Some of the best actors of this generation happen to be black or people of colour. While there are some great white actors, it feels almost owed to these actors to acknowledge the fantastic jobs they are doing. Below is a list of the best and most popular black actors in the world at the moment. The list will be in no particular order (because this isn’t a competition) and will only feature male actors, as female actors will require a separate list. So here is the top selection of black actors currently gracing viewer’s screens, some of which include some of the most famous black actors of all time:
1. Denzel Washington
Actor and filmmaker Denzel Washington has a career that spans over four decades. He made his film debut in the film industry in A Soldier’s Story (1984) and then Cry Freedom (1987) not long after. Washington also starred in a medical drama TV series, St. Elsewhere (1982–1988), and won his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the war film Glory (1989) as Private Silas Trip.
Best known for his roles in Training Day (2001), Malcolm X (1992), Mo’ Better Blues (1990), Flight (2012), and Fences (2016), Washington is a well-respected actor in the industry who deserved his most recent award from President Joe Biden, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In the United States, this award is the highest civilian honour.
Today, Denzel Washington is probably the best and most successful black actor of all time, even surpassing his hero, Sidney Poitier.
2. Sidney Poitier
Can you discuss the best black actors of all time without mentioning Sidney Poitier? It is only natural that the first Bahamian and black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor is included on this list.
Unfortunately, Poitier passed away in 2022 due to heart failure. But he was sure to leave a mark in the industry, having lived until 94. As one of the last major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood Cinema, he was granted knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974, received an Honorary Academy Award for his outstanding accomplishments as an actor, and also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama in 2009. His most recent achievements saw him claim the BAFTA Fellowship for outstanding lifetime achievement in film in 2016.
With an impressive track record, the actor is among the most popular in Hollywood and a role model for many. He saw roles in Shoot to Kill (1988), Blackboard Jungle (1955), Ghost Dad (1990), and The Last Brickmaker in America (2001). And these are only a sneak peek into his lengthy acting career.
3. Will Smith
Forget the slap for a moment. Although his career as an actor has quietened down, Will Smith is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and remains one of the best black actors of all time.
He is a rapper and actor who saw his first role in the classic sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. With fantastic range, the actor became one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, winning four Grammy Awards and two Academy Awards.
However, he also sparked significant controversy at the Academy Awards when he slapped host Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife. Although this is considered bad attention, it sparked massive memeability on the internet and brought more attention to the star, albeit unwanted attention.
His best and most recognizable films include the lead roles in the Bad Boys films, the Men in Black trilogy, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Hitch (2005), I Am Legend (2007), Suicide Squad (2016), Aladdin (2019), and Emancipation (2022). In addition, Smith is the fifth black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, a further testament to his successful career.
4. Jamie Foxx
Professionally known as Jamie Foxx (his birth name is Eric Marlon Bishop), the actor, singer, and comedian has already won the BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild Award, Golden Globe Award, Critics’ Choice Movie Award, and Academy Award for one singular film. Arguably, his most famous film, Foxx, portrayed Ray Charles in the biographical film Ray (2004). He was also nominated for numerous awards within the same year.
Other recognizable roles he has played include the main character in Django Unchained (2012), Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2021), and then saw him make his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as he reprised his role as Electro in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). The star also has a career as a successful musician, having produced four albums and won awards, which include a Grammy Award.
5. Forest Whitaker
At age 61, this actor received numerous accolades for his impressive big-screen performances, such as two Screen Actors Guild Awards, an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He saw roles in films such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), which was actually his debut film, Bird (1988), Panic Room (2002), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), and Black Panther (2016) alongside the late Chadwick Boseman. In addition, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006).
Furthermore, Whitaker is more than just your average actor. He was formally admitted to UNESCO as the Goodwill Ambassador and is now the CEO of a non-profit outreach program called the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WDPI). With an active role in humanitarian work, Whitaker definitely deserves his place on this list, as he is using his fame to make a change.
6. Morgan Freeman
This actor, director, and narrator, best known for his deep voice, has seen a five-decade-long career.
Morgan Freeman’s acting career began in theatre at school when he starred in plays before ultimately studying the arts in Los Angeles. He then won his first Obie Award for his role in Coriolanus, a Shakespearean play. His film debut was in the 1987 classic Street Smart, which earned him his first Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor. After that, he saw a period where he starred alongside Clint Eastwood in multiple films before receiving another Academy Award Nomination for his role in Shawshank Redemption (1994). Freeman even starred as Nelson Mandela in the movie Invictus (2009).
He also received awards for roles in Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Driving Miss Daisy (1989). The latter film won him a Golden Globe Award, although the star has five nominations for the award. In addition, Freeman founded his own production company, Revelations Entertainment, and was awarded the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2012 for his contributions to the film industry.
7. Samuel L. Jackson
Placing as the third highest-grossing actor of all time, Samuel L. Jackson (who is one of the actors who has starred in the most movies of all time) saw his first Academy Honorary Award in 2022 from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His most recognizable character to date is Nick Fury, whom he plays in a total of 11 films within the MCU. He also guest-starred in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D television series. Some of his other works include Coming to America (1988), Jurassic Park (1993), Unbreakable (2000), Snakes on a Plane (2006), and Kong: Skull Island (2017). Jackson also offered his voice to the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars film in 2008 and then the game of the same name in 2011. He also voiced Frozone in The Incredibles (2004) and the sequel in 2018.
Jackson also collaborated with some of the biggest names in the film industry, such as Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee. In fact, his breakout role was in Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994), earning the star his first BAFTA Award and a nomination for an Academy Award. And for anime fans, it is worth mentioning that he voiced the main character in Afro Samurai (2017), and although not considered an anime, Gin Rummy in The Boondocks. Also, he voiced a character in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Officer Frank Tenpenny), so it really begs the question of where this man has yet to be.
8. Chadwick Boseman
Although the actor only made it to 43, he still had an impressive two-decade career. His most recognizable role is as Marvel comic book superhero T’Challa/Black Panther in the MCU between 2016 and 2019. The character received their film Black Panther (2018), which dubbed Boseman the first black actor to headline an MCU film. This film won him the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in Motion Picture and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016 and saw his final film in 2020 as Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom before he ultimately passed away. This film earned the late actor two Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. In addition, the film received critical acclaim, which seems a fitting end to his acting career.
9. Idris Elba
The first English actor on this list, Idrissa Akuna Elba, was born in London, England, in 1972 and saw a productive career in acting and as a producer. He also had his share in the music industry as a rapper, singer, and disc jockey. Idris Elba is one of the few actors who saw roles in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Heimdall and Bloodsport within the DC Extended Universe. He has also voiced multiple characters in animated films such as Fluke in Finding Dory (2016), Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022), Chief Bogo in Zootopia (2016), and Shere Khan in the CGI-live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book (2016).
The films he has starred in have grossed over $9 billion at the global box office. He has also seen roles in Obsessed (2009), Prometheus (2012), Pacific Rim (2013), Molly’s Game (2017), and Beasts of No Nation (2015) for which he earned nominations for both a BAFTA and Golden Globe Award. And as a fun fact, Elba’s stage name as a disc jockey is DJ Big Driis.
10. Laurence Fishburne
At age 63, Laurence Fishburne already has three Emmy Awards under his belt, as well as a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, which he won starring in Two Trains Running (1992). As a producer, writer, and director, Fishburne can also be accredited for his work in Once in the Life (2000), a crime film written, directed, and starring the star. Although the film did not receive high ratings on IMBD or a high score on Rotten Tomatoes, this is still quite an impressive feat.
While some of his more famous roles find him in films such as The Matrix series (1999 – 2003) and the John Wick films (2017 – now), he became the first African American actor to appear on stage in Oliver Parker’s Shakespearean adaptation as Othello. Furthermore, he also saw minor roles in prominent films such as the critically acclaimed The Colour Purple featuring Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover. He also saw roles in popular television series such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Black-ish.
11. Michael B. Jordan
One of the younger actors on this list at age 35, Michael B. Jordan, has a surprisingly long career for his age. As a producer, Jordan received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie nomination for his film Fahrenheit 451 (2018). As an actor, he saw roles in four movies written and directed by Ryan Coogler, all of which are his most notable performances. The films include Fruitvale Station (2013), Creed (2015), Black Panther (2018), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). He reprised his role as Creed in 2018 and then his role as Killmonger in 2021 for Marvel’s What If…? Animated series.
Acting since 1998, Jordan saw his breakout role in a television series called The Wire (2002), in which he played a character called Wallace for the show’s first season. Other lesser-known films he has starred in include Chronicle (2012), Red Tails (2012), Fantastic Four (2015), and Just Mercy in 2019. By 2020, Time Magazine dubbed the star a member of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Another magazine awarded the star with the title of Sexiest Man Alive, and then the New York Times listed him as 15th on a list of the 21st Century’s 25 Greatest Actors. Even more impressively, he is the co-owner of AFC Bournemouth, an English Premier League football team.
12. Cuba Gooding Jr.
And last on this list is Academy Award-winning American actor Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. Born in New York, the actor saw his breakthrough role in Boyz n the Hood in 1991, a film that follows the life of Tre Styles (played by Gooding Jr.) as he is sent to live with his father in a neighbourhood where gangs are becoming increasingly more influential. The film was written and directed by John Singleton, who based it on his own life, and the rap song by Ice Cube and Eazy-E of the same name. He went on to win his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the 1996 film directed by Cameron Crowe called Jerry Maguire.
The actor saw more prominent roles in films such as Pearl Harbour (2001), directed by Michael Bay, in which he played the role of Doris Miller. The film sported an A-list cast as he starred alongside Ben Affleck, Alec Baldwin, and Kate Beckinsale in a World War II epic that focuses on the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941. He then received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. In addition, he was nominated for his portrayal of O. J. Simpson in the drama series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story in 2016.
Another achievement the actor has under his belt is the Public Leadership in Neurology Award for his part in raising awareness of the most common demyelinating disease known as Multiple Sclerosis. He also helped raise awareness for juvenile asthma management by starring in an online video game that focuses solely on this called The Quest for The Code. And while these are impressive achievements for the actor to have under his belt, it is still worth mentioning that he has faced legal issues on charges of sexual abuse and misconduct, some of which include kissing a waitress in the mouth without her consent. The actor did not receive jail time, but this should double as a learning moment that fame does not mean impunity.
Honourable Mentions: Eddie Murphy, James Earl Jones, Mahershala Ali, Don Cheadle, Harry Belafonte, Keith David, Wesley Snipes, Richard Pryor, Danny Glover and Giancarlo Esposito.
Which other black actors do you think should be included in our list of the best of all time? Also, check out our list of the best black superheroes of all time.
