Famous Theater Actors a to z

A versatile stage, television and film actor, Hal Holbrook is an Emmy and Tony winner, and a longtime Mark Twain impersonator.

Moe Howard was the leader of the vaudeville and film comedy team, The Three Stooges.

William Hurt is an Academy Award-winning actor known for his intense dramas and challenging roles in films such as Broadcast News and A History of Violence.

Theater, film and television actor Jeremy Irons starred in the popular movies Reversal of Fortune, The Lion King, Lolita, Being Julia and The Fourth Angel.

Al Jolson was a Russian-born U.S. singer, songwriter, and blackface comedian who performed in vaudeville and minstrel shows and starred in The Jazz Singer.

James Earl Jones is an American Actor, known as the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies. His film career has been vast.

Actor and comedian Danny Kaye was enormously popular across stage, radio, TV and movie venues for his singing, dancing, impersonations and improvisations.

William Kempe was one of the most famous clowns of the Elizabethan era and originated some of Shakespeare's comedic characters.

Jack Klugman is an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in the Broadway play The Odd Couple and the TV series of the same name.

Anglo-American stage and film actor Charles Laughton starred in The Old Dark House and Mutiny on the Bounty. He also directed The Night of the Hunter.

Hugh Laurie's portrayal of Dr. Gregory on the TV show House made him famous in the U.S. For years prior, the comedian was making sitcoms in the U.K.

Jerry Lewis rose to fame as Dean Martin's comedic partner. The two performed on stage before their film career began in 1949.

Meat Loaf is a multi-platinum musician, made famous for his rock opera, Bat Out of Hell. He's acted in cult-hit films, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fight Club.

Mario Lopez is a television host and actor who has appeared chiefly on various television series, such as Saved by the Bell, Extra and America's Best Dance Crew.

Comedian and actor John Lovitz was part of the Saturday Night Live cast for five years, during which time he created memorable characters like Hanukkah Harry.

William H. Macy is an actor known for his diverse characters in films such as Fargo, Boogie Nights and Air Force One.

Jesse L. Martin is a singer and a TV, film and stage performer known for his roles in Rent and Law & Order.

James McAvoy is a Scottish actor best known for his roles in The Last King of Scotland (2006), Atonement (2007) and X-Men: First Class (2011).

Scottish actor Ewan McGregor first received worldwide acclaim with his role in Trainspotting, and has since played Obi-Wan in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

Ian McKellen is a revered, award-winning British actor of stage and screen known for many roles, including The Lord of the Rings and X-Men series.

John Mills was an award-winning actor, dancer and producer whose career spanned eight decades with works like Great Expectations and Ryan’s Daughter.

Moliere was a renowned 17th century French dramatist, actor, director and all-around artist known for his innovative stage comedies.

Alfred Molina is an English actor who belonged to the Royal Shakespeare Company and starred in the blockbuster Spider-Man 2.

Antonio Molina was a Spanish singer and actor best known for his films such as El pescador de coplas (1953) and Esa voz es una mina (1955).

Stage, television and screen actor Zero Mostel won a Tony Award playing Tevye in Jerome Robbins' Fiddler on the Roof, and starred in Mel Brooks' film The Producers.

Cillian Murphy is an Irish movie actor known for the diversity of his roles in films ranging from Breakfast on Pluto to Batman Begins, and for his bright blue eyes.

Actor George Murphy starred in more than 45 films, including Little Miss Broadway opposite Shirley Temple. In 1964, he was elected to represent California in the U.S. Senate.

As Roman emperor, Nero’s reign was lavish and tyrannical. He killed his mother, persecuted Christians and is said to have "fiddled while Rome burned."

Paul Newman came to be known as one of the finest actors of his time. He also started the Newman's Own food company, which donates all profits to charity.

David Niven was an actor of stage and the big screen who epitomized dapper charm in films like The Pink Panther.

Milo O'Shea was an Irish actor known for starring on the BBC sitcom Me Mammy and in Staircase, Broadway's first serious depiction of homosexual men.

British playwright John Osborne's Look Back in Anger ushered in a new movement in British drama and made him known as the first of the "Angry Young Men."

American actor Al Pacino has kept moviegoers riveted since the 1970s, with roles in movies like The Godfather, Serpico and Scent of a Woman.

Actor Chazz Palminteri starred opposite Robert De Niro in the 1993 film adaptation of A Bronx Tale, and performed in Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway (1994).

Tyrone Power was a stage and film actor known for his roles in such films as Witness for the Prosecution and The Mark of Zorro.

Sir Anthony Quayle was a revered actor of stage and screen known for work that included Hamlet, Lawrence of Arabia and Anne of the Thousand Days.

Daniel Radcliffe is an English actor who rose to international stardom as Harry Potter in the series of films based on the hugely popular books by J.K. Rowling.

British thespian Michael Redgrave is acclaimed for his theater and film roles. He has also sired two generations of acting luminaries.

Charles Nelson Reilly was a Tony-Award winning actor also known for a variety of roles on TV programs, including The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and The Match Game.

Jason Robards Jr. was an intense stage and film actor, and a frequent interpreter of Eugene O'Neill's work. He starred in the 1960 television production The Iceman Cometh, and later starred in films like Philadelphia and Magnolia.

Former Saturday Night Live castmember Chris Rock has appeared in such films as Bad Company and is the creator of the television show Everybody Hates Chris.

Actor and dancer Cesar Romero performed in movies from the '30s through the '60s. He became a pop culture icon in the 1966 Batman television series.

Mickey Rooney was a child star best known for his role as Andy Hardy in a long-running film series. He a starred in a number of musicals with Judy Garland.

Paul Rudd is an American actor and film producer who became a minor teen idol with his break-out performance in the 1995 film Clueless and went on to star in numerous comedies.

Mark Ruffalo is an actor who has become known most recently for his portrayal of Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the movie The Avengers.

Andy Samberg is a comedian, actor, singer and a star of Saturday Night Live. His comedy troupe "The Lonely Island" is known for its humorous digital shorts.

Dick Sargent was an actor of film and television mostly remembered for his portrayal of Darrin Stephens on TV's Bewitched.

Tom Selleck is an actor best known for portraying Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television series Magnum, P.I., and for films including Three Men and a Baby.

Ally Sheedy is a film actress who became famous in the early 1980s for her roles in films such as War Games, The Breakfast Club, and St. Elmo's Fire.

Sam Shepard is a prolific, Oscar-nominated actor and playwright who’s won the Pulitzer Prize.

Actor John Slattery played Julia Roberts's love interest in the film Mona Lisa Smile, and a government official in the World War II drama Flags of Our Fathers.

Kevin Spacey was catapulted into international stardom in the '90s with roles in The Usual Suspects (1995) and Se7en (1995).

Constantin Stanislavski was a Russian stage actor and director who developed the naturalistic performance technique known as the "Stanislavsky method," or method acting.

British actor Dan Stevens is best known for his portrayal of Matthew Crawley on Downton Abbey, a career high point that he is parlaying into other high-profile projects.

Jimmy Stewart was a major motion-picture star known for his portrayals of diffident but morally resolute characters in films such as It’s a Wonderful Life.

Scottish actor and voice-over artist David Tennant is best known as the 10th actor to play the lead role in the immensely popular U.K. sci-fi TV show Doctor Who.

Spencer Tracy was one of Hollywood's greatest film stars. He appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967 and was nominated for five Academy Awards, two of which he won.

Sam Trammell's most recognizable role to date is playing Sam Merlotte on HBO's True Blood.

Peter Ustinov was an English actor, writer and director who is known for his Oscar-winning performances in Spartacus (1960) and Topkapi (1964).

Abe Vigoda has been a popular character actor in television and film for more than four decades. He landed his film break with a role in The Godfather.

American actor Eli Wallach has appeared in such films as The Misfits; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Actor Ray Walston enjoyed a successful acting career and is best known for his character Uncle Martin O'Hara on the CBS series My Favorite Martian.

Sam Waterston is an acclaimed actor known for his film, TV and stage work, including roles in Law & Order and Gore Vidal's Lincoln.

Samuel West is a British actor best known for his roles in the films Howards End, Notting Hill, Van Helsing and Hyde Park on Hudson.

Bruce Willis first made a splash on TV in Moonlighting, costarring Cybill Shepherd, but his fame really grew with films such as Die Hard, The Sixth Sense and The Expendables.

Actor Paul Winfield was best known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper in the film Sounder, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.