The Greatest Screen Performances of All Time

The Greatest Screen Performances of All Time

In making the following list of the greatest screen performances of all time, almost all major actors and actresses globally in the leading or supporting roles were evaluated. The greatest performances are colored in red, great performances in green and if needed in ranking and differentiating between performances, the good performances that colored in blue were also considered. One sole greatest performance could not include in this greatest 100 screen performance of all time, but a career of such superb acting. But such great performances though not in this list are acknowledged here: Vanessa Redgrave in Julia, Anne Bancroft in Graduate, Ezzatolah Entezami in The Cow, Ali MacGraw in Love Story, John Turturro in Barton Fink, John Gazale in Dog day afternoon, Peter Finch in Network, Sylvester Stallone in Rocky, Christopher Walken in The Deer Hunter, Nastassja Kinski in Tess, Kevin Klein in Sophie’s choice, Nicholas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas, Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket, Kevin Costner in Dances with wolves, Willem Dafoe in The Last Temptation of Christ, Winona Ryder in Girl, Interrupted, Juliette Lewis in Natural Born Killers, Jennifer Jason Leigh in Single white female, Woody Harrelson in Natural Born Killers, Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade, Roberto Benigni in Life is beautiful, Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted, Will Smith in Ali, Jamie Foxx in Ray, Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose, and Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl.

*Ranking*	*Points*	*Actor/Actress*	*For the Films*
1	50	*Marlon Brando*	*A streetcar named Desire/* *Julius Caesar/On the waterfront/The wild one/ Guys and Dolls / Viva Zapata/The Godfather/* *Last Tango in Paris/A dry white season/ The young lions/* Apocalypse now/ The Formula/ The island of Dr. Moreau**
2	46	*Robert De Niro*	*Mean Streets/* *The Godfather Part II/ Taxi driver/* *New York, New York/* *The Deer Hunter/* *Raging Bull/* *The King of Comedy/* *Once upon a time in America/ The Mission/ The Untouchables/ Goodfellas/ Awakenings/Cape Fear*
3	42	*Al Pacino*	*The Godfather/* *Serpico/ The Godfather Part II/ Dog day afternoon/* *And justice for all/ Scarface/* *The Godfather Part III/* *Scent of a woman/* *Carlito’s Way/* *Donnie Brasco/ The devil’s advocate*
4	38	*Charles Chaplin*	*The Kid/The Gold Rush /* *The Circus/ City lights/Modern Times/The Great Dictator/* Monsieur Verdoux/ Limelight /A King in New York**
5	36	*Orson Welles:*	*Citizen Kane/Macbeth/ The Third Man/* *Othello/King Lear/ Moby Dick/* Touch of Evil/ Chimes at midnight**
6	34	*Toshiro Mifune*	*Drunken Angel/* *Rashomon/* *Seven Samurai/ Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto/*** Throne of blood/ The hidden fortress/ Yojimbo/ Sanjuro/ Red beard
7	32	*Dustin Hoffman*	*The Graduate/* *Midnight cowboy/* *Little Big Man/* *Papillion/* *Kramer vs. Kramer/* *Tootsie/* *Death of a Salesman/* *Rain Man*
8	32	*Meryl Streep*	*Deer Hunter/Kramer vs. Kramer/* The French Lieutenant’s Woman/ Silkwood/ Sophie’s choice/ Out of Africa/ Death becomes her/ Ironweed/ The Bridges of Madsion County/ The Hours/ Doubt/ Adaptation/ Julie & Julia/ The Iron Lady**
9	32	*Daniel Day-Lewis*	*The Unbearable Lightness of Being/* *My left foot/* *The last of the Mohicans/ The Age of Innocence/ In the name of the father/ The Boxer/ Gangs of New York/ There will be Blood/ Nine/ Lincoln/ Phantom Thread*
10	28	*Jack Nicholson*	*Easy Rider/* *Five Easy Pieces/ Chinatown/One flew over the Cuckoo’s nest/* The Shinning/ The postman always rings twice/Hoffa/ As good as it gets**
11	24	*Henry Fonda*	*Jezebel/Jess James/Young Mr. Lincoln/* *The grapes of wrath/* *My darling Celmentine/12 angry men/ Once upon a time in the west/* *On Golden Pond*
12	24	*Ingrid Bergman*	*Casablanca/For the whom the bell tolls/* Gaslight/ Spellbound/The bells of St. Mary/Anastasia/ Notorious/ Autumn Sonata/ Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words**
13	22	*Leonardo Di Caprio*	*What’s eating Gilbert Grape/* *Titanic/ Gangs of New York/* *The Aviator/* *The Departed/* *Shutter Island/The Revenanat***
14	21	*Jean Gabin*	*La Grand illusion/ Pepe le Moko/La bête humanie/* Le jour se leve/Le plaisir**
15	19	*Humphrey Bogart*	*Casablanca/to have and have not/The Big Sleep/* *The treasure of Sierra Madre The African Queen/* *Sabrina*
16	19	*Liv Ullmann*	*Shame/Persona/The passion of Anna/* Cries and Whispers/ Autumn Sonata/ Saraband**
17	18	*Laurence Olivier*	*Wuthering heights/* *Henry V/* *Hamlet/* *Richard III/* *Othello*
18	17	*Katharine Hepburn*	*The African Queen/* *Guess who’s coming to dinner/* *The Lion in the winter/* *On Golden Pond/* *Suddenly last summer*
19	17	*Elizabeth Taylor*	*Cat on a hot tin roof/* *Cleopatra/ Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?/ Butterfield 8/The taming of the shrew*
20	17	*Max von Sydow*	*The seventh seal/ The virgin spring/Through a glass darkly/Shame/Winter Light/Hour of the Wolf/ The passion of Anna/ The exorcist/Pelle the Conqueror*
21	15	*James Dean*	*Rebel without a cause/* *East of Eden/* *Giant*
22	15	*Robert Mitchum*	*Out of the past/* *The Night of the Hunter/* *Cape fear(1962)/* *The Yakuza*
23	14	*Vivien Leigh*	*Gentlemen’s agreement/Gone with the wind/ A streetcar named Desire***
24	14	*Buster Keaton*	*Sherlock Jr./The General/The Cameraman***
25	14	*Jack Lemon*	*Some like it hot/* *The apartment/* *Save the Tiger*
26	14	*Bela Lugosi*	*Dracula/The Black Cat* /Son of Frankenstein**
27	14	*Boris Karloff*	*Frankenstein/The Bride of* *Frankenstein/* *Son of Frekenstein*
28	14	Gunnar Bjorstrand	*The seventh seal/ Wild Strawberries/The virgin spring/Through a glass darkly/Winter Light/Shame/Fanny and Alexander***
29	14	*Faye Dunaway*	*Bonnie and Clyde/ Chinatown /* *Network*
30	13	*Bette Davis*	*Jezebel/All about Eve/* Whatever happened to baby Jane?**
31	13	*Warren Beatty*	*Splendor in the grass/* *Bonnie and Clyde/ Reds*
32	13	*Anthony Hopkins*	*The Elephant Man/The silence of the Lambs/* Nixon**

33	13	*Hilary Swank*	*Boys don’t Cry/* *Million dollar baby/* *Amelia*
34	13	*Russell Crowe*	*Gladiator/* *A Beautiful Mind/ Cinderella Man*
35	13	*Ingrid Thulin*	*Wild strawberries/* *The Silence/* *Winter Light/* *Hour of the Wolf/* *Cries and Whispers*
36	13	*Anna Magnani*	*Rome, Open City/ The Rose Tattoo* */The Fugitive Kind / Mamma Roma/L’Amore*
37	13	*Audrey Hepburn*	*Roman holiday/* *Sabrina/ War and peace/ Funny face/ Breakfast at Tiffany’s/ Charade/* *My Fair Lady/* *Wait until dark*
38	13	*James Stewart*	*You can’t take it with you/* *It’s a wonderful life/The Philadelphia Story/* Rear window/ Vertigo/ Anatomy of a murder**
39	13	Tom Hanks	*Philadelphia/Forest Gump/* Apollo 13/ Saving private Ryan/ The Green Mile/ Cast Away/ Road to Perdition**
40	13	*Monica Vitti*	*L’Avventura/* *La Notte/* *L’Eclisse/Red Desert/ The girl with the pistol***
41	13	*Cary Grant*	*The awful truth/* *Bringing up baby/ Arsenic and old lace/ Notorious/ To catch a thief/An affair to remember/* *North by Northwest/* *Charade*
42	12	*Marx Brothers*	*Duck soup/ A night at the opera*
43	12	*Gene Kelly*	*An American in Paris/Singin’ in the rain*
44	12	*Sophia Loren*	*Two women/* *Yesterday, today and tomorrow/* *Marriage Italian style/Man of La Mancha***
45	12	*Marlene Dietrich*	*The Blue Angel/The devil is a woman/ Shanghai Express /Touch of Evil/Desire*
46	12	*Yves Montand*	*The wages of fear/ Z/* Le Circle Rouge/State of Siege**
47	12	*Bibi Andersson*	*The seventh seal/* *Wild strawberries/* *Persona/* *The passion of Anna*
48	12	Brigitte Bardot	*And God created woman/The Truth/* Contempt/ Viva Maria**
49	12	*Montgomery Clift*	*A Place in the Sun/From here to eternity/* Judgment at Nuremberg/ Freud: The secret passion**
50	12	*Jean-Louis Trintignant*	*And God created woman/* *A man and a woman/Z/ Three Colors: Red/ Amour*
51	12	*Greta Garbo*	*Anna Christie/ Grand Hotel/* *Anna Karenina/ Camille/* *Ninotchka*
52	12	*Peter O’Toole*	*Lawrence of Arabia/* *Becket/* *The lion in the winter/* *Man of La Mancha*
53	12	*Kirk Douglas*	*Out of the past/Ace in the hole/Paths of glory/Spartacus***
54	12	*Erich von Stroheim*	*Intolerance/Greed/La Grand illusion/* Sunset Boulevard**
55	12	*Diane Keaton*	*The Godfather/The Godfather Part II/* Annie Hall/ Manhattan/ Reds**
56	12	Mia Farrow	*Rosemary’s baby/* *Hannah and her sisters/* *September/ Crimes and Misdemeanors/ Shadows and Fog*
57	12	*Burt Lancaster*	*The Killers/From here to eternity/* Elmer Gantry/ Birdman of Alcatraz/ The Leopard/ Atlantic City**
58	12	*Catherine Deneuve*	*The umbrellas of Cherbourg/* *Repulsion/* *Belle de Jour/* *Tristana/* *The last metro/ Indochine*

59	12	*Joan Crawford*	*Mildred Pierce/Possessed/Sudden Fear/Grand Hotel/Autumn Leaves/ Whatever happened to baby Jane?***
60	12	*Robin Williams*	*The World according to Garp/ Good Morning Vietnam/ Dead poets society/ Awakenings/Mrs. Doubtfire/ Good will hunting***
61	12	*Richard Burton*	*The robe/Cleopatra/Camelot/Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?/The taming of the shrew/ Doctor Faustus/* Nineteen-Eighty-Four**
62	12	*Paul Newman*	*Cat on a hot tin roof/ Sweet bird of youth/ Torn Curtain/* Cool Hand Luke/ Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid/The Verdict/ Road to Perdition**
63	12	*John Wayne*	*Stagecoach/* *Red River/ Rio Grande/The quiet man/* The Searchers/ The man who shot Liberty Valance/ The Sands of Iwo Jima/True Grit/The Shootist**
64	12	*Claudia Cardinale*	*Rocco and his brothers/Un maledetto imbroglio/8 1/2/* *Il bell’Antonio/Girl with a suitcase/The Leopard/ Lost command/ The Pink Panther/* *Nell’anno del Signore/I guappi/Once upon a time in the west*

65	11	*Marcello Mastroianni*	*La Dolce Vita/La Notte/8 1/2/* Yesterday, today and tomorrow**
66	11	*Grace Kelly*	*High Noon/Dial M for Murder/Rear window/To catch a thief*
67	11	*Steve McQueen*	*The Great Escape/ The sand pebbles/Bullitt/ Papillion*
68	11	*Marilyn Monroe*	*The asphalt jungle/ Gentlemen prefer blondes/The seven year itch/ Some like it hot*
69	11	*Anthony Quinn*	*La Strada/ Viva Zapata/ Barabbas/ Zorba the Greek*
70	11	*Jane Fonda*	*They shoot horses, don’t they?/ Klute/ Julia/ On Golden Pond*
71	11	*Alain Delon*	*Rocco and his brothers/ L’Eclisse/ Le Samurai/ Le cercle rouge*
72	11	*Rita Hayworth*	*Gilda/Only angles have wings/The lady from Shanghai/Separate tables*
73	11	*Jean-Paul Belmondo*	*Breathless/ A woman is a woman/ Pierrot le fou/ Les Miserables*
74	11	*Jodie Foster*	*Taxi driver/ The Accused/ The silence of the Lambs/ Contact*
75	11	*Kate Winslet*	*Sense and sensibility/ Hamlet/ Titanic/ The Life of David Gale/ The Reader*
76	11	*Nicole Kidman*	*To Die For/ Eyes Wide Shut/ Moulin Rouge/ The Hours*
77	11	*Gary Oldman*	*Leon: The Professional/ Immortal beloved/Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy/ Darkest Hour*
78	11	*Michael Caine*	*Alfie/ The man who would be King/ The Cider House Rules/ Harry Brown*
79	11	*Gerard Depardieu*	*1900/ The last metro/ Mon oncle d’Amerique/ Under the Sun of Satan/ Cyrano de Bergerac*
80	11	*Jeremy Irons*	*The French Lieutenant’s Woman/ The Mission/ Reversal of Fortune/ Damage*
81	11	*Juliet Binoche*	*The Unbearable Lightness of Being/ Damage/ Three Colors: Blue/ The English Patient/ Chocolat*
82	11	*Joaquin Phoenix*	*Gladiator/ Walk the Line /We own the night/Her/Joker*
83	11	*Judy Garland*	*The wizard of Oz/ Meet Me in St. Louis/ A star is born*
84	10	*Gloria Swanson*	*Sadie Thompson/ The trespasser/ Sunset Boulevard*
85	10	*Julie Andrews*	*Mary Poppins/ The sound of music/ Torn Curtain*
86	10	*Sidney Poitier*	*Lilies of the field/ In the heat of the night/ Guess who’s coming to dinner*
87	10	*Natalie Wood*	*Rebel without a cause/ West side story/ Splendor in the grass*
88	10	*Ginger Rogers*	*42^nd Street/Top Hat/ Swing time/Kitty Foyle*
89	10	*Kathy Bates*	*Misery/Shadows and Fog/ Fried Green Tomatoes/ Dolores Clairborne*
90	10	*Natalie Portman*	*Leon: The Professional/The other Boleyn girl/ Black Swan/ Jackie*
91	10	*Sean Penn*	*Casualties of War/ Dead Man Walking/ I am Sam/ Mystic river/21 Grams*
92	10	*Philip Seymour Hoffman*	*The Talented Mr. Ripley/ Magnolia/ Almost Famous/ Capote/ Doubt*
93	10	*Michael Douglas*	*Wall Street/ Basic instinct/ Falling down/Traffic*
94	10	*Johnny Depp*	Edward Scissorhands/ What’s eating Gilbert Grape/ Don Juan DeMarco/Donnie Brasco/ Pirates of the Caribbean: The curse of the black pearl:Dead Man’s Chest/ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/ Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of the Fleet Street/ Alice in Wonderland
95	10	*Lee J. Cobb*	Tn the waterfront/*12 angry men/* *The exorcist*
96	8	*Fred Astaire*	*Top Hat/ Swing time***
97	8	*John Gazale*	*The Godfather Part II/ Dog day afternoon/ The Deer Hunter*