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There’s a handful of actors who have become synonymous with cinema: Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and Meryl Streep
But Streep and several other movie stars are among a growing number of actors who are taking their talents to the small screen.
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Oscar-winning actor Nicole Kidman has starred in several TV shows in just the last few years, including “Lioness,” “Scarpetta” and the newly released “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.” The Apple TV+ series also stars Michelle Pfeiffer in her second TV show this year; she led the cast of Taylor Sheridan’s “The Madison,” which premiered in March on Paramount+. Harrison Ford is doing incredible work on Apple TV+’s grief comedy “Shrinking,” for which he was nominated for his first Emmy in 2025. Kathy Bates stars on the CBS hit “Matlock,” reviving the criminal defense attorney made popular by Andy Griffith in the 1980s.
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In this list, we rounded up several of our favorite movie stars turned TV actors who are pulling us into their dramas, comedies and talk shows
Michelle Pfeiffer
The Films We Love Her For:
“Batman Returns” (HBO Max)”Grease 2″ (Paramount+)”Scarface” (Prime Video)”Dangerous Minds” (YouTube)
Michelle Pfeiffer has picked up a couple of big wins on TV lately. Her Paramount+ series “The Madison” has been renewed for second and third seasons. She also starred opposite Elle Fanning and Nick Offerman in Apple TV’s “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.”
Buzz:Kathy Bates Addresses Emmys Buzz About Her Age
Watch “The Madison” on Paramount+. Watch “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” on Apple TV
Kathy Bates
“Misery” (Prime Video)”Dolores Claiborne” (YouTube)”Fried Green Tomatoes” (Netflix)”The Waterboy” (Hulu, Tubi)
Buzz:This Year’s Primetime Emmy Nominations Have Arrived
If you’re into procedural dramas with a big mystery unraveling along the way, “Matlock” is the show you need to be watching. It’s entering its third season next year — CBS is holding it for a mid-season entry in 2027 — and Kathy Bates is our perfect, octogenarian problem solver as Madeline “Matty” Matlock, a lawyer with a penchant for figuring out the perfect way to win a case
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Watch “Matlock” on Paramount+
Harrison Ford
The Films We Love Him For:
“Star Wars” (Disney+)”Indiana Jones” (Disney+, Paramount+)”The Fugitive” (YouTube)”Air Force One” (Disney+)
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When Harrison Ford received his first Emmy nomination last year, it was a long time coming. Yes, he’s had a storied career on the big screen, but the actor is doing something really incredible on Apple TV’s “Shrinking.” The actor stars as loving curmudgeon Dr. Paul Rhoades, a senior therapist who has Parkinson’s disease. Earlier this year, the 83-year-old actor told The Hollywood Reporter that the work he’s been able to do on the show is “remarkable” and “it really nurtures me and makes me feel like what we’re doing has value and importance.”
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Watch “Shrinking” on Apple TV
Nicole Kidman
The Films We Love Her For:
“Batman Forever” (HBO Max) “Practical Magic” (YouTube)”Eyes Wide Shut” (YouTube)”The Hours” (YouTube)”The Others” (Prime Video, YouTube)
Buzz:Every Winner From The 2025 Primetime Emmys: The Complete List
Nicole Kidman isn’t new to TV. She starred in an Australian miniseries in the late 1980s. But most Americans likely think of her as a movie star. Lately, she’s taken on a bunch of TV roles, including opposite Pfeiffer on “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.” In the last few years, she’s starred on “Lioness,” “Scarpetta,” “Nine Perfect Strangers,” “The Undoing” and “Big Little Lies,” for which she won an Emmy Award
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Watch “Scarpetta” on Prime Video and “Lioness” on Paramount+
Angela Bassett
The Films We Love Her For:
“What’s Love Got To Do With It?” (YouTube)”Waiting To Exhale” (YouTube)”Black Panther” (Hulu, Disney+) “Malcolm X” (YouTube)”Boyz n the Hood” (YouTube)
Angela Bassett also has been on successful TV shows before. (She starred in the later seasons of NBC’s “ER.”) But since 2018, she’s starred on the Fox/ABC drama “9-1-1” as LAPD patrol sergeant Athena Grant, becoming a beloved character on the show.
Watch “9-1-1” on Hulu and Disney+
Drew Barrymore
The Films We Love Her For:
“E.T.” (YouTube)”Scream” (Paramount+)”The Wedding Singer” (YouTube)”Charlie’s Angels” (Tubi)
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Drew Barrymore has hosted “The Drew Barrymore Show” for the past six years, starting in September 2020. She’s become known for her very close interview style and has gone viral several times over for some celebrity interactions. The show was renewed for two seasons earlier this year
Watch “The Drew Barrymore Show” on Paramount+
Sylvester Stallone
The Films We Love Him For:
“Rocky” (Netflix)”Rambo: First Blood” (YouTube)”Demolition Man” (Tubi)”Creed” (Netflix)
If you love Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, then you probably need to check him out on the hit Paramount+ series “Tulsa King,” in which he sets up a criminal enterprise in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after being released from prison in New York. The show even has a spinoff series coming starring another actor known for his movie roles; Samuel L. Jackson will star in “Frisco King” next year
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Watch “Tulsa King” on Paramount+
Christina Ricci
The Films We Love Her For:
“Casper” (YouTube)”The Addams Family” (Paramount+)”Now & Then” (YouTube)”Mermaids” (YouTube)
Christina Ricci seems to love a weird and often dark character, and her role on Showtime’s “Yellowjackets” is no different. She portrays the older Misty Quigley, the geeky equipment manager for the team who, quite frankly, becomes a terrifying adult who works at a nursing home.
Watch “Yellowjackets” on Netflix and Paramount+
Kevin Costner
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The Films We Love Him For:
“The Bodyguard” (YouTube)”Dances With Wolves” (YouTube)”Field of Dreams” (YouTube)”Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” (YouTube)
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Let’s say Kevin Costner helped launch the Taylor Sheridan Paramount+ universe. He starred on “Yellowstone” for the first three seasons and portrayed John Dutton III, the owner of the Yellowstone Ranch and head of the Dutton family. A recent spinoff, “Dutton Ranch,” has been a hit for Paramount+. “The Madison,” which stars Pfeiffer, is also part of this world
Watch “Yellowstone” on Paramount+
Whoopi Goldberg
The Films We Love Her For:
“Ghost” (YouTube)”The Color Purple” (YouTube)”Sister Act,” “Sister Act 2” (Disney+)”The Ghosts of Mississippi” (Tubi)
Believe it or not, Whoopi Goldberg has been hosting “The View” for nearly 20 years. She stepped in to replace Rosie O’Donnell on the roundtable and has become a fixture ever since. It’s not her first hosting gig, having led her own late-night TV show in 1992.
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Watch “The View” on Hulu
Glenn Close
The Films We Love Her For:
“Fatal Attraction” (Paramount+)”Dangerous Liaisons” (YouTube)”101 Dalmations” (Disney+)
Though “All’s Fair” received a ton of bad reviews from critics, Glenn Close took her role on the series with pride, defending the show with a funny Instagram post that her “Fatal Attraction” fans will surely appreciate. On “All’s Fair,” Close portrays Dina Standish, a matriarch of sorts for a group of legal baddies. Standish ends up in the middle of a mess at the end of the first season, which teased audiences just enough to warrant a Season 2
Watch “All’s Fair” on Hulu
Reese Witherspoon
The Films We Love Her For:
“Legally Blonde” (HBO Max)”Cruel Intentions” (Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video)”Fear” (YouTube)”Sweet Home Alabama” (YouTube)
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Reese Witherspoon brings just the right amount of tenacity and spunk to her role in Apple TV’s “The Morning Show” as impulsive reporter and anchor Bradley Jackson opposite veteran host Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston).
Watch “The Morning Show” on Apple TV
Dakota Fanning
The Films We Love Her For:
“Man on Fire” (Peacock)”Uptown Girls” (YouTube)”I Am Sam” (Tubi)
Former child star Dakota Fanning is all grown up in “All Her Fault,” Peacock’s limited series that had fans of TV thrillers in a chokehold last year. In it, she plays Jenny, a mom friend to Marissa (Sarah Snook), whose son goes missing
Watch “All Her Fault” on Peacock
Jane Fonda
The Films We Love Her For:
“Barbarella” (YouTube)”On Golden Pond” (Peacock, Tubi)”9 to 5″ (YouTube)”Monster-in-Law” (HBO Max)
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin became our favorite 70-somethings on Netflix’s “Grace and Frankie.” Fonda portrayed Grace Hanson, the straightforward cosmetics mogul, whose husband, Robert (Martin Sheen), leaves her for Frankie’s husband, Sol (Sam Waterston). Then, Grace and Frankie form an unexpected best friendship
Winona Ryder
The Films We Love Her For:
“Edward Scissorhands” (Disney+)”Beetlejuice” (YouTube)”Girl, Interrupted” (Tubi)”Mermaids” (YouTube)
“Stranger Things” hooked huge audiences for Netflix when it premiered in 2016 — and it wasn’t just the spunky tweens at its center who captured our attention. Winona Ryder was a dynamic addition to the cast; she portrays Joyce Byers, who leaves no stone or “demogorgon” unturned to find her missing son Will in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.
Watch “Stranger Things” on Netflix
Sissy Spacek
The Films We Love Her For:
“Carrie” (YouTube)”Coal Miner’s Daughter” (YouTube)”The Long Walk Home” (YouTube, Tubi, Prime Video)
Sissy Spacek has had the kind of longevity in Hollywood that any aspiring or working actor hopes to achieve. In FX’s “Dying for ***,” she portrays Gail, the mother to the show’s protagonist Molly (Michelle Williams), who has recently been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer — and is on a newfound ****** journey at the same time
Watch “Dying For ***” on Hulu
Jamie Lee Curtis
The Films We Love Her For:
“Halloween” (AMC+)”True Lies” (YouTube)”Trading Places” (Paramount+, YouTube)”Everything Everywhere All At Once” (Tubi)
Yes, we know Jamie Lee Curtis as one of the original final girls, for her portrayal of Laurie Strode in “Halloween” in 1978. But it was her recent performances as Donna Berzatto on FX’s “The Bear” that won her her very first Emmy Award. In the series, she’s the volatile mother to Carmy, Michael and Natalie, who seems to swoop into moments like a bull in a china shop as she deals with mental health issues and alcohol problems.
Watch “The Bear” on Hulu
