1. Brock Peters
Whether a book or a film, there are certain stories that just withstand the test of time completely. Often these are ones which speak to who we are as human beings, and the best of which couldn't be made up. Top of this list, is To Kill A Mockingbird. Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Harper Lee, the 1962 feature film starred Gregory Peck as lawyer Atticus Finch, who in 2003 beat even the likes of James Bond and Indiana Jones to be voted the greatest cinematic hero of the 20th Century. Told largely through the eyes of his children, it follows Finch's attempts to defend Peters' Tom Robinson in smalltown America in the 1930's, and the tale is considered the epitome of those which deal with racial prejudice by any who have experienced it (allegations of Michael Gove notwithstanding). Although Robinson himself doesn't actually appear until a long way into the film, all the major events of the film revolve around his character, even after his death. (Sorry, but you don't get spoiler warnings for 50 year old classics) When he does appear he doesn't have that many lines either, but despite a lengthy career afterwards, and even portraying two separate characters in the Star Trek universe (Admiral Cartwright in The Voyage Home & The Undiscovered Country, and Deep Space Nine's Benjamin Sisko), Peters never again came close to such a pivotal role in one of cinema's finest masterpieces.