Baby boomers may get criticism from younger generations, but not these boomers. We love ’em.

Tom Hanks

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Yeah, you probably saw this one coming. Who doesn’t love Tom Hanks? Born in 1956, smack dab in the heart of the Baby Boomer wave, Hanks is a magnificent actor who at the same time just feels like someone you could run into at the grocery store and have a half-hour chat with.

Between Forrest Gump, Mr. Rogers, and Toy Story — and let’s not forget Big, Cast Away, Catch Me If You Can, Philadelphia, The Green Mile, You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seatle, Splash, Saving Private Ryan, A League of Their Own, and now Elvis, it sometimes seems like Hanks has spent years carrying Hollywood on his back.

And luckily for us, he still hasn’t gotten tired of it. He’s back in theaters now with Here, which reunites him with Forrest Gump co-star Robin Wright and director Robert Zemeckis.

Dolly Parton

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Born a year after the end of World War II — when the Baby Boom began — the “Jolene” singer is a gift to every generation.

Last year, she appeared in the documentary Still Working 9 to 5 about her 1980 comedy 9 to 5, in which she starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin — and how far the world still has to come with equality for women in the workplace.

She has so many hits its impossible to list them all, but her place on this list would be secure even if all she ever did was write “I Will Always Love You.” And she’s done so much more — just this past week she donated $1 million toward hurricane relief. We will always love her,

Samuel L Jackson

Pulp Fiction (1994)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Shown: Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson recently turned 75, and is one of the kings of Hollywood. Over 150 film roles have taken him to snake-infested planes, the worlds of Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee, the doomed laboratories of Jurassic Park, the deepest depths of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and so so many more.

Entire generations have grown up watching Jackson do his thing, and he’s still reaching out to the youth with the recent Disney+ series Secret Invasion. He’s back this year with Damaged and has signed on for the sci-fi thriller Head Games, with Henry Golding.

Sylvester Stallone

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A self-made star who wrote his own ticket with Rocky, then parlayed his success into the Rambo franchise, Stallone is much more than his muscles.

His recent role in Tulsa King shows his self-deprecating side, but we may like him best in 1997’s Cop Land, in which he played way against type as a small-town sheriff struggling for respect.

He’s notable for loyalty to his friends — including Jackie Chan and Rocky IV co-star Dolph Lundgren — and returned this summer with The Expendables 4.

We’re still holding out hope he’ll somehow return to the Creed franchise, even if it’s just for a proper goodbye to Rocky Balboa.

Denzel Washington

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Named the greatest actor of this century by The New York Times, Denzel Washington is a master of understated, sophisticated performances — or totally commanding the screen when the project demands it.

The two-time Oscar winner (Best Supporting for 1989’s Glory and Best Actor for 2001’s Training Day) can seemingly do anything, from a Tony Award-winning turn in Fences on Broadway to starring in bang-up action thrillers, including the upcoming The Equalizer 3.

He’s played everyone from Malcolm X to Richard III to an alcoholic pilot in Flight to Macbeth (above, in The Tragedy of Macbeth) to a cop-turned-DA in the underrated ’90s action thriller Ricochet. And he shows no signs of slowing down. He’s back this year in the long-awaited Gladiator II, directed by Ridley Scott.

Michelle Pfeiffer

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A three-time Oscar nominee, Michelle Pfeiffer brings a mix of aplomb and sensitivity to every role she plays, from Grease 2 to Batman Returns (above) — and she’s still widely regarded as the all-time best Catwoman.

She showed off her comic chops in Married to the Mob, and demonstrated her cool command of the screen in Scarface, the Fabulous Baker Boys, and the acclaimed recent film French Exit.

And of course she classes up the Ant-Man franchise. She also almost got the role of Clarice Starling that went to the next boomer on our list…

Jodie Foster

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One of our all-time favorite actors — and a two-time Best Actress Oscar winner for The Accused and Silence of the Lambs — Jodie Foster got back into the crime-solving business in the new season of True Detective. She also appeared in the recent biopic Nyad, for which she earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Since breaking into show business with a Coppertone ad at age three, Foster quickly established herself as a powerhouse with astonishing range, starring in Freaky Friday and Taxi Driver in 1976, when she was barely a teenager.

After conquering acting, she established herself as a director with films including Little Man Tate and Money Monster.

Mark Hamill

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Star Wars star Mark Hamill is the gift that keeps on giving. Beloved by the generations who grew up with him and by the generations watching him trend on X, Hamill is not only one of our favorite Boomers — He’s also an intergalactic hero, an accomplished voice actor, and just an all-around good guy. What’s not to like?

Speaking of “like” — when X, formerly Twitter, recently changed its “like” function, he amusingly dealt with it by typing the word “like” in response to every post he liked. That’s digital fluency, friends.

You may be wondering why Harrison Ford, Han Solo to Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker, isn’t on this list. The answer: He was born before the Baby Boom, and so technically isn’t a boomer. But we still love his work.

John Waters

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Baby Boomers can sometimes be stereotyped as old-fashioned and traditional, but surrealist, campy John Waters disproves that.

Cult films like Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble made Waters famous for being shockingly outrageous in all the right ways. His 1988 indie hit Hairspray formed the basis for the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name and for the musical’s subsequent film version starring Zac Efron.

He was also a terrific guest on The Blacklist (above).

Susan Sarandon

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An icon since the 1970s for The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Susan Sarandon always rules the screen, from her roles in Bull Durham to Thelma and Louise to the recent Blue Beetle, where she chewed up scenery as a tech CEO villain.

Known for many seductive roles, she played against type and won her Best Actress Oscar for playing a nun in Dead Man Walking (above). She’s also well known for her political activism and humanitarian work.

Diane Keaton

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Movies like Annie Hall and The Godfather made Diane Keaton perhaps the most iconic actress of the 1970s — she won Best Actress for the former, above — and she has maintained her stellar reputation with a seemingly effortless ability to balance grave seriousness with casual comedy. Her latest movie, Mack & Rita, is delightful.

And she’s back this year in the comedy Summer Camp, which she also produced.

You’re probably wondering why her Godfather co-star Al Pacino isn’t here, and again — he was born just before the Baby Boom. (So was his pal Robert De Niro.)

Jeff Goldblum

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Oh, Jeff Goldblum. Truly one of the most beloved boomers, especially by Millennials and Gen Z. Okay, by everyone. The Jurassic Park and Jurassic World star truly has range, appearing in everything from Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel and Isle of Dogs to Independence Day and Thor: Ragnarok — he was almost in Thor: Love and Thunder, too, until director Taika Waititi cut him out.

Goldblum’s unpredictable nature has ensured that across multiple generations of Hollywood, there’s no one else quite like him.

His most underrated role may be in Deep Cover, a movie we highly recommend for a host of reasons, but especially the way he devours the scenery.

George Clooney

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Barely a boomer, George Clooney is a well-decorated veteran of Hollywood any generation would proudly claim. From Dusk Till Dawn, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Perfect Storm, Ocean’s 11 (above), Burn After Reading, The Midnight Sky — the list goes on of all of the incredible movies he’s made.

Last year, he teamed up with Julia Roberts in Ticket to Paradise, a rom-com about a bickering divorced couple who come together on a tropical vacation to break up their daughter’s nascent engagement. And he just directed the new film The Boys in the Boat.

He’ll recently appeared in Wolfs opposite Brad Pitt, who isn’t on this list because he just barely qualifies as a boomer. Some would call him a Gen Xer.

Cher

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The “Goddess of Pop” has that title for a reason. Her glamorous career as a pop star, actress, and fashion model has always been balanced with her life as a passionate activist, whether it be for affordable housing, women’s healthcare, or for LGBTQ+ rights.

From 1960s folk artist to Twitter icon, and with film roles ranging from 1980s hits like Moonstruck to millennial classics like Burlesque and Mamma Mia! (above), Cher is the rare phenomenon to keep hold of her ageless star power over many decades.

Sean Penn

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His two Academy Awards for Best Actor are terrific, and so is his humanitarian work. But we would have put him on this list just for playing Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (above).

We’re especially excited to see him re-team with Paul Thomas Anderson in the latter’s new film, following an extended cameo as an aging, thrill-seeking actor in PTA’s delightful Licorice Pizza.

And we love that continues to stretch creatively, as in the recent Christy Hall director Daddio, about a driver (Penn) and passenger (Dakota Johnson) who reveal personal secrets during a long ride.

Jamie Lee Curtis

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The latest winner of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar is the definition of a boss. From the Halloween franchise to Freaky Friday to Everything Everywhere All At Once, this woman is unstoppable. It was the role of Laurie Strode in Halloween that launched her to stardom in 1978, but she’s gone on to have a long career full of titles everywhere from rom-com to drama to mystery and everything in between.

Some of her best-known titles are Trading Places, A Fish Called Wanda, Perfect, True Lies, Blue Steel, You Again, and Knives Out. And she was also a lot of fun on a recent episode of The Bear.

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg, courtesy of Shutterstock. – Credit: C/O

You know they’re an icon when the general public refers to them just by their last name. Spielberg is the icon of all cinema icons, with more hit movies than you can shake a stick at — Jaws, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, ET, Indiana Jones, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Catch Me If You Can, Back to the Future, The Goonies, and in more recent years, Ready Player One and West Side Story.

Recently, he brought us a film based on his own boomer childhood, The Fabelmans, with Paul Dano and Michelle Williams in the role of his parents. Few others can come close to the impact that Steven Spielberg has had on cinema.

He has a slew of projects in the works, including a new take on the Steve McQueen classic Bullitt.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

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The only person on this list to serve as Mr. Universe, Mr. Olympia and governator of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger would be on this list even if all he ever did was make The Terminator.

When we look back on his long list of films, one thing that stands out is his gift for comedy. Unlike many of his action contemporaries, he was always good at making fun of himself and his persona and wasn’t afraid of looking silly.

So yes, we love the wry one-liners of Commando, but also the vulnerability of True Lies, the naivete of Twins and the silliness of Kindergarten Cop and Jingle All the Way.

Eddie Murphy

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Eddie Murphy looks younger than his 62 years, but given his long track record, seems like he should be older. His secret? Starting young.

He was still in his teens when he joined Saturday Night Live, revitalizing the show after the departure of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players, then launched a phenomenal movie career that included 48 Hrs. and its sequel, Trading Places, the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, the Shrek franchise, Coming to America and its sequel, and much more. He still knows how to score massive laughs, as you know if you saw Dolemite Is My Name (above).

He may be the funniest person to ever grace the screen, and he’s back this summer in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, streaming on Netflix.

Bryan Cranston

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The Breaking Bad actor has won an astonishing six Emmys — four for playing Walter White (above), and two for producing Breaking Bad. Sir Anthony Hopkins once sent him a fan letter saying his work on the AMC series was “the best acting I have seen — ever,” and we can’t think of higher praise than that.

OK — one more compliment. A lot of boomer men have attempted the bald head/cool hat/goatee combination, but no one has done it better than Heisenberg.

Kevin Costner

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Kevin Costner was the embodiment of American decency in 1980s and ’90s roles including The Untouchables, Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, JFK and Dances With Wolves (above), and won both Best Picture and Best Director for the latter.

After a few relatively quiet years, he roared back in 2018 as John Dutton on Yellowstone, the biggest television show since its 2018 debut. We’re sorry to see him say goodbye from the show.

He also gave Whitney Houston some pretty excellent advice about The Bodyguard, involving another person on this list: He was the one who suggested she cover Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”

This year he returned with his new film Horizon.

Hugh Grant

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Lately he’s brought his very British gravitas to Paddington 2 and Wonka, but he’s also a champion of romantic comedies including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill (above), Bridget Jones’s Diary, Love Actually, Music and Lyrics, Two Weeks Notice, About a Boy, and The Rewrite.

Of course, he also has range, with Cloud Atlas, Florence Foster Jenkins, and the recent Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre under his belt.

He also was quite good as Tony the Tiger — yes, Tony the Tiger — in the very baby boomer comedy Unfrosted. And he’s back as a demented homeowner in Heretic.

Tilda Swinton

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An icon of the screen, Tilda Swinton has had many roles, but perhaps none more iconic than the White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of course her icon status reaches so far beyond that, with several Wes Anderson films under her belt including Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Then there’s Constantine, Suspiria, Only Lovers Left Alive, Burn After Reading and Michael Clayton, which won her an Academy Award, as well as her turn in Doctor Strange (above).

Richard Gere

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At age 73, Richard Gere solidified his place in Hollywood history long ago when he starred as male escort Julian Kay who is accused of murder in 1980’s American Gigolo (above), a film so iconic it was remade recently as a Showtime series.

But Richard Gere is not just a rom-com heartthrob who shined bright opposite Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride (reader, they’re two of my favorite films of all time). He’s also dynamic in crime dramas like The Cotton Club and Arbitrage and compelling in I’m Not There and Time Out of Mind.

And he’s absolutely swoon-worthy in romantic dramas like Days of Heaven, An Officer and a Gentleman, and Sommersby. Long may Gere’s rom-com flag fly — and all the other flags. We’d watch him in anything.

He’s back this year, reunited with American Gigolo director Paul Schrader, in Oh Canada.

Tom Cruise

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Tom Cruise has one of the best resumes of anyone in Hollywood history, from Risky Business to Top Gun to A Few Good Men to Jerry Maguire to Vanilla Sky to Magnolia to the Mission: Impossible franchise. He rarely misses.

He’s 62, but he’s also ageless. And he’s at a career peak: 2021’s Top Gun: Maverick, his biggest hit to date, played a big part in luring audiences back into theaters after the pandemic shutdowns.

We’re psyched for his next film, Mission: Impossible film, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 2, due next year.  

Sally Field

Sally Field and Guy Fieri in 80 For Brady. – Credit: C/O

We like her, we really like her. Sally Field, a two-time Best Actress Oscar winner for Norma Rae and Places in the Heart, became one of the first Baby Boomer icons with her run on Gidget, starting in 1965. The Flying Nun secured her status, and from there she went on to a wildly successful film career.

Roles in films from Sybil to Smokey and the Bandit to Mrs. Doubtfire to Forrest Gump proved her exceptional range and likability — heck, lovability — and she still scored laughs in this year’s 80 for Brady, which jokingly noted that she was a little younger than her octogenarian co-stars, all of whom were born pre-Baby Boom.

Spike Lee

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The over 50 films under Spike Lee’s belt have made him one of the most prolific directors of all time. He’s been changing the game since his first feature film She’s Gotta Have It in 1986, and continuing to raise the bar for filmmakers all the way up until his acclaimed war drama Da 5 Bloods dropped on Netflix in 2020.

Bold, inventive, and never afraid to be real with his audience, Lee has solidified a name for himself as a Hollywood legend. And that’s why he’s one of the top boomers on our list.

One of our favorite Spike Lee films, the underrated Summer of Sam, starred our next boomer…

John Leguizamo

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Excuse us while we break the “We don’t talk about Bruno” rule. We’re going to talk about him — or at least the man who voices him in Encanto.

John Leguizamo has incredible range, from voicing Sid the Sloth in Ice Age to mesmerizing us in Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet to breaking our hearts in Summer of Sam to schooling us in Latin History for Morons, above.

Angela Bassett

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At 64, Angela Bassett can comfortably look back on her incredible career, from playing Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It in 1993 to playing Queen Ramonda in Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. 

Other show-stopping roles she’s played include Coretta Scott King in Betsy & Coretta, Rosa Parks in The Rosa Parks Story, and the role of Marie Laveau in American Horror Story: Coven. All hail the queen.

Meryl Streep

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Perhaps the greatest actress, period, Meryl Streep turned heads in a production of Miss Julie at Vassar College, and the rest is history. Streep has been nominated for an Oscar an astonishing 21 times, and has won thrice, once for Best Supporting Actress in Kramer v. Kramer, and twice for Best Leading Actress in Sophie’s Choice and The Iron Lady.

She was hilarious recently as President Janie Orlean in Don’t Look Up (above, if you look up), but perhaps her most iconic recent role was as Runway Magazine editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. 

Main Image: Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys.