There are some actors who have done some amazing things over the years, playing incredible roles, doing their own stunts, or just cranking out a lot of movies over their lifetime. As with anything else in the world, if you can be the only person to have ever done something, that unique status can be considered pretty cool. It’s doubtful any actors set out to accomplish these specific goals, but inevitably there’s always going to be one person who is the only person to have done a thing, at least until someone else does it, assuming that’s at all possible. For now, these are the only actors who have achieved these remarkable accomplishments.
10. Anthony Daniels is the Only Actor in all 9 Star Wars Movies
The very first Star Wars movie came out in the year 1977. It was followed by two sequels in the early ’80s. The prequel trilogy premiered in 1999. The sequel trilogy began in 2015 and the final film, Rise of Skywalker, came out in 2019. That means the Star Wars film saga has been going for 42 years. And in that time, across 9 feature films in the central storyline, only one actor appeared in every single one – Anthony Daniels.
Anthony Daniels plays C-3PO, and he’s literally the man inside the suit. When he first got the role, he assumed it was going to be a one and done kind of deal until the producers came back to him with an idea for a sequel and then another sequel. He went on to play C-3PO in the Rogue one movie, and he’s voiced him in several animated projects, and even appeared on The Muppets at C-3PO. He lent his voice to Star Wars rides at Disney World, and has done commercials and other promotional projects in character as well.
9. Sylvester Stallone Is The Only Actor To Have a Number One Movie Six Decades in a Row
Sylvester Stallone has been a versatile force in Hollywood for decades now. On screen, some of his early roles made audiences think he was sort of a big, dumb muscle man. But it’s worth remembering he was the writer behind Rocky and won an Academy Award for that. He’s actually done quite a bit of writing work over the years in addition to his acting.
While not all of his movies have been award winners, they are often very popular. Because of that, and because of the length of his career, Sylvester Stallone is actually the only actor who’s had a number one movie in each of six different decades.
The movie Rocky premiered in 1976 and made $225 million at the box office. Not a big deal today but adjusted for inflation that’s over $1 billion, so definitely a hit.
In the ’80s Stallone made a killing and more than one film hit number one including both Rocky and Rambo films. In the ’90s he scored big with the movie Cliffhanger and then later with Demolition Man and Cop Land.
The 2001 movie Driven topped the box office, giving him his first hit of the new millennium. In 2010 he released The Expendables, which spawned another franchise and also hit number one, and finally in 2021 he clinched the sixth decade when Suicide Squad, in which he plays King Shark, hit number one, and he’s added to that with 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
8. Oscar Isaac is the Only Actor to Have the Marvel Triple Crown
Being in a comic book movie is a rite of passage these days. Very few actors of renown have not appeared in a movie for either Marvel or DC at this point. There are a couple of actors who have had some crossover and appeared in both Marvel and DC properties. Ryan Reynolds has been Deadpool in Marvel as well as the Green Lantern for DC. Chris Evans played the Human Torch as well as Captain America. But Oscar Isaac is the only actor who has tripled down on Marvel.
While the MCU is the juggernaut of the Marvel universe, it’s not the only place to get movies based on Marvel characters. Because of various contracts and rights issues over the years, Marvel has been split up in some unusual ways. Sony has the rights to Spider-Man and his associated characters. For a long time Fox had the rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, although those now belong to Disney. And the rest falls under the Disney and Marvel merger that created the MCU.
Oscar Isaac joined the MCU when he played Moon Knight on the Disney Plus series. Prior to that he was in the Fox Marvel movies when he played Apocalypse in the X-Men franchise. In 2023, Isaac finished his Marvel domination by playing Spider-Man 2099 in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (after a post-credits cameo as the character in Into the Spider-Verse).
7. Will Smith Had 8 Consecutive Films Gross Over $100 Million
There are plenty of ways to define success as an actor, but for many people, especially the people who are getting paid by movies, box office is the be all and the end all. Some stars are generally understood to be bankable. That means that you can count on them to make a lot of money because of how popular they are. For a good deal of time, one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood was Will Smith.
As a leading man Will Smith has pulled in over $6.5 billion at the box office in his career. That makes him the 9th most profitable leading man in Hollywood. But he does hold a distinction no one else has, and that’s starring in 8 films in a row that all grossed over $100 million domestically. If you go international, he actually had 10 in a row top $150 million.
When top movies make over $1 billion these days, that doesn’t sound like a lot. But for an actor to do 8 in a row is unheard of. Actors often shake up their routine with smaller movies that don’t make as much money, or they’ll just find themselves in a dud that bombs at the box office.
6. Jonathan Freeman Voiced Jafar in Aladdin the Movie and on Broadway
There have been occasions in the past when an actor has played the same character on screen as they have played on stage, or vice versa. Jonathan Freeman seems to be the only actor who has transitioned a character from an animated film onto the stage.
Freeman was the voice of Jafar in the original Aladdin movie back in 1992. When the cartoon was adapted to Broadway, he played the character on stage giving it a little more authenticity since the voice was exactly the same.
Freeman has voiced Jafar in more than one animated film, as well as video games and theme park rides. All told, Freeman had been voicing the character for about 30 years in various media.
5. Bernard Hill Is the Only Actor To Star in More Than One Film That Won 11 Oscars
Every once in a while a movie comes out that is so beloved across the board that, when award season shows up, it seems to sweep nearly every category. Both Ben Hur and Titanic received multiple Academy Award nominations when they were released, with Ben Hur getting 12 of a potential 15 nominations and Titanic getting 14 of a potential 17. And even with all those nominations, scoring wins for most of this is no easy task.
All told, only three films have won 11 Oscars and none have won more. The two previously mentioned and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. And Bernard Hill is the only actor to have starred in more than one.
Hill played the character of King Theoden in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He also played Captain Edward J. Smith in Titanic. You certainly can’t attribute the overwhelming success of both films to Hill alone, but the fact remains no other actor has been in as many highly awarded films to date.
4. Tom Hanks is the Only Actor In the Army Rangers Hall of Fame
Back in the year 2013 actor Tom Hanks was voted the most trusted person in America. This was based solely on the persona that he has in movies. People like Tom Hanks because he seems like a good guy. The effects the characters he plays in movies has on people goes far beyond just convincing everyone he’s trustworthy. Nothing serves as a better example of this than the fact that the Army Rangers inducted Tom Hanks into their Hall of Fame strictly because of his work in movies. He’s the only actor who has ever been inducted to the Army Ranger Hall of fame.
Hanks received the honor as a result of his work in the film Saving Private Ryan, as well as for his commitment to honoring those who served in war.
3. Kelsey Grammer Was Emmy Nominated for Playing the Same Character on Three Shows
If comic book movies have taught us anything it’s that actors love seeing crossovers with characters from other films. But comic books didn’t hold exclusive rights to this idea. Over the years, TV shows have flirted with crossovers to keep audiences interested and sometimes your favorite characters would appear on someone else’s show for an episode or two.
In the history of television, Kelsey Grammer is the only actor who has been nominated for his portrayal of one character but on three different shows. Grammer made a career out of playing Dr. Frasier Crane, a psychiatrist who first appeared frequenting the bar Cheers back in the 1980s. That was where Grammer received his first Emmy nomination.
Crane was such a hit that NBC gave him his own show. On Frasier, Grammer went on to receive more Emmy nominations and while it seems like it should end there, it doesn’t. He also did a guest spot on the NBC show Wings where he played the doctor and that was also nominated for an Emmy.
2. John Cazale is the Only Actor Whose Entire Filmography Was Nominated for Best Picture
If you use award nominations as a metric for the talent of an actor, then an actor who has been in nothing but movies nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards might be considered one of the best actors ever. Most of the actors that are considered the best in the world, those who have received multiple awards for their skill over the years, can’t claim to have been in nothing but Best Picture nominees. In fact, only one actor can make that claim. His name is John Cazale.
John Cazale starred in 5 movies over 7 years. That was the full length of his career. But if an actor was only going to work for that long on so few films, then they could make no better choices than Cazale did. He starred in The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather II, Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter. Both Godfathers and The Deer Hunter won Best Picture while The Conversation and Dog Day Afternoon were nominated.
In addition to only starring in Best Picture nominees, Cazale is the only actor whose entire filmography was chosen by the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.
Cazale had been diagnosed with cancer while filming The Deer Hunter and passed away before it was released.
1. James Dean Is The Only Actor To Get More Than One Posthumous Oscar Nomination
Getting a posthumous Oscar nomination is not as rare as you might think. A fair number of actors and filmmakers have received nominations after they unfortunately passed away, and 16 of them actually ended up winning. Heath Ledger from The Dark Knight is one of the most famous cases of this happening.
The first actor to ever receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination was James Dean. As famous as James Dean is, and his legacy lives on today, nearly 70 years after his death, it’s surprising to remember that Dean only starred in three movies.
Not only was Dean the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for his work in the movie East of Eden, he became the only actor in history to be nominated for two Academy Awards posthumously when he was nominated the following year for the film Giant.