These guys were all pretty well type-cast, even if they wanted to go different directions they wouldn’t have been offered the parts.
I was amused by the fact that when Steward perfomed in “Strategic Air Command”, he actually outranked his character in the movie for part of it (he was a Colonel in real life, and his character was a Lt. Col). I always wondered how the costuming worked- did he wear his own uniforms? If not, did he keep the costume uniforms as his own?
But as for the OP’s question, I’d say Jimmy Stewart and Spencer Tracy are my picks- both are very versatile and excellent at their craft, being able to do both convincing comedy and drama with ease.
Sorry, the Bergman film I was thinking of was Notorious, not Suspicion…Cary Grant and Claude Rains co-starred.
As much as I love Cary Grant, I cannot imagine him in The Music Man, which is my favorite musical EVAH. Robert Preston was robbed of an Oscar. Speaking of Robert Preston, he was an actor with a pretty good range. From Beau Geste to Harold Hill
I’m not sure why everyone is focusing on stars from several generations ago, but Leonardo Di Caprio is a fantastic actor.
If we’re going full-on contemporary, then what Daniel Day-Lewis does when he gets into character pretty much goes beyond acting. Like, he’s what Robert Downey Jr was parodying in TROPIC THUNDER, only the reality was more over-the-top.
Tom Hanks anyone?
I agree that no one was as perfect for that role as Robert Preston, but I can see what the producer wanted, and I can imagine Cary Grant in the role. He had a big personality, and could talk people into things. If he hadn’t been an actor, he could have been a salesman.
FWIW, I can’t see Victor/Victoria enough times.
I used to dislike his acting, but Django Unchained, Catch me if you Can and Wolf of Wall Street- all outstanding performances
He is my top pick.
Two guys who seem to fly under the radar, yet are wonderful actors are William H. Macy and John Turturro. they both have a wide range of abilities from comic to serious to weird. Hmmmm… I just reminded myself of Steve Buscemi. (must’ve been the word weird)
(Okay, maybe they’re not iconic superstars. Yet! )
And Meryl Streep hasn’t been mentioned?
I think the question was not “who is the best actor in hollywood”. Everyone knows that Daniel Day-Lewis and Meryl Streep are fantastic actors. It’s (or at least this is how I interpreted it) who is the best actor who was also an A+++ list “movie star”. Ie, matinee idol, crush-object-for-millions-of-preteens, hounded by paparazzi, etc, etc.
Which I don’t think either Meryl Streep or Daniel Day-Lewis ever were. And that certainly doesn’t fit the William H. Macys and Steve Buscemis of the world.
And in Hudsucker Proxy.
And in Road To Perdition.
Katharine Hepburn deserve more mentions in this thread. Unbelievably convincing in anything she did, she does hold the record for most Oscars in all acting categories, for whatever that’s worth. She was nothing but riveting in absolutely every role.
For the men, I think I’d probably go with Peter O’Toole, who also deserves more mentions here. Although I can absolutely understand all of the attention on Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando, and Paul Newman.
I assume this thread is meant to be about icons of yesteryear and not current actors, so in addition to my aforementioned Cary Grant, I’ll nominate Buster Keaton. I think he was better than Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd. Unfortunately he did not age gracefully, and his voice in the few talkies he made was dreadful. He had a great cameo as himself in Sunset Boulevard (1950), but those Kodak commercials he made in the 1960s were painful to watch.
Edward G. Robinson. He had the golden touch of making everything a million times better with his presence. He could play the heel and the hero, the scary and the quietly dignified. Now, that was an actor.
Leo DiCaprio or Christian Bale. Not sure if they are what the OP means by iconic. But both have an amazing range of characters they can play, and both are really dedicated to their craft.
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The big 3 silent era comics (Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd) are certainly all deserving of the accolades they receive, but Harold Lloyd is my favorite. I find his acting quite nuanced and easy to relate to, even with a 21st century mindset (though he was an ingrained product of the Roaring 20s). As film critic, Dave Kehr said, *“The other great silent comics defined their own worlds; Lloyd lives dangerously in ours.”
*
To expand on George C. Scott. I’m impressed how he could take basically the same character and perform it as pure drama (Patton), or high comedy (Dr. Stangelove)–a commanding and brilliant performance in both cases. (He played a more convincing Patton than Patton himself). Wish he had done more comedy roles though; he had the chops for it.