12. Marlon Brando
Named by Time magazine as the ‘Actor of the Century,’ there are few who would argue with this title, none more so than many of the actors named on this list. Brando would have a profound and enduring effect on American culture after gaining national attention with his critically acclaimed performance as the brutish Stanley Kowalski in the 1951 film adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire.
After studying under the highly regarded acting teacher Stella Adler, Brando went on to be one of the first actors to bring the Stanislavski system of acting and method acting to mainstream audiences. His controversial career saw many highs and lows, but his role as Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 gangster epic, The Godfather, would produce a performance that many critics consider the greatest of all time, one that would have a lasting impact on generations of actors.
