53 thoughts on “April 20th – Top 25 AFI Actor Rankings By UMR Commenters”

1. In my case, I limited my list of favorite actors to 40, as I found that beyond that, there were many actors I liked, but few that I felt particularly strongly about:

   Top 15, roughly in order of preference:

   1. James Garner
   2. Burt Lancaster
   3. Henry Fonda
   4. Sean Connery
   5. Kirk Douglas
   6. Gregory Peck
   7. Steve McQueen
   8. Robert Mitchum
   9. Sidney Poitier
   10. William Holden
   11. James Mason
   12. Charles Bronson
   13. Cary Grant
   14. Michael Caine
   15. Cliff Robertson

   Next 25 in alphabetical order:

   Humphrey Bogart
   Marlon Brando
   Charlie Chaplin
   Montgomery Clift
   James Coburn
   Robert de Niro
   Clint Eastwood
   Peter Falk
   Glenn Ford
   Gene Hackman
   Charlton Heston
   William Hurt
   Charles Laughton
   Jack Lemmon
   Walter Matthau
   Bill Murray
   Don Murray
   Jack Nicholson
   Robert Ryan
   Peter Sellers
   Rod Steiger
   James Stewart
   Rod Taylor
   Spencer Tracy
   Richard Widmark

   1. Hi Phil. Interesting list, we seem to have similar favorites. especially in the top 15. Good to see Heston and Bronson haven’t been forgotten

      The odd one out of your top 40 in my opinion is Don Murray, I only remember him from a couple of films – Bus Stop and Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. Why did you pick him over say – Paul Newman or Robert Redford?

      I’m still mulling over doing my own list of favorite actors. I’m frankly not that crazy over any of them. [stop being lazy Steve and make a list] hmm can I post a list of favorite Star Trek episodes instead? 😉

      1. Oh, Steve, you are a nut, but we love you. 🙂

   2. Thanks for sharing your list of top 40 Actors Phil. I was tempted to do part of my list in alphabetical order, but decided to go all out and order them all. This is the first Rod Taylor and Peter Falk (love him) included. I am familiar with both their careers.

      1. Thanks Flora and Steve for taking a look at my list and your comments.

         Steve, you have a point about Don Murray, he’s hardly a star as compared to most of the others. Hard to say how these preferences develop as many of them evolved when I was much younger and had less critical judgment. I first liked Murray in some TV series and films, and then became interested in the early part of his film career, when he was a promising and fairly successful leading man. After playing Marilyn Monroe’s beau in Bus Stop, he made some interesting films, including A Hatful of Rain, The Batchelors Party, Shake Hands With the Devil, The Hoodloom’s Priest, and Advise and Consent (my favourite of his fims). Afterwards, his career went pretty much downhill. I guess I always had an interest in the careers of some of these smaller stars because one hears less about them. I like Paul Newman and recognize his awesome career but his performances leave me a little cold. I prefer Robert Redford and he almost made my list.
         Go ahead with the Star Trek episodes!

   3. Hey SteinHOF17.
      1. James Garner number one? Very cool. I think he is the reason you found this website.
      2. One of our website highlights is his daughter Gigi finding and sharing our page on her tribute page to her dad.
      3. Of your Top 15 we have pages on everybody but Robertson.
      4. Of the next 25, we have pages on everybody but Don Murray. 38 out of 40 is pretty good.
      Fun list to look at. Thanks for sharing it.

   4. PhilHOF17, love Garner #1, he would be top 10 if I considered television(Maverick AND Rockford). good job with Coburn , Falk, Mason and Hurt. great list . well organized and no fluff, just your 40 favorites, good job. Thanks for sharing.

      1. Hey bobcox…..good breakdown of Phil’s Top 40.

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