Famous Actors' Favorite Film Roles

Being a famous actor has its drawbacks — massive wealth, universal adulation, an army of sycophants at your beck and call, getting to make more money in three months than most people make in a lifetime playing pretend and dressing up like a superhero. Okay, we're sure there are some drawbacks — we just can't think of any right now. But one of the lesser publicized benefits of being a famous film actor is being able to look back on your career at specific roles that stood the test of time. Well, theoretically, at least. Thanks to our culture's TikTok-addled attention spans, we've already forgotten what movie or TV show we watched last night, but that's beside the point. 

What matters is that if you're a film actor, your life's work isn't made up of just memories — there are movies, as well. All due respect to accountants, but most can't say: "Yep, I still have that tax return I filed in '79." An actor can point to their work and say: "Yeah, I did that." It's nice knowing you made something people loved, and people loved you in. Yet surprisingly, while many actors have iconic roles, those parts are usually not the ones that mean the most to them. Why? We don't know; actors are weird, we guess. However, each actor has their favorites, and many of them might surprise you. From the iconic to the obscure, from the award-winning to the all-but-forgotten, here are these famous actors' favorite film roles!

We're not surprised that Keanu Reeves' favorite part isn't John Wick from the "John Wick" films or Thomas "Neo" Anderson from the four "The Matrix" films. Yes, those franchises have netted $575 million worldwide and $1.7 billion worldwide, respectively, but Reeves doesn't seem like the kind of guy who's too concerned with money. Honestly, we figured his favorite part would be Ted from the "Bill & Ted" trilogy, as that part seems closest to Reeves' own heart. Alas, it's not Ted, either. Nope, Reeves' favorite part was in a would-be blockbuster from 2005 — John Constantine in "Constantine" (via Cracked). 

Originally created by Alan Moore and crew as a supporting character in the "Swamp Thing" comic book, Constantine became the center of his own "Hellblazer" comic book series and one of the principal characters in the DC Comics' "Dark" storylines. We can see why he's fun to play: A foul-mouthed, chain-smoking, whiskey-shooting magician who does battle with demons, both personal and metaphysical. Basically, Dr. Strange if he were a Humphrey Bogart gumshoe. Constantine is also British, which Reeves' version was not, as he presumably learned his lesson from "Bram Stoker's Dracula." Anyway, Reeves told Esquire he'd love to play Constantine again, and we bet Warner Brothers would too, despite the film underwhelming critics and underperforming at the box office.

If you were to ask us to guess Will Smith's favorite movie role of his, we'd probably say "all of them." Seriously, Smith seems like a genial and jovial fellow who loves all of his movie roles equally. Well, almost all of them (more on that in a sec). Granted, it's not hard to love your movie roles when they have made nearly $10 billion worldwide. However, that's what Smith's movies have earned the movie studios that hired him. The movie that earned him the most money personally thanks to performance-based pay was "Men In Black III" (via Business Insider).

Due to a back-end deal, Smith made a portion of the film's earnings, resulting in $100 million in Big Willy Style's bank account. "Men In Black III" earned $654 million worldwide, so just imagine how much Smith would have earned with a bigger gross. However, money doesn't buy happiness, or should we say "Happyness"? While participating in GQ's "Actually Me" series, Smith revealed his favorite movie roles are a tie between Chris Gardner in 2006's "The Pursuit of Happyness" and Agent J in the first 1997 "Men In Black," and he didn't even get paid $100 million for them! Surprising nobody, Smith told GQ his worst role was James West in "Wild Wild West," saying, "To see myself in chaps ... I don't like it." Nobody did, Will. Nobody.

Unlike every other entry on this list, Jeff Bridges' favorite role isn't surprising — it's The Dude. In a career spanning decades, The Dude definitely ties the room together. Bridges made this not-so-revealing revelation in an interview with Esquire, saying: "Oh man, that's like asking, 'Which is your favorite kid!' I mean, The Dude has got to be right up there. People like The Dude, but they're all special to me." This just goes to show that Bridges (and most parents) have a favorite kid too. To be honest, we're not surprised Bridges chose a fan-favorite option. 

Despite all of the awards on his shelf — including one Oscar for "Crazy Heart" and six other nominations (none for "The Big Lebowski," unfortunately) — Bridges seems like the kind of guy who doesn't mind being defined by one role. Still, it's strange that The Dude is that one role, as "The Big Lebowski" only managed $17 million domestically and $46 million worldwide in 1998 but was saved by its economical $15 million budget. Clearly, most of the movie's fans didn't see it in theaters, as the sordid tale of The Dude has built one of the biggest cult followings in film. While The Dude may be based on a real dude, for millions of Dude-ites worldwide, there's only one man who deserves to wear the crown (or the stained bathrobe): Jeff Bridges.

You always remember your first time. Or, in Morgan Freeman's case, about your 72nd time. Freeman had been acting on screen since 1964 but got his big break in 1987's "Street Smart." Little wonder then his performance as Fast Black the pimp in the 1987 flick is also his favorite role. Before "Street Smart," Freeman was a journeyman character actor best known for his role on the public-access children's TV show "The Electric Company," which he starred in daily from 1971 to 1977. Nothing wrong with children's TV, as Steve from "Blue's Clues" has proven (wait, could Steve Burns become an Oscar-winning actor someday?!), but Freeman pined for something more adult. 

What's more adult than sex work, right? Ten years later, Freeman got his wish at the age of 50, nabbing his first of multiple Academy Award nominations and soon snagging more mainstream, above-the-title parts in movies like "Glory" and "Driving Miss Daisy." Freeman is sanguine about starting his movie star career late, saying in a 2011 interview with AFI: "It didn't have to happen at all." Freeman's journey would make an interesting documentary, and we know there's only one person who could narrate it.

Tom Hanks was dubbed "America's Dad" by Esquire, whatever that means, so you'd think his favorite role would be Captain Miller in "Saving Private Ryan," since it's a statistical fact that all dads like World War II. However, it's not. Hanks is also Forrest Gump, Woody in "Toy Story," and Dr. Robert Langdon in "The Da Vinci Code. But Hanks' favorite role is not playing a hippie-haired cryptographer, animated toy cowboy, or even a simple but wise man who finds himself smack dab in the most significant events of the 20th century. Nope, Hanks' favorite role is playing a man trying to outrun a cannibal played by Hugh Grant in the year 2321. Wait, what? 

Yep, in an interview on "The Bill Simmons Podcast," Tom Hanks, the man behind some of the most famous films ever, cited one of his favorite roles — make that several roles, as he played multiple parts — like those from "Cloud Atlas," the Wachowski's little-seen 2012 sci-fi epic. Okay, technically, Hanks said "A League of Their Own" was tops because he got to play baseball all summer, followed by "Cast Away" because making it was an adventure. (Does that mean his favorite co-star is Wilson the volleyball? Unfortunately, Simmons didn't ask that obvious follow-up question.) We just thought "Cloud Atlas" making the top three was wild. For the record, Hanks ranks his movies according to his personal experience making them because in terms of quality, it's obviously 1987's "Dragnet."