Actors with the Most Great Movies

This list is of actors with 10+ movies that I consider "great" (rated 8+). Anyone can appear in a great movie. These are the actors who have consistently made great movies.

The Current List:
Denzel Washington- 14 great movies
Robert De Niro- 14 great movies
Samuel L. Jackson- 14 great movies
Gary Oldman- 13 great movies
Robert Duvall- 13 great movies
Kevin Bacon- 12 great movies
Tom Cruise- 12 movies
Tom Hanks- 12 great movies
Al Pacino- 11 great movies
Harrison Ford- 11 great movies
Ian McKellen- 11 great movies
James Stewart- 11 great movies
Morgan Freeman- 11 movies
Anthony Hopkins- 10 great movies
Anthony Mackie- 10 great movies
Ben Affleck- 10 great movies
Benedict Cumberbatch- 10 great movies
Brad Pitt- 10 great movies
Chris Evans- 10 great movies
Ed Harris- 10 great movies
Jeremy Renner- 10 great movies
Mark Ruffalo- 10 great movies
Matt Damon- 10 great movies
Paul Bettany- 10 great movies
Rachel Weisz- 10 great movies
Scarlett Johansson- 10 great movies
Stellan Skarsgard- 10 great movies
Zoe Saldana- 10 great movies

History:
6/27/2016- After watching my 3,000th movie, the initial list of actors I've seen in 10+ great films is created. They include 12 actors: Denzel Washington- 13 great movies, Robert Duvall- 13 great movies, Kevin Bacon- 12 great movies, Robert De Niro- 12 great movies, Samuel L. Jackson- 12 great movies, Tom Hanks- 12 great movies, Gary Oldman- 11 great movies, Ian McKellen- 11 great movies, James Stewart- 11 great movies, Al Pacino- 10 great movies, Harrison Ford- 10 great movies, Morgan Freeman- 10 movies.

3/12/2018- Blade Runner 2049 moves Harrison Ford to 11 great movies and into a four-way tie for 7th place.

5/16/2018- Gary Oldman's Academy Award winning performance in Darkest Hour moves him to 12 great movies and into a 5-way tie for third place.

9/14/208- Avengers: Infinity War creates some big events- Samuel L. Jackson's cameo appearance moves him to 13 great movies. He's now 1st place on the "Most Movies" list and tied for 1st place on the "Most Great Movies" list. That's a heck of an accomplishment. Also, Paul Bettany hits 10 great movies. In an example of how the MCU is wrecking conventional movie history, 6 of Bettany's 10 great movies were from Marvel. (for the record, 5 of Jackson's 13 great movies are MCU films). That bothers me some, but I'm not sure what to do about it.

12/10/2018- Tom Cruise becomes the 14h actor on the list with at least 10 great movies. The incredible Mission: Impossible- Fallout is responsible for this addition.

5/2/2019- One of my favorite movies, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves brings Morgan Freeman to 11 great movies.

9/29/2019- The list of "Most Great Movies" has felt like one of the highest honors you can bestow upon actors on my site. Marvel continues to change the game with their epic Infinity Saga conclusion, Avengers: Endgame. That movies rewrites history by allowing Samuel L. Jackson to break the tie for first place with his 14th great movie! It also brings Mark Ruffalo onto the list with his 10th great movie (5 of them Marvel movies). Jeremy Renner comes onto the list with his 10th great movie (5 of them Marvel movies). Anthony Mackie also joins the list with his 10th great film (5 of them Marvel movies).

3/16/2020- Ad Astra brings Brad Pitt to 10 great movies, as the 18th actor on the list. He did it the hard way, with no franchises, no sequels to help him. This is a major achievement.

3/22/2020- Two great performances in a great film, The Irishman brings Robert De Niro to 13 great movies, and Al Pacino moves to 11. De Niro is in a 3-way tie for 2nd place.

3/31/2020- Even though it's the excellent Knives Out that brings Chris Evans to 10 great movies, 9 of them are Marvel films, which is problematic. Still, congratulations are in order!

11/21/2021- The excellent Black Widow brings both Scarlett Johansson and Rachel Weisz onto the list! Marvel continues to upend this process, but I do find the contrast between these two fascinating. 8 out of Johansson's 10 great films have been MCU ones. Contrast this with Rachel Weisz, who only has 1. She got two from The Mummy franchise, but otherwise, has only individual great films.

1/14/2022- The legendary Anthony Hopkins joins the list with his Academy Award winning performance in The Father, his 10th great movie.

2/1/2022- Making great movies is so challenging, so it's a huge win to see Denzel Washington's amazing work in the great The Tragedy of Macbeth bring the actor to 14 great films, once again tied with Samuel L. Jackson at the top of the list.

10/2/2022- In only 21 movies, Benedict Cumberbatch delivers his 10th great film (Spider-Man: No Way Home)! Marvel contributed 4 of those films, but he also gets 2 from The Hobbit films and 1 from Star Trek. He's the 23rd actor to hit this milestone.

1/26/2023- The amazing Top Gun: Maverick makes rare double movement! Tom Cruise moves to 11 great films, and the legendary Ed Harris joins the list, with his 10th great film. Harris did it the hard way without multiple films in any one franchise. I'm so excited to welcome one of the all-time greats.

5/20/2023- Ben Affleck hits 10 great films with Air. This is so impressive- he does it without a single franchise to boost his numbers. He directed himself in 3 of those films, but he achieved this milestone the hard way. Welcome to the list, Ben. This is a major achievement, as the 25th actor on the list.

10/24/2023- I'd never seen Brazil before, so I was overjoyed to see Robert De Niro in his 14th great film. That moves him into a 3-way tie with Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson for 1st place on the list. Truly, De Niro is one of the greatest actors of all time.

12/15/2023- Avatar: The Way of Water was a long time coming, but it lifts Zoe Saldana to her 10th great film! She is the 26th actor on the list, congratulations!

3/13/2024- Christopher Nolan's excellent Oppenheimer brings Matt Damon to 10 films, the 27th actor on the list. He did this with 10 different films, no consistent franchises helping him out. Damon is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats. The film also brought the legendary Gary Oldman to 13 great films, 1 behind the leaders.

4/28/2024- Although it's a small role, Tom Cruise's part in The Outsiders brings the character to 12 great films, a tie for 6th place all-time!

9/30/2024- Dune: Part Two is a great film, and brings the extremely talented Stellan Skarsgard onto the list, with his 10th great film! He was helped some by the MCU, but only 4 of his 10 films were from Marvel. Great recognition for one of the all-timers, but an actor who doesn't get the credit he deserves. He is the 28th actor to join the list.