Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime. The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since. Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 111 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of August 1.
We continue today with the twelve actors that have starred in exactly twelve movies that I have seen, an increase of three from three years ago.
Kevin Bacon
Our first newcomer of the week, Bacon first showed up on my screen prior to the start of my database, either with 1988’s She’s Having a Baby or 1991’s He Said, She Said. After that, he showed up in spurts, with two films each in 1996, 1998, and 2001. He laid fallow for 17 years before returning in 2018 with 2017’s Patriots Day. His most recent appearance came in 2023 thanks to the prior year’s They/Them.
Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig first appeared on my radar in a starring role in 2007, when I watched his initial outing as James Bond in Casino Royale. I had two three-year mini-streaks, with films in 2007 through 2009 and 2011 through 2013. His most recent appearance came earlier this year in 2025’s Wake Up Dead Man, his third go-around as Benoit Blanc in the Knives Out franchise.
Leonardo DiCaprio
DiCaprio first appeared on my movie screen in 1996, with The Basketball Diaries. After a three-year run to start, I had a gap of eight years between his films, from 2002-2009. 2011 was his most prolific year, with three different films. The most recent film of his that I’ve seen was 2021’s Don’t Look Up.
Michael Douglas
I have not seen a Michael Douglas starring project since 2015’s Ant-Man.
Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Eckhart first showed up on the list of film actors I’ve seen way back in 1999 with Your Friends & Neighbors. Since then, his appearances have been a little haphazard, with nothing more than three two-year streaks over the past 21 years. The most recent film of his I’ve seen was 2014’s atrocious I, Frankenstein, which I unfortunately saw in 2020.
Chris Evans
Chris Evans first appeared on my screen in 2002 thanks to the previous year’s Not Another Teen Movie and has been a pretty steady presence ever since. In 2011, he debuted as Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger and picked up an additional five films for the remainder of the decade, ending with his final appearance in Avengers: End Game in 2019. His most recent appearance came in 2024 with Red One.
Hugh Grant
There haven’t been many years that I’ve seen a Hugh Grant film, but, when I do, they tend to come in spurts. My first experience with him was likely 1994’s Sirens, which I am unsure of when I actually saw it. He notched three films in 2000, and two apiece in 2005 and 2008. After a twelve-year absence, he returned to my screen in 2020, thanks to 2004’s Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason. His most recent appearance came in 2024’s Heretic, which I saw in a theater in Boston with Angelina
Corey Haim
My final Haim film was 1993’s Just One of the Girls, which I saw in 2004. Haim passed away in 2010, so he is not likely to be moving up this list anytime soon.
Helen Hunt
I first came across Helen Hunt back in 1987’s Project X. She racked up nine of her twelve films between 1994 and 2006, with a double shot in 1996 thanks to Trancers and Twister. After a fifteen-year hiatus, she returned to my screen in 2021, thanks to 2019’s I See You.
Hugh Jackman
Ever since he replaced Dougray Scott as Wolverine in 2000’s X-Men, Hugh Jackman has been a steady presence on my movie screen. Eight of those appearances have been in the X-Men universe, including his last appearance, in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine.
Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson’s first starring role that I saw came in 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. That was followed by another film in 2000, and then nothing until 2009, when he returned in Taken. I saw three of his films in both 2014 and 2019, when I last saw him in The Commuter, Cold Pursuit, and Widows.
Gwyneth Paltrow
The most recent film of hers that I’ve seen was 2013’s Iron Man 3.