Charlton Heston was an American actor renowned for his towering screen presence and roles in some of Hollywood’s most famous epics. Born John Charles Carter on October 4, 1923, in Illinois, he discovered his passion for acting in school, studied drama at Northwestern University, and began his career on stage and in live television before transitioning to film. He first gained major attention in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth and then became an international star with his performances as Moses in The Ten Commandments and Judah Ben‑Hur in Ben‑Hur, the latter earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Heston went on to headline a wide range of big‑budget films, including El Cid, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Planet of the Apes, and The Omega Man, establishing himself as one of the most recognizable leading men of mid‑20th‑century cinema. Beyond acting, he was active in public life, supporting civil rights in the 1960s and later becoming a prominent conservative voice and president of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003. He retired from public life after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2002 and died on April 5, 2008, in Beverly Hills, California, leaving behind a legacy as both a cinematic icon and a polarizing political figure.
Recent movies
| # | Name | Character | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Planet of the Apes: A Milestone of Science Fiction (2024) | Self (archive footage) | 8 |
| 2 | Hail Satan? (2019) | Self - Actor (archive footage) | 7.7 |
| 3 | I Am Richard Pryor (2019) | Self - Actor (archive footage) | 5 |
| 4 | Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2014) | Self - Actor (archive footage) | - |
| 5 | Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010) | Self – Interviewee | - |
| 6 | Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema (2005) | Self (archive footage) | 9 |
| 7 | Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004) | Self (archive footage) | 6 |
| 8 | Bowling for Columbine (2002) Oscars 2003 | Self - NRA President | 7.2 |
| 9 | Cats & Dogs (2001) | The Mastiff (voice) | 5.3 |
| 10 | The Order (2001) | Professor Finley | 4.5 |
| 11 | Town & Country (2001) | Mr. Clayborne | - |
| 12 | Planet of the Apes (2001) | Zaius (uncredited) | 6 |
| 13 | Any Given Sunday (1999) | AFFA Football Commissioner | 7.3 |
| 14 | Behind the Planet of the Apes (1998) | Self - 'Taylor' | 6 |
| 15 | Armageddon (1998) Oscars 1999 | Narration (voice) | 6.9 |
| 16 | Hercules (1997) Oscars 1998 | Narrator (voice) | 7.3 |
| 17 | Alaska (1996) | Perry | - |
| 18 | Hamlet (1996) | Player King | 6.2 |
| 19 | In the Mouth of Madness (1995) | Jackson Harglow | 7.5 |
| 20 | True Lies (1994) | Spencer Trilby | 7.2 |
| 21 | Tombstone (1993) | Henry Hooker | 7.5 |
| 22 | Wayne's World 2 (1993) | Good Actor | 6.4 |
| 23 | Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 (1992) | Captain Al Haynes | - |
| 24 | Almost an Angel (1990) | God | 5 |
| 25 | Treasure Island (1990) | Long John Silver | - |
| 26 | A Man for All Seasons (1988) | Director / Writer | - |
| 27 | Mother Lode (1982) | Director / Writer | - |
| 28 | Gray Lady Down (1978) | Captain Paul Blanchard | - |
| 29 | The Last Hard Men (1976) | Sam Burgade | - |
| 30 | Midway (1976) | Capt. Matthew Garth | 8 |
| 31 | Two-Minute Warning (1976) | Capt. Peter Holly | - |
| 32 | The Four Musketeers (1974) | Cardinal Richelieu | 5.7 |
| 33 | Airport 1975 (1974) | Alan Murdock | 6.5 |
| 34 | Earthquake (1974) | Stewart Graff | 6.7 |
| 35 | Soylent Green (1973) | Detective Robert Thorn | 6.9 |
| 36 | The Three Musketeers (1973) | Cardinal Richelieu | 6.8 |
| 37 | Antony and Cleopatra (1972) | Director / Writer | - |
| 38 | The Call of the Wild (1972) | John Thornton | - |
| 39 | The Omega Man (1971) | Robert Neville | 6.4 |
| 40 | King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) | Self (archive footage) | 10 |
| 41 | Julius Caesar (1970) | Marc Antony | - |
| 42 | Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) | Taylor | 6.5 |
| 43 | Planet of the Apes (1968) | George Taylor | 7.7 |
| 44 | Will Penny (1967) | Will Penny | 8 |
| 45 | Khartoum (1966) | Gen. Charles 'Chinese' Gordon | 7.5 |
| 46 | The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) | John the Baptist | - |
| 47 | Uncertain Verification (1965) | (archive footage) | 2 |
| 48 | Major Dundee (1965) | Major Amos Charles Dundee | 5 |
| 49 | The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) | Michelangelo | 6 |
| 50 | El Cid (1961) | El Cid Rodrigo de Vivar | 6 |
| 51 | Ben-Hur (1959) | Judah Ben-Hur | 7.7 |
| 52 | The Buccaneer (1958) | Gen. Andrew Jackson | - |
| 53 | Touch of Evil (1958) | Ramon Miguel Vargas | 7.2 |
| 54 | The Big Country (1958) | Steve Leech | 8 |
| 55 | The Ten Commandments (1956) | Moses | 7.5 |
| 56 | Secret of the Incas (1954) | Harry Steel | 4 |
| 57 | The Naked Jungle (1954) | Christopher Leiningen | 4 |
| 58 | The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) | Brad Braden | 4 |
| 59 | Ruby Gentry (1952) | Boake Tackman | 6 |
| 60 | Dark City (1950) | Danny Haley | 6.5 |
