8. Paul Muni
What film genre better represents America than the gangster picture? The gangster represented the American Dream of a person, usually first generation American, rising to a place of power, and like Howard Hawks Scarface: Shame of a Nation famously has the famous sign that said, The World is Yours", playing the Tony, not Montana, Camote in that picture was Paul Muni who became a defining face along with Edgar G. Robinson and James Cagney for the genre. However, Muni was born in Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, now known as the Ukraine. Of course that name would not appear well on a marquee especially over a gangster picture, so Muni changed his name to the short and simple Paul Muni. Considered an actor with great integrity, Muni passed upon roles based on quality rather than stardom as he went on to win one Academy Award in six nominations.