The Greatest Western Actors of the '90s

Few decades have been as stacked for westerns as the 1990s. It was also a generally important time for the genre, as the modern insurgence was marked by Unforgiven (1992), which was one of two '90s westerns to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Of course, the other is Dances With Wolves (1990), and oddly enough, both of those titles feature several actors who would make further waves in the genre.

A few names on this list are among the most renowned in cinema history, but frankly, several others will appear more unfamiliar. Either way, everyone herein put tremendous work into the genre at hand — particularly, throughout the '90s — and their respective titles helped pave a path toward greatness. These are the fifteen greatest western actors of the 1990s, ranked.

15 Lance Henriksen

Two of the most underrated westerns ever made feature the talent of Lance Henriksen, starting with Dead Man (1995) by Jim Jarmusch. An entry in the "Acid" subgenre, its black-and-white palette works in wonderful tandem with a revolutionary score, creating a unique atmosphere that's yet to be replicated to a notable degree. It'll likely remain the most original western ever made for many years to come, but it's only one of Henriksen's contributions from the '90s.

A Busy Year

With the famous Sam Raimi as writer-director, The Quick and the Dead (1995) marked Henriksen's second western of the decade, and even the same year. What's more, he also starred in a lesser-known joint called Gunfighter's Moon (1995) — three genre entries in a twelve-month span. Pretty impressive, rendering Lance Henriksen an all-time great.

14 Billy Bob Thornton

Though not necessarily known for his westerns, Billy Bob Thornton actually has several worth noting, beginning with his entries throughout the 1990s. While Dead Man is among the lesser-known westerns of its decade, Tombstone (1993) sits opposite on the spectrum of popularity. Both are pretty much perfect, though.

A Couple of Masterful Entries

The wit of Jim Jarmusch shines through every frame of Dead Man, the black-and-white acid western with a star-studded cast. One of its members is Billy Bob Thornton, who plays an unforgettable Jarmusch character called "Big George" Drakoulious. As for Tombstone: He shows up as a supporting figure named Johnny Tyler, and in each of his featured scenes, Billy Bob Thornton proves to be a bona fide western star.

13 Sheila Tousey

One of the many notable members of the Thunderheart (1992) cast is Sheila Tousey, with that neo-Western actually marking her feature film debut. In spite of some impressive performances and intriguing plot points, it's sort of been lost in the annals of western movie history. But Thunderheart is nonetheless a well-made movie that started an underrated streak of westerns with actress Sheila Tousey.

Defining a Subgenre

After debuting in Thunderheart, she played supporting parts in two essential horror westerns: Silent Tongue (1994), and Ravenous (1999). The latter is far more acclaimed, and justifiably so. But Silent Tongue by Sam Shepard does boast a talented cast with some high-quality elements of behind-the-scenes filmmaking, and it helps render Tousey one of the finest actresses in western movie history.

12 Graham Greene

In just five short years, Graham Greene played prominent parts in three high-quality westerns: Dances With Wolves, Thunderheart, and Maverick (1994). What's more, Greene also appeared in three episodes of Lonesome Dove: The Series (1994–1996), which continues the story told in a far more famous miniseries that aired in 1989.

Some Popular Westerns

Where Lonesome Dove: The Series comes up short in name value, Graham Greene's three feature westerns from the '90s more than make up for a paucity of popularity.

Sure, neither Thunderheart nor Maverick were exactly world-renowned titles. But they both received great reviews from critics while also making waves at the box office, and of course, Dances With Wolves boasts name value that essentially speaks for itself. In tandem with his Lonesome Dove appearances, those three movies make Graham Greene a western legend.

11 Mark Boone Junior

Unfortunately for Mark Boone Junior, none of his westerns are ever considered in the grand scheme of '90s cinema. Sure, they run a gamut of quality, with Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) receiving mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. But the following two westerns featuring Mark Boone Junior are among the most underrated ever made.

One Year, Two Westerns

Across the board of reception, The Quick and the Dead and Last of the Dogmen (1995) deserved more love upon release. Particularly the former, with The Quick and the Dead holding up perfectly three decades down the line.

What's more, Mark Boone Junior also showed up in John Carpenter's Vampire's (1998), a horror-western hybrid that hinges on the performances of its star-studded cast. Combined with his other three entries, Mark Boone Junior is a bona fide legend of westerns — regardless of decade.

10 Gordon Tootoosis

Based on quantity alone, Gordon Tootoosis deserves more credit as an all-time great actor of westerns. His film contributions from the '90s include Legends of the Fall (1994), Lone Star (1996), and the TV movie Crazy Horse (1996), while Tootoosis also appeared in shows like Dead Man's Gun (1997–1999) and The Magnificent Seven (1998–2000). Pretty impressive output.

Some Essential Entries of the Genre

Each of those projects received notable acclaim, and individually, Tootoosis performs to absolute perfection when he's traversing the west on horseback. His roles in Legends of the Fall and Lone Star add great intrigue and entertainment value to their respective plots, and with a pair of television projects worth noting, Gordon's output throughout the '90s should be heralded for years to come.

9 Tantoo Cardinal

Among the greatest western actresses ever is Tantoo Cardinal, who debuted in the genre with Death Hunt (1981). It'd be another decade before she'd make another appearance in the wild, wild west, but in Dances With Wolves (1990), she returned to the setting in unforgettable fashion. This is when Cardinal truly found her footing, as fairly soon thereafter, she'd give back-to-back showings in a pair of well-known westerns.

Upping the Ante

As her second appearance in a western, Dances With Wolves also marked a turning point in Tantoo Cardinal's career, as she'd continue frequenting the wild, wild west without ever taking a backwards glance. Upping the ante, Cardinal doubled her output in consecutive years thanks to Silent Tongue (1993) and Legends of the Fall (1994). And while she's never in the lead role, Cardinal nonetheless plays prominent parts in their respective stories, and performs to perfection in each.

8 David Arquette

Sure, neither of the '90s westerns with David Arquette garnered any sort of acclaim. But Wild Bill (1995) has its fair share of fans, and Ravenous should legitimately be known as an all-time underrated entry. Then, there's Dead Man's Walk (1996), an epic western miniseries. Based on Larry McMurtry's book of the same name, Dead Man's Walk is a prequel to another miniseries called Lonesome Dove (1989), also by McMurtry.

An Overlooked Miniseries

Fame and acclaim are attributed to Lonesome Dove, while its Dead Man's Walk counterpart went generally under the radar. Quite a shame, especially when considering the wit of its scripts in tandem with the performances of its cast. In the latter regard, David Arquette plays Augustus "Gus" McCrea — one of two protagonists, with Johnny Lee Miller co-starring as Woodrow F. Call. They both perform brilliantly in a series that bolsters the resume of David Arquette.

7 Johnny Depp

Throughout this critically acclaimed decade, Johnny Depp made waves in multiple genres, mostly with collaborator Tim Burton. He also collected greater household name value thanks to What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and Donnie Brasco (1997). Two famous titles, but for some reason, Depp's appearances in westerns are consistently thrown by the wayside.

A Pair of Underrated Westerns

While neither Dead Man nor The Brave (1997) were critically acclaimed, they're highly underrated in that respect. To make matters worse, they made mediocre money at the worldwide box office. He's at the top of both of their bills, while even co-writing and directing The Brave. These were the first westerns of Depp's acclaimed career, and they hold up perfectly all these years later — on anyone else's ranking, he could end up even higher.

6 Guy Pearce

After four seasons of Snowy River: The McGregor Saga (1994–1996), overlooked actor Guy Pearce led the cast of Ravenous, the western-horror hybrid by director Antonia Bird.

The former is a sort of soap opera on horseback, based on Banjo Patterson's poem The Man From Snowy River — published in 1890 — and following a family of Australian squatters. Middle child Rob McGregor is played by Guy Pearce, and after sixty-five episodes, the actor from down under shifted his sights to the silver screen.

Guy Pearce: The Modern John Wayne

In the twenty-first century, Guy Pearce has established himself as the modern John Wayne thanks to a series of high-quality westerns. But even after all these years, Ravenous by Antonia Bird remains among his best. He leads the cast as Captain John Boyd, a troubled protagonist who goes on a harrowing journey through an atmospheric wild west.

Though he only had two credits throughout the '90s, Guy Pearce played prominent parts in both of his westerns, and performed perfectly, to boot.

5 Val Kilmer

With back-to-back westerns, Val Kilmer seemed to be traversing a trajectory of greatness. First up was Thunderheart (1992), followed by Tombstone (1993). While the latter is far more famous — featuring Kilmer in a co-starring role as the real-life Doc Holliday — it's arguably Thunderheart that should be more prominently homed in on. After all, Kilmer plays the lead.

A Forgotten Classic

Receiving widespread praise from pundits and fans alike, Thunderheart should be more commonly cited among the decade's greatest westerns. It features Kilmer as protagonist Ray Levoi, an FBI Agent looking into a homicide that went down on a reservation. Doing great justice to Native American culture, Thunderheart runs a tremendous gamut of emotion: thrilling, comedic, and frequently punctuated by poignance. It's a near-perfect film that makes Kilmer one of the best.

4 Jack Palance

For his performance in City Slickers (1991) at his career's tail end, Jack Palance walked away with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Famous character Curly Washburn remains a staple figure in Palance's career, with City Slickers as a whole going down as one of the funniest westerns ever made. The same can't be said for City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994), but no matter: Palance rebounded in valiant fashion by transitioning to television.

Some Lesser-Known Projects

With Buffalo Girls (1995) and Ebenezer (1998), he provided some lesser-known projects with some bona fide name value. And while not world-class westerns, or anything, both of those projects helped Jack Palance become a cowboy of the '90s. He'd previously solidified himself a spot in the western history books thanks to movies such as Shane (1953), but in the decade at hand, Palance proved that the west was a country for old men.

3 Wes Studi

After a minor appearance in Dances With Wolves — a critical darling with an ensemble cast — Wes Studiplayed the eponymous character in Geronimo: An American Legend (1993). Soon thereafter, he appeared in three episodes of a miniseries known as Streets of Laredo (1995), followed by a TV film called Crazy Horse (1996).

Playing a Famous Apache

Thanks to Geronimo: An American Legend, western actor Wes Studi landed on the map of critical prominence. Easy to see why, as the cast's efforts were undoubtedly the reason Geronimo garnered any acclaim at all. Highlighting the project until the fireworks of its final frame, Wes Studi proved capable of leading a cast of western superstars, with others like Robert Duvall and Matt Damon also showing up therein. Against all those names, Studi steals the show.

2 Chris Cooper

One of his generation's most revered performers, Chris Cooper is also among the greatest western actors ever. After a supporting appearance in Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991), he landed a co-starring role in Pharaoh's Army (1995), and one year later, Cooper led the cast of Lone Star (1996) to widespread acclaim. The icing on Cooper's cake: The Horse Whisperer (1998), but without a doubt, Lone Star remains his greatest claim to fame.

An Auteur's Masterpiece

Directed by John Sayles from his own original script, Lone Star should commonly be cited among the finest films the genre's ever seen. Some fans recognize the quality thereof, but it's highly underrated when it comes to general name value. Such a shame, especially for auteur John Sayles and lead actor Chris Cooper. The latter performed brilliantly in a thrilling neo-Western, and with his other '90s westerns, Cooper could land even higher on any given day.

1 Gene Hackman

From Unforgiven and Geronimo: An American Legend to Wyatt Earp (1994) and The Quick and the Dead, famous actor Gene Hackman starred in numerous westerns in the 1990s. A couple of all-timers, in fact, with Unforgiven being commonly cited among the genre's finest entries ever. Also up there is The Quick and the Dead, written and directed by Sam Raimi. It's highly underrated, though — never truly considered in the grand scheme of westerns.

Both Quality and Quantity

Sure, Wyatt Earp was somewhat panned by critics, and justifiably so. But the three other '90s westerns featuring Gene Hackman were made with world-class technique, and he plays prominent parts in all of them. One of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, Hackman is also the single greatest western actor with regard to the 1990s.