Explore every episode of the podcast The Best Actors

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This week The Best Actors tells you about Jose Ferrer, who won an Oscar for his fabulous performance in the classic romance, CYRANO DE BERGERAC. Ferrer's spanned over fifty years and included award-winning turns in film and on the stage. He directed productions in both mediums. Although not often spoken about these days, Jose Ferrer was an impressive entertainer whose accomplishments deserve to be remembered. Not to mention, he has some very famous present day relatives!

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This week, I highlight the terrific Oscar-winning performance by Broderick Crawford as politician Willy Stark in ALL THE KING'S MEN. Prior to his Academy Award, Crawford mostly acted in "B" pictures, and afterwards, he mostly took on supporting roles in films, but he also became a mainstay in the then new medium of television, where he struck financial, if not exactly artistic, gold.

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Laurence Olivier is widely considered to be one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century, and sometimes THE greatest. In this episode of The Best Actors, I'll examine Olivier's considerable Oscar legacy (10 nominations), his life and loves, his award-winning performance in HAMLET, and one of the gayest acting nomination line-ups to date. 

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Ronald Colman—a handsome actor with a warm, cultivated voice—was rewarded with an Oscar for his multi-faceted performance in A DOUBLE LIFE. In this episode, I explore Colman's biography and filmography, and I discuss the movie that won him Hollywood's highest accolade, which came at the sunset of his acting career.

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Fredric March won his second Oscar for one of the all-time classics, William Wyler's THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, a moving drama about returning World War II veterans. In this episode, I talk about March's career since his first Oscar win in 1932, but I also do a deeper dive into the making of the movie itself, including supporting actor Harold Russell, and his unique place in Academy Award history.

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Bing Crosby was the most popular entertainer in the USA during the 1940's. His  Academy Award in 1944 for GOING MY WAY was a coronation of that status. Although Crosby was a megastar, modern audiences might view his Oscar somewhat skeptically. In this episode, I speak about Crosby's amazing success in several media, and how his win is in a grand Oscar tradition of awarding the performer and not the performance.

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Paul Lukas, a Hungarian-born actor, had a long Hollywood career, yet when he is remembered, it is mostly for a few supporting roles and one moment of Oscar glory. He took thje prize for his role as Kurt Müller, a German fighter in the anti-Nazi underground, in an adaptation of Lillian Hellman's play WATCH ON THE RHINE. In this episode, I offer an overview of Lukas's life and career, and of the performance that won against one of the most iconographic movie heroes of all time.

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In this week's episode, Jimmy Cagney wins a well-deserved Academy Award for his role in YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, the first actor to win for a musical performance. All the more surprising, because Cagney was much better known for playing tough guys and gangsters. Nonetheless, he was almost always a live-wire on screen, and fun to watch!

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Gary Cooper, one of Hollywood's most handsome leading men, won the first of his two Academy Awards for playing Alvin York, a much-decorated hero of World War I.  this episode, we learn about the path that led Cooper to Hollywood, and how his Oscar victory coincided with the changing mood of America. 

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James Stewart, who won an Oscar for his comic role in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, is one of the all-time greats, someone who deftly adapted a familiar on-screen personality to a wide range of characters. In this episode, I examine the volatile times when Jimmy got his Academy Award, and look at several of his iconic roles.

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In 1939, one of the greatest years in film history, Robert Donat upset some formidable competitors (Gable! Stewart! Olivier!) to win an Oscar for portraying a kindly teacher in GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS. This week I look at Donat's life and career, and give some reasons that he is not as well-remembered as he should be.

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This week The Best Actors explores the life and career of Spencer Tracy, who was the first lead actor win back-to-back Academy Awards for his performances in CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS and BOYS TOWN. You'll learn about his films, his struggles with many personal demons, his love affair with Katherine Hepburn, and his subtle acting style. 

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THE BEST ACTORS explores the life and career of Paul Muni, one of the 1930's most respected performers. A veteran of the Yiddish theater, Muni disappears into his characters, including his Oscar-winning role in THE STORY OF LOUIS PASTEUR. But is that a good thing? Let's discuss!

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Victor McLaglen, a member of John Ford's stock company, won his Oscar for his performance in the memorable movie, THE INFORMER. In this episode, I speak about McLaglen's globe-trotting life and career, which includes time as a muscleman and crossing paths with some historical personages.

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Clark Gable's Oscar win for IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT made him the biggest male movie star of the 1930's. An avatar of masculinity, he showed a warmer, funnier side of his personality in the movie, which became a huge, word-of-mouth hit. In this episode, we'll hear about Gable's life and career and the women who helped him and loved him along the way.

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In Oscar's sixth year, the Best Actor award went to a brilliant over-actor, Charles Laughton for the surprisingly comic THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII. Despite struggles with self-esteem and his sexual orientation, Laughton worked for decades for directors like Lean, Kubrick, and Hitchcock. And he may be best remembered for a movie that he didn't star in. Learn all about him in the latest episode.

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At the fifth Academy Awards, a tie occurred in the Best Actor category for the first and only time. In this episode, we hear about Wallace Beery as THE CHAMP and his miserable disposition, and Fredric March's watershed performance in the DR. JECKYLL AND MR. HYDE.

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The fourth Best Actor winner was Lionel Barrymore, a member of an acting dynasty that extends from the early 19th century to the present. Barrymore won for his work in A FREE SOUL. In this episode, I look at Barrymore's performance and career, as well as the year's contest and why it's connected to peanut butter.

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George Arliss, who acted in the grand tradition of 19th century theater, won an Oscar for DISRAELI. Arliss's victory was marked by a number of firsts. We'll discuss his performance, his competition, and many other aspects of his career.

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Warner Baxter donned a sombrero and Latino accent to portray the Cisco Kid, the role that won him an Academy Award for Best Actor. The performance has not aged well. In this episode, we'll explore a film industry in transition to sound, whom Baxter competed against, and other facets of his career.

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In this episode, we examine the career and Academy Award win of Emil Jannings, who won the first Best Actor Oscar for his work in THE LAST COMMAND and THE WAY OF ALL FLESH.