The funniest actor in cinema history, according to science
At high school sleepovers and slumber parties, many of us would spend hours at Blockbuster debating the perfect motion picture pick for the evening. Some might advocate for a good horror movie that keeps everyone up all night, while others would suggest a blend between the two, rallying for the likes of Shaun of the Dead or Twilight.
However, perhaps the most unanimously agreed upon genre was a comedy, only leading to more heavy conversations as people debated which one would be the funniest. It’s perhaps the most discussed subject within the genre, with our own sense of humour influencing the comedy style that makes us laugh the most. But there might finally be an end to this conundrum, with Forbes finding a definitive way to measure not only the funniest film of all time, but an inadvertent way to prove the funniest actor.
Films like Bridesmaids, Airplane! and Cat in the Hat are generally recognised as comedic masterpieces that will surely outlive us all. The sight of Mike Myers dressed as a giant cat or Melissa McCarthy having explosive diarrhoea in a wedding dress shop will be remembered as some of the most profound moments to grace the big screen.
However, while there are countless classics to choose from, the aforementioned study pronounced Airplane! the funniest film of all time due to the number of laughs per minute, with The Hangover coming in second and Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! as the third. This won’t be a surprise to many, with drunken disasters and bowel movements becoming a strong topic of interest within the genre.
But these films are made by the people who star in them, with comedy legends like Robin Williams, Adam Sandler, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy becoming veterans of the category through decades of performances on the silver screen and sketch shows like Saturday Night Live. It’s a niche area of performance that many audience members tend to underestimate, despite the fact that comedy is one of the hardest things to do well.
As a result, it is important to recognise the work of those who manage to continuously make us laugh, with this list pointing us towards who could scientifically be considered the funniest actor of all time, having appeared in the top spots of the study. Leslie Nielsen stars in Airplane! and Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, both titles that end in exclamation marks and make full use of his comedic prowess. The actor is most well-known for his work in the Naked Gun series, despite having a prolific body of work outside of this, meaning he’d starred in over 100 films by the end of his career.
While some minds might leap towards Jim Carrey or Ayo Edebiri as the most infectiously funny performers, Nielsen was a veteran of the comedy world and somebody whose influence can still be felt in the few comedies being released today.
