Irene's Top Ten Favorite Actors

                                    

In no particular order...

1. John Wayne

          It's no accident that John Wayne was and is an American icon. Everything about him, from head to toe, was just plain cool. He's been one of mine and my family's favorite actors since..... Well, since forever. It is virtually impossible for me to choose just one of his films as my favorite, so I'm just gonna cheat and say my three favorites are True Grit (1969), The Alamo (1960), and The High and the Mighty (1954), although I often change my mind on that account. My favorite role of his is probably Jacob McCandles in Big Jake (1971).

     

      2. Gary Cooper

       

          I was never a big fan of Gary Cooper. I mean, I'd seen him in a few movies and he seemed like a nice guy, but I didn't really consider him one of my favorite actors. But then I saw Meet John Doe (1941) and I was impressed! Like, really impressed. He made me laugh and he made me cry, and in my book, that constitutes a good actor. My favorite movie of his is probably Friendly Persuasion (1956), and my favorite role is Longfellow Deeds from Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936). 

     3. Conlan Carter

    

         Conlan Carter is Doc. Doc is Conlan Carter. That's enough to make him one of my favorite actors ever. Doc, from the 1960's television show Combat! is one of my all-time favorite fictional characters, and Conlan Carter plays him wonderfully. In fact, he once received a Emmy nomination for his work in the Combat! episode: The Hostages, so that's pretty impressive. He also starred in numerous other films and t.v. shows as well, but Doc will forever be the role nearest and dearest to my heart.

  

  4. Alan Ladd

      I saw Mr. Ladd in the movie Shane (1953) a looooong time ago, but I didn't appreciate it at all. I knew that Shane was played by this random guy called Alan Ladd, but I didn't know at the time that it was THE Alan Ladd. And now, thanks to a blog I discovered recently, he's managed to push himself into this list! My favorite movie of his is a tie between And Now Tomorrow (1944) and Branded (1950), while my favorite role of his is Dr. Merek Vance, from the formerly mentioned movie.                                                                                             

5. Ben Johnson

    I first grew rather attached to Ben Johnson when I saw him in both Wagon master (1950) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949). Then I learned that he used to be a stuntman, not an actor, and he worked especially well with horses. Considering how well he can mount, it's easy to see why I like him. He's also got a nice accent, so...... Yeah. My favorite movie of his is Wagon Master and my favorite role is probably a tie between Travis Blue from the aforementioned movie, and Trooper Travis Tyree, from Rio Grande (1950). I guess they thought Travis matched him, eh?

6. Martin Milner

    I remember watching the t.v. show Route 66 with my sisters, and that show was a wee bit weird, so it didn't exactly inspire a great love for Martin Milner, who played one of the main characters, Todd. We saw him in some movies and guest star roles here and there, and I liked him okay, but he wasn't on this list. But then, one fine summer day (it was actually about ten thirty at night), I saw my first episode of Adam-12, and I loved him. From that first episode of that lovely show Martin Milner has held a place in my heart. My favorite movie I've ever seen him in is the Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) where he just plays a little part, and my favorite role of his is Officer Pete Malloy in Adam-12.

7. Richard Armitage 

    As the only 'current' actor on this list, Richard Armitage is very special indeed. I first saw him in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), although I didn't know it at the time. The first movie I *remember* seeing him in was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) where he lent an epicness to Thorin that I don't think anyone else could've pulled off. My favorite movie of his is a tie between The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) and North and South (2004), while my favorite role is Thorin.

    

8. Robert Stack

    While being adorable in his earlier films, and amazingly cool in his later ones, Robert Stack is undeniably one of my favorite actors. I saw him first in the great comedy To Be or Not to Be (1942) when he was quite young, but, like Richard Armitage, I didn't know it was him at the time. The first movie in which I recognized him to be Robert Stack was A Date with Judy (1948). My two favorite movies of his are The High and the Mighty and First Love (1939). I would say his best role would be John Sullivan in The High and the Mighty, but my favorite role of his is probably as Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski in To Be or Not to Be.

9. Rudolph Valentino.

    I just recently discovered Mr. Valentino, but he has certainly captured my heart! He never made a movie with sound, but that just highlights his acting ability all the more. My favorite movie of his so far is Moran of the Lady Letty (1922) and my favorite role of his is probably Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan in The Sheik (1921) no matter how creepy he is at the beginning!

10. Dana Andrews

      Nobody, but nobody, could where a trench coat and fedora like Dana Andrews. He's one of the classiest actors ever and I've loved him ever since I saw him in Laura (1944). After I saw him in that, I looked everywhere on the internet for any of his movies that were available for free (no matter how much I love an actor, I'm not gonna pay four dollars to watch a movie of their's online. Call me cheap). My favorite movies of his are Laura and The Purple Heart (1944), and my favorite role of his is Mark McPherson, also from Laura.