# Actors still relevant in the public eye today who have the longest career being relevant **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [April 11, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527 "2023-04-11T17:29:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/1 "2023-04-11T17:29:28Z")
“Relevant” is subjective, but I think its Danny Devito and there’s no one even close to him. By relevant I mean, still working in projects everyone is aware of. So its not Shatner. And while Larry Fishburne may have started with Apocalypse Now…he wasn’t a huge part of it. I think Cowboy Carl is really when he showed up on peoples radar. From Taxi (I don’t count One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest as he wasn’t a headliner) to Sunny in Philadelphia…thats a long ass time. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/2 "2023-04-11T17:31:44Z")
**Al Pacino** is still working and has him beat by a little and higher profile. Wait, **Dame Maggie Smith**. First big role in the 60s. She earned her first [Oscar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awards) nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film adaptation of _[Othello](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Othello_(1965_British_film))_ (1965) as [Desdemona](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desdemona) acting alongside [Laurence Olivier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Olivier), [Derek Jacobi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Jacobi), and [Michael Gambon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Gambon). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/3 "2023-04-11T17:33:39Z")
Devito’s a good one, but I’d posit that Clint Eastwood, for one, has been consistently relevant and visible for even longer. He started starring in TV on _Rawhide_ in the late '50s, was a major film acting star from the 1960s through the the 2000s, and is still a significant and relevant film director (and occasional actor) today. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/4 "2023-04-11T17:36:19Z")
Yeah…a problem with this is im measuring ‘relevance’ by what _I_ know. So I don’t know what Al is doing today nor Maggie. But Im sure they’e doing something high-profile and I just don’t know what its is. That said, I think TV actors have an edge over movie actors. Eastwood is a good one. When he directs a film, everyone knows about it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/5 "2023-04-11T17:37:56Z")
**Julie Andrews** , 1964 Mary Poppins. 17 episodes of Bridgerton in 2020 to 2022. So still going. **Clint Eastwood** not a bad choice and does goes back further. His acting has been limited over the last 2 decades though. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/6 "2023-04-11T17:39:11Z")
Steve Martin is currently doing Only Murders in the Building and was well known enough to host SNL a couple years before Taxi was on the air. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/7 "2023-04-11T17:40:04Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > **Clint Eastwood** not a bad choice and does goes back further. His acting has been limited over the last 2 decades though. Indeed; as I noted, he’s been more focused on directing, including, in recent years, _The Mule_ (2018), _Sully_ (2016), and _American Sniper_ (2014). Still visible and very much in the public eye, IMO, even if he’s not in front of the camera often anymore. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/8 "2023-04-11T17:41:26Z")
Wait, I think I can win. **Rita Moreno** who was a supporting character in 1952 in **Singing in the Rain** and is still working today in fairly big projects on TV and movies. Also an EGOT winner. Though she probably wasn’t really famous until 1961s **West Side Story**. * * * * * * Honorable mention and speaking of Mary Poppins, **Dick Van Dyke** is 97 now and came to fame in 1961 also and only stopped working in 2020. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/9 "2023-04-11T17:43:03Z")
Moreno is one of the four leads in _80 For Brady_ (2023) as well. Not Oscar bait, but a movie with some profile. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/10 "2023-04-11T17:43:28Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Though she probably wasn’t really famous until 1961s **West Side Story**. She did have a fairly substantial role as Tuptim in _The King and I_ (1956), with third billing in the credits. I think she may be the winner. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/11 "2023-04-11T17:45:58Z")
Good point, I forgot about that. I watch _Singing in the Rain_ yearly and haven’t watched _The King and I_ in decades. So I think Rita is the one to beat. * * * They shouldn’t count, but Mel Brooks & Norman Lear are still working and have been since the early 50s. But I don’t think either have been in front of the cameras as actors enough to count. * * * It is a shame we just lost **Angela Lansbury** as she goes back to _Gaslight_ in 1944. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/12 "2023-04-11T17:47:03Z")
I had the advantage of having watched _TKaI_ a year or so ago (and only then realizing that she was in it!) ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/13 "2023-04-11T18:00:53Z")
Yeah, if Christopher Lee hadn’t passed he’d be playing some Marvel villain right now I’m sure. Sneaky ol bastard. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/14 "2023-04-11T18:05:48Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > 1961s **West Side Story** Ironically, I’m listening to the “Symphony Hall” channel on SiriusXM over my Echo (as I often do while working at home), and they’re currently playing Bernstein’s “Prologue” from WSS. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/15 "2023-04-11T18:06:16Z")
Ian McKellen is a contender. He’s been on stage and in film since 1961. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/16 "2023-04-11T18:11:01Z")
These Brits skew everything. I imagine asking random passerbys “Who is this and when did you first become aware of them and what project are they on now?”…I’m imagining Americans. “Magneto/Gandalf and…I don’t know” would be the common answer. But Brits would give completely different answers of course. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/17 "2023-04-11T18:16:56Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Clint Eastwood, for one, has been consistently relevant and visible for even longer. He started starring in TV on _Rawhide_ in the late '50s Which would beat out Ron Howard who started in 1960. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/18 "2023-04-11T18:23:00Z")
I think Michael Caine has been active and relevant since the 1950s. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/19 "2023-04-11T18:27:21Z")
> [@Pavelb1](#): > > By relevant I mean, still working in projects everyone is aware of. > [@Pavelb1](#): > > Yeah…a problem with this is im measuring ‘relevance’ by what _I_ know. > [@Pavelb1](#): > > I’m imagining Americans. “Magneto/Gandalf and…I don’t know” I’m a bit confused. You started with “everyone is aware of,” changed the parameter to “what _I_ know,” and then to “Americans.” It’s kinda hard to pinpoint. If it is the 2nd alternative, then only you have the answer. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527/20 "2023-04-11T18:27:54Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I think Michael Caine has been active and relevant since the 1950s. Certainly acting since the 1950s, though mostly in smaller roles; it looks like his big breakthrough was in _Zulu_, which was in 1964. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-still-relevant-in-the-public-eye-today-who-have-the-longest-career-being-relevant/982527.md?page=2)