Nicolas Cage kicked off with two hits at the beginning of his career “Raising Arizona” and “Moonstruck.” By the year 1995, he won the Academy Award for best actor for “Leaving Las Vegas.” Ever since, the box-office hits kept coming, from”Face/Off,” to “Con Air” to “National Treasure” Cage has appeared in over 100 films, most of them successful.
He played twin brothers in the brilliant Charlie Kaufman film about the woes of screenwriting “Adaptation,” and an arms dealer in “Lord of War,” the list goes on. Cage also outdid himself as the ‘noir version’ of Spider-Man in “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”
Bill Murray
Bill Murray went from sketch comedy to big-time Hollywood. In his early days, he was a notable feature player on "Saturday Night Live." His success on the NBC show launched his movie star status with films like "Caddyshack," "Ghostbusters" and probably his most famous "Groundhog Day."
In his later years Murray took on a new form of comedy with his now long-term collaborator Wes Anderson frequently collaborates with director Wes Anderson, appearing in such films as "Rushmore" and "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou." His signature dry wit and deadpan delivery make him one of the most unique comedic actors of our time, it's no surprise that in 2016, he received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Dick Van Dyke
Since the 1940s Dick Van Dyke has been entertaining moviegoers, but he only really became a household name in 1961 with the CBS sitcom "The Dick Van Dyke Show." We loved him in charming Disney musical classics like "Mary Poppins" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."
These performances have brought him countless awards including Van Dyke has received numerous awards during his career including five Primetime Emmys, a Tony, and the SAG Life Achievement Award. While some of his performances are less timeless than others, we will always remember him as the soot-faced cockney chimney sweep in "Mary Poppins."
Laurence Fishburne
At 14 years old the great Laurence Fishburne lied his way into the film 1979 classic "Apocalypse Now." Playing an 18-year-old soldier in Vietnam, young Fishburne captivated audiences and was instantly launched into stardom. Since then the actor has starred in many great films and even achieved cult status as Morpheous from the iconic sci-fi "The Matrix."
When it comes to his most critically acclaimed work, it's "Searching for Bobby Fisher" that makes Fishburne real acting great. The film even got the perfect score by legendary film critic Roger Egbert. If we thought chess was popular now with "The Queen's Gambit," watch the 1993 film.
Christopher Walken
Not many actors out there can star in a Vietnam War epic ("The Deer Hunter",) an Adam Sandler comedy ("Click"), and a musical ("Hairspray") in the same career. Christopher Walken of course is no ordinary actor. He's also starred in a bunch of brilliant movies in between. He's even part of the special guest SNL club.
With such a long and illustrious career it's hard to settle on one performance, is there one for each decade? But if we are going to pick, the film that perhaps defined his career was "The Deer Hunter." Apart from it being a masterful film about the harrowing effects of war, Walken's performance is unforgettable.