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

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, โ€œgreatestโ€ 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 actorโ€™s filmography. Iโ€™m going based on release date, so sometimes having multiple films in a year removes an actor from contention. (i.e, Morgan Freemanโ€™s run of โ€œUnforgivenโ€ - โ€œThe Shawshank Redemptionโ€ - โ€œSe7enโ€ is actually broken up by a movie called โ€œOutbreak,โ€ which was released before โ€œSe7enโ€ in 1995.)ย  So, a good three-movie run is not easy to pull off.. There are a lot of well-known actors who donโ€™t even sniff this list. Here are a few actors you wonโ€™t see in the Top 10: Matt Damon, Ethan Hawke, Nicolas Cage, Matthew McConaughey Bradley Cooper. I tried to get a Jack Nicholson 1970โ€™s run on the list, but it wasnโ€™t meant to be. While movies from a franchise/series/trilogy are eligible, the run cannot include two films from the same IP. (Tom Cruiseโ€™s recent string of โ€œM: Iโ€ films being the most obvious one here.) Ok, here are the 10 โ€œgreatestโ€ three-movie runs.ย  1. Brad Pitt Troy (2004) - Oceanโ€™s Twelve (2004) - Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005) From an artistic standpoint, this is not Brad Pittโ€™s best period, but the combined box office, upwards of $1.3 billion, cannot be ignored, and neither can the โ€œBrangelinaโ€ moment that accompanied โ€œMr. and Mrs. Smith.โ€ Pitt has a few other note-worthy runs. โ€œLegends of the Fallโ€ is unfortunately sandwiched between โ€œInterview with a Vampireโ€ and โ€œSe7en,โ€ and if โ€œThe Mexicanโ€ had been a good film, then the run of โ€œFight Clubโ€ - โ€œSnatchโ€ - โ€œThe Mexicanโ€ might have featured here. In 2008-09, Pitt worked with the Coen brothers, David Fincher, and Quentin Tarantino, but only โ€œInglourious Basterdsโ€ rises to the level required for this list. (โ€œBurn After Readingโ€ and โ€œThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonโ€ being the other two films.)ย Forever referred to as a โ€œcharacter actor with the face of a lead manโ€, Pittโ€™s finest hour may have come as Cliff Booth in โ€œOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood,โ€ but this string of three is still pretty great. He really shines in โ€œTwelve,โ€ a movie about movie stars more so than about a heist, after playing second fiddle to George Clooney in โ€œEleven.โ€ย  The 10 Best Brad Pitt Movies 2. Denzel Washington Inside Man (2006) - Deja Vu (2006) - American Gangster (2007) Though it doesnโ€™t feature Denzelโ€™s most iconic, best, or award-winning performances (โ€œMalcom X,โ€ โ€œTraining Day,โ€ โ€œGloryโ€), 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 โ€œThe Pelican Brief,โ€ย  โ€œPhiladelphia,โ€ and โ€œCrimson Tideโ€ arenโ€™t bad either. The phenomenal back-to-back of โ€œRemember the Titansโ€ - โ€œTraining Dayโ€ is stifled by โ€œThe Hurricaneโ€ on one side, and โ€œJohn Qโ€ on the other.ย  Denzel is perfect as the central character in โ€œInside Man.โ€ โ€œDeja Vuโ€ marked his third collaboration with director Tony Scott. (They would end up making five films together. โ€œCrimson Tide,โ€ โ€œMan on Fire,โ€ โ€œDeja Vu,โ€ โ€œThe Taking of Pelham 123,โ€ โ€œUnstoppable.โ€) Finally, as noted previously, โ€œAmerican Gangsterโ€ is Denzelโ€™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.ย  3. Tom Cruise Cocktail (1988) - Rain Man (1988) - Born on the 4th of July (1989) I went with โ€œCocktailโ€ over โ€œDays of Thunderโ€ (1990) because the former made $15 million more at the box office. (Although Cruise did meet Nicole Kidman on โ€œDays of Thunder,โ€ so maybe that is the proper choice.) Look, Tom Cruiseโ€™s entire career has been a great run. His first entry on this list comprises two films highly-awarded by The Academy (โ€œRain Manโ€ won four Oscars, โ€œBorn on the Fourth of Julyโ€ won two) and an early Cruise vehicle that demonstrates his star appeal. Though Dustin Hoffman won the Oscar for โ€œRain Man,โ€ Cruiseโ€™s performance has come to be just as celebrated in the years since. Similarly, Cruiseโ€™s performance in โ€œBorn on the Fourth of Julyโ€ is considered one of the best of his career, despite not landing him an Oscar. โ€œCocktailโ€ isnโ€™t really the kind of film that lends itself to โ€œgoodโ€ performances, but Cruiseโ€™s energy and swagger are evident, much like in โ€œTop Gunโ€ and โ€œRisky Businessโ€ 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 Tarantinoโ€™s โ€œDjango Unchained,โ€ then the title role in Baz Luhrmannโ€™s โ€œThe Great Gatsby,โ€ and finally his transformation into Jordan Belfort for Martin Scorseseโ€™s โ€œThe Wolf of Wall Street.โ€ Leo is the youngest actor on this list. (Youngest currently, not youngest at the time of performance) Itโ€™s not as easy to judge where this run comes in Leoโ€™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 (โ€œThe Revenantโ€ 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 Pacinoโ€™s 1990s comeback, which netted him his only (what?!?) Best Actor win (โ€œScent of a Womanโ€) is awesome, but itโ€™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 Coppolaโ€™s follow-up to the epic gangster saga.. Though this run is in the #6 spot, I believe these performances demonstrate the best โ€œActingโ€ on the list. Pacinoโ€™s work in โ€œThe Godfather Part IIโ€ and โ€œDog Day Afternoonโ€ constitutes some of the finest acting ever put to film.ย  Watch the scene from โ€œThe Godfather Part IIโ€ where Kay (Diane Keaton) tells Michael that she got an abortion. Itโ€™s harder for me to nail down one scene from โ€œDog Day Afternoonโ€ that exemplifies Pacinoโ€™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.ย  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 Niroโ€™s batting average is a little lower than that of some of the other all-time greats. For example, โ€œThe Deer Hunterโ€ - โ€œRaging Bullโ€ - โ€œThe King of Comedyโ€ would be an all-time run, but thereโ€™s a little-seen movie called โ€œTrue Confessionsโ€ between โ€œRaging Bullโ€ and โ€œKing of Comedy.โ€ De Niroโ€™s only truly great three-movie run came in his first three major movies.ย  He had been in some movies for Brian De Palma in the late โ€™60s and early โ€™70s, but โ€œMean Streetsโ€ was his โ€œbig breakโ€. His talent and energy are undeniable in โ€œMean Streets,โ€ a fact that Coppola certainly took note of when casting De Niro as Young Vito for โ€The Godfather Part II,โ€ a part for which he learned a Sicilian dialect of Italian. Then, De Niro cemented his legendary partnership with Scorsese with โ€œTaxi Driver,โ€ a role that remains his most culturally relevant to this day.ย  7. Leonardo DiCaprio Catch Me If You Can - The Aviator - The Departed Leoโ€™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 โ€œsuccessfulโ€ film of the three (โ€œThe Departedโ€ won Best Picture for 2006, and โ€œCatch Me If You Canโ€ grossed $350 million worldwide), โ€œThe Aviatorโ€ 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 โ€œDonโ€™t Look Upโ€ killed what could have been another legendary run for Leo, starting with his award-winning performance in โ€œThe Revenant,โ€ then his magnificent work in both Tarantinoโ€™s โ€œOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood,โ€ and Scorseseโ€™s โ€œKillers of the Flower Moon.โ€ Perhaps we are in the midst of Leoโ€™s next great run with Paul Thomas Andersonโ€™s โ€œOne Battle After Anotherโ€ set to be released later this year.ย  8. Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible (1996)- Jerry Maguire (1996)- Eyes Wide Shut (1999) TCโ€™s greatest run makes the Top 3. First, he launched Ethan Hunt and โ€œM: Iโ€ with Brian De Palma to almost $500 million worldwide. Then, he delivered perhaps his most quintessential movie star performance for Cameron Croweโ€™s โ€œJerry Maguire.โ€ Finally, he locked himself away with Nicole Kidman and Stanley Kubrick for more than a year for โ€œEyes Wide Shut,โ€ one of the most extensively analyzed films, both artistically and culturally, of all time.ย  Kidman and Cruise split only a year and a half after the release of โ€œEWS.โ€ Also in 1999, Cruise delivered one of his finest performances ever in Paul Thomas Andersonโ€™s โ€œMagnolia.โ€ Though not eligible for this list, Cruiseโ€™s current run of โ€œTop Gun: Maverick,โ€ โ€œM: I - Dead Reckoning,โ€ โ€œM: I - The Final Reckoningโ€ is further evidence of a simple fact: there will never be another Tom Cruise. (Honestly, the run could start with โ€œM: I - Falloutโ€ 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 โ€œA League of Their Ownโ€ in 1992 and โ€œSleepless in Seattleโ€ in 1993. What he did next, only one other actor has ever done. (Spencer Tracy) Hanks won back-to-back Best Actor Oscars for โ€œPhiladelphiaโ€ and โ€œForrest Gumpโ€ in 1993 and 1994. I went with โ€œApollo 13โ€ instead of โ€œSleepless in Seattleโ€ 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 Hanksโ€™s โ€˜92-โ€™02 is the most impressive ten-year stretch ever by an actor. Hankโ€™s portrayal of Forrest Gump is one of the most iconic in the history of Hollywood, and his work in โ€œPhiladelphiaโ€ may be even better. Both of his acceptance speeches are worth checking out, especially the one he gave for โ€œPhiladelphia.โ€ It is by far the most powerful Oscar acceptance speech Iโ€™ve ever seen. Hereโ€™s hoping one of the all-time greats has another run left in him. (Insert โ€œForrest Gumpโ€ 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 Fordโ€™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 Scottโ€™s โ€œBlade Runnerโ€ the next year. This is, undoubtedly, the greatest three-movie run ever by an actor. Even with โ€œBlade Runnerโ€ only making $34 million in 1982, the box office for these three films combined to almost $1 billion. Fordโ€™s performance in โ€œEmpireโ€ is perhaps even better than his performance in โ€œA New Hopeโ€ (1977).ย  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 โ€œReturn of the Jedi,โ€ and reprising Indy for โ€œTemple of Doomโ€ in 1984, Ford teamed with Ridley Scott on โ€œBlade Runnerโ€ with Ridley Scott, a film that has only grown in the publicโ€™s estimation since it was released almost forty-five years ago. Harrison Ford is the GOAT of the three-movie run.ย  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

10 Best Ashley Judd Movie Performances, Ranked

July 25, 2025
·
Prithvijeet Sinha
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
queer movies 10 the song we sang
Evergreen List · Featured

15 Essential Indian Short Films on Queer Love

Ahendrila Goswami July 21, 2025July 21, 2025

Trending Lists

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

7 Movies to Watch If You Liked โ€˜Brickโ€™ 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

Evergreen List

The 6 Essential Bruce Lee Movies

March 8, 2021
Reubyn Coutinho
Best European Movies - Stalker
Evergreen List

10 Great European Movies That You Just Can’t Miss

February 15, 2021
Zafar Rizvi
Evergreen List

All Jim Jarmusch Movies Ranked

February 10, 2021
Elliott Kendal
UNCLE YANCO (1967)
Evergreen List

(Re)discovering Agnes Varda Through Her Short Films

January 20, 2021
Joe Humfrey
great films on Hotstar 3 Dead poets society
Evergreen List

10 Great Films On Hotstar You Can Stream Right Now

December 6, 2020
Jahnavi Vekaria
Her 2013 directed by Spike Jonze
Evergreen List

Every Spike Jonze Film Ranked

October 13, 2020
highonfilms
Chadwick Boseman in 42
Evergreen List

5 Important Chadwick Boseman Movies You Shouldn’t Miss

August 29, 2020
Shikhar Verma
Janet Leigh in PSYCHO (1960)
Evergreen List

The 10 Most Iconic American Movies of all Time

August 13, 2020
John Menninger
Travel Movies
Evergreen List

20 Great Travel Movies For Those Seeking Escapism

June 24, 2020
Lauren Bedford
Evergreen List

10 Films To Watch If You Love Joker (2019)

April 6, 2020
Santanu Das

Posts pagination

Previous Page 1 … 56 57 58 59 60 Next Page
Trending Posts
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
The 10 Greatest Three-Movie Runs by an Actor Ever

Other Categories

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

Follow Us

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • X
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Spotify
  • Pinterest
The Top 25 Best Sports Movies of All-Time
Evergreen List

The Top 25 Best Sports Movies of All-Time

Jude Pepler July 30, 2023

Read More The Top 25 Best Sports Movies of All-TimeContinue

10 Best Films of Roman Polaล„ski
Evergreen List

10 Best Films of Roman Polaล„ski

Maja Gรณrczak August 7, 2023

Read More 10 Best Films of Roman Polaล„skiContinue

8 High-Profile Roles that Saw Actors Recast in Sequels
Evergreen List

8 High-Profile Roles that Saw Actors Recast in Sequels

Reubyn Coutinho July 22, 2024

Read More 8 High-Profile Roles that Saw Actors Recast in SequelsContinue

All Jane Campion Movies Ranked from Worst to Best
Evergreen List

All Jane Campion Movies Ranked from Worst to Best

Abhijit Bhalachandra July 15, 2024

Read More All Jane Campion Movies Ranked from Worst to BestContinue

10 Films/TV Shows To Watch If You Love Ricky Gervais’s “After Life”
Evergreen List

10 Films/TV Shows To Watch If You Love Ricky Gervais’s “After Life”

Bidhi Bhagawati July 15, 2024

Read More 10 Films/TV Shows To Watch If You Love Ricky Gervais’s “After Life”Continue

20 Underrated TV Shows That Are Worth Your Time
Evergreen List

20 Underrated TV Shows That Are Worth Your Time

Darshana Singh April 28, 2023

Read More 20 Underrated TV Shows That Are Worth Your TimeContinue

All Batman Movie Villains (Including The Batman) Ranked From Worst to Best
Evergreen List

All Batman Movie Villains (Including The Batman) Ranked From Worst to Best

Reubyn Coutinho July 11, 2023

Read More All Batman Movie Villains (Including The Batman) Ranked From Worst to BestContinue

All Batman Movies (Including The Batman) Ranked, From Worst to Best
Evergreen List

All Batman Movies (Including The Batman) Ranked, From Worst to Best

Jude Pepler July 11, 2023

Read More All Batman Movies (Including The Batman) Ranked, From Worst to BestContinue

All Asghar Farhadi Movies Ranked from Worst to Best
Evergreen List

All Asghar Farhadi Movies Ranked from Worst to Best

Manish July 16, 2023

Read More All Asghar Farhadi Movies Ranked from Worst to BestContinue

Page navigation

Previous PagePrevious 1 … 57 58 59 60 61 … 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