The Best Black Actors, Ranked by a Professor

There is a list circulating in the digital ether so academically offensive it practically begs for a peer-reviewed takedown. I don’t know which hallucinating AI—or equally detached human—curated this “Top 20 Black Male Actors” ranking, but as someone who has spent a career documenting the nuance of Black performance, it made me nearly spit out my morning coffee. It wasn’t just a bad list; it was an act of historical malpractice that required immediate corrective surgery. This cannot stand. I am not usually a fan of lists like this, but I have no other choice. My hand is forced. But before my redo, let us talk about what’s so messed up about the list…

Ranking Denzel #1 is justifiable. Sidney #2 is respectable. But I knew this list was going off the rails at #5. Will Smith is a perfectly fine box office star, but the fifth greatest Black actor in movie history? Knee-Grow please.

Then it puts Jamie Foxx over Chadwick Boseman and James Earl Jones. It ranks Wesley Snipes over Jeffrey Wright and Danny Glover. Then there is the strange inclusion of Paul Robeson, who was a serviceable actor, a better singer and an astounding athlete. (I edited a book about him.) But I suspect few people outside movie nerds or scholars of Black culture have actually seen one of his films. Then they placed Ossie Davis at the very bottom of the list behind Eddie Murphy and Idris Elba.

Let’s do this the right way. I will not do 20, though. Let’s just do 15.

15: Daniel Kaluuya

Kaluuya feels like one of the few young actors who can completely take over a movie without doing too much. His performances in Get Out, Nope and Judas and the Black Messiah were layered, emotional, and unpredictable without being over the top. He still has a long career ahead of him, but he already feels like one of the best actors working today.

14: Richard Roundtree

This is before some of y’all time, but it cannot be overstated how Roundtree changed the image of Black masculinity in American movies forever with Shaft. The coolness, confidence, and swagger he brought to that role became iconic almost immediately. But what makes Roundtree important is how he proved Black actors could carry action films and become mainstream stars on their own terms.

13: Ossie Davis

There is a reason Ossie was one of Spike Lee’s favorite actors, this thespian Ossie Davis was bigger than Hollywood. He was an actor, writer, director, activist, and public intellectual all wrapped into one. His performances mattered, but so did the work he did off screen fighting for Black dignity and justice. Davis represents a generation of Black artists who believed art should actually mean something. He could also act his tail off. Just watch his nuanced performance in Do The Right Thing.

12: Delroy Lindo

This British actor born to Jamaican parents has been giving powerhouse performances for decades and still he feels underrated. There is a raw emotional honesty to his acting that makes everything feel real. In Da 5 Bloods, he delivered one of the best performances of the last decade and barely got the recognition he deserved. Lindo brings intelligence, pain, anger, and vulnerability together in a way that few actors can.

11: Don Cheadle

Don’t let the fact that he has been in a supporting role in Marvel films fool you, Cheadle is one of the best actors in Hollywood. Want proof? Just watch the movie that put him on the map:  Devil in a Blue Dress. He is simultaneously menacing and vulnerable as Mouse. And even when he is in massive franchise films, Cheadle still manages to ground his characters in something human. He is a performer that people take for granted because he makes difficult work look easy.

10: Jamie Foxx

Foxx pulling off the jump from sketch comedy to Oscar winning dramatic actor still feels kind of ridiculous. His performance in Ray was phenomenal, but what makes Foxx special is his versatility. He can sing, do comedy, lead action movies, and handle serious drama at a high level. There are not many entertainers in Hollywood history with that kind of range. He is one of the best. (Yeah, yeah I know. He has a baby coming with a white woman, but the dude is talented.)

9: James Earl Jones

This man had one of the most recognizable voices in human history but reducing him to just a voice would be disrespectful. He could act. Whether it was The Great White Hope, Field of Dreams, Star Wars or The Lion King, Jones brought warmth, authority, and emotional weight to every role. He also mastered stage work in a way very few film actors ever do.

8: Forest Whitaker

Whitaker can say more with his face than most actors can with a five minute monologue. There is something deeply emotional and unpredictable about his performances. In The Last King of Scotland, he completely disappeared into Idi Amin in a way that was terrifying. He has always been fearless as an actor, willing to embrace vulnerability and darkness at the same time.

7: Mahershala Ali

You guys remember this dude? Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala does not waste movement or dialogue. Everything he does feels precise and intentional. His performances in Moonlight and Green Book showed just how much emotion he can communicate with subtle expressions and silence alone. Ali has this quiet intensity that makes him impossible to ignore. Hell, he was only in Moonlight for like 2 minutes and won an Oscar for his work in that film. (Yes, I am exaggerating. But you get the point.)

6: Chadwick Boseman

This Howard alum packed an incredible amount of impact into a career that ended far too soon. What made him special was the seriousness and care he brought to portraying Black icons. Jackie Robinson, James Brown, Thurgood Marshall, and T’Challa all felt deeply respected in his hands. Boseman carried himself with grace on and off screen, and the dignity he brought to his work inspired millions of little Black boys and girls.

5: Laurence Fishburne

Laurence Fishburne has always carried himself like he belongs in every room he walks into. Whether it is Boyz n the Hood, The Matrix, or What’s Love Got to Do with It, he brings intelligence and authority to the screen. (Even if he is saying ‘eat the cake Annie Mae!) Fishburne feels classically trained in the best possible way. Even when he is in giant blockbuster movies, there is still a theatrical weight to his performances.

4: Morgan Freeman

Ya’ll know this dude. Morgan Freeman has one of those voices that makes you instantly pay attention. But what separates him is the humanity he brings to every role. Whether he is playing a mentor, a criminal, or a broken man trying to survive, Freeman carries this calm authority that draws people in. The Shawshank Redemption may have secured his legacy for white folks, but the real ones know him as the HNIC. IYKYK

3: Samuel L. Jackson

No one in movie history has made profanity sound more poetic than Samuel L. Jackson. The man has range too. He can be terrifying, hilarious, smooth, or completely unhinged depending on what the role requires. From Pulp Fiction to Marvel movies, Jackson became one of the most recognizable actors on earth without ever losing what made him unique. He does not disappear into movies. Movies become his once he shows up.

2: Sidney Poitier

OK. We are at the cream of the crop. Sidney Poitier was not just a great actor, he changed Hollywood. At a time when Black performers were boxed into degrading stereotypes, Poitier embodied dignity, intelligence, and quiet power every time he was on screen. Films like In the Heat of the Night and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner forced America to see Black men differently. Every Black actor who became a leading man after him owes Poitier a debt.

1: Denzel Washington

You know who was going to be #1. Denzel is the standard. Nobody blends intensity, charisma, and emotional depth quite like him. Whether it’s Malcolm X, Training Day, or Fences, he walks into every role with total command of the screen. Denzel can do blockbuster movies, deeply emotional dramas, and Shakespeare level performances without ever looking out of place. There is a reason so many younger actors measure themselves against him. He has been elite level for more than three decades.

There are more names I could have included. There is Michael B. Jordan, but he still feels like he is at the beginning of what could become a legendary career. Then there is Jonathan Majors, a man who has been blackballed despite undeniable talent. There is no perfect list when you’re talking about this much talent and history.

But if you can dominate comedy, drama, action, and prestige films while shaping the culture at the same time, you belong in the conversation. And yes, before y’all start yelling at me, I know I left off Harry Belafonte, Yaphet Kotto, and Giancarlo Esposito. This is an impossible task. Which is exactly why the people who made the original list need to have several seats.