by Scott Hayden

Created on: March 05, 2008   Last Updated: August 08, 2010

It would be difficult to narrow that list down to just a few choices. One person's idea of a great actor will not necessarily agree with another. I grew up in the 1980s, and as a result I can't comment very much about the film stars who were prominent on cinema screens before that decade. For this article I'm going to focus on actors from Canada, not only because I'm more familiar with these individuals but also because they have made some memorable television and film appearances.

The movie Splash with Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah and a big Canadian actor named John Candy is one film that's hard to forget. A naturally funny guy who started his career in the satirical television series SCTV, Candy gave his best performances in Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Cool Runnings. In those films he proved to critics and audiences alike his acting skills went beyond mere comedy. I can't help wondering what kind of films he would be making today if he were alive. He was one of Canada's best.

Another Canadian actor worth mentioning is Dan Aykroyd who appeared in the Ghostbusters movies. There was a really good TV series a few years ago called PSI: Chronicles of the Paranormal, which he narrated. I especially enjoyed his performance in Grosse Pointe Blank as John Cusack's nemesis, and he made a memorable cameo appearance in Canadian Bacon.

Rubber faced native of Newmarket, Ontario Jim Carrey needs no introduction. A star of the television series In Living Color, I'll never forget his role in the 1994 film The Mask. There's no doubt he's a great comedian. All you need to do is see movies like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Liar Liar and The Bruce Almighty. He's done some impressive serious roles too, in The Truman Show and Man on the Moon. He won a Golden Globe award for each of those performances, but it's too bad the Oscar nominations never materialized.

Montreal born William Shatner, a.k.a. Captain James Tiberius Kirk has boldly moved from television to feature length films and back again. His work on the small screen included the police series T.J. Hooker and the host of Rescue 911. I enjoyed the scenes he did with Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: Generations.

The totally cool Keanu Reeves was the man in Speed and The Matrix. An actor with a colorful ancestry with an equally checkered film career, I think audiences are just beginning to take him seriously. He's a resident of Toronto and holds a Canadian passport. Right on man!

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