There’s no secret that some actors are better than others, but what constitutes a great actor? What makes them better? Is it the number of awards they have? How many successful movies they’ve been in? What about nominations? Is that good enough to prove an actor successful? There’s not one honest answer to any of these questions, but that shouldn’t stop us from discussing this possibly problematic issue. 

To start, let’s dive into who are some of the best-known actors to date:

• Morgan Freeman
• Robin Williams
• Denzel Washington
• Keanu Reeves
• Tom Hanks
• Julia Roberts
• Robert DeNiro
• Meryl Streep
• Johnny Depp
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Anne Hathaway 
• Tom Cruise

Of course, this list is only a tiny portion of all the beloved actors, but for the sake of this article, we’ll stick with this list. 

So we know that awards represent a job well done, but how many awards do these actors have, and which ones prove that you’re the better actor?

• Morgan Freeman has won one Oscar and one Golden Globe, with an honorable mention winning the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
• Robin Williams has won one Oscar, two Emmys, and five Golden Globes, with another win for the Cecil B. DeMille Award. 
• Denzel Washington has won two Oscars and two Golden Globes, with one more win for the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
• Keanu Reeves has not even been nominated for an Oscar or Golden Globe
• Tom Hanks shows off with two Oscars, six Emmys, and five Golden Globes, along with his Cecil B. DeMille Award
• Julia Roberts has won one Oscar and three Golden Globes
• Robert DeNiro has won two Oscars along with one Golden Globe and, no surprise, a Cecil B. DeMille Award
• Meryl Streep has more nominations than any. With 21 Oscar nominations, she’s won three, she has three Emmys, and out of 32 Golden Globe nominations, she has nine. She is the first woman on this list also to receive the Cecil B. Demille Award
• Johnny Depp has only one Golden Globe
• Leonardo DiCaprio has won one Oscar and three Golden Globes
• Anne Hathaway has won one Oscar, one Emmy, and one Golden Globe
• Tom Cruise has only three Golden Globes

Quite a few of these actors have won the Cecil B. DeMille Award, but what is that? It’s an award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association when someone shows outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. So if six out of the 12 actors on the list have the award, does that make them better than everyone? 

Let’s take DiCaprio, for example; this man has been in over 40 films and shows,  many of which were nominated for awards. He was nominated six times for an Oscar and 12 times for a Golden Globe, but his wins don’t match that feat. So what makes these other actors better than him? What makes, let’s say, Tom Hanks better? Is it perhaps that Hanks has been in more “iconic” films? That could take us down a different rabbit hole of what constitutes a more iconic film, but for the sake of this argument, we’ll compare it with the ratings we are given. 

On IMDB, DiCaprio’s best films are:

•  Inception (2010)
• The Departed (2006)
• The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
• Titanic (1997)

 The ratings given for each film were:

•  Inception (2010) – 8.8
• The Departed (2006) – 8.5
• The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) – 8.2
• Titanic (1997) – 7.9

On IMDB, Hanks’s best films are:

• Forrest Gump (1994)
• Saving Private Ryan (1998)
• Cast Away (2000)
• Big (1988) 

The ratings given for each film were: 

• Forrest Gump (1994) – 8.8
• Saving Private Ryan (1998) – 8.6
• Cast Away (2000) -7.8
• Big (1988) – 7.3

Based on the ratings of the films, DiCaprio has been in “better” movies. Criminally, the only film he was nominated for was The Wolf of Wall Street for an Academy Award. He wasn’t even nominated for Titanic. Tom Hanks, however, was nominated for all the roles listed above, and he only won an Oscar for Forrest Gump. Does having more awards account for an actor winning the Cecil B. DeMille award and being the “best”? I would argue that DiCaprio has contributed to the film industry quite a bit, so where is his prize? Does he have to wait till he has won more awards or reached a certain age? Either way, seeing such talent not get recognized isn’t enjoyable. Don’t get me wrong, Tom Hanks is a phenomenal actor and deserves all the awards and nominations he gets, but so do other great actors. 

It’s pretty apparent the award shows have been a popularity contest in recent years, and there’s been speculation that they are rigged in some way. So is it the Academy that justifies who is the best actor and who’s not? It took DiCaprio almost the length of his career to win his Oscar. Look at Anne Hathaway or Julia Roberts; you’ll find a successful film career with little to prove. Yes, Roberts has three Golden Globes, but why not any more Oscars? I don’t think actors should be nominated and win for every role, but why doesn’t Roberts have the DeMille Award? Her career has spanned decades, and she’s played many impactful roles and contributed significantly to the entertainment industry. 

Should we be letting awards dictate who the best actors are? Plenty of successful people haven’t won a Nobel Prize, so shouldn’t it be the same with actors? They should still be considered best in the game because of their long-spanning career and the hours they’ve put into the industry. DiCaprio, Hathaway, Roberts, and Cruise are all astonishing actors who have very much proven themselves and deserve more recognition within the Academy.