Who are the hardest-working celebrities in the world?
Hollywood actors and actresses are among the highest-earning celebrities in the world, with actors like Brad Pitt having a net worth of around $400 million. As Hollywood continues to dominate the global entertainment industry, high-profile actors and actresses will always be in the news. That’s why the online bingo site experts at Slingo thought it would be interesting to identify the most hard-working and successful stars of all time, by looking at their actor credits and award wins.
By looking at the number of credits earned for movies and TV, as well as looking at each actor’s credits for producer, writer and director roles, we will reveal the hardest-working Hollywood stars in the world. We will also discover the actors and actresses with the most combined award wins and nominations received over the years.
The Hardest Working Hollywood Stars of All Time
To reveal the hardest-working Hollywood actors and actresses, we have used IMDB data to find out which actors have been the most prolific in terms of the number of acting credits for TV and movies, as well as producer, writer and director credits.
1. Tom Hanks
Actor Score: 8.53 out of 10
Producer, actor, and writer Tom Hanks has been praised for his starring role in Cast Away, which won the Golden Trailer Award for Best Drama. Hanks is also best known for his titular role in Forrest Gump, and as Captain John Miller in Saving Private Ryan. Thomas Jeffrey Hanks, born in California, bagged first place as the hardest-working male actor, with an impressive score of 8.53 out of 10.
As one of the most popular and recognisable film stars worldwide, Hanks has a career that spans 95 movies and six Oscar nominations. The Hollywood star has 95 combined actor credits (in movies and TV), as well as 60 producer credits, and seven credits apiece as a writer and director.
2. Jason Robards
Actor Score: 8.33 out of 10
Jason Nelson Robards Jr. was an American actor who was known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Jason Robards came in second place for the hardest-working actors, with a score of 8.33 out of 10.
Robards was praised for his starring roles in All the President’s Men, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Magnolia (in his final film role). The highly respected actor was recognised for his outstanding career as an actor, which spanned over five decades.
Robards became a familiar face to movie audiences throughout the 60s, with a total of 132 combined actor credits for film and TV, and received eight Tony Award nominations, more than any other male actor as of 2020.
3. Samuel L. Jackson
Actor Score: 8.02 out of 10
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American actor and producer, and one of the most widely recognised actors of his generation. The films in which Jackson has appeared have collectively grossed more than $27 billion worldwide.
Samuel delivered one of his best performances in the thriller movie Pulp Fiction and is well known for his lead roles in Hateful Eight and Snakes on a Plane. Jackson has 204 combined actor credits in TV and movies, as well as 11 producer credits.
The Most Successful Hollywood Stars
We will now reveal the most successful actors and actresses, based on award wins and nominations.
1. Meryl Streep
Combined Awards & Nominations: 554
Meryl Streep has impressively been described as “the best actress of her generation”, receiving many accolades for her work both on screen and on stage. She is also one of few individuals to be nominated for both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT.
Streep has been praised for her versatility and accent adaptability, and for her roles in Out of Africa and The Devil Wears Prada, where she played a powerful lead role as Miranda Priestly, landing her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 2007. Meryl has won 178 awards for her acting talents, as well as 376 nominations, a total of 554 combined nominations and wins.
2. Cate Blanchett
Combined Awards & Nominations: 469
Cate Blanchett, an Australian actress, is known for her versatile work across blockbusters, independent films and stage. Cate has earned many awards across her 70 movie appearances, including two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.
Blanchett has won 197 awards for her acting talents and received 272 nominations, a combined total of 469.
3. Nicole Kidman
Combined Awards & Nominations: 372
Nicole Mary Kidman has appeared in at least 87 movies across film and television in various genres. Kidman has continually ranked among the world’s highest-paid actresses.
Nicole was widely praised for her leading roles as Satine in Moulin Rouge! and the American psychological drama film The Hours, in which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress. Nicole Kidman has landed 112 award wins and received 260 nominations, a total of 372 combined wins and nominations.
The Hardest-Working Hollywood Actors
We will now reveal the hardest-working male actors in Hollywood based on their acting credits and overall contribution to the entertainment industry.
As shown above, Tom Hanks, Jason Robard and Samuel L Jackson once again topped this list for their array of talents in acting, writing and producer work. Robert Duvall, known for his role in The Godfather (1972), and George Clooney, who earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for his leading role in Michael Clayton (2007), also made it to the top five.
The Hardest-Working Hollywood Actresses
Having uncovered the hardest-working male actors in Hollywood, we will now celebrate the talents of Hollywood actresses, looking at their acting credits as well as the producer, writer and director roles they have undertaken
1. Natalie Portman
Actor Score: 7.53 out of 10
Israeli-born American actress Natalie Portman has had a prolific career since her teen years and was praised for her leading role as Nina in Black Swan, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2011.
Natalie is also well known for her starring roles in V for Vendetta and Leon. With a career spanning since the early 1990s, Natalie Portman came in first place in this list of the hardest-working actresses, with a score of 7.53 out of 10.
Natalie Portman is among the best-earning actresses in the world, with an estimated net worth of $90 million, and as such her hard work has paid off. Portman has 71 combined actor credits (in movies and TV), 13 producer credits, four director credits and three writer credits.
2. Helen Hunt
Actor Score: 7.53 out of 10
Joining Natalie Portman in joint first place for the hardest working actresses is Helen Hunt, an American actress and director. The California-born actress is well-known for her leading role as Carol in As Good As It Gets in which she won an Oscar, and Cast Away, where she appeared alongside fellow Hollywood icon Tom Hanks.
Helen has collected a number of accolades during her impressive career, including four Primetime Emmy Awards and two from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. Helen has gained 105 combined actor credits in film and TV, 13 director credits, and three producer and writer credits.
3. Laura Dern
Actor Score: 7.02 out of 10
American actress, Laura Elizabeth Dern, has received a number of awards during her professional career, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Dern is well known for her leading role in Jurassic Park in 1993, Marriage Story and Wild.
Lauren Dern has 100 combined film and television credits, nine producer credits, two director credits and one writer credit.
The Most Successful Hollywood Actors
After naming the hardest-working male and female celebrities in terms of actor credits and producer roles, we are now going to look at the actors with the highest number of combined awards won and nominations received, revealing the most successful overall.
1. Leonardo DiCaprio
Combined Awards & Nominations: 365
Powerful American actor Leonardo DiCaprio is widely recognised as one of the most successful Hollywood stars and is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. There have been a total of 102 awards won by DiCaprio and 263 nominations, landing him as the most successful actor with 365 combined nominations and award wins.
2. Brad Pitt
Combined Awards & Nominations: 346
Brad Pitt is a long-standing actor, producer, and widely recognised Hollywood movie star, known for his lead roles in Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Twelve Monkeys. Pitt’s awards include two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Brad Pitt has won 122 awards and received 224 award nominations, a total of 346 combined wins and nominations, putting the star second on this list.
3. Clint Eastwood
Combined Awards & Nominations: 335
Clint Eastwood is a world-renowned American actor and film director who has appeared in over 60 films. Eastwood’s legendary career has spanned 65 years after achieving success in the Western TV series Rawhide, before rising to international fame.
Clint Eastwood has won four Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. In 1995, he received an honorary Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement in film production. The Hollywood legend has 335 combined won awards and nominations.
The Most Successful Hollywood Actresses
We will now discover the most successful actresses in Hollywood by looking at their number of awards and nominations received.
Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman topped our most successful actresses and actors list, and also stole the crown for the most successful female actresses. These Hollywood icons have collected numerous accolades for their acting talents, and continue to showcase their talents in the biggest upcoming blockbusters.
British actress, Kate Winslet, who rose to international fame in 1997 for her leading role in James Cameron’s blockbuster, Titanic, also made it to our top five. As well as Scarlett Johansson, who was the world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, and is known for her work in movies across the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Methodology:
The top 50 actors were collected from IMDB, as well as the top 50 actresses using another IMDB listicle.
By looking at each actor and actress's IMDB page, the number of actor credits for TV and movies was collected. Producer, writer and director credits were also collected.
Each actor and actress was ranked by their number of credits for each category, receiving a normalised score out of 10.
Each actor and actress’s award wins and nominations were combined to determine which were the most successful.
