The definitive list of Hollywood's true greats...

This is it, the Mecca of all Hollywood society, the shrine to which all those showbiz gossip hounds kneel. This is it, the big kahuna, the king of all kings. If this list were a man, it would be The President, God and Hugh Heffner all rolled into one... only 17.5% cooler. This list is the definitive source on who's who in the history of cinema. We, the cloaked, mysterious movie experts (geeks) here at TwistedEdge have complied the ultimate list of the 20 coolest cats ever to grace the big screen. This is the place where all the actors want to be. This list is so cool, if you had it in your veins, your skin would turn to ice within 0.30485449 seconds. If a single drop of this list were to his the Earth's atmosphere, the globe would be thrown into its third ice age.

Even Humphrey Bogart didn't get on here - that's how hot this shit really is. Upon hearing that he was not on this list, Daniel Craig actually vomited in disgust. When Orlando Bloom heard he hadn't made it into the hallowed halls of TwistedEdge's cool list, he wept for four days. We told Leonardo Di Caprio he wasn't here, and he hasn't been seen since - he was last seen in Marrakech sat in a circle, wobbling crazily alongside some strange cult, worshipping Thorag, the God of French Pastries. And yes, the fact that Frank Sinatra isn't on this list has him spinning in his grave. Thus is the harsh reality of life. Such is the harsh reality of the TwistedEdge Cool List. Behold:

Those who didn't make it...

Before we jump ass-first into the list, let us have a quiet moment for those who, for whatever reason, didn't quite have the icy-cold venire needed to make it into this most sexy of lists. I have a feeling at least one of these names below will have many movie fans and members of the Rogue Reviewers wanting to string me up by my balls until I renounce my evil, Hollywood-whore ways. Like that'll ever happen...

Note: if you want to find out more about any of these actors, feel free to click on their images or names to see their IMDB profile.

Oh, by the way, want to start screaming already about the choices below? Click here!

The Good: Kicks ass with more speed and precision than a cruise missile. His martial arts epics are often breathtaking in their complexity and grace.
The Bad: 'Fearless' is set to be his goodbye to Hollywood; he leaves the limelight way before his prime.

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The cool list...

So here it is, guys and dolls here it is, the top 20 coolest cats ever to grace the fine world of acting. Oh, by the way, you may wonder why there's no women in this list - this is simply because of the sheer amount of talent to be caught on film down the years - to make a top 20 vaguely possible, I've distinguished by gender. Based on the possibility of my shitty, amateurish efforts here, there may well be a follow up involving the fairer sex. I personally relish the opportunity. Now on to the list, biatches! Again, you can click on the actor's image or name to see their IMDB, if that's your thing...

Tupac Shakur.

The Good: Having trained in acting from an early age at the Baltimore's School for the Arts, he showed almost as much flair, talent and charisma infront of camera as he did in the music world. His performances had the makings of a true star until his untimely death, which means we will never know the heights of his potential.

The Bad: Lost the plot in the last year of his life, and so allowed a hostile media to paint him as a wildcard lunatic who hated the press and would do anything for a cheap headline. The rape allegations didn't help either. Or being "Suge" Marion Knight's lap dog.

Notable Films: Gang Related, Gridlock'd, Poetic Justice, Juice.

The Good: Is a true acting legend, possessing more poise and finesse in a single curl of his lips than most will ever show in a lifetime. Trivia? Was the first "out" homosexual actor ever to get a knighthood. Is an activist for gay rights.

The Bad: May be too much of a blue-blooded thespian. His great strength and simultaneously his biggest weakness? Another downside is the fact that because this is a film list, his best work (theatre) has to be excluded. Also has so-far ignored my emailed requests for an interview. The bounder, lol!

Notable Films: Mainly not applicable. The man is a theatre God. You probably know him from The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, X-Men Trilogy, The Da Vinci Code.

Mickey Rourke.

The Good: Is a true badass, both on-screen and off. Kim Basinger gave him the rather amusing nickname "The Human Ashtray." Is covered with tattoos and used to be a boxer undefeated in 13 fights. Brings the kind of grit and sheer cool to his roles which just makes you want to leap up and shout "fuck yes!"

The Bad: Has had many run-ins with Johnny Law and The Filth. Which'd add to his Rock N' Roll Rebel image, were they not to include the now infamous spousal abuse scandal of 1994.

Notable Films: The Rainmaker, Sin City, Bullet, Animal Factory.

Jack Nicholson.

The Good: Is one of the most menacing figures ever to throw himself into the limelight, proved in The Shining and every film he's ever done. Proved that you didn't need the textbook good looks to make it, but true hardcore acting (Cuckoo's Nest, for example.) Recently spoke out against the cosmetic surgical addiction shown by many of his peers, to much acclaim.

The Bad: As the years have sapped his slim(ish) figure, they too have sapped any of the dedication or chilling poise the man used to have. Now does rom-coms.

Notable Films: A Few Good Men, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Shining, Batman

Richard Roundtree.

The Good: Was Shaft, quite possibly the coolest cat of a character to ever be written. His sheer cool in that film have him etched forever as a cinematic beacon so cool he makes liquid nitrogen look warmer than Jack Nicholson's underpants after a double marathon. Has proved his heritage by being invited onto basically every popular TV show to exist ever since.

The Bad: Was in Shaft (the remake) as Shaft's uncle, which instantly melted the cooler-than-liquid-nitrogen venire mentioned earlier.

Notable Films: Shaft. Shaft's numerous sequels and remakes. Corky Romano.

Sir Anthony Hopkins.

The Good: Was voted the third greatest actor of all time by the UK public. Will be celebrated forever for his role as everyone's favourite hockey mask wearing cannibal. Famous for reading scripts 250 times before even setting foot infront of the cameras - a true master of the trade. Can do the Cool Brit routine without looking like a half-arsed Bond villain.

The Bad: When not performing at his best, often resorts to the kindly uncle routine. Which, while often captivating, is about as cool as going to school after forgetting to put your clothes on.

Notable Films: The 'Hannibal Lecter Trilogy', The Edge, Meet Joe Black.

Chuck Norris.

The Good: Is a legendary martial artist, having retired from Karate as an undefeated middleweight champion. The fact he kicked ass for a living even before he was in his first film puts ice in his veins. Chuck Norris only has two speeds - walking and killing. Chuck Norris doesn't read books - he just stares them down until they give them the information he needs.

The Bad: Despite being one of the coolest cats of the 80's, once age caught up with him, he was reduced to a shadow of his former self. And that's when the world began to notice how silly that beard of his really is...

Notable Films: All those Missing In Action movies. Silent Rage, Delta Force.

Samuel L. Jackson.

The Good: The ice man himself, a guy so cool it just bleeds through his eyes, down his face, and into your very soul. His performance in Pulp Fiction (especially that legendary final Diner scene) will be remembered for an eternity, along with his effortless style and sharper-than-razor-sharp comic timing. Has even earned the nickname "Mr Cool." That's the kind of higher praise that money just can't buy.

The Bad: The films he's done since the turn of the millennium have mainly been shit, each tearing chunks out his cool like an insane whore with rabies. The fact he had to ask for work on national television speaks for itself.

Notable Films: Pulp Fiction, The Negotiator, Deep Blue Sea, Die Hard III.

Kiefer Sutherland.

The Good: Has the coolest voice of anyone to ever appear infront of others, let alone in films, since the dawning of mankind. His main fame comes from his chilling role in Phone Booth, where that truly hair-raising voice of his was truly utilized. Has amazing screen presence and style. Was born in England. Extra points there... in the year England won the World Cup no less...

The Bad: His main fame comes from the show 24 - although the character Jack Bauer is a one man ass-kicking machine, it's not a film so doesn't count. Has made about as much impact on the movie world as toothpaste has on treating cancer.

Notable Films: Lost Boys, Flatliners, Phone Booth.

Ray Liotta.

The Good: What can I say about this guy that hasn't already been said? Let's just sum it up in one word: Goodfellas. Christ, he even looks cool in a God-damn beer commercial! All he has to do is stand infront of a camera, and magically everything around him everything is lit with the warm, glowing light of his sheer coolness. His performance in N.A.R.C is one of the finest I've ever seen.

The Bad: He was in Revolver. And despite being cool in those Heineken adverts, the fact he'd whore out his soul so cheaply is a very bad sign indeed. Did you see him in Operation Dumbo Drop?! He was wearing mascara for fuck sake! Aagh!

Notable Films: N.A.R.C, Goodfellas, Hannibal, Blow, Cop Land (debatable.)

Robert DeNiro.

The Good: Was until the last 10 years the joint 4th coolest cat in all of film history. Travis Bickle, Ray La Motta - without a doubt the two strongest character performances in the history of cinema. Was also flawless in Heat, Goodfellas, Casino, Cape Fear, The Untouchables - all roles in which he shows the kind of cool that makes you feel like a buck-toothed slimy little freak in comparison. Oh, and that little film The Deer Hunter.

The Bad: Had he stopped in 1998, he'd possibly be the top of this list. But then came his attempts at comedy, all of which seek to find new and imaginative ways to bend over his career and bugger it in the ass until it squeals for mercy. Oh, and Rocky and Bullwinkle too. Oh. Dear. God.

Notable Films: Mentioned above, plus many more. A shame really.

Clint Eastwood.

The Good: The undeniable genius of his best works, be they the Sergio Leone collaborations or his better directorial efforts Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River. The man who (along with Lee Van Cleef) made cowboys cool. Give him a poncho, a horse, a 3 day beard and a gun, and nobody is cooler. He was also Dirty Harry Callahan, who took coolness to an even higher level... but with funky 70's style shoulder pads.

The Bad: The self-inflicted Botox treatments have turned his lean, surly facial features into that of a wax dummy. Any Which Way But Loose was about as cool as having boiling vindaloo shoved into your eyeballs, spoon by spoon.

Notable Films: Unforgiven, High Plains Drifter, Dirty Harry, The Good / Bad / Ugly (and the rest), True Crime... etc... etc... etc...

Johnny Depp.

The Good: Let's get that Captain Jack obviousness out the way first. We all know that his performances in that role are the coolest thing ever to have a Disney label stamped on it's cheerful corporate ass. On top of that, he has brought us what are consistently the coolest, most gripping characters ever to be captured on celluloid. It's is completely impossible to overshadow this guy. Plus he oozes sheer liquid cool from every pore. Was voted the 2nd greatest actor of all time.

The Bad: The only thing stopping this man is his age, and possibly to a lesser extent his uber-prettyboy looks. While he's the most striking actor in the world, he lacks that rugged edge, that effortless flair that many of the legends passed had. Real cool should be effortless and subtle. The coolest cat at the party is the one sat in the corner gathering women like flies on shit, not the loud-ass dancing manically in the middle of the room.

Notable Films: All of them.

Bruce Lee.

The Good: Surely you don't need me to tell you. Christ, he even made a skin-tight tracksuit look cool - iconic even (isn't that right, Uma Thurman?) Universally credited as being the greatest martial artist to ever kick shit on film. Was so cool that his son was cool by default. The phrase "poetry in motion" may well have been invented for this man. Possibly the most iconic actor ever? Debatable.

The Bad: His short life was cut tragically short just as he was reaching his fiery peak - as with his kin Brandon, we may never know the true extent of his potential. His acting was also a little... hit and miss, shall we say?

Notable Films: All of them.

'Beat' Takeshi Kitano.

The Good: Has a directorial style unsurpassed by any for its originality, zen-like stillness (followed by brutal violence) and the sheer iconic cool of the black-suited Yakuza that often form their centrepiece. Kitano can say more by simply sitting still and looking distant that many actors could with even their highest volume Oscar clip. Remember what I said earlier about the cool, quiet type? He personifies that, in spades. (He also makes a bloody cool Samurai...)

The Bad: Runs one of Japan's most controversial newspaper columns in which he attacks feminist rights and those pesky foreigners. Basically invented the stereotype that is the Insanely Crap Japanese Gameshow.

Notable Films: Hana Bi, Brother, Zatoichi, Sonatine.

Sean Connery.

The Good: He was Bond. I'd like to say that again, just so you understand the icy-cold importance of that. He was Bond. Not just that, but the coolest Bond ever. The coolest cat ever to play the coolest character in some of the coolest movies ever. Even later on while playing older, mentor roles, his sheer elegance in performances and sheer whit have made him an undeniable legend. Having retired aged 75, he leaves his mark as the coolest Brit ever to abandon our rainy shores.

The Bad: Although his accent was often cool, his insistence on pouring it into performances like wet cement often lead to the detriment of his roles. Especially the non-Scottish ones (Hunt For Red October, anyone? Playing a Russian using an Edinburgh accent. Smooooth...) Was in The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Notable Films: The Bond flicks, Rising Sun, The Highlander, Indiana Jones III.

Al Pacino.

The Good: Is one of the most celebrated and coolest actors of all time, having passed the decades by showing the world what real acting is all about - all the while enjoying the kind of badass roles many lesser mortals would kill for. His talent is undeniable, be it as a bitter homosexual on death's door (Angels In America), a twisted blind man without the will to live (Scent Of A Woman - for which he won his Oscar) or as a cooler than Pluto's moons cop (Heat.) And that's just the past few years! Oh, and he was Carlito. 'Nuff said.

The Bad: A couple of recent film outings have worryingly seen him abandon the cool-as-ice, fuck-your-mother attitude and adopt a sleepy looking long-haired goon approach. Especially in People I Know. Christ, what a shit-fest that was...

Notable Films: Scarface, Donnie Brasco, Heat, Carlito's Way, Scent Of A Woman.

Christopher Walken.

The Good: Ever since he shook the world with one of the greatest performances ever in the now legendary Deer Hunter, he's held the reigns as the coolest Mack Daddy ever to don the dreaded comb-back. No matter what he does, it's always sugar-coated with so much style you almost want to reach in and punch the bastard out of sheer jealousy. Having an Oscar on the bathroom shelf doesn't hurt, neither does being able to shake that ass like no other white boy ever could. Doesn't let a potentially crippling disability like having his real-life name be Ronald stop him from being the Ice Man of modern cinema. He was even a lion-tamer as a teenager, and was second choice to play Han Solo...

The Bad: McBain. Oh dear. Kangaroo Jack. The agony. He's also been accused repeatedly of being a one-trick pony, something of a two-dimensional character who applies the same approach to all roles, no matter what. That doesn't stop both of those dimensions being extremely cool though.

Notable Films: Deer Hunter, Catch Me If You Can.

Marlon Brando.

The Good: Was voted the greatest actor of all time by the British public, widely considered the greatest movie actor of all time by critics worldwide. His roles in The Godfather and Apocalypse Now will live on forever, long beyond the limits of mortal man. A truly legendary presence, who oozed cool from every pour. So cool was he, that his on-screen presence has become the yardstick against which all proceeding young stars will be measured. A true genius.

The Bad: Let himself go big time in his later days, becoming something of a beached whale before his recent tragic death.

Notable Films: Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, Superman, The Wild One.

Chow Yun Fat.

The Good: Is without any shadow of a doubt the coolest cat ever to grace the hallowed halls of the world of cinema. Everything he touches turns to ice as he prowls his way around roles like a tiger with blood on its fangs stalks its fallen prey. His works with director John Woo will go down in cinema history as being some of the coolest ever made, as CYF revels in his various roles as the centre of a tornado of bullets. So cool is he that each new movie he makes sparks a new fashion trend in his native Hong Kong. So cool is he that, given time, he is almost guaranteed legendary status along the likes of Brando et al (if he hasn't been crowned so already...)

The Bad: Bullet-proof Monk. What the fuck happened there?!

Notable Films: The Killer, Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow, The Corruptor, The Replacement Killers, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.