Skip to content

High On FilmsHigh On Films

High On Films
  • Film FestivalsExpand
    • Cannes
    • Berlinale
    • BFI London Film Festival
    • Fantasia
    • IFFI
    • Locarno
    • DIFF
    • MAMI
    • NYAFF
    • Sundance
    • Sydney Film Festival
    • TIFF
  • ReviewsExpand
    • In Theaters
  • Lists
  • EssaysExpand
    • Column
    • Interviews
  • ExplainersExpand
    • Streaming Now
  • News
  • Write For Us
  • HOF GamesExpand
    • High on Films Daily Jigsaw
    • High on Films Weekly Crossword
High On Films

Latest Lists

Dhanush movies - Asuran

The 10 Best Dhanush Performances

August 5, 2025
·
Adithya Prakash
Monica, O My Darling (2022) | 8 Best Rajkummar Rao Movie Performances, Ranked

8 Best Rajkummar Rao Movie Performances, Ranked

July 31, 2025
·
Soumalya Chatterjee
The Ten Best Films Of Hrishikesh Mukherjee

The 10 Best Hrishikesh Mukherjee Movies

July 30, 2025
·
Shoma Chatterji

The 10 Best Indian Films of All Time As Chosen By FIPRESCI-INDIA

July 26, 2025
·
Shoma Chatterji
Tom Cruise Born on the 4th of July (1989) | What is the greatest three-movie run by an actor? Well, first, let me define what I mean by greatest, and what I mean by three-movie run. For my purposes, “greatest” is measured by an equal consideration of movie quality, performance quality, box office, and pop culture relevance. In other words, the films/performances have to be good and well-known. Now, a three-movie run just means three consecutive films in an actor’s filmography. I’m going based on release date, so sometimes having multiple films in a year removes an actor from contention. (i.e, Morgan Freeman’s run of “Unforgiven” - “The Shawshank Redemption” - “Se7en” is actually broken up by a movie called “Outbreak,” which was released before “Se7en” in 1995.)  So, a good three-movie run is not easy to pull off.. There are a lot of well-known actors who don’t even sniff this list. Here are a few actors you won’t see in the Top 10: Matt Damon, Ethan Hawke, Nicolas Cage, Matthew McConaughey Bradley Cooper. I tried to get a Jack Nicholson 1970’s run on the list, but it wasn’t meant to be. While movies from a franchise/series/trilogy are eligible, the run cannot include two films from the same IP. (Tom Cruise’s recent string of “M: I” films being the most obvious one here.) Ok, here are the 10 “greatest” three-movie runs.  1. Brad Pitt Troy (2004) - Ocean’s Twelve (2004) - Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005) From an artistic standpoint, this is not Brad Pitt’s best period, but the combined box office, upwards of $1.3 billion, cannot be ignored, and neither can the “Brangelina” moment that accompanied “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Pitt has a few other note-worthy runs. “Legends of the Fall” is unfortunately sandwiched between “Interview with a Vampire” and “Se7en,” and if “The Mexican” had been a good film, then the run of “Fight Club” - “Snatch” - “The Mexican” might have featured here. In 2008-09, Pitt worked with the Coen brothers, David Fincher, and Quentin Tarantino, but only “Inglourious Basterds” rises to the level required for this list. (“Burn After Reading” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” being the other two films.) Forever referred to as a “character actor with the face of a lead man”, Pitt’s finest hour may have come as Cliff Booth in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” but this string of three is still pretty great. He really shines in “Twelve,” a movie about movie stars more so than about a heist, after playing second fiddle to George Clooney in “Eleven.”  The 10 Best Brad Pitt Movies 2. Denzel Washington Inside Man (2006) - Deja Vu (2006) - American Gangster (2007) Though it doesn’t feature Denzel’s most iconic, best, or award-winning performances (“Malcom X,” “Training Day,” “Glory”), this is still his strongest consecutive three. Firstly, he worked with three excellent directors: Spike Lee, Tony Scott, and Ridley Scott. Secondly, these three films rank first, sixth, and seventh by box office performance. This ended up being a pretty easy choice for the Denzel-run, but “The Pelican Brief,”  “Philadelphia,” and “Crimson Tide” aren’t bad either. The phenomenal back-to-back of “Remember the Titans” - “Training Day” is stifled by “The Hurricane” on one side, and “John Q” on the other.  Denzel is perfect as the central character in “Inside Man.” “Deja Vu” marked his third collaboration with director Tony Scott. (They would end up making five films together. “Crimson Tide,” “Man on Fire,” “Deja Vu,” “The Taking of Pelham 123,” “Unstoppable.”) Finally, as noted previously, “American Gangster” is Denzel’s highest-grossing box office film of all time at $270 million worldwide. Not a bad way to cap an impressive three-movie run for one of the most beloved and enduring movie stars of the last forty years.  3. Tom Cruise Cocktail (1988) - Rain Man (1988) - Born on the 4th of July (1989) I went with “Cocktail” over “Days of Thunder” (1990) because the former made $15 million more at the box office. (Although Cruise did meet Nicole Kidman on “Days of Thunder,” so maybe that is the proper choice.) Look, Tom Cruise’s entire career has been a great run. His first entry on this list comprises two films highly-awarded by The Academy (“Rain Man” won four Oscars, “Born on the Fourth of July” won two) and an early Cruise vehicle that demonstrates his star appeal. Though Dustin Hoffman won the Oscar for “Rain Man,” Cruise’s performance has come to be just as celebrated in the years since. Similarly, Cruise’s performance in “Born on the Fourth of July” is considered one of the best of his career, despite not landing him an Oscar. “Cocktail” isn’t really the kind of film that lends itself to “good” performances, but Cruise’s energy and swagger are evident, much like in “Top Gun” and “Risky Business” earlier in the decade. Still, Cruise had yet to reach his peak, and this era was really just the preamble for the Tom Cruise 90s. (See #3) 4. Leonardo DiCaprio Django Unchained (2012) - The Great Gatsby (2013) - The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Leo has always been picky about which directors he decides to work with, a fact that was never more apparent than during this early-2010s run when he worked with three iconic directors back-to-back-to-back. First, his terrifying turn as Calvin Candie in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained,” then the title role in Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby,” and finally his transformation into Jordan Belfort for Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Leo is the youngest actor on this list. (Youngest currently, not youngest at the time of performance) It’s not as easy to judge where this run comes in Leo’s career as it is for some others on the list, but I feel pretty comfortable calling this mid-career DiCaprio. Though he would have to wait a few more years for that elusive Oscar (“The Revenant” in 2016), this is a wicked three-movie run from Leo. It is not by any means his greatest three-movie run ever, though. More to come on that later. (See #4.) 5. Al Pacino Serpico (1973) - The Godfather Part II (1974) - Dog Day Afternoon (1975) Al Pacino’s 1990s comeback, which netted him his only (what?!?) Best Actor win (“Scent of a Woman”) is awesome, but it’s in his early period that we find our great three-movie run. Two of the three are Sidney Lumet films, and then, of course, Francis Ford Coppola’s follow-up to the epic gangster saga.. Though this run is in the #6 spot, I believe these performances demonstrate the best “Acting” on the list. Pacino’s work in “The Godfather Part II” and “Dog Day Afternoon” constitutes some of the finest acting ever put to film.  Watch the scene from “The Godfather Part II” where Kay (Diane Keaton) tells Michael that she got an abortion. It’s harder for me to nail down one scene from “Dog Day Afternoon” that exemplifies Pacino’s best work because the film feels like one long scene. (Of course, the film all takes place in one day.) Perhaps, the telephone scene between Pacino and his lover (Chris Sarandon). Honestly, just watch the whole movie and try not to cry while taking in possibly the most wonderful screen-acting of all time.  The 10 Best Al Pacino Performances, Ranked 6. Robert De Niro Mean Streets (1973) - The Godfather Part II (1974) - Taxi Driver (1976) Due to his outrageous amount of credits, De Niro’s batting average is a little lower than that of some of the other all-time greats. For example, “The Deer Hunter” - “Raging Bull” - “The King of Comedy” would be an all-time run, but there’s a little-seen movie called “True Confessions” between “Raging Bull” and “King of Comedy.” De Niro’s only truly great three-movie run came in his first three major movies.  He had been in some movies for Brian De Palma in the late ’60s and early ’70s, but “Mean Streets” was his “big break”. His talent and energy are undeniable in “Mean Streets,” a fact that Coppola certainly took note of when casting De Niro as Young Vito for ”The Godfather Part II,” a part for which he learned a Sicilian dialect of Italian. Then, De Niro cemented his legendary partnership with Scorsese with “Taxi Driver,” a role that remains his most culturally relevant to this day.  7. Leonardo DiCaprio Catch Me If You Can - The Aviator - The Departed Leo’s mid-2000s run will slot in here at #4. Though none of these three are in the top 5 box office hits for Leo (#6,#10,#11), they represent the time in his career when his star shone the brightest. It was in this era that Scorsese tapped Leo as his next great partner, reminiscent of the director's work with Robert De Niro. Though the least “successful” film of the three (“The Departed” won Best Picture for 2006, and “Catch Me If You Can” grossed $350 million worldwide), “The Aviator” features perhaps the best Leo performance of the three. DiCaprio disappears into the eccentric Howard Hughes, carrying an unnecessarily bloated film with his masterful acting work. The unfortunate “Don’t Look Up” killed what could have been another legendary run for Leo, starting with his award-winning performance in “The Revenant,” then his magnificent work in both Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” and Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Perhaps we are in the midst of Leo’s next great run with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” set to be released later this year.  8. Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible (1996)- Jerry Maguire (1996)- Eyes Wide Shut (1999) TC’s greatest run makes the Top 3. First, he launched Ethan Hunt and “M: I” with Brian De Palma to almost $500 million worldwide. Then, he delivered perhaps his most quintessential movie star performance for Cameron Crowe’s “Jerry Maguire.” Finally, he locked himself away with Nicole Kidman and Stanley Kubrick for more than a year for “Eyes Wide Shut,” one of the most extensively analyzed films, both artistically and culturally, of all time.  Kidman and Cruise split only a year and a half after the release of “EWS.” Also in 1999, Cruise delivered one of his finest performances ever in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia.” Though not eligible for this list, Cruise’s current run of “Top Gun: Maverick,” “M: I - Dead Reckoning,” “M: I - The Final Reckoning” is further evidence of a simple fact: there will never be another Tom Cruise. (Honestly, the run could start with “M: I - Fallout” in 2018.) All 45 Tom Cruise Movies, Ranked 9. Tom Hanks Philadelphia - Forrest Gump - Apollo 13 Tom Hanks built some great momentum at the start of the '90s with “A League of Their Own” in 1992 and “Sleepless in Seattle” in 1993. What he did next, only one other actor has ever done. (Spencer Tracy) Hanks won back-to-back Best Actor Oscars for “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump” in 1993 and 1994. I went with “Apollo 13” instead of “Sleepless in Seattle” because the former made $150 million more at the box office. Either way, what a stretch. In fact, I can say pretty confidently that Tom Hanks’s ‘92-’02 is the most impressive ten-year stretch ever by an actor. Hank’s portrayal of Forrest Gump is one of the most iconic in the history of Hollywood, and his work in “Philadelphia” may be even better. Both of his acceptance speeches are worth checking out, especially the one he gave for “Philadelphia.” It is by far the most powerful Oscar acceptance speech I’ve ever seen. Here’s hoping one of the all-time greats has another run left in him. (Insert “Forrest Gump” joke here.) 10. Harrison Ford The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - Blade Runner (1982) If you polled one hundred people, asking them what is Harrison Ford’s most iconic role, I would expect about a 50-50 split between Han Solo and Indian Jones. (Han Solo is more important to me) Well, Ford played both characters in back-to-back years in 1980 and 1981. Oh, and then he originated Deckard in Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” the next year. This is, undoubtedly, the greatest three-movie run ever by an actor. Even with “Blade Runner” only making $34 million in 1982, the box office for these three films combined to almost $1 billion. Ford’s performance in “Empire” is perhaps even better than his performance in “A New Hope” (1977).  In the late 70s and into the 80s, the Spielberg-Lucas creative and business partnership was redefining what movies could be, both artistically and culturally. Harrison Ford and his characters were the avatar for this paradigm shift in American cinema. Finally, before coming back to Solo in 1983 for “Return of the Jedi,” and reprising Indy for “Temple of Doom” in 1984, Ford teamed with Ridley Scott on “Blade Runner” with Ridley Scott, a film that has only grown in the public’s estimation since it was released almost forty-five years ago. Harrison Ford is the GOAT of the three-movie run.  Read More: Top 10 Harrison Ford Films According to Rotten Tomatoes

The 10 Greatest Three-Movie Runs by an Actor Ever

July 25, 2025
·
Eamonn Choukrane
Charlene in Heat (1995) | 10 Best Ashley Judd Movie Performances, Ranked
Evergreen List

10 Best Ashley Judd Movie Performances, Ranked

Prithvijeet Sinha July 25, 2025July 25, 2025
20 Indian Murder Mystery Movies That Keep The Viewers Hooked
Evergreen List

20 Indian Murder Mystery Movies That Keep The Viewers Hooked

Manish July 23, 2025July 25, 2025
Tarun Majumdar 03
Evergreen List · Featured

7 Best Films of Tarun Majumdar

Shoma Chatterji July 23, 2025July 23, 2025

Trending Lists

See More…
Movies like Brick (2025) Netflix
Trending List

7 Movies to Watch If You Liked ‘Brick’ on Netflix

Deepshikha Deb July 12, 2025July 19, 2025
July 4th Zee5 Global
News · Press Release · Trending List

Red, White & Binge: Here are ZEE5 Global Picks for Your 4th of July Watchlist

Amritt Rukhaiyaar July 4, 2025July 4, 2025
7 Movies to Watch If You Like The Menu (2022)
Trending List

7 Movies to Watch If You Like The Menu (2022)

Ahendrila Goswami June 24, 2025July 17, 2025

Evergreen Lists

Top 10 Laura Dern Performances - Jurassic Park (1993)
Evergreen List

Top 10 Laura Dern Performances

February 11, 2024
Georgia May
All Alexander Payne Movies, Ranked - The Holdovers (2023)
Evergreen List

All Alexander Payne Movies, Ranked

February 9, 2024
Elliott Kendal
Evergreen List

10 Criminally Underrated Best Picture Oscar Winners

February 9, 2024
Shariq Ansari
Matthew Vaughn Movies Ranked
Evergreen List

All Matthew Vaughn Movies (including Argylle) Ranked, from Worst to Best

February 9, 2024
Julian Malandruccolo
Every Best Picture Winner Ever The Godfather 1972
Evergreen List

Every Best Picture Oscar Winner Ever

February 9, 2024
highonfilms
Every 2024 Oscar Best Picture Nominee Ranked - Past Lives
Evergreen List

All 2024 Oscar Best Picture Nominees, Ranked

February 8, 2024
Thomas Gladstone
emma stone and ryan gosling la la land
Evergreen List

10 Great Inspirational Movies That You Need To Watch

February 7, 2024
Akash Deshpande
Margot Robbie in Barbie
Evergreen List

10 Movies To Watch If You Like ‘Barbie’

February 6, 2024
Aryan Vyas
Anatomy of a Fall palme d'or
Evergreen List

The 30 Greatest Cannes Palme d’Or Winners of All Time

February 6, 2024
Elliott Kendal
Ferrari (2023)
Evergreen List

All Michael Mann Movies (Including Ferrari), Ranked

February 5, 2024
Amartya Acharya

Posts pagination

Previous Page 1 … 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 … 60 Next Page
Trending Posts
The 10 Best Dhanush Performances
8 Best Rajkummar Rao Movie Performances, Ranked
The 10 Best Hrishikesh Mukherjee Movies
The 10 Best Indian Films of All Time As Chosen By FIPRESCI-INDIA

Other Categories

  • Reviews
  • Evergreen List
  • News
  • Streaming
  • Film Festival
  • Column

Follow Us

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • X
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Spotify
  • Pinterest
10 Movies like The Green Mile
Evergreen List

10 Movies like The Green Mile

Damayanti Ghosh March 11, 2024

Read More 10 Movies like The Green MileContinue

20 Best Comedy Movies of 2023
Evergreen List

20 Best Comedy Movies of 2023

Shashwat Sisodiya August 20, 2024

Read More 20 Best Comedy Movies of 2023Continue

5 Jaw-Dropping Years When Summer Blockbuster Movies Totally Outshined Oscar Contenders
Evergreen List

5 Jaw-Dropping Years When Summer Blockbuster Movies Totally Outshined Oscar Contenders

Jeremie Richards July 10, 2024

Read More 5 Jaw-Dropping Years When Summer Blockbuster Movies Totally Outshined Oscar ContendersContinue

20 Greatest Best Picture Oscar Winners
Evergreen List

20 Greatest Best Picture Oscar Winners

highonfilms March 10, 2024

Read More 20 Greatest Best Picture Oscar WinnersContinue

The 10 Best Timothée Chalamet Performances, Ranked
Evergreen List

The 10 Best Timothée Chalamet Performances, Ranked

Thomas Gladstone September 2, 2024

Read More The 10 Best Timothée Chalamet Performances, RankedContinue

All Denis Villeneuve Movies (including Dune: Part Two) Ranked
Evergreen List

All Denis Villeneuve Movies (including Dune: Part Two) Ranked

Charlie Bennett March 2, 2025

Read More All Denis Villeneuve Movies (including Dune: Part Two) RankedContinue

The 45 Best Netflix Original Movies, Ranked
Evergreen List · Netflix · Streaming Now

The 45 Best Netflix Original Movies, Ranked

highonfilms July 15, 2024

Read More The 45 Best Netflix Original Movies, RankedContinue

10 Greatest Films of All Time, According to Roger Ebert
Evergreen List

10 Greatest Films of All Time, According to Roger Ebert

Amritt Rukhaiyaar March 2, 2025

Read More 10 Greatest Films of All Time, According to Roger EbertContinue

10 Best Emma Stone Performances
Evergreen List

10 Best Emma Stone Performances

Georgia May March 2, 2025

Read More 10 Best Emma Stone PerformancesContinue

Page navigation

Previous PagePrevious 1 … 33 34 35 36 37 … 67 Next PageNext

Subscribe to HOF

Follow Us

XFacebookInstagramLinkedinLetterboxdSpotify

Quick Links

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Explainers Index
  • Reviews Index
  • Write For Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Film Festivals
  • Sitemap

© 2025 All Rights Reserved

Designed by Two Words

Scroll to top
  • Film Festivals
    • Cannes
    • Berlinale
    • BFI London Film Festival
    • Fantasia
    • IFFI
    • Locarno
    • DIFF
    • MAMI
    • NYAFF
    • Sundance
    • Sydney Film Festival
    • TIFF
  • Reviews
    • In Theaters
  • Lists
  • Essays
    • Column
    • Interviews
  • Explainers
    • Streaming Now
  • News
  • Write For Us
  • HOF Games
    • High on Films Daily Jigsaw
    • High on Films Weekly Crossword