#1, Robert De Niro

Actor: Robert De Niro

#1 Film: Raging Bull (1980)

4 other top films: #2, The Godfather Part II (1974), #3, Taxi Driver (1976), #4, The Deer Hunter (1978), #5, Goodfellas (1990)

Critique: Reaching out into the stardom of film, Robert De Niro has showed me throughout his film career that he deserves to be the #1 actor of all time not because of his acting but because the amount of films he has produced that have been great. In his best film, Raging Bull, De Niro takes on to me his hardest, yet most impressive role as Jake La Motta and executes it to technicolor. In another premiere role as cabbie Travis Bickle, De Niro proves to me to what level he could take his acting to. As an actor, Robert De Niro has always exemplified to me that he is the best actor of all time because of everything he has proved throughout his career. Because De Niro has the sort of gangster look to him he has been able to take on his mob roles to the extreme acting as, young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, Al Capone in The Untouchables, Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas, and many more. Robert De Niro does not just act, he creates a platform to which he acts to. Acting to perfection throughout his films, Robert De Niro, is a hero to young actors to look up to and watch films about because they learn how great one man is able to act when he pushes himself to the ultimate limit and that is why he is #1 on the countdown.

Recognitions: Robert De Niro has been nominated for 6 Academy Awards and has won two, for Best Actor in Raging Bull, and for Best Supporting Actor in The Godfather Part II. De Niro has also been nominated for 8 Golden Globes, but has only won 1 for his performance in Raging Bull.

#2, Tom Hanks

Actor: Tom Hanks

#1 Film: Forrest Gump (1994)

4 other top films: #2, Philadelphia (1993), #3, Saving Private Ryan (1998), #4, Big (1988), #5, Apollo 13 (1995)

Critique: Some people say Tom Hanks is the greatest actor of all time, others think he shouldn't be named in the top ten actors of all time. To me when you make a difference and you act differently from other actors you are great cause you create your own style of acting. I consider Forrest Gump one of the greatest pictures of all time, the reason why it is such a complete and dynamic film is because of role Tom Hanks plays in it, without Tom Hanks there would be no Forrest Gump. It could be easy to say that Forrest Gump defines Tom Hanks cause it does, he performs to the best level of acting I've ever seen in film, and he does to such a level of perfection it is stupendous. Tom Hanks not only performs great in that film, but also in Philadelphia as Andrew Beckett he is extraordinarily original and comparing his performance in Forrest Gump to his performance in Philadelphia one can see how he can be such a versatile actor. So that is why I state everytime when talking about great actors the name of Tom Hanks because he just doesn't regular acts, he adopts his roles and plays them as he would in real life. Tom Hanks may not be one of the better actors, but to the caliber which he comes and performs in every film he should be.

Recognitions: Tom Hanks has been nominated for 5 Academy Awards and has won 2 for Forrest Gump and Philadelphia. Hanks has also been nominated for 7 Golden Globes including 4 wins for his performances in Big, Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and Philadelphia.

#3, Dustin Hoffman

Actor: Dustin Hoffman

#1 Film: Rain Man (1988)

4 other top films: #2, Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), #3, Tootsie (1982), #4, The Graduate (1967), #5, Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Critique: Dustin Hoffman has been gracing us with his presence in film for more than 4 decades showing us what he is capable of performing and to what level he is able to do it to. Let me just state now that while doing his top 5 best films, I had to exclude some extraordinary films. So now I give Honorable Mention to Hoffman's performances in John and Mary (1969), Lenny (1974), All the President's Men (1976), Marathon Man (1976), and Wag the Dog (1997). As you see and listen to Hoffman act, you will begin to notice the fact that he never stops performing great. In Rain Man he never fails to stop the level to which he is performing to in the film and is always persistent getting every line right down to the tip. So when you think of the perfect actor and all the right tools he needs to make himself excellent in a movie, everybody in the film industry wants a someone like a Dustin Hoffman, someone who never complains and comes in and does what they need to get done to perfection. This leads you to the assumption, that Dustin Hoffman could easily be the greatest actor of all time, yes it is true he has a exceptional track record and does his roles almost spotless, but the reason he is not #1 on my list is because he has failed to win Academy Awards. Hoffman has only been able to win a Academy award twice out of his 7 Best Actor nominations.

Recognitions: Dustin Hoffman has been nominated for 7 Academy Awards, and has won two for his performances in Rain Man and Kramer vs. Kramer. Hoffman has also been nominated for 11 Golden Globes and 9 BAFTA Awards. He is mostly recognized for his first appearance and one of his best performances in The Graduate.

#4, Jack Nicholson

Actor: Jack Nicholson

#1 Film: As Good As it Gets (1997)

4 other top films: #2, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), #3, Chinatown (1974), #4, About Schmidt (2002), #5, Prizzi's Honor (1985)

Critique: As I arrive to the top 5 actors in the

countdown, I begin to see more and more excellence. Today as I was doing Jack Nicholson's top films, I noticed neither of them are bad in any way whatsoever. Jack Nicholson's performances throughout the years emphasize the fact that an actor grows to become better by coming out with more films a year.

Recognitions: Jack Nicholson has been nominated for 11 Academy awards and has won 3 of them for his performances in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, As Good as it Gets, and Terms of Endearment (1983). Nicholson has also been nominated for 16 Golden Globes and has won 6 of them.

#5, Al Pacino

Actor: Al Pacino

#1 Film: The Godfather Trilogy (1972,1974, and 1990)

4 other top films: #2, Scent of a Woman (1992), #3, Scarface (1983), #4, Serpico (1983), #5, Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Critique: When an actor is defined by three films, it pretty much spells out greatness. What Al Pacino has established in film is unaccounted for from his performance as Michael Corleone to Tony Montana, Al Pacino gives his best everytime he is on the big screen. Shortly after his Godfather debut was Pacino recognized by the film industry as a great actor. Even though he has only won one award for Best Actor, Al Pacino has been able to demonstrate professionally to what means a actor could reach.

Recognitions: Al Pacino has been nominated for 8 Academy Awards and 14 Golden Globes. He won the academy award for his role as Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman , and has won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his performances in Scent of a Woman, and Serpico.

#6, Johnny Depp

Actor: Johnny Depp

#1 Film: Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

4 other top films: #2, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2008), #3, Finding Neverland (2004), #4, Edward Scissorhands (1990), #5, Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Critique: For 25 years now, Johnny Depp has been gracing us with his presence on the big screen. His daily work in and out of the office requires no effort whatsoever and yet it still continues to be excellent. Pirates of the Carribean: The Dead Man's Chest , is ranked 4th overall in the all time box office and was primarily seen for Johnny Depp's performance in it. Starting in 1984 with A Nightmare on Elm Street to continuing now with Public Enemies Johnny Depps' performances are truly masterpieces.

Recognitions: Johnny Depp has been nominated for eight academy awards and has only won 1 for his performance in 2008 for Sweeney Todd . He has also been nominated for 3 academy awards, but unfortunately he has not won any.

#7, Morgan Freeman

Actor: Morgan Freeman

#1 Film: The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

4 other top films: #2, Driving Miss Daisy (1989), #3, Million Dollar Baby (2004), #4, Seven (1995), #5, Street Smart (1987)

Critique: From narration in many films, voicing in many films, and acting in many films, Morgan Freeman has changed the thought of acting in various different ideals. In by far his best performance ever in The Shawshank Redemption , Morgan Freeman plays his character Red to perfection.

Recognitions: Morgan Freeman has been nominated for 4 academy awards and 4 Golden Globes. He has won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his performance in Driving Miss Daisy.