Most Iconic Lead Actor in Movie Franchises
by khadafimusaad | created - 8 months ago | updated - 6 months ago | PublicWho is your favorite of these most iconic lead actors in movie franchises?
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1. Johnny Depp
Actor | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, to Betty Sue Palmer (née Wells), a waitress, and John Christopher Depp, a civil engineer. He was raised in Florida. He dropped out of school when he was 15, and fronted a series of music-garage bands, including one ...
2. Al Pacino
Actor | Serpico
Alfredo James "Al" 'Pacino established himself as a film actor during one of cinema's most vibrant decades, the 1970s, and has become an enduring and iconic figure in the world of American movies.
He was born April 25, 1940 in Manhattan, New York City, to Italian-American parents, Rose (nee Gerardi)...
Michael Corleone.
Trilogy: The Godfather (1972), The Godfather: Part II (1974), The Godfather Part III (1990).
3. Clint Eastwood
Actor | Million Dollar Baby
Clint Eastwood was born May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, to Clinton Eastwood Sr., a bond salesman and later manufacturing executive for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and Ruth Wood (née Margret Ruth Runner), a housewife turned IBM clerk. He grew up in nearby Piedmont. At school Clint took interest in ...
Joe, Monco, and Blondie.
Trilogy: Per un pugno di dollari (1964) as Joe, Per qualche dollaro in piu (1965) as Monco, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966) as Blondie.
4. Sylvester Stallone
Actor | Rocky
Sylvester Stallone is an athletically built, dark-haired American actor/screenwriter/director/producer, the movie fans worldwide have been flocking to see Stallone's films for over 40 years, making "Sly" one of Hollywood's biggest-ever box office draws.
Sylvester Stallone was born on July 6, 1946, ...
Rocky Balboa, John Rambo, Barney Ross.
(Rocky) Franchise: Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990), Rocky Balboa (2006).
(Rambo) Franchise: First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988), Rambo (2008), Rambo: Last Blood (2019).
(Barney Ross) Franchise: The Expendables (2010), The Expendables 2 (2012), The Expendables 3 (2014), Expend4bles (2023).
5. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Actor | Terminator 2: Judgment Day
With an almost unpronounceable surname and a thick Austrian accent, who would have ever believed that a brash, quick talking bodybuilder from a small European village would become one of Hollywood's biggest stars, marry into the prestigious Kennedy family, amass a fortune via shrewd investments and...
Terminator.
Trilogy: The Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).
6. Tom Cruise
Actor | Top Gun
In 1976, if you had told fourteen-year-old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be Tom Cruise, one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to join the priesthood. ...
Ethan Hunt.
Franchises: Mission: Impossible (1995), Mission: Impossible II (2000), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011), Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015), Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018), Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two (2024).
7. Keanu Reeves
Actor | The Matrix
Keanu Charles Reeves, whose first name means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian, was born September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon. He is the son of Patric Reeves, a showgirl and costume designer, and Samuel Nowlin Reeves, a geologist. Keanu's father was born in Hawaii, of British, Portuguese...
Neo and John Wick.
(Neo) Franchises: The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003), The Matrix Resurrections (2021).
(John Wick) Franchises: John Wick (2014), John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019), John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023).
8. Harrison Ford
Actor | Raiders of the Lost Ark
Harrison Ford was born on July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, to Dorothy (Nidelman), a radio actress, and Christopher Ford (born John William Ford), an actor turned advertising executive. His father was of Irish and German ancestry, while his maternal grandparents were Jewish emigrants from Minsk, ...
Indiana Jones.
Franchises: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023).
9. Matt Damon
Actor | Good Will Hunting
Matthew Paige Damon was born on October 8, 1970, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Kent Damon, a stockbroker, realtor and tax preparer, and Nancy Carlsson-Paige, an early childhood education professor at Lesley University. Matt has an older brother, Kyle, a sculptor. His father was of English and ...
Jason Bourne.
Franchises: The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), Jason Bourne (2016).
10. Daniel Craig
Actor | Casino Royale
One of the British theatre's most famous faces, Daniel Craig, who waited tables as a struggling teenage actor with the National Youth Theatre, has gone on to star as James Bond in Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021).
He was born ...
James Bond.
Franchises: Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), No Time to Die (2021).
11. Hugh Jackman
Actor | Les Misérables
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor, singer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer and producer. Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as superhero, period, and romance characters. He is best known for his long-running role as Wolverine in the X-Men film ...
Logan/Wolverine.
Franchises: X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Logan (2017).
12. Mark Hamill
Actor | Star Wars
Mark Hamill is best known for his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy - Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) - a role he reprised in Star Wars: Episode VII - ...
Luke Skywalker.
Franchises: Star Wars (1977), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017), Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
13. Bruce Willis
Actor | Die Hard
Actor and musician Bruce Willis is well known for playing wisecracking or hard-edged characters, often in spectacular action films. Collectively, he has appeared in films that have grossed in excess of $2.5 billion USD.
Walter Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany,...
John McClane.
Franchises: Die Hard (1988), Die Hard 2 (1990), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), A Good Day to Die Hard (2013).
14. Anthony Hopkins
Actor | The Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Hopkins was born on December 31, 1937, in Margam, Wales, to Muriel Anne (Yeats) and Richard Arthur Hopkins, a baker. His parents were both of half Welsh and half English descent. Influenced by Richard Burton, he decided to study at College of Music and Drama and graduated in 1957. In 1965, ...
Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
Trilogy: The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Hannibal (2001), Red Dragon (2002).
15. Jackie Chan
Actor | Ngo si seoi
Hong Kong's cheeky, lovable and best-known film star, Jackie Chan endured many years of long, hard work and multiple injuries to establish international success after his start in Hong Kong's manic martial arts cinema industry.
Jackie was born Kong-sang Chan on April 7, 1954, on Hong Kong's famous ...
Chan Ka Kui and Lee.
(Chan Ka Kui) Franchises: Ging chaat goo si (1985), Ging chaat goo si juk jaap (1988), Ging chaat goo si III: Chiu kup ging chaat (1992), Jackie Chan in Ging chaat goo si 4: Gaan dan yam mo (1996).
(Lee) Trilogy: Rush Hour (1998), Rush Hour 2 (2001), Rush Hour 3 (2007), Rush Hour 4 (Soon).
16. Mel Gibson
Actor | Braveheart
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born January 3, 1956 in Peekskill, New York, USA, as the sixth of eleven children of Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman, and Anne Patricia (Reilly) Gibson (who died in December of 1990). His mother was Irish, from County Longford, while his American-born father is ...
Max and Martin Riggs.
(Max)Trilogy: Mad Max (1979), Mad Max 2 (1981), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).
(Martin) Franchises: Lethal Weanpon (1987), Lethal Weanpon 2 (1989), Lethal Weanpon 3 (1992), Lethal Weanpon 4 (1998).
17. Elijah Wood
Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Elijah Wood is an American actor best known for portraying Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's blockbuster Lord of the Rings film trilogy. In addition to reprising the role in The Hobbit series, Wood also played Ryan in the FX television comedy Wilfred (2011) and voiced Beck in the Disney XD animated ...
Frodo.
Trilogy: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
18. Daniel Radcliffe
Actor | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe was born on July 23, 1989 in Fulham, London, England, to casting agent Marcia Gresham (née Jacobson) and literary agent Alan Radcliffe. His father is from a Northern Irish Protestant background, while his mother was born in South Africa, to a Jewish family (from Lithuania, ...
Harry Potter.
Franchises: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011).
19. Jason Statham
Actor | Crank
Jason Statham was born in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, to Eileen (Yates), a dancer, and Barry Statham, a street merchant and lounge singer. He was a Diver on the British National Diving Team and finished twelfth in the World Championships in 1992. He has also been a fashion model, black market salesman ...
Frank Martin and Lee Christmas.
(Frank Martin) Trilogy: The Transporter (2002), Transporter 2 (2005), Transporter 3 (2008).
(Lee Christmas) Franchises: The Expendables (2010), The Expendables 2 (2012), The Expendables 3 (2014), Expend4bles (2023).
20. Tobey Maguire
Actor | Brothers
Tobias Vincent Maguire was born in Santa Monica, California. His parents were 18 and 20, and not yet married, when he was born. His mother, Wendy (Brown), did advertising, publicity, and acting in Hollywood for years as she coached and managed Tobey. His father, Vincent Maguire, was a cook and ...
Peter Parker.
Trilogy: Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Spider-Man 3 (2007).
21. Christian Bale
Actor | The Dark Knight
Christian Charles Philip Bale was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK on January 30, 1974, to English parents Jennifer "Jenny" (James) and David Bale. His mother was a circus performer and his father, who was born in South Africa, was a commercial pilot. The family lived in different countries ...
Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Trilogy: Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
22. Denzel Washington
Actor | Fences
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. was born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. He is the middle of three children of a beautician mother, Lennis, from Georgia, and a Pentecostal minister father, Denzel Washington, Sr., from Virginia. After graduating from high school, Denzel enrolled at ...
Robert McCall.
Trilogy: The Equalizer (2014), The Equalizer 2 (2018), The Equalizer 3 (2023).
23. Liam Neeson
Actor | Kinsey
Liam Neeson was born on June 7, 1952 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, to Katherine (Brown), a cook, and Bernard Neeson, a school caretaker. He was raised in a Catholic household. During his early years, Liam worked as a forklift operator for Guinness, a truck driver, an assistant architect and an ...
Bryan Mills.
Trilogy: Taken (2008), Taken 2 (2012), Taken 3 (2014).
24. Wesley Snipes
Actor | Blade
Wesley Trent Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida, to Marian (Long), a teacher's assistant, and SMSGT Wesley Rudolph Snipes, an aircraft engineer. He grew up on the streets of the South Bronx in New York City, where he very early decided that dance and the theatre were to be his career. He attended ...
Blade.
Trilogy: Blade (1998), Blade II (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004).
25. Vin Diesel
Actor | Guardians of the Galaxy
Vin Diesel was born Mark Sinclair in Alameda County, California, along with his fraternal twin brother, Paul Vincent. He was raised by his astrologer/psychologist mother, Delora Sherleen (Sinclair), and adoptive father, Irving H. Vincent, an acting instructor and theatre manager, in an artists' ...
Dominic Toretto and Xander Cage.
(Dom) Franchises: The Fast and The Furious (2001), Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Furious 6 (2013), Fast & Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of The Furious (2017), F9 (2021), Fast X (2023), Fast X: Part 2 (2025).
(Xander) Trilogy: xXx (2002), xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017), xXx 4 (Soon).
26. Donnie Yen
Actor | Ip Man
Donnie Yen was born in Guangzhou, China. His mother, Bow-sim Mark, was a kung fu master and his father, Kylster Yen, a newspaper editor and amateur musician. When Donnie was just two years old, the family moved to Hong Kong and then, when he was 11, to Boston, Massachusetts.
There, Master Bow-sim ...
27. Chris Pratt
Actor | Guardians of the Galaxy
Christopher Michael "Chris" Pratt was born on June 21, 1979 in Virginia, Minnesota and raised in Lake Stevens, Washington, to Kathleen Louise (Indahl), who worked at a supermarket, and Daniel Clifton Pratt, who remodeled houses. He is of mostly Norwegian descent. He graduated from Lake Stevens High...
Peter Quell/Star-Lord.
Trilogy: Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).
28. Robert Downey Jr.
Actor | Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr. has evolved into one of the most respected actors in Hollywood. With an amazing list of credits to his name, he has managed to stay new and fresh even after over four decades in the business.
Downey was born April 4, 1965 in Manhattan, New York, the son of writer, director and ...
Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes.
(Tony Stark) Trilogy: Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Iron Man 3 (2013).
(Sherlock Holmes) Trilogy: Sherlock Holmes (2009), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), Sherlock Holmes 3 (Soon).
29. Chris Hemsworth
Actor | Snow White and the Huntsman
Christopher "Chris" Hemsworth was born on August 11, 1983 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to Leonie Hemsworth (née van Os), an English teacher & Craig Hemsworth, a social-services counselor. His brothers are actors, Liam Hemsworth & Luke Hemsworth; he is of Dutch (from his immigrant maternal ...
Thor.
Franchises: Thor (2011), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).
30. Will Smith
Producer | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Willard Carroll "Will" Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has enjoyed success in television, film, and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him "the most powerful actor in Hollywood". Smith has been nominated for five Golden ...
Mike Lowrey and Jay.
(Mike Lowrey) Trilogy: Bad Boys (1995), Bad Boys ll (2003), Bad Boys for Life (2020).
(Jay) Trilogy: Men in Black (1997), Men in Black 2 (2002), Men in Black 3 (2012).
31. Michael J. Fox
Actor | Back to the Future
Michael J. Fox was born Michael Andrew Fox on June 9, 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to Phyllis Fox (née Piper), a payroll clerk, and William Fox. His parents moved their 10-year-old son, his three sisters, Kelli Fox, Karen, and Jacki, and his brother Steven, to Vancouver, British Columbia, ...
Marty McFly.
Trilogy: Back to the Future (1985), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990).
32. Shia LaBeouf
Actor | Honey Boy
Shia LaBeouf's natural talent and raw energy have secured his place as one of Hollywood's leading men.
Most recently, LaBeouf starred alongside Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn in Kornel Mundruczo's Oscar® nominated Pieces of a Woman. In the critically acclaimed film, a grieving couple (Kirby/LaBeouf...
Sam Witwicky.
Trilogy: Transformers (2007), Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen (2009), Transformers: Dark of The Moon (2011).
33. George Clooney
Actor | The Ides of March
George Timothy Clooney was born on May 6, 1961, in Lexington, Kentucky, to Nina Bruce (née Warren), a former beauty pageant queen, and Nick Clooney, a former anchorman and television host (who was also the brother of singer Rosemary Clooney). He has Irish, English, and German ancestry. Clooney ...
Danny Ocean.
Trilogy: Ocean’s Eleven (2001), Ocean’s Twelve (2004), Ocean’s Thirteen (2007).
34. Michael B. Jordan
Actor | Black Panther
Michael B. Jordan, the middle of three children, was born in Santa Ana, California and raised in Newark, New Jersey. He is the son of Donna (Davis), a high school counselor, and Michael A. Jordan. His middle name, Bakari, means "noble promise" in Swahili. (He is not related to, or named after, ...
Adonis Creed.
Trilogy: Creed (2015), Creed II (2018), Creed III (2023).
35. Charles Bronson
Actor | Death Wish
The archetypal screen tough guy with weatherbeaten features--one film critic described his rugged looks as "a Clark Gable who had been left out in the sun too long"--Charles Bronson was born Charles Buchinsky, one of 15 children of struggling parents in Pennsylvania. His mother, Mary (Valinsky), ...
Paul Kersey.
Franchises: Death Wish (1974), Death Wish II (1982), Death Wish 3 (1985), Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987), Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994).
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