Best 60 actors of 21st century list: details

Although 21st century cinema has seen great talent, the best of the best actors have been included in this list.

The hard task of choosing the very best actors to archive in this list was taken upon by The Independent.

Since categories like the best, and the great, can be subjective according to different aesthetic appeals, so the outlet describes its criteria explicitly as, “this list must only take into account films, not TV series or stage performances. It should only take into account films released post-2000.”

The list goes as follows;

Top 60 Actors of 21st Century

60. Tom Cruise

59. Amy Adams

58. Stephen Graham

57. Hugh Grant

56. Catherine Keener

55. Matthew McConaughey

54. Sally Hawkins

53. Ralph Fiennes

52. Lesley Manville

51. Andy Serkis

50. Olivia Colman

49. Sandra Huller

48. Tom Hanks

47. Lea Seydoux

46. Lupita Nyong’o

45. Kate Winslet

44. Robert Downey Jr

43. Andrew Garfield

42. Tom Hardy

41. Irrfan Khan

40. Javier Bardem

39. Viola Davis

38. Viggo Mortensen

37. Jason Schwartzman

36. Adele Haenel

35. Robert Pattinson

34. Michael Stuhlbarg

33. Mark Ruffalo

32. Frances McDormand

31. Ryan Gosling

30. Rachel McAdams

29. Mahershala Ali

28. Saoirse Ronan

27. Paul Giamatti

26. Joaquin Phoenix

25. Carey Mulligan

24. Jesse Plemons

23. Penelope Cruz

22. Adam Driver

21. Tony Leung

20. Tilda Swinton

19. Kirsten Dunst

18. Michelle Williams

17. Leonardo DiCaprio

16. Kristen Stewart

15. Jennifer Lawrence

14. Christian Bale

13. Isabelle Huppert

12. Natalie Portman

11. Willem Dafoe

10. Florence Pugh

9. Colin Farrell

8. Cate Blanchett

7. Song Kang Ho

6. Daniel Kaluuya

5. Nicole Kidman

4. Denzel Washington

3. Daniel Day-Lewis

2. Emma Stone

1. Philip Seymour Hoffman