Top Ten Hollywood Actors

By: Mehdi Hassan

Hollywood is the biggest and most successful film industry in the world. Its actors and actresses are famous all over the world. Here are some of the top actors of the present day Hollywood:

Colin Farrell:

This Irish guy with thick eyebrows and bad hair started his career by playing small roles in movies and TV serials. His first movie was Tigerland. In this movie, he played the character of “Private Roland Bozz,” a misfit with great leadership abilities. His next two movies American Outlaws and Hart's War also did poorly in the box office. In 2003, The Recruit, S.W.A.T. Phone Booth established Collin Farrell as one of the top actors of Hollywood.

Collin Farrell

Image Link: IMDB

Tom Cruise:

Born on July 1962, in New York, Cruise had a very turbulent childhood. His father did not give any money to the family. He first appeared in a movie Endless love with Brook Shields in 1981. His big break came with the movie Tap. In 1983, he got the chance to work in The Outsiders directed by Francis Ford Coppola, one of the all time top directors of Hollywood. That year, Risky Business was released and in the movie Cruise’s lip-sync "Old Time Rock and Roll" wearing underwear, made him an iconic figure of Generation ‘X’ in Hollywood film industry. In 1986, Top Gun turned Tom Cruise into a Hollywood superstar. The movie had the highest collection that year.

Tom Cruise

Image Link: IMDB

Jim Carrey:

He does not have the killing look of Tom Cruise or a bad haircut like Collin Farrell, but he rules Hollywood with his outstanding comedy performance. Jim Carrey is one of the top comedy actors of Hollywood. Born in Canada, Jim, was a natural comedy actor. During his junior high school years, at the end of the class, he used to perform in front of the class for few minutes. In 1979, Carrey came to Los Angeles. Success came after Ace Ventura: The Pet Detective. In 1995, he played the character of Riddler in Batman Returns. In the same year, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls was released. The movie was successful. Carrey was paid twenty million for the movie The Cable Guy. This is the highest amount ever paid to a comedy actor.

Jim Carrey

Image Link: IMDB

Hugh Jackman:

No one could play the character of “Wolverine” better than this guy in X-man. The angry tough looking mutant with a tender heart, in search of his past, made Hugh a star of Hollywood. Born in Australia to English parents, Hugh Jackman studied in University of Technology, Sydney. After enrolling into the acting class in his college, Hugh became interested about acting. After graduation, he went to Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He finished his graduation in 1994. He started his career as an actor in TV series. The character of Wolverine in X-man made him famous.

Hugh Jackman

Image Link: IMDB

Leonardo DiCaprio:

This Titanic boy is born to German mother and Italian father. He grew up in Los Angeles and started his career at the age of five, through appearing in his favorite TV series Romper Room. Till fourteen, Leonardo struggled to get into quality films. During that time, he did many TV commercials and educational films and small characters in TV series. The big break came in 1991 with the movie titled Growing Pains. Finally, his acting talent was revealed in This Boy’s Life where he worked with Robert DeNiro. For his brilliant performance in that movie, he received some awards. In 2005, his movie Aviator received five Academy Awards.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Image Link: IMDB

Brad Pitt:

One of the hottest actors of Hollywood, Brad Pitt, started acting when he was studying journalism at the University of Missouri. He appeared in small roles in several TV series such as, Dallas, Thirty something, 21 Jump Street, Freddy's Nightmares, Another World, Growing Pains. In 1988, he got his major role in The Dark Side of the Sun, but the film was released in 1998 and most of the prints were lost by that time. He captured audience’s attention in 1991, in the movie Thelma & Louise. He rose to stardom after Interview With The Vampire. His two movies Legends of the Fall and Se7en were also very successful. In 1995, his performance in Twelve Monkeys won him an academy award nomination for best supporting actor.

Brad Pitt

Image Link: IMDB

Keanu Reeves:

The “Neo” of Matrix trilogy, Keeanu Reeves, is an unpredictable guy with great fortune. Born in Lebanon, to a geologist father and costume designer mother, Reeves was named after his uncle Henry Keanu Reeves. Keeanu started acting at the age of fifteen. He first appeared in Romeo and Juliet at Leah Posluns Theatre. In 1986, he landed with his first role in Youngblood. The character of Ted Logan in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure made him very famous. In 1994, Speed established him as one of the top actors of Hollywood. In 1999, Matrix was a smash hit in box office.

Keeanu Reeves

Image Link: IMDB

Johnny Depp:

Officer Tom Hanson of 21 Jump Street made Jhonny Depp a teen star. However, he could not handle the fame and it made him very irritated. After the contract with Fox television was over, Depp decided to do movies which he felt right. Since then, this “once aspiring musician” turned actor mesmerized Hollywood with his performance in movies like: Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland. Last year, The Pirates of the Caribbean: The curse of the Black Pearl was a huge success in USA.

Jhonny Depp

Image Link: IMDB

John Travolta:

He is a multi faceted genius; a pilot, singer, dancer and actor. John Travolta started his career as a singer. His song “Let Her in” went at number ten position in Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the late 1970’s, he starred in a TV series, actually a situation comedy or sitcom titled Welcome back, Kotter. Through this series he came to lime light.

Saturday Night Fever and Grease were the two milestones in Travolta’s career. These two movies turned him into a big Hollywood star. In the years following the two movies, he did not have any major hit films. His luck changed in 1994, after he appeared in Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. In this movie he played the character of a hit man and for his performance he even received an academy award nomination.

John Travolta

Image Link: IMDB

Nicolas Cage:

The last actor in this “Top ten” list is Nicholas Cage. The nephew of famous director Francis Ford Coppola, Cage changed his name to build his own reputation. For his brilliant performance in Leaving Las Vegas and Adaptation he won two academy award nominations and won once.

Nicolas Cage

Image Link: IMDB