Top 10 Greatest Actors (and the Film they Performed Best In)
 

1. Takashi Shimura - Ikiru
2. Ulrich Muhe - Funny Games
3. James Dean - Rebel Without a Cause
4. Anna Karina - Pierrot le Fou
5. Robert DeNiro - Taxi Driver
6. Albert Finney - Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
7. Humphrey Bogart - The Maltese Falcon
8. Gloria Swanson - Sunset Blvd.
9. Toshiru Mifune - Seven Samurai
10. Max von Sydow - The Seventh Seal

These are who I believe to be the ten greatest actors, with their greatest films attached. Some have been in many films, some have been in few, I believe however that all of these players have made an impact be it culturally or historically with one or many of their roles.

Re: Top 10 Greatest Actors (and the Film they Performed Best In)
 

Considering the topic of your thread, very strange list...JMO.

Re: Top 10 Greatest Actors (and the Film they Performed Best In)
 

I know my list is inaccurate, it would take me quite a long time to think about this., but here goes..

Marlon Brando (On The Waterfront)
Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman)
Robert DeNiro (Taxi Driver)
Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest)
Guileta Masina (La Strada)
Peter Finch (Network)
Dustin Hoffman (Kramer vs. Kramer)
Warren Beatty (McCabe and Mrs. Miller)
Henry Fonda (Grapes of Wrath)
Humphrey Bogart (Treasure of the Sierra Madre)

It is quite strange, though I do strongly believe that they are the ten greatest actors of all time. As I said with some of them a single role has solidified that place due to the sheer magnitude of that role, whereas some have performed consistently well throughout their careers. Maybe I am attached to these actors on a personal level also, as they do star in some of my favorite films. As you stated this subject is very much down to opinion, none can be disregarded, though none can be regarded as absolute, I just feel if I had to name the top ten actors for me it would be the people I selected :)

Re: Top 10 Greatest Actors (and the Film they Performed Best In)
 

Robert De Niro - Taxi Driver
Al Pacino - The Godfather
Jack Nicholson - Five Easy Pieces
Humphrey Bogart - Casablanca
Marlon Brando - The Godfather
James Stewart - Vertigo
Warren Beatty - McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Orson Welles - Citizen Kane
Cary Grant - North by Northwest
Julianne Moore - Boogie Nights

Something like that.

Re: Top 10 Greatest Actors (and the Film they Performed Best In)
 

Oops.. I put the 10 best performances, but this is hard to distinguish sometimes... Distinguishing a great role, writing, directing, etc etc...

Orson Welles was great in Citizen Kane, forgot about that...

Oh, and a top 5 of all-time... Daniel-Day Lewis in "There Will Be Blood"

I can certainly think of more than just 10, but...

Charles Laughton....Mutiny on the Bounty
Lionel Barrymore...The Devil Doll
Edward G Robinson...Soylent Green
Humphrey Bogart...In a Lonely Place
Richard Widmark...Pickup on South Street
Dan Duryea...Black Angel
Henry Fonda....The Lady of Eve
James Dean...East of Eden
Marlon Brando...A Street Car Named Desire
James Stewart...The Shop Around the Corner

Re: Top 10 Greatest Actors (and the Film they Performed Best In)
 

I would give Ulrich Mühe's best role as The Lives of Others. Such a controlled, yet moving performance.

Re: Top 10 Greatest Actors (and the Film they Performed Best In)
 

Did I forget, Laurence Olivier....That Hamilton Woman

Re: Top 10 Greatest Actors (and the Film they Performed Best In)
 

1.Edward Norton (American History X)
2.Jack Nicholson (The Shining)
3.Kevin Spacey (American Beauty)
4.Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond)
5.Jake Gyllenhaal (Zodiac & Donnie Darko)
6.Mark Wahlberg (Boogie Nights & Lone Survivor)
7.Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver)
8.Johnny Depp (Pirates Of The Caribbean & Ed Wood)
9.Christian Bale (The Prestige & The Dark Knight Trilogy)
10.Brad Pitt (Fight Club)


A Personnal Favorite Top 10

In no particular order:

Deniro - Taxi Driver
Bogart - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Grant - His Girl Friday
Pacino - Dog Day Afternoon
Mifune - Seven Samurai
Nicholson - Five Easy Pieces
Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Hoffman - Midnight Cowboy
Brando - On The Waterfront
O'Toole - Lawrence of Arabia

Re: Top 10 Greatest Actors (and the Film they Performed Best In)
 

Hayden Christensen- Star Wars Prequels

Re: Top 10 Greatest Actors (and the Film they Performed Best In)
 

Where are the actresses???
Some of my favorites:

Marie Riviere - The Green Ray
Setsuko Hara - Late Spring & Late Autumn
Kay Francis - Trouble in Paradise
Juliet Berto - Out 1 & Celine and Julie Go Boating
Julie Delpy - Before Sunset
Delphine Seyrig - Jeanne Dielman
Juliette Binoche - Certified Copy
Ana Torrent - Spirit of the Beehive
Marlene Dietrich - The Scarlett Empress
Maria Falconetti - The Passion of Joan of Arc

More for their body of work than speciific ability and the best movie they were in (even if it was a small role)...

1. Nobuo Nakamura - Equinox Flower
2. Bruno Ganz - Downfall
3. Kyoko Kagawa - High & Low
4. Ben Gazzara - Dogville
5. Setsuko Hara - Late Spring
6. Chishu Ryu - Late Spring
7. Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence
8. Julie Delpy - Before Midnight
9. Tatsuya Nakadai - High & Low
10. Diane Keaton - The Godfather: Part II

Where are the actresses?'

Bette Davis...The Catered Affair
Joan Crawford...The Damned Don't Cry
Claudette Colbert...Imitation of Life
Katherine Hepburn...The African Queen
Paulette Goodard...The Ghost Breakers
Vernocia Lake...This Gun for Hire
Greata Garbo...Ninotchka
Greer Garson...Mrs.Miniver
Oliva DeHaviland...The Snake Pit
Vivian Leigh....Gone With the Wind

How about only actresses not from America or Japan ;)

1. Julie Delpy - Before Midnight
2. Zhang Ziyi - Hero
3. Liv Ullman - Persona
4. Nicole Kidman - Dogville
5. Maggie Cheung - In the Mood For Love
6. Juliette Binoche - Cache
7. Cara Seymour - Dancer in the Dark
8. Anna Paquin - The Piano
9. Gong Li - 2046
10. Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

Re: Top 10 Greatest Actors (and the Film they Performed Best In)
 

IDK about top ten but ..

Barbara Stanwyck - Double Indemnity
Brad Pitt - Kalifornia
Gary Oldman - True Romance
Deniro - Ranging Bull
Brando - Apoc Now

Agree with these, but I haven't really seen them in anything else, so I didn't include them.