The 1980s saw the birth of several excellent film series and the careers of many performers who would go on to win Academy Awards in the years to come. Nonetheless, one thing is sure: Hollywood has more stars than ever before, each carving out its unique place.
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.
You may still be familiar with many of these household names, but there are a few unsung heroes who also deserve to be honored. We mustn’t forget about them.
1. Robert De Niro
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 has won several prestigious awards, including two Oscars, a Golden Globe, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
In 2009, De Niro was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor, and in 2016, he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama, the President of the United States.
In addition, the Screen Actors Guild bestowed its Life Achievement Award on him, making him its 56th winner.
2. John Lemon
He was born John Uhler Lemmon III on February 8, 1925, and died on June 27, 2001.
His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled in 1960. Lemmon received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild.
In 1986, the “Career Achievement” award was given to Jack Lemmon by the United States National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. In March 1988, when his career in the film business had already spanned two years, he was honored with the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lemmon received the inaugural Harvard Arts Medal in 1995. At the 46th Berlin International Film Festival in 1996, Lemmon was given an Honorary Golden Bear for his work.
3. Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor, born on May 16, 1905, and passed away on August 12, 1982. He had a career that lasted five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. Fonda passed away in 1982.
In 1940, he was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Actor category. He received the BAFTA for Best Foreign Actor in 1957.
He received the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 54th Annual Academy Awards ceremony in 1981.
He was ranked by the American Film Institute as the sixth-greatest male screen legend of the Golden Age of Hollywood in 1999.
4. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is a politician, actor, film producer, businessman, and former bodybuilder born in Austria on July 30, 1947. He is of American and Austrian descent.
Between 2003 and 2011, he was California’s 38th governor and presided over the state.
He is the most recent Republican to hold the position of Governor of California as of the year 2022.
In both 2004 and 2007, Schwarzenegger was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
He was also inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
5. Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan Murphy is a well-known American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He was born on April 3, 1961, in the United States.
Comedy Central lists the 100 best stand-up comedians of all time. Murphy is number ten on that list.
In 2007, Murphy was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.
His movies earned him the Performing Arts Award in 2015 and propelled him to the sixth spot on the list of most grossing actors in the United States.
In 2020, he was awarded the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, his first Emmy ever.
6. Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise is an American actor and producer. His real name is Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, although he is known professionally as Tom Cruise. He was born on July 3, 1962.
He is one of the best-paid artists in the world and has won many awards for his work. As a result of the nearly $4 billion in North America and over $11.1 billion in global revenue that his films have generated, he is one of the highest-grossing box office stars in the history of the industry.
Cruise’s work earned him the Golden Globe Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Both the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and his second nomination for an Academy Award came to him for his performance in the latter film.
In 1999, he won another Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
7. Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, director, and narrator. He was born on June 1, 1937, in the United States.
He is recognized for his uniquely low voice and the many parts he has played in a diverse range of film genres.
In 1989, the actor received his initial nomination for an Academy Award in the Best Actor category.
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor went to Morgan Freeman for his work in Clint Eastwood’s sports drama “Million Dollar Baby,” which came out in 2004.
In 2009, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s film Invictus.
8. Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams was an American actor and comedian. He was born on July 21, 1951, and passed away on August 11, 2014.
One of the reasons why Williams is known as one of the best comedians of all time is his ability to make things up on the spot.
Williams won many awards during his career, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Additionally, he was the recipient of six Golden Globe Awards, one of which was Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
He also won five Grammy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
9. Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He was born on July 22, 1946.
On September 7, 2011, he was also the beneficiary of a homage presented to him by the Deauville American Film Festival, which is held in France.
In 2022, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave Glover the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award as a thank you for his work in the humanitarian field.
He has also been nominated for four Grammy Awards, one Daytime Emmy Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards.
10. Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is a well-known American actor born on July 13, 1942.
As a result of the more than $5.4 billion in revenue that his films have generated in North America and more than $9.3 billion in revenue that they have generated internationally, he is the seventh-highest earning actor in North America.
In 1986, he was nominated for Best Actor at the 58th Academy Awards for his work in the film Witness. He was also recognized for this role with nods for Best Actor at the Golden Globe Awards and the BAFTA Awards.
The American Film Institute gave him the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2000 in recognition of his extensive achievements in the film industry.
At the 59th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2002, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association presented him with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, regarded as one of the most prestigious awards for career achievement.
Ford was honored with the award of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 30, 2003.
11. Al Pacino
Alfredo James Pacino is a well-known American actor born on April 25, 1940.
In addition, he is the recipient of the National Medal of Arts, the AFI Life Achievement Award, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his contributions to the film industry.
Throughout his career as an actor, Pacino has been nominated for and awarded many accolades, including one Oscar, nine Golden Globe nominations, and four BAFTA nominations.
He achieved two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on television and two Tony Awards for his work on stage.
Pacino received a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute in 2007.
In 2003, audiences of British television picked Pacino as the best film star of all time in a survey for Channel 4.
12. Anthony Hopkins
Born on the 31st of December 1937, Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. He has a CBE.
Hopkins is one of Britain’s most well-known and prolific performers; he has a reputation for his work both on the stage and in film and television.
He was honored with the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 1973 for his work in the television adaptation of the novel War and Peace.
In 1991, he was honored with the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the following year, he was nominated for four other Academy Awards.
In 2018, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
In 2020, he will be the oldest Oscar winner for Best Actor ever awarded.
13. Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon Bridges is a well-known actor born in the United States on December 4, 1949.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor the following year, 1971.
His work in the 1974 picture Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, in which he co-starred with Clint Eastwood, earned him another nomination for the category of Best Supporting Actor.
In 1976, he played Jack Prescott, the protagonist, in the first remake of King Kong. The film was a commercial success, grossing $90 million worldwide, which was more than quadruple its budget of $23 million, and it also won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
In 2019, he was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes.
14. Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, producer, film director, and musician. He was born on January 18, 1955, in the United States.
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie went to Kevin Costner, who earned the award for his work on television.
1992 The American Academy of Achievement presented him with their Golden Plate Award, which he received.
In 2018, he was recognized with a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award.
2003, Kevin Costner received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
15. Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is a well-known American actor, director, and producer. He was born on December 28, 1954, in the United States.
The “concept of classic movie renown” is supposed to have been rethought in light of his acting performance.
He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the first time in 1989; then, he went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2001.
In 2010, he was honored with the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Drama for his performance in the Broadway revival of the play Fences, written by August Wilson.
In the early spring of 2010, Washington was presented with the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, which he went on to win.
Washington is one of just five male performers who have been nominated for an Academy Award in the five decades since the award’s inception.
16. Ben Kingsley
Born on the 31st of December 1943, Sir Ben Kingsley is a well-known English actor whose career spans over half a century.
After that, he went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1982 and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role the same year.
In 1993, he was also considered for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, for which he got a nomination.
In recognition of his contributions to the film business in the United Kingdom, Kingsley was made a Knight Bachelor in 2002.
A star was placed in his honor on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010.
He was honored with the Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment the following year, 2013.
17. John Malkovich
John Malkovich is a well-known American actor born on December 9th, 1953.
In 1980, he appeared in a production of the play True West by Sam Shepard at Steppenwolf, for which he was awarded an Obie Award.
When the play was adapted for television, Malkovich received an Emmy Award for his performance in this role in early 1982.
In 1984, Malkovich was considered for the Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor for the first time.
18. Willem Dafoe
Willem James Dafoe is a well-known American actor born on July 22, 1955.
In 1985, he was nominated for the Academy Award for the first time, and in 2000, he was nominated for the Academy Award for the second time (as Best Supporting Actor).
In 2019, he was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Actor category, marking his debut.
In addition to being nominated for four Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and one British Academy Film Award, he has won several honors and awards, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.
19. Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn Martin is a well-known American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He was born on August 14, 1945, in the United States.
He is the recipient of an Honorary Academy Award, in addition to his five Grammy Awards and Primetime Emmy Award, which he got in 2013.
Additionally, in 2016, he was considered for two Tony Awards nominations for the music he created, Bright Star.
The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the Kennedy Center Honors, and an AFI Life Achievement Award are just a few of his many accolades over his career.
In 2004, Martin was number six on a list of the 100 best stand-up comedians compiled by Comedy Central.
According to The Guardian, he is one of the finest performers in history who has never been nominated for an Academy Award.
20. Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, known professionally as Sylvester Enzio Stallone, is an American actor and director. He was born on July 6, 1946.
In 1977, Sylvester Stallone became just the third actor in the history of motion pictures to be considered for two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Original Screenplay and one for Best Actor.
A monument of his fictional Rocky is on display in Philadelphia, not far from where he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
On the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he was presented with a star in 1984.
In 2016, the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center presented Sylvester Stallone with the Heart of Hollywood Award. Stallone is a longtime supporter of the hospital.