Actor: James Cagney

James Cagney defined the American gangster on screen in The Public Enemy and White Heat, and the top of the world ending of the latter is among the most quoted in cinema.

He was a vaudeville dancer first, and won Best Actor for Yankee Doodle Dandy, a musical, which surprised audiences who knew him only as a criminal. The dancing in it is genuinely excellent.

He was a founder of the Screen Actors Guild and fought Warner Bros repeatedly over contracts, winning a landmark case that improved conditions across the industry.