These threads are tough. Everyone just starts throwing in their favorites. But I must say, I really liked the Palmiero comparison!
How about Morgan Freeman? I’ve never seen him fail to totally nail a part.
It’s all about your standards, Rick. I guess I’m a tough grader. To me, to give someone a “B” is a great compliment–there are many competent actors who rate a C or even a D, and earn their living just the same. If you think I’m insulting Eastwood by suggesting that he might deserve less than an A+, and I think I’m showing him respect by giving him a B+ or A-, then we’re just not speaking the same critical language.
To judge him better than Wayne is not so fabulous a compliment in my book. Like Wayne, he could play sensitive parts, but not all that sensitively. He has limited range, and has made a fool out of himself when he’s tried to broaden that range. He’s good at what he does, sometimes very good, but we were talking, I thought about people who are jump-out-your-skin magical at whatever they attempted, actors who surprised you and thrilled you and showed you what the parts they played were about on a level that you didn’t begin to get by seeing other good actors in the same roles, or by reading the screenplay or stage play they were working from. Geniuses. Demi-Gods. Are we talking about Them, or just good actors?
Not to challenge you unduly, but would you care to name actors (one apiece, perhaps?) to whom you’d give a B, a C, a D, and an F? Because if Wayne and Eastwood are A+s, I’m having a hard time figuring out the rest of your grade sheet.
- Fred Astair Good Actor has stood the test of time
- Humphrey Bogart One of the top 10
- Marlon Brando Occasionally Great, often didn’t care, but when he was great, he was really great
- On the Waterfront & Godfather alone would qualify for this list.
- Richard Burton 7 nominations, several classics
- James Cagney Has really stood the test of time
- Lon Chaney, Sr Has really stood the test of time
- Charlie Chaplin Has really stood the test of time
- Ronald Colman He is largely forgotten, has failed the test of time. No top 100 movie
- Sean Connery Got his oscar, occasional a great actor, I guess I need to add John wayne to keep Sean
- Gary Cooper Has really stood the test of time
- Joseph Cotten He is largely forgotten, but has at least one top 100 movie and was a GREAT actor
- Joan Crawford Has really stood the test of time
- Bette Davis Has really stood the test of time
- Robert De Niro Great Actor and great Character actor. 2 oscars in 6 noms
- Irene Dunne Largely Forgotten
- Clint Eastwood He actually is a good Actor and has the string of huge hits. For acting chops see Kelly’s Heros or Play Misty and most of his post Dirty Harry roles.
- Douglas Fairbanks Has really stood the test of time,
- Henry Fonda One of the top 10
- Jane Fonda Great Actress, 2 oscars in 7 noms. Classic movies.
- Harrison Ford Being underrated as an actor and a huge star with several movies that will last. Only 1 oscar nom but was excellent in Regarding Henry
- Clark Gable Has really stood the test of time
- Judy Garland Good Actress, definitely stands the test of time Nominate twice Judgment at Nuremberg & A Star is born.
- Richard Gere Why is he here, he’s a poor actor and not a top box office star.
- Cary Grant Good Actor, loads of Classics
- Tom Hanks One of the top 10
- Oliver Hardy Has really stood the test of time,
- Audrey Hepburn Audrey was an incredible actress: See Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Nun’s Story, Wait Until Dark & Robin and Marian 5 noms and won for Roman Holiday
- Katharine Hepburn The best Actress ever I think.
- Dustin Hoffman Oscars and classic movies.
- Gene Kelly Good Actor has stood the test of time
- Stan Laurel Has really stood the test of time,
- Jack Lemmon Incredible Comedic actor and incredible dramatic actor
- Sophia Loren Good Actress will be remember long. Won an Oscar in 2 noms.
- Robert Mitchum 1 nom supporting, no major lead in a top movie should be bounced
- Marilyn Monroe Not 1 Oscar Nom, small list of movie, Only one classic, not a good actress, a famous personality. Bounce Please
- Paul Newman One of the top 10
- Jack Nicholson Jack largely plays Jack but what a Jack. Many great movies
- Maureen O’Hara Good to great actress, 2 classics. Quiet Man and Miracle of 34th street.
- Laurence Olivier Most respected actor I know of.
- Al Pacino Pacino is no better than Jack and both desrve to stay.
- Gregory Peck One of the top 10
- Sidney Poitier Great Actor, good staying power ! oscar in 2 noms, 2 all time classic movies
- Claude Rains Good lead and maybe the best supporting actor ever, lots of classics.
- Robert Redford Great Actor, Already standing the test of time
- Michael Redgrave Largely forgotten, better known now for his daughters & Granddaughters now.
- Jimmy Stewart One of the top 10
- Meryl Streep I don’t like her, but obviously belongs here.
- Barbra Streisand 1 acting oscar in 4 Noms, should probably stay.
- Elizabeth Taylor Not a great actress but good enough to stay on the list,
- Spencer Tracy One of the top 10
- Rudolf Valentino Has really stood the test of time,
- Denzel Washington Probably a good choice, Great actor, oscars, may stand the test of time
- John Wayne Unforgetable, Quiet Man & True Grit. Got his Oscar.
RickJay’s list, with my grading
Sorry–“TAB” got me to “submit reply” prematurely
DAMMIT! I’m going to have to cut and paste from WORD, I can see that.
But my point, quickly gleaned is that Hanks, Stewart, and Grant–all of whom I admire no end–just rate A with me for their acting. Hanks and Stewart were both not-quite-believable in action roles, though they tried, and a little weak in romantic leads, though they did quirky turns, and Grant always projected a bit much of his own Cary Grant impression in every part he played. I would have lilked to see more range, and more subtlety from each of them.
If this pisses you off, I was just about to give Katharine Hepburn an A-. A bit too brittle for me.
Even if you don’t give them A+, you need to at least respect the general consensus on Hanks, Stewart and Grant. As far as Hepburn I suggest pistols at 9. Please be timely. 
My large list above incorporated **RickJay’s ** List and many additions by me.
It took a long time to build and I missed several posts. I agree with
I tried to either defend picks or suggest a few removals for hopefully valid reasons.
Also I think I was misreading (or too closely reading) the OP–this thread isn’t about great actors at all. As the OP makes clear, the person’s acting skills per se may be at a far lower level than “EXCELLENT”, which kind of makes some of my points irrelevant.
To be clearer, maybe the OP’s question should be about A+ movie stars, because that’s really what you’re trying to discuss. Any comments about “acting” are not very relevant here, which is odd considering the OP’s question.
Are you trying to get out of the duel? 
I think there’s a world of difference between Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep. They’re roughly contemporaries, but Fonda played most of her parts in the same fairly narrow register, pulled out the same (perfectly competent) actorial tricks over and over, rarely played a part where you’d forget she was a Film Star and just marvel over what the character was experiencing, while Streep was just amazing in every part she ever played. She WAS Karen Silkwood, she WAS Sophie, she WAS Susan Orlean. Streep gets an A+ in my book, running away, while Fonda gets, like a B or B-.
Don’t get me wrong, a B- is pretty good work. But let’s not give out A+s like they were M&Ms, shall we?
I’ll argue that Streep is a throw back to the old days of pre-method over-acting. She over-acts every part and is never human. Jane was the young wife in barefoot in the park and Jane was not Jane in Klute. What you are describing probably started around the time of China Syndrome. Not a great acting movie, but 9to5 was an excellent stretch role for Jane.
BTW: Streep can’t do comedy at all. Could you be worse than Death becomes her or She-Devil. Pam Anderson is probably better at comedy.
I only leave Streep on the list because I am in the minority on disliking her acting.
On what grounds?
He meets every single one of the criteria stated in your OP!
I second Gaspode’s motion, and call the vote. Let’s lose these pretenders before we waste any more electrons in discussion.
I mean, Sophia Loren? Give me a break!
Sir Lawrence Oliver. How did we miss him?
To contribute to this thread more positively, I will use the IMDB top 250 as a reference:
From the Godfather:
Marlon Brando: a given
Al Pacino: His laurels are completely flattened from his resting on them for the last 15 years or so, but that does not diminish the superb quality of his earlier work. He makes the list.
Robert Duvall; Certainly one of the best actors, but his headliner roles have never elevated themselves to classic status.
Robert DeNiro: definitely on the list
Diane Keaton: Not enough of a solid track record
From the Shawshank Redemption:
Tim Robbins: His characters mainly come off the same.
Morgan Freeman: He’s got some great films that he’s headlined. I might argue that taken collectively, his roles have lacked breadth, but I’m putting him on my list anyway.
From Lord of the Rings:
Cate Blanchett: will eventually belong on the list, so why not put her there now?
Christopher Lee: Showing a lot of good stuff in his old age, and has a long track record. I could be talked into it.
From Schindler’s List:
Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralphh Fiennes: the only one who comes close is Kingsley, and I think he’s not quite there.
From Casablanca:
Bogart and Bergman both belong on the list.
From Star Wars: Harrison Ford and Sir Alec Guinness
From the Good the Bad and The Ugly: Clint Eastwood
From Pulp Fiction: Maybe Samuel L. Jackson
From One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: jack Nicholson
From Rear Window: Jimmy Stewart. Raymond Burr is off the list because he veered away from film to television, where I hear tell he did OK for himself.
From Dr. Strangelove: Peter Sellers and George C. Scott
From Citizen Kane: Orson Welles
From 12 Angry Men: Henry Fonda
From North by Northwest: Cary Grant
From Silence of the Lambs: Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster
There, that’s from the top 30 films
I’ll defend my choice of Claude Rains. I think he’s an All-Time A List Actor because even though he wasn’t always first-billed, and might not have been a box office draw (Rock Hudson was a box office draw), he did give consistently elevating performances and the movies were better for his presence.
Casablanca
Now Voyager
King’s Row
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
The Wolf Man
The Invisible Man
??
One of the greatest stars of the silent era–arguably, the greatest female star. Also a brilliant, versatile actress, playing everything from little girls (and little boys!) to Cockney murderesses, Shakespeare heroines, shopgirls, sweatshop drones, hillbillies, royalty, slutty showgirls and pioneer women.
Probably doesn’t belong on the list, but I’m going to throw it out there and let you play around with it a little bit: Christopher Walken.
Don’t mean to hijack RickJay’s fine thread here, but if we wanted to see who we truly consider to be A+ actors, shouldn’t we nominate actors who are first rate in several important categories, and ask for challenges in ANY of those categories, and then see if a majority of posters support the nomination or the challenges? That’s what an A+ actor means to me: one who excels in EVERY vital category.
My choices for categories would be similar to RickJay’s with an emphasis on the one category in which I find RickJay shocklingly permissive: that of acting itself.
so: 1) widespread acceptance of their excellence
2) headliner in many major motion pictures
3) a fabulously talented, varied, deep and moving artist of the first order
4) long time acceptance (or at least long term potential for acceptance) of their excellence
If this is deemed a hijack, then I’ll slink off with my tail between my legs to start a differentt hread stressing acting talent.