Who was the greatest Film Star Actor of the 90s Decade.

[Castle]

Obviously there are the obvious, Tom Cruise, Sandra Bullock, Denzel Washington, Sam L Jackson, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis.

But for me I would go with Tom Hanks for many reasons I cannot begin to name, but a few will be back to back best actor Oscars, mostly great movie every year of the 90s.

Tom Hanks was to 90s movies as Mariah Carey was to 90s music.

[Kirby101]

Decades tend to flow together at this point for me. I would have to IMDB all of them and see what their 90s movies were.

[Castle]

Decades tend to flow together at this point for me. I would have to IMDB all of them and see what their 90s movies were.

I know most of tom hanks 90s movies from my head, most were exceptional

[Riv86672]

Tom Hanks overall. He was great then and is still solid.

I’d put Will Smith in the top five of any list though; that guy owned nineties summer movies for a few years in there.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Tom Hanks was a popular actor in the '80s and 2000s as well. He feels like a timeless classic rather than tied to a decade.

I'd pick Will Smith. He was all over the place in the 90s and he never really had it so good since then. He was a movie star who crossed over and appeared in a lot of successful and big movies. He came off a really popular TV show and in the 90s he appeared in Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men in Black, Enemy of the State, Wild Wild West. If you want a series of movies that represented 90s mainstream cinema, those five titles would cover it all.

Other contender:
-- Keanu Reeves is another contender. He started the decade with Point Break and Speed, appeared in some indie (My Own Private Idaho) and stylish movies like (Bram Stoker's Deacula), and he ended it with The Matrix. Until John Wick, Reeves didn't have it quite as good either.
-- Jim Carrey did a lot of stuff in the 90s -- Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura, The Mask, The Cable Guy, Man on the Moon, Liar Liar, Me Myself Irene, Batman Forever.
-- Brad Pitt started out with supporting turns in True Romance and Thelma and Louise, became a leading man in mid-decade with films like Se7en, and ended it with Fight Club.

Then there's the biggest new moviestar of them all,

Leonardo Dicaprio, who became a sensation after Titanic but he really blossomed in the 2000s as a major leading man (which he continues to remain to this day). He's become a timeless icon in the same way Hanks has.

[Castle]

Tom Hanks was a popular actor in the '80s and 2000s as well. He feels like a timeless classic rather than tied to a decade.

I'd pick Will Smith. He was all over the place in the 90s and he never really had it so good since then. He was a movie star who crossed over and appeared in a lot of successful and big movies. He came off a really popular TV show and in the 90s he appeared in Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men in Black, Enemy of the State, Wild Wild West. If you want a series of movies that represented 90s mainstream cinema, those five titles would cover it all.

Other contender:
-- Keanu Reeves is another contender. He started the decade with Point Break and Speed, appeared in some indie (My Own Private Idaho) and stylish movies like (Bram Stoker's Deacula), and he ended it with The Matrix. Until John Wick, Reeves didn't have it quite as good either.
-- Jim Carrey did a lot of stuff in the 90s -- Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura, The Mask, The Cable Guy, Man on the Moon, Liar Liar, Me Myself Irene, Batman Forever.
-- Brad Pitt started out with supporting turns in True Romance and Thelma and Louise, became a leading man in mid-decade with films like Se7en, and ended it with Fight Club.

Then there's the biggest new moviestar of them all,

Leonardo Dicaprio, who became a sensation after Titanic but he really blossomed in the 2000s as a major leading man (which he continues to remain to this day). He's become a timeless icon in the same way Hanks has.

The reason I forgot about Will Smith was because he was more of an action blockbuster actor, it was only towards the end of the decade that he started to shift from action star to dramatic actor, though I hold him high for transitioning from tv star to movie star, which was never a guarantee for tv actors.

I thought of Leo DiCaprio however he really hit big, late 90s. Hanks to me just defined that decade.

[green_garnish]

Was Will Smith a thing before 1997 in movies? (Men In Black)

Tom Hanks is the only correct answer. However, at the time I think Tom Cruise was considered the most powerful or influencial person in Hollywood. Maybe Julia Roberts. Not sure anymore

[Powerboy]

The reason I forgot about Will Smith was because he was more of an action blockbuster actor, it was only towards the end of the decade that he started to shift from action star to dramatic actor, though I hold him high for transitioning from tv star to movie star, which was never a guarantee for tv actors.

I thought of Leo DiCaprio however he really hit big, late 90s. Hanks to me just defined that decade.

When I saw the thread title, Tom Hanks was the first name that leaped to my mind.

I also tend to dismiss Will Smith, partly because I associate him more with blockbusters and you said "Film" which made me think in terms of best actor, not just star.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

If we are all into "film" and not blockbuster stuff, I'd add other names. Though I have to ask what people mean by movie star if it doesn't mean commercial success.

Important actors in the 90s would then be

-- Daniel Day-Lewis (The Last of the Mohicans, The Age of Innocence, In the Name of the Father, The Crucible, The Boxer).

-- Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Nixon, The Remains of the Day, Shadowlands, Bram Stokers Dracula, The Edge, Meet Joe Black, Titus).

and why not,

-- Tom Hanks would definitely be there too.

[Jim Kelly]

Even though Hanks had movies that did very well--the ones that everyone remembers--he also had others that bombed or simply underperformed. Just shows to go you that no one can hit it out of the park every time.

[Frobisher]

Daniel Day-Lewis, same as every decade.

[Triniking1234]

Robin Williams.

[Castle]

Daniel Day-Lewis, same as every decade.

If we are all into "film" and not blockbuster stuff, I'd add other names. Though I have to ask what people mean by movie star if it doesn't mean commercial success.

Important actors in the 90s would then be

-- Daniel Day-Lewis (The Last of the Mohicans, The Age of Innocence, In the Name of the Father, The Crucible, The Boxer).

-- Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Nixon, The Remains of the Day, Shadowlands, Bram Stokers Dracula, The Edge, Meet Joe Black, Titus).

and why not,

-- Tom Hanks would definitely be there too.

Never doubted Daniel Day Lewis talent. still blown away by his performance in Lincoln that deservedly won him his 3rd oscar for best actor , however I would not say Daniel was a mainstream mega movie star as big as tom hanks or will smith or tom cruise , whose movies could assure studios a bank of 100m domestic (I think that box office record is tied or used to be tied with Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and Will Smith). Hanks was not only a great artistic actor but a mega movie star, he was both.

Additionally I think Hanks can hold the screen slightly more than Daniel, I cannot think of up to 10 actors who could have pulled off the role in Cast Away. Hanks at one point was on the screen by himself talking to a ball for more than 70 minutes. Such a talent is Tom Hanks.

[Castle]

Robin Williams.

Williams would be in my top 7.

[Scott Taylor]

Well, lets see, Tom hanks movies of the 1990s:

Joe Versus the Volcano, The Bonfire of the Vanities, Radio Flyer, A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Toy Story, That Thing You Do!, Saving Private Ryan. You've Got Mail, Toy Story 2 and The Green Mile

Yah I can see him being the actor of the decade. But my gut feeling leans more towards Jim Carrey.

Hanks did more real life type of work, which is fine, but Carrey created a host of original characters. Plus Carrey was literally everywhere for a while there and he was impossible to escape from hosting the Oscars to tons of interviews. Carrey was overexposed. Hanks did a bunch of great movies but never had the same sort of crazy popularity as Carrey at the time, never had the same level of fame (even if he made better movies).

Also Hanks was a star in the 1980s and is still a big star today. Carrey is pretty much just a 1990s thing. He wasn't popular in the 1980s, fell out of favor in the early 2000s sometimes, and is now some kind of pseudo-guru, beard guy.