Let us take a closer look at the stars of Hollywood from the 1980s who gave us films that will live long in our memories, changed what it means to be a star, and became standards of coolness worldwide. Let us do this because they gave us films that will live long in our memories.
It’s possible that you still recognize many of these familiar names, but there are a few unsung heroes who also deserve to be remembered. We can’t let go of remembering them.
Here is the list of 50 Famous 90s actors:
1. Robert De Niro – Top 90s Actors
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. is a well-known American actor and producer. He was born in the United States on August 17, 1943.
He is most recognized for his nine collaborations with filmmaker Martin Scorsese.
He received two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
2. Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke is an American actor and former boxer born on September 16, 1952. He is known chiefly as a leading man in dramatic, action, and thriller films.
In 2005, he was honored with accolades from the Online Film Critics Society, the Irish Film and Television Awards, and the Chicago Film Critics Association.
In 2008, Rourke got a nomination for the Academy Award in the Best Actor category, in addition to winning the Golden Globe Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor.
3. Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was born on May 16, 1905, and died away on August 12, 1982.
He was an American film and theater actor. Over five decades, he was a fixture on Broadway and the Hollywood film scene. Tragically, Fonda left us in 1982.
He received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in 1940. In 1957, he won the British Academy Award for Best Foreign Actor.
During the 54th Annual Academy Awards ceremony in 1981, he was honored with the award for Best Actor.
In 1999, he was named the sixth greatest male film legend of the Golden Age of Hollywood by the American Film Institute.
4. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born in Austria on July 30, 1947, and he has since become a prominent politician, actor, film producer, businessman, and former bodybuilder. Inheritance from both the United States and Austria has shaped his identity.
He served as the 38th governor of California, a position he held from 2003 until 2011.
As of 2022, he is the most recent Republican to serve as California’s governor.
Schwarzenegger has been named one of Time’s 100 most influential persons in the world twice, in 2004 and 2007.
Both the International Sports Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame honored him for his achievements.
5. Eddie Murphy
The American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer Edward Regan Murphy is a household name. On April 3, 1961, he entered this world in the United States.
Comedy Central ranks in the top 100 stand-up comedians. The tenth on that list is Murphy.
Murphy received a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2007. In addition, he also took home the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor.
His film work in 2015 earned him the Performing Arts Award and helped him reach number six on the list of highest-grossing actors in the United States.
His first and only Emmy was given to him in 2020 for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series on the Primetime Emmys.
6. Tom Cruise
American actor and producer Tom Cruise. He goes by Tom Cruise in the entertainment industry, although his name is Thomas Cruise Mapother IV. On July 3, 1962, he entered the world.
He has received several awards for his work and is currently one of the world’s highest-paid artists.
Due to the approximately $11.1 billion in worldwide earnings and almost $4 billion in North American earnings, he is one of the highest-grossing actors in cinematic history.
In recognition of his efforts, Cruise was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and won the Golden Globe.
7. Morgan Freeman
One Morgan Freeman of the United States of America; actor, director, and narrator. On June 1, 1937, he entered the world.
He has an intense voice and has acted in various film genres.
The actor was first considered for an Oscar for Best Actor in 1989.
For his supporting role in Clint Eastwood’s 2004 sports drama “Million Dollar Baby,” Morgan Freeman won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
His portrayal of Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s 2009 film Invictus earned him an Academy Award nomination.
8. Robin Williams
Actor and comedian Robin McLaurin Williams hailed from the United States. On July 21, 1951, he entered this world, and on August 11, 2014, he left it.
Williams’s ability to improvise is often regarded as a significant contributor to his reputation as a comedy great.
Among Williams’ many accolades is an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
In addition, he won six Golden Globes, including one for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Film.
In addition to his two Primetime Emmys and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, he also took home five Grammys.
9. Danny Glover
United States-born actor, filmmaker, and activist Danny Lebern Glover. On July 22, 1946, he entered the world.
In addition, the French Deauville American Film Festival paid tribute to him on September 7, 2011.
In recognition of his efforts in the sphere of humanitarianism, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Glover with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2022.
He’s also up for four Primetime Emmys, one Daytime Emmy, and four Grammys.
10. Harrison Ford
Famous American actor Harrison Ford was born on July 13, 1942.
The film Witness he starred in earned him a nomination for Best Actor at the 58th Academy Awards in 1986. The Golden Globes and the BAFTA nominated him for Best Actor for this performance.
During the 59th Annual Golden Globes that year, he received the Cecil B. DeMille Award, one of the top accolades for a career.
A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was dedicated to Ford on May 30, 2003.
11. Al Pacino
American actor Alfredo James Pacino was born on April 25, 1940.
He has also been recognized for his work in the film business with the National Medal of Arts, the AFI Life Achievement Award, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Pacino has received several honors over his career as an actor, including one Academy Award, nine Golden Globe nominations, and four British Academy Film Award nominations.
12. Anthony Hopkins
On December 31, 1937, Welsh actor, director, and producer Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE was born. There is a CBE on his resume.
In 2018, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
Once he won the Oscar for Best Actor in 2020, he’ll be the oldest person to do it.
13. Jeff Bridges
American actor Jeffrey Leon Bridges was born on December 4, 1949.
He received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1971.
Another Best Supporting Actor nod came his way for his turn opposite Clint Eastwood in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot in 1974.
At this year’s Golden Globes, he was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
14. Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, producer, director, and musician. He arrived in our world on January 18, 1955.
Kevin Costner received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Anthology Series or Movie.
In 1992, he received the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award.
In 2018, he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for his efforts.
Kevin Costner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003.
15. Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is a well-known American actor, director, and producer. He arrived in our world on December 28, 1954.
He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1989 and 2001.
In early 2010, Washington won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.
Washington is just five male artists to get an Academy Award nomination in the five decades since the award’s inception.
16. Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley, a well-known English actor born on December 31st, 1943, has been in the business for over a half-century.
In 1982, he received the Academy Award and the BAFTA for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
In 1993, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominated him for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
In 2002, Kingsley was awarded the title of Knight Bachelor for his contributions to the British film industry.
In 2010, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
17. John Malkovich
John Malkovich is an American actor born on December 9th, 1953.
He received an Obie Award for performing in Steppenwolf’s production of Sam Shepard’s play True West in 1980.
Malkovich got an Emmy Award for his portrayal of this part when the play was adapted for television in early 1982.
For the first time, Malkovich was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor in 1984.
18. Willem Dafoe
Willem James Dafoe, an American actor, was born on July 22, 1955.
He got his first Academy Award nomination in 1985 and his second in 2000. (as Best Supporting Actor).
In 2019, he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor on his first try.
He has received several awards, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, and has been nominated for several more.
19. Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn Martin is a multi-talented American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He was born in the United States on August 14, 1945.
He has five Grammys and a Primetime Emmy, receiving an Honorary Academy Award in 2013.
In addition, he was nominated for two Tony Awards in 2016 for the music he created for the musical Bright Star.
Among his numerous honors is the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Kennedy Center Honors, and the AFI Life Achievement Award.
Martin was named sixth on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians in 2004.
According to The Guardian, he is one of the greatest actors of all time who has never received an Academy Award nomination.
20. Sylvester Stallone
His full name is Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone. However, he is known on set as “Sylvester Enzio Stallone.” His birthday is the 6th of July, 1946.
In 1977, Sylvester Stallone became only the third actor in history to be nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor.
A monument of his fake Rocky stands guard at the place where he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Philadelphia.
In 1984, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
21. Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an accomplished American actor. Ronald Walken was born on March 31, 1943.
Walken has received an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Performers Guild Award for his work in cinema and television.
His films have grossed more than $1.6 billion in revenue in the United States alone.
22. Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain is a well-known actor and vocalist from the United States. He was born in the United States on March 31, 1934.
Chamberlain received the Golden Apple Award in 1962 for being the most cooperative actor. He won the Golden Globe for Male Television Star of the Year in 1963.
A recording of Chamberlain’s performance as Hamlet won him a Grammy nomination. He won the Photoplay Award for Most Popular Male Star three years in a row, from 1962 and 1964.
On March 12, 2011, Chamberlain received the Steiger Award, granted yearly in Germany, for his services to the arts.
23. Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is a well-known actor and producer from the United States. On September 25, 1944, he was born in the United States.
Throughout his career, he has received several significant honors, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, one Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AFI Life Achievement Award.
24. Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson is a well-known retired American actor and director. On April 22, 1937, he was born.
He is widely regarded as one of the most gifted performers of the twentieth century. In numerous films, he played outsiders who rebelled against society’s established order.
Throughout his more than fifty-year career, he received a lot of significant prizes, including three Academy Awards.
25. Richard Dreyfuss
Dreyfuss, Richard Stephen, is a well-known American actor. Dreyfuss was born in the United States on October 29, 1947.
In 1978, Dreyfuss received the Academy Award for Best Actor for his work in The Goodbye Girl. He was 30 years old, making him the youngest actor ever to receive the prize. In 1995, he was also nominated for the prize.
He also received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations in 2002 for his role as former Secretary of State Alexander Haig in the ensemble film The Day Reagan Was Shot, which aired on Showtime Networks.
26. William Hurt
William McChord Hurt was an American actor who lived from March 20, 1950, until March 13, 2022.
He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series to acknowledge his efforts.
In 2011, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his role as Henry Paulson in the HBO drama Too Big to Fail.
Hurt made his Broadway debut in David Rabe’s darkly comedic play Hurlyburly. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his work in the play.
27. Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen Hackman is a well-known former American actor and author. He was born on January 30, 1930.
Hackman’s career has lasted more than six decades. He has received several awards, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs, and one Silver Bear.
27. Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is a well-known American actor and director. He was born in the United States on January 5, 1931.
His acting career has spanned over seven decades, and he is widely regarded as one of the most talented performers to have ever emerged from the United States.
He has been honored with several awards, including the Academy Award, the Golden Globe Award, the Emmy Award for Primetime Performance, the BAFTA Award, and the Screen Actors Guild Award.
28. F. Murray Abraham
F. Murray Abraham is a well-known American actor who was given his birth name, Murray Abraham, on October 24, 1939.
In the 1980s, he rose to prominence after being honored with an Academy Award for his performance as the title character, Antonio Salieri, in the biographical drama film Amadeus (1984).
In addition, Abraham received a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award nomination for his portrayal of this role.
29. Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is a well-known American actor and film director. He was born on August 16, 1960, in the United States.
In the category of Best Supporting Actor, Hutton was awarded the Academy Award and the Golden Globe.
In addition, the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture male was bestowed upon him in recognition of his performance.
30. Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert CBE was an English actor who lived from September 12, 1931, until June 19, 2020. In 1998, he was knighted for his contributions to the theatrical and film industries.
Holm received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance as King Lear, for which he was nominated and won both prizes.
He received seven BAFTA nominations and twice won the Best Actor in a Supporting Role award.
His most recent performance as athletics trainer Sam Mussabini also got him an Academy Award nomination.
31. Tom Berenger
Berenger was born in Chicago on May 31, 1949, under the name Thomas Michael Moore into a Catholic family of Irish origin. His great-grandfather and grandmother were the first members of his family to settle in Chicago.
Berenger’s portrayal as Jim Vance in the 2012 miniseries Hatfields & McCoys earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. This award was presented to him in recognition of his work.
32. Bill Murray
William James Murray is a well-known American actor and comedian. He was born on September 21, 1950, in the United States.
He was nominated for many awards, including the Academy Award, the British Academy Film Award, the Golden Globe Award, and the Screen Actors Guild Award.
In addition, he is well-known for his roles in several films directed by Wes Anderson, notably Rushmore 1998, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won an Independent Spirit Award.
33. Nick Nolte
Nicholas King Nolte is a well-known actor born in the United States on February 8, 1941.
He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in Motion Picture Drama for his performance in The Prince of Tides, which was released in 1991.
Affliction (1998) and Warrior (2011) both earned him nods for the Academy Award, and in 2011 he was also up for the Primetime Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor.
34. Michael J. Fox
Michael Andrew Fox, OC, was born on June 9, 1961, but is better known by his stage name, Michael J. Fox. He is a Canadian-American actor who has retired from the entertainment industry.
Fox was recognized with six awards, including five Primetime Emmys, four Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy.
In addition, in 2010, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Previously, in 2000, he was admitted into Canada’s Walk of Fame, and in 2002, he was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In recognition of his efforts to find a treatment for Parkinson’s disease, the Karolinska Institute gave him an honorary doctorate in 2010.
35. John Candy
John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian who was most known for his work in Hollywood films. He was born on October 31, 1950, and passed away on March 4, 1994.
In addition to his acting profession, Candy was a co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts, which competed in the Canadian Football League (CFL). During his tenure as an owner, the club was victorious in the 1991 Grey Cup competition.
Candy passed away in 1994 when she was 43 years old. His final two film appearances, Wagons East and Canadian Bacon were made in his memory and are dedicated to him.
36. Rutger Hauer
Rutger Oelsen Hauer (23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019). In 1999, he was selected as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century by the general population in the Netherlands.
In acknowledgment of his leadership role in the production, he was awarded the Rembrandt Award for Best Actor in 2012.
Additionally, he established the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association, which functions as an AIDS awareness group. In the Order of the Netherlands, he was given the rank of knighthood.
37. Kevin Kline
Kevin Delaney Kline is a well-known actor born in the United States on October 24, 1947.
He is the proud recipient of three Tony Awards and an Academy Award. In addition, he has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and the British Academy Film Awards. Kline was honored with induction into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2003.
38. Matt Dillon
Matthew Raymond Dillon is a well-known American actor born on February 18, 1964.
He was nominated for the Golden Globe Award, the Independent Spirit Award, and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and he won the Independent Spirit Award.
He was previously nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Spoken Word Album category for his narration of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.
He was nominated for a Saturn Award for his work on the first season of the FOX television series Wayward Pines, which aired in 2015.
39. Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. is a well-known American actor and director. He was born on August 18, 1936, in the United States.
He has been honored with several prestigious awards, including the Academy Award, the British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has also been nominated for the Academy Awards four times.
Time magazine included him in their list of the 100 most influential persons in the world in 2014.
40. Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane “Chevy” Chase is a comedic actor, writer, and playwright born in the United States on October 8, 1943.
As a performer and a writer, he was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards and received three of those awards. Additionally, he was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards.
He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the same year, 1993, and got the honor.
In addition to that, The Harvard Lampoon bestowed upon him its Lifetime Achievement Award in the year 1996.
He was honored with the awarding of a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California, in 1998.
41. Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell is a well-known American actor born on March 17, 1951.
Silkwood, directed by Mike Nichols, garnered Russell a nomination for the Golden Globe Award in Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (1983).
The Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard, honored Russell and Goldie Hawn on May 4, 2017, by bestowing each a star in recognition of their contributions to the film industry during a ceremony that was held jointly in their honor.
42. James Woods
James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an actor from the United States.
He earned the Theatre World Award for his performance in Moonchildren in 1972.
He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series in 1978.
Woods has received two Academy Award nominations: one for Best Actor in 1986 and another for Best Supporting Actor in 1996.
Woods has also been nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Awards and three Independent Spirit Awards.
Woods was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Motion Pictures category on October 15, 1998, at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
43. Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short OC is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, singer, and writer born on March 26, 1950.
He has won several honors, including two Primetime Emmys and a Tony Award.
The latter got him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical, while the former did not.
He has received his work nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award, the Golden Globe Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, and the Critics Choice Television Award.
44. Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estévez (born May 12, 1962) is a film and television actor from the United States.
Estevez began his career as an actor and is best known as an 80s acting Brat Pack member.
He earned a seven-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival and a Hollywood Film Award.
He was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000.
45. Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan Moranis was born on April 18, 1953. He is a comedian, actor, musician, singer, writer, and producer from Canada.
Moranis was born into a Jewish household in Toronto, Ontario. He attended primary school with Geddy Lee, the lead singer of the rock band Rush.
He won Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program in 1982 and for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture in 1990.
He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 2006.
46. Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward Aykroyd, CM OOnt, is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, singer, and writer born on July 1, 1952.
He garnered five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his efforts on the show, winning for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series in 1977.
In 2002, he was honored on Canada’s Walk of Fame. In 2017, he was appointed to the Order of Ontario to appreciate his status as “one of the world’s most popular performers.”
47. Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine was an American actor whose career stretched over six decades and began on January 24, 1917. He was born Ermes Effron Borgnino and died on July 8, 2012.
He had the distinction of being the Oscar winner for Best Actor, who had been alive the longest up to his passing.
In recognition of his work in the film business, Ernest Borgnine was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of motion pictures in 1960.
The 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were held on January 30, 2011, and he was presented with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award at that ceremony.
48. Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness de Cuffe, born on April 2, 1914, passed away on August 5, 2000, and was an English actor.
For his work in the picture, released in 1977, Guinness received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 50th Academy Awards.
In 1960, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1980, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented him with an Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement.
In 1989, the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award was given to him.
49. Cary Grant
Cary Grant was an English-American actor born on January 18, 1904, and passed away on November 29, 1986.
At the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970, his good friend Frank Sinatra gave him an honorary Oscar.
In 1981, he was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors for his contributions to the entertainment industry.
The American Film Institute ranked him as the second greatest male star of films from Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1999, and he received this honor.
50. Jack Lemmon
John Uhler Lemmon III was an American actor born on February 8, 1925, and died on June 27, 2001.
In 1986, Jack Lemmon was presented with a “Career Achievement” award by the United States National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.
Two years later, in March 1988, the American Film Institute presented him with their Lifetime Achievement Award for all his work in the film industry.
In 1995, Lemmon was honored with the very first Harvard Arts Medal that was given out.