15 Best Comedy Movie Stars Of All Time, Ranked

Whoever said “dying is easy, comedy is hard” would certainly appreciate the chops it takes to make it as a comedy movie star. There’s a reason why the likes of Rainn Wilson or Dane Cook couldn’t make it in this field. Not just anyone can constantly win over audiences for years or even decades of chuckle-inspiring cinema. It takes real skills and finesse to pull off what may seem like super silly surface-level material. Want proof of the prowess it takes to become a comedy movie legend? Just look at the 15 best stars to ever grace this genre. 

From folks who blazed new trails for humor in the silent era to actors slaying moviegoers everywhere in the 2020s, these 15 artists tower over everyone else in the comedy film space. They have resonated especially profoundly with this author and/or have left a tremendous cultural footprint in all of cinema, comedy or otherwise. Consciously or not, every subsequent comedy star is following in their revered footsteps. After all, folks are still laughing at these artists and their movies decades after they first appeared on the scene. To understand just how true the phrase “comedy is hard” is, just look at the 15 greatest comedy movie stars of all time, ranked from “least best” to greatest.

Thanks to absolutely terrible post-“Bridesmaids” movies like “Thunder Force,” “The Happytime Murders,” or “Tammy,” it’s easy to forget that Melissa McCarthy really is a tremendous comedic talent. Go back and revisit her breakout turn as Megan Price in “Bridesmaids,” and one can easily see why she took the world by storm. She’s uproarious in this part, particularly in her precise physical and verbal artistry in executing the silliest gags. There’s clear craftsmanship going on underneath lewd jokes about bowel movements or humorously inexplicable lines about where nukes are buried.

Subsequent films like “The Heat” and especially “Spy” got great mileage out of McCarthy’s considerable chops as a comedic performer. She excels in particular in the latter film by lending depth and an engaging aura to Susan Cooper rather than just making her the butt of espionage-based mockery. The actor has even wrung laughs out of weaker, but hardly offensive films like “Life of the Party.” In her best performances, McCarthy exudes a love for her oddball characters and a fervent dedication to executing comedy beats that’s immensely admirable. Not even a billion movies like “Tammy” could diminish either those accomplishments or efforts as strong as “Bridesmaids” and “Spy.”

One can’t talk about the world of comedy movie stars without offering up roses towards the guy who starred in films like “Dumb and Dumber,” “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “Bruce Almighty,” and “The Mask.” Rubbery physicality has defined the work of Jim Carrey on-screen: His limbs could go anywhere, and his facial expressions could contort in seemingly limitless directions. Titles like “Liar Liar” saw Carrey using his uber-exaggerated style of line deliveries to forever change how people say or think of words like “speeding.” Subtlety isn’t the name of the game for Carrey’s comedy, but that’s why people love him. He’s left everything out on the floor with his performances and even broke up his co-stars on set more often than not.

Carrey isn’t just an larger-than-life clown, though. He could also navigate more complicated forms of comedy that also incorporated heavy doses of drama in acclaimed titles like “The Truman Show” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Even “I Love You, Phillip Morris” saw Carrey embracing a more nuanced tone while delivering reliable yuks. Wherever he goes in his films, Carrey is bound to make you giggle with glee with his unabashed commitment to comedic lunacy.

Jack Black’s often highly-rated and rockin’ style of comedic line deliveries might make it seem like there’s nothing lurking under the surface of this guy’s approach to humor. However, there is a vital, underappreciated element underscoring his filmography: commitment. There is no sleepwalking nor phoning it in when it comes to Black (unless it’s a disposable voice-over role in something like “Borderlands”).

A lot of middle-aged men could have played his “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” character (a stereotypical teen girl suddenly trapped in the body of a husky male scientist) as just a mean-spirited caricature mocking today’s youth. Instead, Black fully threw himself into the role and lent real specificity and heart to his performance. 

There’s also just a constantly likable energy to the guy that makes his bodacious characters so enjoyable to watch and laugh along with. Black’s even found interesting ways to play around with that element of his screen persona in more complicated dark comedies like “Bernie.” In the more challenging confines of an arthouse film, Black can still earn memorable laughs. Just because he’s always enthusiastically improvising gibberish or shredding an air guitar doesn’t mean there aren’t artistic intricacies that make Black a comedy cinema legend.

Whoopi Goldberg’s tremendous career has spanned so many different corners of modern media, from revered dramas like “The Color Purple” to theatre productions like “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” to her talk show exploits. However, since some of her earliest endeavors focused on her being a stage comedian, it shouldn’t be surprising that Goldberg headlined some of the most beloved comedies of all time. 

A standout in this department is “Sister Act,” a 1992 feature where this Oscar-winning performer portrayed lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier, who is forced to take on the identity of a nun as part of a witness protection initiative. The movie was a box office phenomenon, and Goldberg’s performance was a key reason for its success.

Beyond a “Sister Act” sequel, Goldberg appeared in numerous other popular or esteemed comedies, including “Soapdish” and “Made in America.” Plus her 1985 HBO feature, “Whoopi Goldberg: Direct From Broadway,” a filmed version of her one-woman stage show, remains an acclaimed time capsule of all her gifts. In the stripped-down “Direct From Broadway,” Goldberg still tickles the funny bones of viewers even without the aid of co-stars or elaborate sets. No wonder she went on to a career of tremendous artistic highs, in comedy and beyond.

Not everything from the original “Scary Movie” has aged well, but the comic chops of the legendary Regina Hall, playing franchise fixture Brenda Meeks, were apparent right from the start. From there, Hall’s continued to be a reliably strong performer in all kinds of comedies. This includes leading more grounded fare like the excellent 2018 film “Support the Girls” as well as being the heart and soul of the broader, more mainstream “Girls Trip.” Whatever Hall does, she’s bound to deliver a performance rife with gusto and memorable laughs.

Across a multitude of outstanding performances, Hall can even generate laughs in otherwise underwhelming fare like “Superhero Movie” or the weaker “Scary Movie” installments. She’s also proven immensely capable of holding her own opposite comedy legends, such as her various famous “Death at a Funeral” or “Barbershop: The Next Cut” co-stars. Wherever she shows up and whoever she’s rubbing shoulders with, Regina Hall is a comedy movie genius. Just look at how she rose above the less savory qualities of that inaugural “Scary Movie” title.

There’s a scene in 1948’s “A Foreign Affair” where Congresswoman Phoebe Frost (Jean Arthur) is standing in an ominous line at a police station and realizes that the situation she’s trapped in could cost her her reputation. To reflect this character’s interior life, Arthur puts on this uber-distinctive worried expression that’s at once side-splitting and also emotionally gripping. 

Arthur was a master at both unique comedic flourishes and crafting characters that captured every heart in a movie theater auditorium. These skills excelled in films like “The Devil and Miss Jones,” “The More the Merrier,” and “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” where Arthur would just crush any humorous line or gesture handed to her.

Even fiddling with a yo-yo early on in “Mr. Deeds” was an opportunity for Arthur to shine as a comedic performer. There was just no diluting her immense talents. The same artistic prowess she brought to heavier dramas like “Shane” was also applied to wacky gags involving collapsing boxes of shoes in titles like “The Devil and Miss Jones.” That “Foreign Affair” facial expression of concern was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to Jean Arthur’s comic gifts.

Much like Melissa McCarthy, Eddie Murphy’s filmography is littered with infamously terrible movies. But even more undeniable is the fact that Murphy has also anchored some of the most impactful comedies of all time. “Beverly Hills Cop” alone forever changed the film industry. Subsequent features like “Shrek,” “Trading Places,” “Coming to America,” and “Bowfinger” (among many others) were side-splitting exercises that left audiences quoting his most memorable lines for years afterward. Even as late as 2019, a terrific gem like “Dolemite is My Name” showed off how Murphy’s comedy chops have endured decades into his acting career. No amount of movies like “Meet Dave” can erase those accomplishments.

Murphy’s gift for motor-mouth comedy and delivering the most inexplicable lines with finesse have always been on display in his best works. Could anyone else have made the “I like that boulder … that’s a nice boulder” quip from “Shrek” so unforgettably hysterical? The tremendously easygoing chemistry he had with actors like Steve Martin and Wesley Snipes has also contributed to his most beloved motion pictures. Don’t let his artistic low points fool you. Eddie Murphy is still one of the most important comedic geniuses to ever grace the silver screen.

Sometimes, the best comedic lead is also a great dramatic performer. The same level of conviction these artists bring to tragic plays on Broadway or heavy monologues in film can be just divine for executing the silliest gags imaginable. There have been tons of examples of this phenomenon over the years, but Margot Robbie is one of its best modern practitioners. 

Though well-known for her various Oscar-nominated turns in mainstream movies, Robbie’s also proven adept at navigating the world of comedy cinema. Look no further than her magnificent “Barbie” performance, where she’s an utter riot playing a classic Barbie doll clashing with the real world. Her line delivery in that movie alone solidified her as a more recent legend in this genre.

However, that’s not the only place Robbie’s proven a master of laugh-centric filmmaking. Her two best DC Extended Universe appearances as Harley Quinn, “Birds of Prey” and “The Suicide Squad,” also utilized those skills. Even her key roles in “The Wolf of Wall Street” or “Babylon” saw her fitting like a glove into very precisely defined dark comedy, including a gag involving Robbie projectile vomiting in the latter movie. When it comes to dramas, nobody needs convincing that Margot Robbie is a champion. However, her deftness with comedic performances also deserves adulation.

For multiple generations of moviegoers, Robin Williams wasn’t just a comedy movie star. He was the premier comic actor of his time, a man who had a hand in seemingly everything funny you grew up on. Thanks to titles like “Aladdin,” “Jumanji,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Hook,” and so many others, Williams and his mile-a-second verbal comedy were inescapable in crowd-pleaser ’90s cinema. However, Robin Williams wasn’t just a masterful comedy legend within the confines of PG or PG-13 fare. Darker yukfests like the excellent “World’s Greatest Dad” also made tremendous use of his awe-inspiring skills at nailing a punchline.

A more tonally complicated project like “The Fisher King,” meanwhile, saw Williams excelling at making moviegoers laugh without diluting either the film or his character’s more troubled qualities. Let’s also not forget “The Birdcage,” a 1996 classic where Williams is a hysterical straight man to his character’s wackier, outsized partner. There’s simply no shortage of examples throughout his roughly 35 years on-screen of ways in which the voice behind the Genie left an indelible mark on this genre.

Was there anyone in the history of cinema who could land a punchline quite like Groucho Marx? Even more legendary than this snappy performer’s facial hair was Marx’s gift for witty barbs subverting the expectations of the audience and other fictional characters. This vintage comedian always imbued tremendous confidence into his cockily humorous lines, which were also rife with distinctive phrasing. Groucho Marx displayed these and other talents constantly throughout his career in comedies he headlined along with the other Marx Brothers (Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo). 

There wasn’t much variety in many of the characters Groucho played in the Marx Brothers’ films, but that was a moot point considering how he always made his wisecracking persona feel fresh. In some movies, Groucho even displayed that his physical comedy chops were just as strong as his line deliveries. The iconic “Duck Soup” scene where his Rufus T. Firefly character grapples with his “reflection” is a perfect example of these talents. Groucho’s facial expressions and body language in this set piece are key reasons why it provides enormous belly laughs.

After scoring a massive following in stand-up comedy, Steve Martin jumped into starring in movies in the late ’70s. With that shift, he quickly became one of the most beloved comedic performers to ever grace the silver screen. There were many humorous molds Martin could effectively inhabit, but he was especially great at playing variations of his Navin R. Johnson character from “The Jerk.” Martin’s greatest persona was that of an oblivious guy unaware of when he’s in trouble or getting shot at. There was something so relatable about the kind of goofballs who don’t realize the trouble they’re in, which Martin perfected.

However, Martin could also bring down the house with laughter as devious foes in films like “Little Shop of Horrors” or even just straight men in projects like “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.” Whatever character Martin essays, he’s bound to extract plenty of great laughs from it thanks to his keen sense of timing. Thank goodness Martin eventually got into movies — comedy cinema just wouldn’t be the same without him. 

You’ve probably heard of the phrase “committing to the bit.” For Buster Keaton and his movies, though, it was more like “committing to shattering your bones for a joke.” This master physical comedian was willing to let houses collapse around him or leap down from great heights (among countless other stunts) for the sake of delivering the gag. Even today, some of Keaton’s most famous physical feats are impossible to process. How could one human being accomplish such insanity? It was all in a day’s work for Keaton, who practiced Jackie Chan-level stuntwork without sacrificing the everyman spirit of his characters.

Amongst the classic silent film comedians, Keaton’s facial expressions and physical demeanor (when he wasn’t tangoing with a train, that is) were very subdued. He really did exude the aura of an ordinary guy, which just made watching him get caught up in all kinds of wacky madness in “Sherlock Jr.” and “The General” that much more fun to witness. The age of silent cinema was richer for Buster Keaton’s countless talents.

If Buster Keaton created classic laughs by juxtaposing his stone-faced expression with wacky physcality, fellow silent cinema funny-man Harold Lloyd’s form of dissonance was clashing his own unassuming face and body with grand slapstick comedy. Lloyd didn’t look like a movie star, even by 1920s standards. He just looked like a dude you might see walking down the street, which just made it all the more humorous when he was suddenly dangling for his life off a clock tower. Despite that appearance, Lloyd could also crank out some truly unhinged bits of visual comedy, like him crawling around with a crate on his back like a crab shell in “Safety Last!”

Effectively keeping moviegoers on their toes was the key to Harold Lloyd cementing his legendary cinematic reputation. Headlining superb comedies like “The Freshman” certainly didn’t hurt either. All these years later, Lloyd’s brand of silent humor still inspires chuckles and proves that funny performances can come from anyone.

There is truly nothing funnier in the history of cinema than the climactic “Bringing Up Baby” scene in which Dr. David Huxley (Cary Grant) realizes Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn) is mistakenly pursuing a dangerous leopard. “Oh Susan!” Huxley laments, “She’s helpless without me!” Suddenly, the camera cuts to Susan strolling into the frame, pulling a snarling leopard on a leash. This excellent visual gag isn’t just a master class in editing. It’s also a joke hinging entirely on the tremendous confidence Hepburn always radiated in her big screen presence. 

This silver screen legend was magnificent in using assuredness to deliver side-splitting jokes. She was also a champion at physical gags or witty line deliveries, the latter skill especially getting showcased in the 1940 masterpiece “The Philadelphia Story.” So adept was Hepburn at comedy that she could score massive laughs just by mirroring the head tilt of a stuffed animal giraffe in a film like “Holiday.” With towering proficiency in comedy, it’s no wonder Hepburn characters like Susan Vance had confidence to spare.

What makes Charlie Chaplin so enduringly captivating, not to mention hysterical? What keeps moviegoers around the world giggling at his antics? The simple answer is that Chaplin was just so crafty at creating an outsized character like The Tramp who could also convey palpably real human emotions. With his stylized costume and rubbery physicality, The Tramp was more distinctive than any Harold Lloyd or Buster Keaton character. Yet films like “Modern Times” or “City Lights” always rooted his silliness in very relatable scenarios, like discomfort around new technology or romantic yearning. 

Chaplin allowed audiences to have their cake and eat it too; you could enjoy a character that could only exist in the movies while experiencing reflections of reality. Of course, even more important is Chaplin’s command of setting up and pulling off a physical joke. No matter your age, level of cinema expertise, or native language, everyone can laugh at his pratfalls in revered masterpieces like “The Gold Rush.” Sometimes, the simplest things are also the best. So it is with Charlie Chaplin, the original cinematic funnyman who endures as the genre’s greatest leading man.