Leading man

Less frequently, the epithet has been applied to an actor who is often associated with one particular actress; for example, Spencer Tracy had a similar association with Katharine Hepburn.

Tracy's breakthrough came in 1930, when his lead performance in The Last Mile caught the attention of Hollywood.

Leading men of the silent era included Francis X Bushman, J. Warren Kerrigan, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Sessue Hayakawa, Wallace Reid, Richard Barthelmess, Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, John Barrymore, Thomas Meighan, Rudolph Valentino and Milton Sills.

Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man in the United States and Europe.

Leading men of the silent era included Francis X Bushman, J. Warren Kerrigan, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Sessue Hayakawa, Wallace Reid, Richard Barthelmess, Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, John Barrymore, Thomas Meighan, Rudolph Valentino and Milton Sills.

He played several leading man roles opposite popular actresses of the day including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson.

Leading men of the 1930s included Clark Gable, Ronald Colman, Maurice Chevalier, Warren William, John Boles, William Powell, Fredric March, Gary Cooper, Edward G. Robinson, Cary Grant, Frank Morgan, Robert Montgomery, Bing Crosby, James Cagney, Errol Flynn, Franchot Tone, George Brent, Robert Taylor, and Charles Boyer.

The next year, he landed his first leading role, and over the next three decades, he was a leading man in more than 60 motion pictures.

Leading men of the 1930s included Clark Gable, Ronald Colman, Maurice Chevalier, Warren William, John Boles, William Powell, Fredric March, Gary Cooper, Edward G. Robinson, Cary Grant, Frank Morgan, Robert Montgomery, Bing Crosby, James Cagney, Errol Flynn, Franchot Tone, George Brent, Robert Taylor, and Charles Boyer.

Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor, known as one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men.

In the 1940s, leading men included James Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Tyrone Power, John Wayne, Joel McCrea, Ray Milland, Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope, Dana Andrews, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, William Holden, Burgess Meredith, Burt Lancaster, Victor Mature, and Robert Mitchum.

His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend (1945), a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind (1942), the murder-plotting husband in Dial M for Murder which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1954), and as Oliver Barrett III in Love Story (1970).

In the 1940s, leading men included James Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Tyrone Power, John Wayne, Joel McCrea, Ray Milland, Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope, Dana Andrews, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, William Holden, Burgess Meredith, Burt Lancaster, Victor Mature, and Robert Mitchum.

Stewart found his footing in Hollywood thanks largely to Sullavan, who campaigned for Stewart to be her leading man in the 1936 romantic comedy Next Time We Love.

The 1950s included Kirk Douglas, Gene Kelly, Montgomery Clift, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Ricardo Montalban, Jeff Chandler, Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner, James Dean, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jack Lemmon, and Paul Newman.

Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer, Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor, generally known for his turns as a leading man during the 1950s and 1960s.

In the 1940s, leading men included James Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, Tyrone Power, John Wayne, Joel McCrea, Ray Milland, Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope, Dana Andrews, Joseph Cotten, Gregory Peck, William Holden, Burgess Meredith, Burt Lancaster, Victor Mature, and Robert Mitchum.

Producer Hal Wallis initially offered the leading man role to George Raft, a more established box-office name than Bogart, whose contract stipulated he did not have to appear in remakes.

A leading man is the actor who is the protagonist or plays a love interest to the leading actress in a film or play.

Leading man

Some examples of modern-day leading men include Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Craig, Tom Cruise, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Idris Elba, Colin Farrell, Michael Fassbender, James Franco, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Hanks, Tom Hardy, Ethan Hawke, Chris Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, James McAvoy, Matthew McConaughey, Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Robert Pattinson, Joaquin Phoenix, Chris Pine, Brad Pitt, Chris Pratt, Daniel Radcliffe, Eddie Redmayne, Keanu Reeves, Ryan Reynolds, Will Smith, Sylvester Stallone, Mark Wahlberg, Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis.

Pratt achieved leading man status in 2014 after starring in two critically and commercially successful films, Warner Animation Group's The Lego Movie as Emmet Brickowski and Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy as Star-Lord.

Movie star

Leading man

A leading man is the actor who is the protagonist or plays a love interest to the leading actress in a film or play.

A leading man is the actor who is the protagonist or plays a love interest to the leading actress in a film or play.

An example of this would be Bruce Cabot's role in King Kong.

An example of this would be Bruce Cabot's role in King Kong.

Less frequently, the epithet has been applied to an actor who is often associated with one particular actress; for example, Spencer Tracy had a similar association with Katharine Hepburn.

However, used in this sense, the woman is usually described as the leading lady of the man.

The term is also used collectively, as in "Hollywood's leading men" to refer to a group of notable, famous, or popular actors.

Leading men of the silent era included Francis X Bushman, J. Warren Kerrigan, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Sessue Hayakawa, Wallace Reid, Richard Barthelmess, Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, John Barrymore, Thomas Meighan, Rudolph Valentino and Milton Sills.

Leading men of the silent era included Francis X Bushman, J. Warren Kerrigan, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Sessue Hayakawa, Wallace Reid, Richard Barthelmess, Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, John Barrymore, Thomas Meighan, Rudolph Valentino and Milton Sills.

Leading men of the silent era included Francis X Bushman, J. Warren Kerrigan, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Sessue Hayakawa, Wallace Reid, Richard Barthelmess, Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, John Barrymore, Thomas Meighan, Rudolph Valentino and Milton Sills.

Leading men of the silent era included Francis X Bushman, J. Warren Kerrigan, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Sessue Hayakawa, Wallace Reid, Richard Barthelmess, Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, John Barrymore, Thomas Meighan, Rudolph Valentino and Milton Sills.

Leading men of the silent era included Francis X Bushman, J. Warren Kerrigan, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Sessue Hayakawa, Wallace Reid, Richard Barthelmess, Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, John Barrymore, Thomas Meighan, Rudolph Valentino and Milton Sills.

Leading men of the silent era included Francis X Bushman, J. Warren Kerrigan, Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Sessue Hayakawa, Wallace Reid, Richard Barthelmess, Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, John Barrymore, Thomas Meighan, Rudolph Valentino and Milton Sills.