10 Actors Who Massively Changed Hollywood

Summary

  • Charlie Chaplin defined the silent era with his innovative visuals and timeless style of humor.
  • Greta Garbo seamlessly transitioned from silent films to talkies, setting a standard for acting in her era.
  • Marlon Brando popularized method acting, bringing realism and truth to his performances and influencing future actors.

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Hollywood is a constantly evolving engine, with some ahead-of-their-time actors contributing to pushing the medium forward through their influence. There’s a reason Hollywood movie stars get paid so much. The quality of acting is a huge part of selling a film, be it the charisma of an action star or the prestige transformation at the center of a biopic. As much as films have changed over the span of a century, so have the performances at the center of them, with specific actors responsible for shifting things forward in significant ways.

Watching a film from any era, it’s easy to notice drastically different acting styles. In the silent era, performances required the actors to demonstrate emotion through body language, physical movement, and facial expression. Early sound film performances resembled a Broadway stage production, as many actors had been trained for theater, resulting in them speaking in ways that might now feel stilted. Now, performances attempt to feel more natural to life, though acting has recently been developing further through motion capture technology.

10 Charlie Chaplin

Defined the silent era.

Charlie Chaplin sitting on a rock

Top 5 Charlie Chaplin Movies

1: City of Lights (1931)

2: Modern Times (1936)

3: The Great Dictator (1940)

4: The Kid (1921)

5: The Circus (1928)

Silent films limited the possibilities of what an actor could do, but no one expressed themself better in the era than the great Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was one of the most influential figures in the early age of film, constantly pushing the boundaries of the medium’s possibilities, innovating visuals, and integrating a unique and timeless style of humor. His motifs and imaginative comedy are fully displayed in Charlie Chaplin’s feature films.

9 Greta Garbo

A leading influence in the talkie era.

Greta Garbo against a black background

Top 5 Greta Garbo Movies

1: Ninotchka (1939)

2: Flesh and the Devil (1926)

3: Queen Christina (1933)

4: Grand Hotel (1932)

5: Camille (1936)

The transition from silent films to talkies resulted in many movie stars of the 1920s struggling to contend in the new era. One actress who shifted seamlessly was Greta Garbo, one of the silent era’s biggest stars who immediately took off in talkies with the dialogue-heavy Anna Christie, the highest-grossing film of 1930. She was one of the most famous and influential talents in the transitional period, setting a standard for what acting would look like in her era.

8 Marlon Brando

Popularized method acting.

Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront

Top 5 Marlon Brando Movies

1: The Godfather (1972)

2: Apocalypse Now (1979)

3: On the Waterfront (1954)

4: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

5: Julius Caesar (1953)

Now commonly considered among the greatest actors of all time, Marlon Brando is responsible for possibly the most dramatic shift in acting in film history. Brando believed fully in realism and truth in his acting. He cared deeply about understanding the roles he’d play, searching for the souls of his characters in each performance. Method acting existed before Brando, but he popularized the idea, demonstrating something electric on-screen with his ability to mold himself into his characters like no one else could. Films like On the Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire are considered to have some of the most influential performances of the era.

7 Elizabeth Taylor

Forged the path to modern celebrity culture.

Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra

Top 5 Elizabeth Taylor Movies

1: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

2: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

3: A Place in the Sun (1951)

4: Giant (1956)

5: National Velvet (1944)

Beginning her career as a child actress, Elizabeth Taylor became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the 1950s and ’60s, known for films like Cleopatra and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Taylor essentially established the modern concept of celebrity. She used her status as an actress to pave the way for other avenues of entrepreneurship and activism, paving the way for modern fame culture. She famously used her platform to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS.

6 Sidney Poitier

Impacted film diversity.

Sidney Poitier in Buck and the Preacher

Top 5 Sidney Poitier Movies

1: A Raisin in the Sun (1961)

2: In the Heat of the Night (1967)

3: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)

4: To Sir, with Love (1967)

5: The Defiant Ones (1958)

Bahamian and American actor Sidney Poitier made history in the film industry as the first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964. His films in the 1950s and 1960s, including movies like In the Heat of the Night and Lilies of the Field, the latter of which won him his Oscar, paralleled the ongoing civil rights movement. His work represented a moment of progress for Hollywood, which has come a long way since, yet still has a lot of work to do. Poitier’s role as Virgil Tibbs in In the Heat of the Night paved the way for actors like Eddie Murphy in 48 Hours.

5 Marilyn Monroe

Changed fashion standards in film.

Marilyn-Monroe-As-Young-As-You-Feel

Top 5 Marilyn Monroe Movies

1: Some like it Hot (1959)

2: All About Eve (1950)

3: The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

4: The Misfits (1961)

5: O. Henry’s Full House (1952)

Marilyn Monroe was a ginormous cultural force in the 1950s, and her influence and story are still prevalent in modern culture. Like Elizabeth Taylor, Monroe’s influence existed primarily in the realm of Hollywood outside the films themselves, despite her bold and charismatic personality impacting cinema in movies like Some Like It Hot. Marilyn Monroe had many other great films, but she was genuinely immortalized in pop culture through her influence on fashion and the role of women’s sexuality in film.

4 Sigourney Weaver

Paved the way for female action heroes.

Ellen Ripley speaking intensely in Aliens

Top 5 Sigourney Weaver Movies

1: Alien (1979)

2: Aliens (1986)

3: Avatar (2009)

4: Ghostbusters (1984)

5: Holes (2003)

With the rise of the blockbuster in the ’70s, Sigourney Weaver established herself as a pillar of film culture with the Alien franchise. Weaver’s Ellen Ripley ended up being the lone survivor on the Nostromo ship, redefining expectations for female characters in the sci-fi/action genre. Sigourney Weaver instantly became a female action hero and feminist icon, becoming the ’80s go-to option for a leading heroine. Her influence paved the way for characters like Sarah Connor and many more.

3 Andy Serkis

Pushed motion capture forward.

Top 5 Andy Serkis Movies

1: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

2: The Prestige (2006)

3: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

4: King Kong (2005)

5: Inkheart (2008)

Andy Serkis is the most influential actor ever that most non-movie fans wouldn’t recognize due to most of his iconic roles utilizing motion capture technology. Serkis has appeared in several big franchises, from Star Wars to Lord of the Rings to Planet of the Apes, all under the guise of mo-cap, which he’s been a vital proponent of. With the rise of computer effects and digital filmmaking, Serkis’ influence can’t be underestimated as the need for mo-cap actors becomes increasingly prevalent.

2 Al Pacino

Set the standard for gangster characters.

Top 10 Al Pacino Movies

1: The Godfather (1972)

2: The Godfather Part II (1974)

3: Heat (1995)

4: Scarface (1983)

5: Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Still making films over five decades after his debut, Al Pacino is one of the most influential actors of his generation, primarily due to the influence of The Godfather, one of the best movies of all time. Following the film, the gangster genre dominated the film industry for decades, with Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone constantly considered the gold standard of a role for the genre as a cold, calculating villain. It was a breakout performance for the young actor, who’s continued to appear in crime movies since.

1 James Cagney

Defined the Hollywood tough guy.

James Cagney in Public Enemy

Top 5 James Cagney Movies

1: Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

2: The Public Enemy (1931)

3: Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

4: White Heat (1949)

5: Footlight Parade (1933)

Long before Al Pacino, James Cagney was one of the best gangster actors in movies, influencing generations of actors who’d follow him. Cagney in Public Enemy became the gauge for Hollywood gangsters and villain characters. He brought an element of unpredictability, insanity, and toughness that would inspire actors like Clint Eastwood and Malcolm McDowell. His influence can also likely be attributed to the performances of Jack Nicholson and Gary Oldman, who famously brought an unhinged presence to their characters like Jack Torrance and Norman Stansfield.

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