Some of today’s most popular actors coast by on their youth and beauty in an industry that’s largely concerned with image. However, many of the most skilled actors have worked in the industry for years, with their talents allowing them to age gracefully in the public eye. Audiences love these performers no matter what age they reach.
In order to identify the 50 most famous actors over 70, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed thousands of older actors. We looked at the popularity of each actor’s work in film and television, as well the popularity of each actor’s Wikipedia Page over the past two years.
Click here to see the 50 most famous actors over 70.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.
50. Harvey Keitel
> Age: 79
> Known for: Reservoir Dogs, Bad Lieutenant, The Grand Budapest Hotel
> Acting credits: 154
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,010,930
49. Dolly Parton
> Age: 72
> Known for: The Porter Wagoner Show, Dolly, Dolly
> Acting credits: 37
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,770,326
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48. Jon Voight
> Age: 79
> Known for: Anaconda, Midnight Cowboy, Transformers
> Acting credits: 98
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,710,703
47. Mia Farrow
> Age: 73
> Known for: Rosemary’s Baby, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Purple Rose of Cairo
> Acting credits: 59
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,419,434
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46. Julie Andrews
> Age: 82
> Known for: The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Victor Victoria
> Acting credits: 44
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,438,634
45. William Shatner
> Age: 87
> Known for: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
> Acting credits: 238
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,374,830
44. Tim Curry
> Age: 72
> Known for: Congo, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Clue
> Acting credits: 229
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,673,475
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43. Martin Sheen
> Age: 78
> Known for: The Departed, Badlands, Apocalypse Now
> Acting credits: 225
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,233,608
42. Barbra Streisand
> Age: 76
> Known for: Funny Girl, Yentl, The Mirror Has Two Faces
> Acting credits: 24
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,933,328
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41. Donald Sutherland
> Age: 83
> Known for: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Pride & Prejudice, M*A*S*H
> Acting credits: 188
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,891,787
40. Judi Dench
> Age: 83
> Known for: Skyfall, Notes on a Scandal, Philomena
> Acting credits: 123
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,009,513
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39. Tom Selleck
> Age: 73
> Known for: Blue Bloods, Magnum, P.I., In & Out
> Acting credits: 83
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,961,752
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38. Steve Martin
> Age: 73
> Known for: Roxanne, L.A. Story, The Jerk
> Acting credits: 64
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,058,010
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37. James Caan
> Age: 78
> Known for: Misery, The Godfather, Rollerball
> Acting credits: 131
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,338,394
36. Goldie Hawn
> Age: 72
> Known for: Overboard, The First Wives Club, Private Benjamin
> Acting credits: 34
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,957,886
35. Dick Van Dyke
> Age: 92
> Known for: Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Dick Van Dyke Show
> Acting credits: 79
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,263,391
34. Diane Keaton
> Age: 72
> Known for: Annie Hall, Something’s Gotta Give, The Godfather
> Acting credits: 68
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,224,851
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33. Danny DeVito
> Age: 73
> Known for: Matilda, Throw Momma from the Train, Batman Returns
> Acting credits: 132
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,369,657
32. Sam Elliott
> Age: 74
> Known for: Road House, The Big Lebowski, We Were Soldiers
> Acting credits: 99
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,822,425
31. Gene Hackman
> Age: 88
> Known for: The French Connection, Mississippi Burning, Unforgiven
> Acting credits: 100
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,470,580
30. Christopher Lloyd
> Age: 79
> Known for: Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Addams Family Values
> Acting credits: 224
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,498,920
29. Susan Sarandon
> Age: 71
> Known for: Thelma & Louise, Dead Man Walking, Stepmom
> Acting credits: 152
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,293,542
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28. Helen Mirren
> Age: 73
> Known for: RED, The Queen, Woman in Gold
> Acting credits: 131
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,379,912
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27. Sam Neill
> Age: 70
> Known for: Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park III
> Acting credits: 132
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,764,185
26. Robert Duvall
> Age: 87
> Known for: Tender Mercies, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather
> Acting credits: 143
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,469,246
25. Christopher Plummer
> Age: 88
> Known for: The Sound of Music, The Insider, All the Money in the World
> Acting credits: 213
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,504,795
24. Robert Redford
> Age: 82
> Known for: The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men
> Acting credits: 78
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,695,288
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23. Ben Kingsley
> Age: 74
> Known for: Gandhi, Sexy Beast, Schindler’s List
> Acting credits: 141
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,434,220
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22. Sally Field
> Age: 71
> Known for: Forrest Gump, Steel Magnolias, Lincoln
> Acting credits: 65
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,358,157
21. Dustin Hoffman
> Age: 81
> Known for: Tootsie, Rain Man, Midnight Cowboy
> Acting credits: 84
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,725,101
20. Christopher Walken
> Age: 75
> Known for: The Deer Hunter, Catch Me If You Can, Hairspray
> Acting credits: 133
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,120,622
19. Joe Pesci
> Age: 75
> Known for: Goodfellas, Raging Bull, My Cousin Vinny
> Acting credits: 39
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,812,613
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18. Michael Caine
> Age: 85
> Known for: Alfie, The Ipcress File, The Dark Knight
> Acting credits: 170
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,931,395
17. Kirk Douglas
> Age: 101
> Known for: Spartacus, Paths of Glory, The Bad and the Beautiful
> Acting credits: 93
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,833,922
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16. Tommy Lee Jones
> Age: 71
> Known for: The Fugitive, No Country for Old Men, Men in Black
> Acting credits: 83
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,578,697
15. Patrick Stewart
> Age: 78
> Known for: Logan, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection
> Acting credits: 151
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,034,784
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14. Jane Fonda
> Age: 80
> Known for: Klute, Barbarella, Coming Home
> Acting credits: 57
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 4,651,123
13. Cher
> Age: 72
> Known for: Moonstruck, Burlesque, Mask
> Acting credits: 33
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 4,995,126
12. Michael Douglas
> Age: 73
> Known for: Wonder Boys, Wall Street, Basic Instinct
> Acting credits: 60
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,254,747
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11. Sean Connery
> Age: 88
> Known for: The Hunter for Red October, The Untouchables, Goldfinger
> Acting credits: 93
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,504,096
10. Anthony Hopkins
> Age: 80
> Known for: The Silence of the Lambs, Remains of the Day, Hitchcock
> Acting credits: 133
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,514,352
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9. Jack Nicholson
> Age: 81
> Known for: Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Departed
> Acting credits: 77
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 2,931,525
8. Ian McKellen
> Age: 79
> Known for: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Gods and Monsters
> Acting credits: 115
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 1,957,544
7. Clint Eastwood
> Age: 88
> Known for: Gran Torino, Dirty Harry, Unforgiven
> Acting credits: 71
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 5,662,452
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6. Al Pacino
> Age: 78
> Known for: Serpico, Scarface, The Godfather
> Acting credits: 58
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,646,344
5. Arnold Schwarzenegger
> Age: 71
> Known for: Predator, Terminator 2, True Lies
> Acting credits: 71
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 5,941,810
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4. Harrison Ford
> Age: 76
> Known for: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, The Fugitive
> Acting credits: 80
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 4,340,630
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3. Morgan Freeman
> Age: 81
> Known for: The Shawshank Redemption, Invictus, Driving Miss Daisy
> Acting credits: 123
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 4,199,758
2. Sylvester Stallone
> Age: 72
> Known for: Rocky, Rambo, Creed
> Acting credits: 82
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 8,512,368
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1. Robert De Niro
> Age: 75
> Known for: Raging Bull, The Godfather, Taxi Driver
> Acting credits: 116
> Wikipedia page views (2 yr.): 3,796,437
Detailed findings
Considering the extensive careers of many of these actors, it is unsurprising that they are so famous. Twenty-three of the 50 actors on our list have more than 100 acting credits in film and television, according to the Internet Movie Database.
The most prolific actors are William Shatner, Tim Curry, and Martin Sheen – each has racked up at least 225 credits, thanks in large part to their well-known work in television. On the opposite side of the spectrum is Barbra Streisand. Though she only has 24 acting credits, some were hugely successful movies, like “Funny Girl” and “Meet the Fockers.” Of course, Streisand is also hugely famous from her singing career.
The majority of actors on our list are currently in their 70s. “Jurassic Park” star Sam Neill is the most recent actor to join the septuagenarian club. Kirk Douglas is the only actor on the list to live for more than a century, after turning 101 on Dec. 9.
Douglas worked into his 90s, with his last acting credit for the 2008 TV movie, “Empire State Building Murders.” Many of the other featured actors seem to refuse to let aging stand between them and their craft. Clint Eastwood, at 88, and Robert Duvall, at 87, for example, continue to act in and direct feature films.
Methodology
To identify the most famous actors over 70, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 5,000 top ranked actors 70 years old and over on IMDb’s STARmeter. This ranking is a weekly measure of popularity based on user behavior on the Internet Movie Database.
We created an index based on two metrics of fame: the popularity of the films and television shows each actor has appeared in and the popularity of the actor’s Wikipedia page. The number of user votes a film or television episode received on IMDb was used as a proxy for a given actor’s popularity. An actor’s total popularity was determined by the sum of the votes received for all the films and television programs for which the actor is credited. Actors were only given credit for episodes of television series in which they appeared. IMDb vote counts for actors in starring roles were given full weight in the index; IMDb vote counts for actors in non-starring roles were given half weight in the index. We combined this with the number of page views the actor’s Wikipedia page received over the past two years. Total acting credits came from IMDb.
Certain actors over 70 whose primary fame came from endeavors outside of film or television – such as Paul McCartney and Tina Turner – were removed from consideration.
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