSELL
LOUISE BEAVERS  
MARJORIE MAIN
ETHEL WATERS
BILLIE BURKE
SPRING BYINGTON
KIM NOVAK

 

WILLIAM POWELL  
JOHN WAYNE
JAMES STEWART
CLINT EASTWOOD
WILLIAM HOLDEN  
WARREN OATES
DUSTIN HOFFMAN
AL PACINO
ROBERT DeNIRO
ROBIN WILLIAMS  
GENE HACKMAN  
HUMPHREY BOGART
FREDRIC MARCH
JOHN BARRYMORE
CLARK GABLE

 

[speedracer5]

If we're going with specifically American-born and not persons who achieved stardom in American films...

In no specific order, except for Lucy being #1

1) Lucille Ball

2) Bette Davis

3) Rita Hayworth

4) Jean Arthur

5) Katharine Hepburn

6) Barbara Stanwyck

7) Ginger Rogers

8 ) Marilyn Monroe

9) Ann Sheridan

10) Ann Blyth

11) Dorothy McGuire

12) Sandra Dee

13) Lauren Bacall

14) Judy Garland

15) Gene Tierney

---

1) Humphrey Bogart

2) Montgomery Clift

3) William Holden

4) Edmond O'Brien

5) Burt Lancaster

6) Tony Curtis

7) Gene Kelly

8 ) Fred Astaire

9) Orson Welles

10) Joseph Cotten

11) Dick Powell

12) Dana Andrews

13) Vincent Price

14) Robert Mitchum

15) Joel McCrea

[Sepiatone]

17 hours ago, Yoda1978 said:

I kept wanting to add Maureen O Hara but am certain she was born in Ire Land

I thought of that too, but as she made most of her movies in America, and/or for American film studios, I think most consider her an American actress.  And Ireland is one word.  

Sepiatone

[jamesjazzguitar]

14 hours ago, Bogie56 said:

I had to disqualify Olivia de Havilland and Claudette Colbert

Yea,  Olivia de Havilland is one of the best Asian actresses.

PS:   Colbert moved to America at the age of 3.     I fail to see how that makes her a French actress,  but like I posted below each of us have our own criteria.

 

 

 

[chaya bat woof woof]

Thank you for the reminder about George Sanders.

 

Others I would add:  Lionel Barrymore (don't know if anyone listed him)

Sam Levine

Karl Malden

Lionel Barrymore

Matt Damon

J. Phoenix (and his late brother, River)

Buster Keaton

Is Dan Duryea on anyone's list?

Ed Begley Sr.

Lee J. Cobb

Jason Robards Jr.

James Coburn

Steve McQueen

Lillian Gish and Mary Pickford (don't know if American)

Jane Wyman

Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney

Robert Montgomery

Is Rosalind Russell British?

(I think Errol Flynn was New Zealand)

 

Personally, there could be a list just for those born in NYC.

 

 

[chaya bat woof woof]

Why didn't anyone include Denzel Washington?  

Also, Norman Lloyd

Jeff Bridges (his Dad, Lloyd Nolan, was in a great Noir Film shown on TCM)

 

[chaya bat woof woof]

Was wrong about Flynn - Australia is correct.

[Sepiatone]

9 minutes ago, chaya bat woof woof said:

Why didn't anyone include Denzel Washington?  

Also, Norman Lloyd

Jeff Bridges (his Dad, Lloyd Nolan, was in a great Noir Film shown on TCM)

 

Well,you DID only allow room for 15.  And while many here(me too) like those three well enough, they probably didn't come to mind quick enough.  And as for Denzel and Bridges, when we here( a "classic" movie board) get into "classic" mode,we tend to omit newer, younger actors. 

Sepiatone

[jamesjazzguitar]

1 hour ago, Sepiatone said:

I thought of that too, but as she made most of her movies in America, and/or for American film studios, I think most consider her an American actress.  And Ireland is one word.  

Sepiatone

The question of the criteria of what is an  Name-the-Country ACTOR  was discussed in another thread related to George Sanders,   and the sisters,  DeHavilland \ Fontaine and if they are "British" actors.

E.g. is the ONLY criteria that one was \ is an American citizen?  (and even this can be debated because what if the actor only became an American citizen late in their career or after retiring?).

 OR is the criteria that one lived in America and made 90% or more of their films in America,  for American studios?      (Flynn and Grant are American ACTORS then)

OR is the criteria based on the citizenship of their parents   (Olivia and Joan being British but NOT Sanders,  since his parents were mostly German)

Or is the criteria based on the citizenship of the actor at birth  (Olivia and Joan British but NOT Sanders who was born in Russia).  

OR etc...  

I'm using the more wide-open criteria of American ACTOR,   stressing the ACTOR part,  as being where the actor lived,   and if they made 90% of films in America for American studios.

But I can understand why some would reject this and stress the AMERICAN part (or BRITISH);    I.e. the citizenship or heritage aspect.

 

 

 

[TopBilled]

6 minutes ago, jamesjazzguitar said:

The question of the criteria of what is an  Name-the-Country ACTOR  was discussed in another thread related to George Sanders,   and the sisters,  DeHavilland \ Fontaine and if they are "British" actors.

E.g. is the ONLY criteria that one was \ is an American citizen?  (and even this can be debated because what if the actor only became an American citizen late in their career or after retiring?).

 OR is the criteria that one lived in America and made 90% or more of their films in America,  for American studios?      (Flynn and Grant are American ACTORS then)

OR is the criteria based on the citizenship of their parents   (Olivia and Joan being British but NOT Sanders,  since his parents were mostly German)

Or is the criteria based on the citizenship of the actor at birth  (Olivia and Joan British but NOT Sanders who was born in Russia).  

OR etc...  

I'm using the more wide-open criteria of American ACTOR,   stressing the ACTOR part,  as being where the actor lived,   and if they made 90% of films in America for American studios.

But I can understand why some would reject this and stress the AMERICAN part (or BRITISH);    I.e. the citizenship or heritage aspect.

This discussion gets more interesting when we look at someone like Ida Lupino. She started in British films, but from 1934 on, she was in Hollywood where she remained. She became a U.S. citizen in the late 1940s. Two of her three husbands were American men, notably Howard Duff. Her daughter's an American. She never went back to make movies or TV shows in Britain. She basically became a full-fledged American.

[jamesjazzguitar]

11 minutes ago, TopBilled said:

This discussion gets more interesting when we look at someone like Ida Lupino. She started in British films, but from 1934 on, she was in Hollywood where she remained. She became a U.S. citizen in the late 1940s. Two of her three husbands were American men, notably Howard Duff. Her daughter's an American. She never went back to make movies or TV shows in Britain. She basically became a full-fledged American.

Ida Lupino is a great example of how 'this' (the criteria each of us uses to define \ place an actor),   is interesting.     She is a 'classic' example of why Wiki takes the safe route and calls actors like Lupino,  De Havilland,  and Fontaine 'British \ American' actors.     (but if pushed to give a definitive reply I would say all 3 are 'American' since the vast majority of the films they made were American,  they lived in America during most of their film career (ok,  Olivia in France later in her career),   and they all became American citizens  (Olivia in 1941 and  Joan in 1943).

Of course like we discussed in that other thread neither of us are saying WE define this criteria.   Hey that is what makes this interesting,  people can agree to disagree.