Just a few more actors I think deserve to be in company on that list:
Ben Kingsley
Robert Duvall
Sam Rockwell
Mickey Rourke
Kingsley didn’t really do all that much, though; there was Gandhi, and then 10 years of TV movies, then Bugsy, then 10 more years of not much, then Sexy Beast.
Just wanted to proffer another apology to those who feel I left someone off! I really did try to search around for many lists of “best” “favorite” and “most awarded” actors and come up with people on those lists who I thought had a decent chance of being “best”.
Though it is refreshing to see one of these “best” polls where “other” isn’t winning, so I guess I didn’t do too bad a job.
I’m just really glad I didn’t leave off Gary Oldman! I had no idea he’d be the favorite. I’m also a little shocked not to see Jack Nicholson with a single vote (although I didn’t vote for him either).
ETA: Robert Williams is supposed to be Robin Williams. Doh.
Who is Robert Williiams?
I’m guessing he meant Robin.
Michael Caine is his stage name. He was knighted under his birth name as Sir Maurice Micklewhite. I don’t think he can officially be called Sir Michael Caine.
I voted for Gary Oldman like most everyone else. I also voted for Christian Bale and Brad Pitt. I forgot to vote for Tom Hanks and Hugh Laurie.
I went by what Wikipedia called him. Check his article, it refers to him as Sir Michael Caine. I looked him up SPECIFICALLY because I wasn’t sure if he was Sir Michael Caine, or not…
Blame wikipedia (or me for relying on it)!
Really Not All That Bright,
That’s two for two for addressing another poster’s comment/point a moment after I did 
I’m going with Dustin Hoffman: his Oscar-nominated role in THE GRADUATE was the opposite of his Oscar-nominated role in MIDNIGHT COWBOY, his Oscar-nominated role in TOOTSIE was nothing like either of 'em, and his Oscar-winning role in RAIN MAN was nothing like his Oscar-winning role in KRAMER VERSUS KRAMER.
I can imagine other actors on the list doing some of that stuff, but I can’t readily imagine any of 'em doing all of it.
Other: Robert Duvall
If you watch Breaking Bad, you know that Bryan Cranston is in your top 3 of all time.
Alec Guinness. Why did you leave him out??
Didn’t come up in any of my research. Sorry! A thousand million times sorry!
Also, he died in 2000. Doesn’t meet the criteria.
Sorry, I didn’t scrutinize your criteria. My bad. Wasn’t 2000 just, like, last week sometime? Is it no longer part of Our Time? <alarm!!>
I loved it when Hardison on *Leverage *slipped past the bad guys by waving his hand in their faces and saying, “These aren’t the 'droids you’re looking for.” Guinness was a great man and VERY attractive, even as an Old Fart.
I didn’t see Bogart.
Why would you? The guy died over 60 years ago. Did you even read the thread?
Didn’t read the OP closely enough. No Heath Ledger due to his being all dead and stuff. 
As Coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined him, and he’s not only merely dead, he’s really most sincerely dead.
And he hasn’t done anything (film or, really, anything) in [DEL]20[/DEL] [DEL]30[/DEL] [DEL]40[/DEL] [DEL]50[/DEL] 55 years.
I voted for Gary Oldman but yeah, it should totally be Robert Duvall on the list and the top.