10 Best Classic Western Movie Actors, Ranked

The tumbleweed rolls across the dusty main road as the man in the Stetson walks toward the swinging saloon doors. The Morricone harmonica grows louder as he approaches. You know something really cool is about to happen. Inside, the barkeep is pouring a whiskey, sex workers are looking for some company, and a couple of games of poker are being played – with somebody holding an ace up their sleeve. It provided a stage for some of the coolest gunslingers in boots and spurs to either contribute to the drunken debauchery or challenge the quickest draw outside at high noon to settle the score.

The Western genre has delivered some of the most well-known names in film history. John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Henry Fonda, and James Stewart thrived in the medium. Some moved on to different types of films, while others never left. Either way, Western stars have been big-time Hollywood draws since the first silent stage coach train robbery wowed audiences over a hundred years ago. So this list is the elite of the elite in a genre that dates back to when your great-grandfather was paying a nickel to see the white hat versus the black hat.

10 Alan Ladd

Best Known Western: ‘Shane’

«Shane!» It’s one of the most well-known single words in the history of Westerns. As the titular gunslinger, Alan Ladd wanted nothing more than to put his rough-and-tumble past behind him and settle into a peaceful life in Wyoming. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Before you think to yourself, «Well, Alan Ladd wasn’t as prolific as the other cowboys on this list!» Hold on a second.

Ladd followed his best role in 1953 with terrific films like The Proud Rebel and Branded. If you haven’t seen some of Ladd’s other works, treat yourself to a full night of his chiseled face. In the decade of the 1950s, there weren’t many men who drew an audience like Alan Ladd. Even with a somewhat top-heavy filmography, Ladd and Shane deserve a spot just inside this list of great Western stars.

Shane

Release Date

April 23, 1953

Director

George Stevens

Cast

Jean Arthur , Van Heflin , Jack Palance

Runtime

118m

Main Genre

Western

Studio

Paramount Pictures

Shane can be streamed on Pluto TV in the U.S.

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9 Eli Wallach

Best Known Western: ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’

Is Eli Wallach ugly? No, of course he’s not! In fact, he is quite dashing. So why would acclaimed genre director Sergio Leone label him as such in the legendary Clint Eastwood spaghetti western The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly? In a film that brings out the best of The Man With No Name and his despicable gunslinging nemesis Angel Eyes/Sentenza (Lee Van Cleef), Wallach’s unapologetic duplicity as Tuco steals many scenes from his larger-than-life co-stars.

He may be best remembered as Tuco, but Eli Wallach also starred in some of the best-known Westerns of the 1960s. In The Magnificent Seven, he plays opposite Yul Brenner, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson as Calvera. In the real «Who’s who?» of the enormously popular Western genre, he played Charlie Gant alongside many titans who appear later in this list, like John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and James Stewart in How the West Was Won. Wallach brought an uncanny grittiness and authenticity that had him at the top of the casting director’s shortlist for some of the biggest Westerns of the decade.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

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8 Yul Brynner

Best Known Western: ‘Westworld’

Yul Brynner’s almost unidentifiable qualities made him one of the most sought-after actors for some of the best Westerns. His steely glare made him perfect in the part of Chris Adams in The Magnificient Seven. He definitely had swagger, and that Stetson sat atop his bald head with just the right amount of tilt. He made black hats cool in several notable roles. Of course, his deep baritone dulcet also made him stand out.

Brynner was versatile enough to play bad guys like the villainous stalker robot in 1973’s Westworld. Still, he could also play guys like Adams and seductive and rakish rogue assassins like Jules Gaspard d’Estaing in the underrated Invitation to a Gunslinger. Brynner made Hay in other genres with huge parts in The King and I and The Ten Commandments, but his turns as mercurial cowboys leave a lasting impression within the Western genre.

Westworld can be streamed on Apple TV in the U.S.

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7 Gary Cooper

Best Known Western: ‘High Noon’

If there ever was a gentleman cowboy in the Western genre, it was the affable and handsome Gary Cooper. One of the true legends of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Cooper made hay in the earliest days of big screen dust-ups with outstanding performances as early as 1926. Cooper was the man who donned the white hat as the talking motion picture gained traction and became a mainstay in the industry. With his genteel exterior, he is a legendary pioneer of Western cinema and can never be replaced. But don’t mistake his earnestness for weakness!

With a winsome smile and a reassuring turn of phrase, Cooper rose to stardom in classics like The Virginian, The Westerner, High Noon, and Man of the West. Sure, a few didn’t do as well as his seminal works, but that is part of singularly ushering in an entire genre and finding out what audiences wanted to see and how they wanted to feel about the parts Cooper played. No list of top Western stars is complete without the man who carried the Western genre from its infancy into a fully formed thing.

High Noon

Release Date

June 9, 1952

Director

Fred Zinnemann

Cast

Gary Cooper , Thomas Mitchell , Lloyd Bridges , Katy Jurado , Grace Kelly , Otto Kruger

Runtime

85

Main Genre

Drama

Writers

Carl Foreman , John W. Cunningham

High Noon can be streamed on Pluto TV in the U.S.

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6 Steve McQueen

Best Known Western: ‘The Magnificent Seven’

A baby-faced Steve McQueen got in on the cinematic goodness of 1960’s The Magnificent Seven. Alongside Brynner, Charlie Bronson, and Eli Wallach, McQueen played the unforgettable Vin Tanner in the Western version of master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa‘s Japanese movie Seven Samurai. It’s one of the genre’s best and most revolutionary films because of its compelling storyline and great performances by one of the best Western ensemble casts of all time.

McQueen played Tanner, a smooth-talking cowboy and former bounty hunter with a knack for tracking and a skilled sharpshooting rifleman. He lives by the dying words of his beloved mother, who said to him, «Boy, you are a Tanner. Don’t you ever forget that.» This mantra dictates his every action. McQueen also made two more memorable Westerns, with the 1966 Nevada Smith and later in his career as the titular cowboy in Tom Horn.

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Release Date

October 12, 1960

Director

John Sturges

Runtime

128 Minutes

Main Genre

Western

The Magnificent Seven can be streamed on Apple TV in the U.S.

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5 Glenn Ford

Best Known Western: ‘3:10 to Yuma’

Before he was Superman’s adoptive dad, Glenn Ford was a versatile and prolific star who made great Western movies. He is arguably best known as the quick draw Ben Wade in the legendary 3:10 to Yuma in 1957. One of his most underrated and underseen performances came in the 1956 film Jubal. Ford plays the titular Jubal Troop, a wounded cowboy who finds a haven in a small town. Ernest Borgnine is a friendly rancher who employs Troop, but problems arise when the rancher’s wife takes a liking to him.

Like most stars on this list, Ford brings a ruggedness and steely resolve that are requisite for any Western star. His stoic demeanor, sharp jawline, and commanding on-screen presence allow Ford to own his scenes and create hard-boiled and sympathetic characters. Like Alan Ladd, Ford may not have the bullet point references of some of his contemporaries, but he makes up for it with powerful performances in lesser-known Westerns.

3:10 to Yuma (1957)

Release Date

August 7, 1957

Director

Delmer Daves

Cast

Glenn Ford , Van Heflin , Felicia Farr , Leora Dana , Henry Jones

Runtime

92 Minutes

Main Genre

Drama

Writers

Halsted Welles , Elmore Leonard

Studio(s)

Columbia Pictures

Distributor(s)

Columbia Pictures

3:10 to Yuma can be streamed on Apple TV in the U.S.

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4 James Stewart

Best Known Western: ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’

Jimmy Stewart was so dynamic that it’s impossible to say he excelled in a singular genre because he was so good at everything. He may be best remembered for the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life, but his work within the Western genre is also impressive. The ultimate «good guy,» Stewart was in a bevy of memorable shoot’ em-up winners. His uncanny ability to play each character with a unique twist made audiences forget that they were watching one of the biggest big screen stars and immerse themselves within his films.

It’s difficult to say which of Stewart’s performances is the best. Certainly, you can make a strong argument for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. The exchanges and differing opinions between him and John Wayne on dealing with the criminal element remain some of the strongest scenes in the genre. How the West Was Won may be the most visually stunning and boldly shot of all of Stewart’s westerns, so it is difficult to separate these two with honorable mentions for Winchester ’73 (1950), which explores the darker side of the iconic actor, and Destry Rides Again as one of his earliest Westerns that established his bona fides.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Release Date

April 22, 1962

Director

John Ford

Cast

James Stewart , John Wayne , Vera Miles , Lee Marvin , Edmond O’Brien , Andy Devine , Ken Murray , John Carradine

Runtime

123 Minutes

Main Genre

Western

Writers

James Warner Bellah , Willis Goldbeck , Dorothy M. Johnson

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance can be streamed on Paramount+ in the U.S.

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3 Henry Fonda

Best Known Western: ‘Fort Apache’

Henry Fonda begat a long line of famous Hollywood entertainers who are still making movies today. But the patriarch left an indelible mark on the Western genre. He had a look that could drop you where you stood; it was a thing to behold on the big screen. It all started in the late 1930s and lasted 40 more years. Still, his unforgettable turn in 1962’s How the West Was Won as Jethro Stuart, playing alongside John Wayne, James Stewart, Eli Wallach, and Gregory Peck. His stronghold within what is arguably the most prolific and successful ensemble in the genre’s history truly cemented his legacy in Westerns.

His star rose after standout performances in My Darling Clementine, Fort Apache, and Tin Star. The blue-eyed cowboy parlayed the role into several more top-notch performances in Once Upon a Time in the West, and My Name Is Nobody, among several others. He is as prolific as they come within the genre, and a combination of his dramatic range and unforgettable drop-dead stare as he chomped on a cigar has him on the list. Fonda had a unique polecat swagger that dared you to underestimate him.

Fort Apache (1948)

Release Date

March 27, 1948

Director

John Ford

Cast

John Wayne , Henry Fonda , Shirley Temple , John Agar , Ward Bond , Irene Rich , Anna Lee , George O’Brien

Runtime

125 Minutes

Main Genre

Western

Writers

Frank S. Nugent

Budget

$2.1 Million

Studio(s)

Argosy Pictures

Distributor(s)

RKO Radio Pictures

Fort Apache can be streamed on Apple TV in the U.S.

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2 Clint Eastwood

Best Known Western: ‘For a Few Dollars More’

Leaving The Man With No Name out of the top spot on the list is tough, but number two is nothing to sneeze at. Clint Eastwood brought a combination of unadulterated machismo with an unflinching on-screen presence that only the man ahead of him on this list could match. For the first twenty years of his career, he and Sergio Leone collaborated to invent a sub-genre of spaghetti westerns that changed how we viewed Western film and ostensibly invented the quiet cowboy.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, For a Few Dollars More, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Two Mules For Sister Sara…the list goes on, but these are just a few titles that made Eastwood a legendary gunslinger. So, let’s get right to the point about Eastwood. His unforgettable scowl with a cigar hanging out of his mouth, accompanied by the Morricone harmonica, is what most movie-goers associate with Westerns. Add the natural swagger and his lightning-fast draw of a six-shooter from his holster; it is everything we want and need from a Western icon.

For a Few Dollars More

Release Date

May 10, 1965

Director

Sergio Leone

Cast

Clint Eastwood , Lee Van Cleef , Gian Maria Volonte , Mara Krupp , Luigi Pistilli , Klaus Kinski

Runtime

132

Main Genre

Western

Writers

Fulvio Morsella , Sergio Leone , Luciano Vincenzoni , Fernando Di Leo , Sergio Donati

For a Few Dollars More can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

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1 John Wayne

Best Known Western: ‘True Grit’

The Duke or Eastwood? Eastwood or the Duke? If you think about it too long, you’ll drive yourself insane. Alas, it is incredibly difficult to go with anyone in the Western genre more than the man who defined the purposeful polecat swagger. There is a long list of great shoot-em-up movies that John Wayne starred in. Some of the most memorable are True Grit, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. These are films that carried the genre through the 50s and 60s.

Wayne carried the torch of many of the men on this list, like Gary Cooper, Glenn Ford, and Alan Ladd. His role as Tom Doniphon, a smooth-talking cowpoke who stole scenes from the likes of Jimmy Stewart and Lee Marvin. There is no denying that Wayne’s throaty voice, camera-friendly face, and steely demeanor are impossible to match as he ushered in a different kind of cowboy.Westerns now had that signature iconic presence, unlike anything that audiences had seen before. The Duke is a solid number 1, but Eastwood gives him a run for his money.

True Grit (1969)

Release Date

June 11, 1969

Director

Henry Hathaway

Runtime

128 minutes

Main Genre

Western

Writers

Charles Portis , Marguerite Roberts

True Grit can be streamed on Hoopla in the U.S.

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KEEP READING: The 30 Best Westerns of All Time, Ranked