Last Updated: 3/24/25
Note: It's simple and straightforward: the greatest characters in cinema history. In order to be considered, they can be a person, a machine, or an animal who have deep qualities and are larger than life, and it doesn't have to be limited to one from the same movie(s).

These characters have made the cut because they contributed brilliance to films in most, if not all, aspects: acting, characters, screenplay, plot, direction, editing, cinematography, and so on. They must also be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Then, I think about cultural phenomenon, uniqueness, famous movie moments, iconic scenes and/or lines, cinematic power, and timelessness.

This list is based on what I have seen so far and is limited to the top 60 with 5 honorable mentions in that order.

1. Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones Trilogy (1981, 1984, 1989)

2. Rocky Balboa
Rocky Quintology (1976, 1979, 1982, 1985)

3. Don Corleone
The Godfather (1972)

4. John Rambo
Rambo Trilogy (1982, 1985, 1988)

5. Darth Vader
Star Wars Trilogy (1977, 1980, 1983)

6. The Shark
Jaws (1975)

7. Norman Bates
Psycho (1960)

8. Scarlett O'Hara
Gone with the Wind (1939)

9. T.E. Lawrence
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

10. Rick Blaine
Casablanca (1942)

11. Moses
The Ten Commandments (1956)

12. Shane
Shane (1953)

13. Spartacus
Spartacus (1960)

14. The Terminator
The Terminator (1984)

15. Inspector Harry Callahan
Dirty Harry (1971), Sudden Impact (1983)

16. Michael Corleone
The Godfather Trilogy (1972, 1974, 1990)

17. Rhett Butler
Gone with the Wind (1939)

18. Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump (1994)

19. Possessed Regan MacNeil
The Exorcist (1973)

20. Stanley Kowalski and Blache DuBois
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

21. Norma Desmond
Sunset Boulevard (1950)

22. Oskar Schindler
Schindler's List (1993)

23. William Wallace
Braveheart (1995)

24. Joe Clark
Lean on Me (1989)

25. Marshall Will Kane
High Noon (1952)

26. HAL 9000
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

27. Snake Plissken
Escape from New York (1968), Escape from L.A. (1996)

28. Gordon Gekko
Wall Street (1987)

29. Jim Stark
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

30. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

31. Judah Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1959)

32. Travis Bickle
Taxi Driver (1976)

33. Terry Malloy
On the Waterfront (1954)

34. John Shaft
Shaft (1971), Shaft in Africa (1973)

35. Roy Hobbs
The Natural (1984)

36. Tony Manero
Saturday Night Fever (1977)

37. Magua
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

38. General George S. Patton
Patton (1970)

39. Marion Cobretti
Cobra (1986)

40. Martin Riggs
Lethal Weapon Trilogy (1987, 1989, 1992)

41. Cody Jarrett
White Heat (1949)

42. Jake Gittes
Chinatown (1974)

43. Karl Childers
Sling Blade (1996)

44. The Joker
Batman (1989)

45. R2-D2
Star Wars Trilogy (1977, 1980, 1983)

46. Virgil Tibbs
In the Heat of the Night (1967)

47. Captain Virgil "The Cooler King" Hilts
The Great Escape (1963)

48. Bodhi
Point Break (1991)

49. Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield
Pulp Fiction (1994)

50. Frank Serpico
Serpico (1973)

51. Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting (1997)

52. Del Griffith
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

53. Hans Gruber
Die Hard (1988)

54. Tommy Udo
Kiss of Death (1947)

55. Jack Ryan
Patriot Games (1992), Clear and Present Danger (1994)

56. Larry "Rain" Murphy
The Jericho Mile (1979)

57. Ferris Bueller
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

58. Leatherface
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

59. Jay Gatsby
The Great Gatsby (1974)

60. Noah Cross
Chinatown (1974)

61. Axel Foley
Beverly Hills Cop Duology (1984, 1987)

62. Tom Booker
The Horse Whisperer (1998)

63. Nino Brown
New Jack City (1991)

64. John McClane
Die Hard (1988)

65. Ellen Ripley
Alien Duology (1979, 1986)

Honorable Mentions: Philip Marlowe (Farewell, My Lovely, 1975), Capitan Esteban aka the Alcalde (Zorro, The Gay Blade, 1981), The Kid (Purple Rain, 1984), and Lestat (Interview with the Vampire, 1994)