Is Arnold Schwarzenegger the Greatest Movie Star to ever

especially looking at the 1980's to date he's got to be #1 overall as his longevity is unmatched as he was pretty big for roughly two decades (i.e. about 1986-2005). even to this day, while not as big as he once was, is still respectable considering he's been quite famous for over 30 years now and how many others can claim his general level of fame/popularity for such a long period of time? ; I can't think of anyone else. either way, the list has to be very limited on who can challenge Cruise all-time.

I see others mentioned Harrison Ford... and while one could make a solid argument in his favor, I think if it were not for Indy/Star Wars he would not be nearly as big. Cruise has him easily beat overall in my mind especially when factoring in longevity/filmography quality. plus, especially outside if Indy/Star Wars... can Harrison Ford claim Cruise level of popularity for roughly 20+ years of time? ; I don't think so.

hell, even all-time wise... I still think Cruise is either #1 or at least in the running for it when you consider his longevity (and overall filmography quality) as how many can claim his high level of popularity for 20+ years (while still being acknowledged by many of today's audiences)?

so in the last 30 years or so I think Cruise has to be the clear cut #1 overall even though some might be in the ball park of him like say Arnold etc as it's obvious Arnold is a well known name and big star with many.

even before the 1980's, to exclude the Cruise days... I would have to assume your right with John Wayne as he has to be among the biggest names along with Clint Eastwood. I prefer Eastwood for sure, but I still acknowledge Wayne is a huge name for many.

but if we say pre-1970's... if I could only name one I would definitely go with John Wayne especially since he's a name damn near everyone knows and many still like etc and he goes back far but not too far back to where people might have somewhat forgotten him today. so he sort of covers the old days and maybe a bit into the semi-recent times.

p.s. in terms of females... I would have to assume Marilyn Monroe is one of the most known names and plays inline with the topic well. because if you walked up to a random person on the street and started asking them to name famous actresses from the old days (say roughly 1960's and older) I would expect her to be one of the most mentioned. even counting any time frame... it seems like when it comes to actresses the old days tends to have names that stick over more recent times. in terms of more recent times... I would imagine Streep is one of the most known names especially because the academy kisses up to her etc (personally I think Streep is quite overrated).