"I think, therefore I am” was something said by French philosopher René Descartes way back in the 1600s, but if he’d been alive long enough to experience cinema, perhaps he would’ve also said, “I relax, therefore I rewatch.” Don’t deny it: sometimes, it’s just too much effort to watch something you’ve never seen before, and therefore, revisiting an old favorite – especially one with a beloved actor – can be comforting and fun.

Care for the practice of rewatching or don’t; it’s up to you. What makes a movie – or an actor/actress –rewatchable is ultimately subjective. You may not agree with the following actors being among those who’ve been in a particularly high number of rewatchable movies, but that’s okay. Think about it: one person’s rewatchable treasure might well be another’s watch-once-and-burn trash (and if you have a problem with any of these picks, take the first word from all the previous sentences and string them together to create a ready-made response to your protests).

1 Nicolas Cage

Movies include: 'Face/Off' (1997), 'The Rock' (1996), 'Mandy' (2018)

There’s been some debate around Nicolas Cage and his acting abilities, or lack thereof, perhaps spurred on by Community, which featured an episode where one character was driven mad by the question of whether Cage was a good or bad actor. The answer is easy, though: Nicolas Cage is a fantastic actor, and almost always a wonderfully committed one… it’s just that the movies he appears in vary wildly in terms of quality.

He's the rare actor who’s been in some genuine masterpieces, including John Woo’s ridiculous and spectacular Face/Off, as well as some more recent films like Mandy and the underrated Pig. Then, on the other side of things, he’s appeared in some infamous duds, including Left Behind and a remake of The Wicker Man. Still, ignore some of the bad ones and focus on the good, and Cage has been in more great movies than most, and he’s often capable of stealing scenes – if not the entire movie – from everyone else in the cast.

2 Samuel L. Jackson

Movies include: 'Pulp Fiction' (1994), 'The Avengers' (2012), 'Unbreakable' (2000)

According to Letterboxd, Samuel L. Jackson has appeared in close to 250 movies, which is quite remarkable, considering his first credit was back in 1972. That almost works out to five credits a year, but the rate's probably generally higher, considering he only started acting frequently in the late 1980s. A series of small but noteworthy parts in the early 1990s led to him getting bigger ones, and by the middle of that decade, he was a star.

Samuel L. Jackson shows up in so much stuff that it’s almost guaranteed he appears in one or more of your personal favorites, be it a significant role – like in Die Hard: With a Vengeance or Pulp Fiction – or a smaller one – like in Do the Right Thing or just about any MCU movie where he appears as Nick Fury. He’s a staple of various heavy-hitting franchises, and also excels in smaller films, meaning that many films starring Jackson prove easy to revisit and rewatch.

3 Robert De Niro

Movies include: 'Goodfellas' (1990), 'Heat' (1995), 'The Godfather: Part II' (1974)

Robert De Niro is an immensely prolific actor, and perhaps best recognized for his gangster/crime movies, some – though not all – of which were directed by frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese. 1973’s Mean Streets was an early success in both men’s careers, with future collaborations including the likes of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and even the recent Killers of the Flower Moon.

Yet De Niro’s filmography outside those titles he’s done with Scorsese is immense and impressive, with his first of two Oscars coming from The Godfather: Part II, and plenty of other iconic directors collaborated with, including Michael Mann (1995’s Heat) and Quentin Tarantino (1997’s Jackie Brown). He might not have been in as many movies as Samuel L. Jackson, but for most movie fans, there’s a good chance De Niro’s featured in at least a handful of your personal favorites.

4 Harrison Ford

Movies include: 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981), 'Blade Runner' (1982), 'Star Wars' (1977)

As far as Hollywood leading men go, few have ever been as charismatic and widely liked as Harrison Ford, who exploded in popularity during the late 1970s and early ‘80s thanks to a string of critical and/or commercial hits. Of course, it’s hard to discuss Ford without bringing up the fact that he was Han Solo, one of the most important characters of the original Star Wars trilogy, and one who returned for Episode 7 (and 9, though briefly).

Around the same time as the first three Star Wars movies, Ford also played Indiana Jones, with that series – beginning with Raiders of the Lost Ark – ultimately having five installments. Then there’s Blade Runner and its sequel, of course, and all the other great movies Ford’s been in since these definitive classics… honestly, so many of his films are continually watchable and prove surprisingly easy to revisit again and again.

5 Al Pacino

Movies include: 'Scarface' (1983), 'The Godfather' (1972), 'Dog Day Afternoon' (1975)

Even if you just stick to Oscar-nominated performances, Al Pacino has been in a high number of classics during his 50+ years as an actor. He’s one of those rare actors who pretty much exploded out of the gate, with his star-making role being one of his very first: playing Michael Corleone in The Godfather. The crime genre was one he’s returned to frequently, perhaps most dramatically in 1983’s Scarface, directed by Brian De Palma.

However, it’s a fairly grounded drama that won him an Oscar at last, playing a blind U.S. Army officer in 1992’s Scent of a Woman. He’s excelled in numerous other great movies that can’t be described as gangster films by any means, including 2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and 1999’s The Insider. A bit like his contemporary, De Niro, Pacino’s an old-school and very accomplished actor who seems to show up time and again in numerous classic movies.

6 Sean Connery

Movies include: 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' (1989), 'Dr. No' (1962), 'The Untouchables' (1987)

While Sean Connery will always be tied to James Bond, he had an impressive career as an actor that went well beyond being the first actor to portray 007 on screen. In fact, he’d have one of the most compelling and easy-to-rewatch filmographies of any actor even if he’s never even played James Bond a single time, as Connery really was so much more than just Bond.

This extended to well-known roles in films like The Untouchables and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, of course, but also to slightly more underrated gems like The Hill and The Man Who Would Be King. He had an unmistakable screen presence that’s never really been matched by any actor since, and considering how many great films he appeared in, Sean Connery is certainly one screen legend who’s been in many rewatchable titles.

7 Margot Robbie

Movies include: 'The Wolf of Wall Street' (2013), 'The Suicide Squad' (2021), 'Barbie' (2023)

Okay, sure, Margot Robbie’s only really been a significant actress since 2013, exploding onto the film scene at the tail end of that year with a very memorable role in The Wolf of Wall Street. But in the decade or so following 2013, she’s been in a surprisingly high number of great movies; some were massive hits, like 2023’s Barbie, while other movies that can be counted among her best – like 2022’s Babylon – prove a little more underappreciated.

Robbie has a certain gutsiness and undeniable commitment when it comes to her acting, and throws herself into every role she takes on wholeheartedly, even if the movie itself isn’t great (see 2016’s Suicide Squad, for example… though thankfully, 2021’s The Suicide Squad was better). She’s great in the great films she’s been in, and she’s often the best part of the not-so-great films she appears in, making her one of the younger actors out there with an easy-to-revisit body of work.

8 Toshirō Mifune

Movies include: 'Seven Samurai' (1954), 'The Sword of Doom' (1966), 'High and Low' (1963)

Toshirō Mifune has a comparable relationship with the samurai genre as Robert De Niro has with the crime genre. Both actors are most closely associated with such genres, but Mifune proved himself to be the kind of actor who could excel outside of samurai movies, too, even proving capable of such a thing with frequent collaborator Akira Kurosawa, demonstrated in iconic movies like High and Low and Red Beard.

Anyone who watches a fairly high number of classic Japanese movies will come across Toshirō Mifune again and again, given how prolific an actor he was. Also, given how much of a screen presence and how talented he was as an actor, most of said viewers who find themselves seeing him repeatedly probably won’t mind. He’s a genuine contender when it comes to picking the greatest Japanese actor of all time, and many of his films are easy to revisit.

9 Michelle Yeoh

Movies include: 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' (2022), 'Magnificent Warriors' (1987), 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (2000)

Perhaps one of the greatest martial arts actors/actresses of all time, Michelle Yeoh has received a deserved career resurgence in recent years, being featured in high-profile movies like Crazy Rich Asians, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once. However, Yeoh has a surprisingly long career that dates back much further than these (deservedly well-regarded) titles.

Of course, many will be aware of her starring in the ever-popular Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but Western viewers might not be privy to how many great martial arts movies Michelle Yeoh appeared in as far back as the 1980s/’90s. Many of these are extremely entertaining and easy to watch/rewatch, including action classics like Magnificent Warriors, The Heroic Trio, Yes, Madam!, and Wing Chun.

10 Jack Nicholson

Movies include: 'The Shining' (1980), 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' (1975), 'Chinatown' (1974)

Jack Nicholson has had one of the best careers out of any actor/actress in cinematic history, and that makes him worthy of being considered among the actors who’ve had the most rewatchable movies. You could contain his movies to the 1970s, and he’d still be a contender, given he was in various classics from that decade, like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Last Detail, and Chinatown.

Going into the 1980s, he also excelled in one of the greatest horror movies of all time, collaborating with Stanley Kubrick for The Shining at the start of that decade. He started to wind down during the 21st century, though had something of a last hurrah by starring in Scorsese’s The Departed in 2006; a criminally good Best Picture winner. He’s been retired since 2010, but even then, Nicholson still has one of the most impressive bodies of work of any actor, and his many films are often easy to rewatch multiple times.

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