While researchers look for a technique to extend the human lifespan, some people have already discovered the key to doing so. In addition to keeping their long-lasting secrets, they possess an infectiously upbeat disposition. These individuals put no limits on their life expectancy and find new reasons to celebrate well past the age of 80. Many people assume that genuinely innovative people have brief but brilliant careers. The people discussed here, however, disprove that notion.
1. Morgan Freeman
Born in 1937, Morgan Freeman has become one of the most recognizable faces in the entertainment industry. He was awarded the 2005 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the film Million Dollar Baby. As a bonus, Morgan Freeman has received three Academy Award nominations (1987, 1989, and 1994) for his acting.
2. Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins is widely regarded as one of the best performers of all time for his frightening performance as a cannibal killer in the film Silence of the Lambs. This well-known actor in supporting roles got his start in the theater. Great British actor Laurence Olivier saw potential in the young man and offered him a position as an assistant at the Royal National Theater. With the help of the veteran actor, Anthony grew and developed into a promising performer.
3. Michael Caine
Michael Caine’s cockney accent and commanding performances have made him a household name. He was given the name of his father, a fish market porter, when he was born into a working-class household in South East London. Caine’s acting career spans more than 60 years and he has acted in roughly 115 films. He is the seventh highest-grossing actor of all time and is now widely recognized as a cultural icon in the United Kingdom.
4. James Earl Jones
The legendary actor won a Golden Globe and is most recognized for his role as Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise. The Great White Hope earned him both a Tony and a Golden Globe. He voiced Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King.
5. Clint Eastwood
The accomplished filmmaker directed and composed the score for the early 2000s crime drama Mystic River, which dealt with murder, sexual abuse of children, and recollections from one’s adolescence. The American Academy of Science and Medicine named Sean Penn “Best Actor” for his work in the film.
In the late aughts, the director reprised his role in Grand Torino (Old Ginger), a film about an elderly white guy who becomes a savior to a group of people of color (yellow) who he had previously looked down upon. Million Dollar Baby is the most well-known film by Clint Eastwood from the new millennium. Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress Oscars went to Hilary Swank and the film about a female boxer who rises to the top of her sport.
6. Donald Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland, the winner of an Emmy and a Golden Globe, has just received the 2,377th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, ending an eventful year for the actor.
7. Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman has starred in numerous films, including The French Connection, The Conversation, and Crimson Tide. Acting as Buck Barrow in the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde earned him a British Academy Film Award. He’s received a lot of Oscar buzz and won a few Golden Globes, too. In addition to The Bird Cage and Superman, he had roles in The Royal Tenenbaums and The Royal Tenenbaums: The Return.
8. Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall’s film and television credits include The Twilight Zone, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Godfather, Apostle, Doomsday’s So, Tender Mercies, and Lonely Dove, among many others. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards, including an Oscar, two Emmys, four Golden Globes, and a BAFTA, all of which he wears with great pride. In addition to his acting career, Duvall has worked as a producer and executive director behind the camera.
9. Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson, who has won three of his 12 Oscar nominations and seven of his Golden Globes, is regarded as one of the finest actors of all time. For movie fans, Jack Nicholson’s name is likely not unfamiliar; he is arguably the most original Hollywood actor. He was named so because Nicholson brings a level of intensity and “madness” to all of his parts that few actors can match.
10. Dick Van Dyke
Winner of the Disney Legend Award in 1998 and the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 for his work on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Diagnosis: Murder. He was a crucial player in Bye, Bye Birdie and acted in the film. Billy Bright, the 1969 film, features a comedic performance.
11. Robert Redford
Actor and filmmaker Robert Redford created Sundance Film Festival. Films like “The President’s All Men,” “The Sting,” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” used him prominently. The Academy awarded him the Best Director Oscar for his work on the film that also won Best Picture.
12. Harvey Keitel
Mean Streets, one of his earliest films with Martin Scorsese, highlighted his rough-and-tumble street attitude. Besides Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, he also appeared in films directed by Quentin Tarantino. The Martin Scorsese film Taxi Driver, a 1976 vigilante film, featured him prominently.
13. Dustin Hoffman
Recipient of two Best Actor Oscars (for 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer and 1988’s Rain Man) and a prominent member of the Methodist faith. He played leading roles in the Midnight films Cowboy, Tootsie, and All the General’s Men, and he became famous for his performance as Benjamin Braddock in the 1967 masterpiece The Graduate. Dustin Hoffman also provided the voice of the Shifu Master in Kung Fu Panda.
14. Alan Alda
Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H and Arnold Vinick on The West Wing are two of his most prominent roles. The Aviator, What Women Want, The Tower Heist, and The Longest Ride are just a few of the movies he’s directed. When we met, he was a lecturer at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
15. Patrick Stewart
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the X-Men films’ Professor Xavier. TV Guide called him the decade’s most excellent drama actor, and he provided the voiceover for CS Lewis’s The Last Battle.
16. James Brolin
Award-winning actor and director, recognized for his work on the television series Marcus Welby, MD with a Golden Globe and an Emmy. James Brolin received a nomination for an Emmy for his performance as Ronald Reagan in the miniseries The Reagans.
17. Mel Brooks
To give his full name, Melvin James Kaminsky, or “Mel Brooks,” is an American comedian, director, producer, screenwriter, actor, composer, and lyricist. He was born into a Jewish household in New York, where his parents were already established.
After a stint as a corpsman in the US military, he switched gears and started playing the piano and doing stand-up comedy in Borscht Belt hotels. His humorous abilities were then noticed, and he was hired to pen episodes of the comedy series Show Show Show of the Shows.
18. Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon’s role as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies catapulted him to fame. He became well-known as a television actor after starring in shows like The Singing Detective and Maigret. In the film Paddington, released in 2014, he provided the voice of Uncle Pastuzo. He won an Oscar for his performance as King George V in the 2010s The King’s Speech.
19. Alan Arkin
He was brilliant in both “The Russians Are Coming!” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” in which he portrayed a comedic villain. Catch-22, Argo, and Edward Scissorhands are just a few of the numerous films he’s directed. In 2007, he was awarded an Academy Award for his performance as Edwin Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine.
20. William Shatner
He received the Saturn Professional Life Award in 1980 for his long run as Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek, which spanned from 1966 through 1994. Star Trek fans may recognize him as Sergeant T. J. Hooker, a police officer he portrayed in the original series. After starring in Boston Legal, William Shatner earned the People’s Choice Award for Favorite New Drama for his role in the reality show 911 Rescue.