Never is a strong word, but I'm surprised at how many of the Denzel Washington action flicks I like. Even as an older, paunchy guy in movies like The Equalizer and Book of Eli he can pull off the Clint Eastwood don't mess with me thing by sheer force of will. Then there's the great dramas like Malcom X, Glory, and Fences.
Christian Bale is a good nomination. I watched Empire of the Sun again recently. His performance at age 12 in that film is really strong. Another relatively young guy who puts out many great performances is Joaquin Phoenix.
Looking back over the history of talking films, I also enjoy many with John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, Liam Neeson, Tommy Lee Jones, Burt Lancaster, Sean Connery, Jack Nicholson, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart.
For the ladies I really liked Audrey Hepburn and enjoy almost every film she did. Meryl Streep has far more good films than bad. Been a fan of Francis McDormand ever since Fargo and Marisa Tomei since Cousin Vinny. Glenn Close, Julianne Moore and Sissy Spacek, Sally Field, Diane Keaton are all very good. Amy Adams, Charlize Theron and Jessica Chastain are some younger ladies that have been in very good films.
Hollywood golden era leading ladies: Katherine Hepburn, Myrna Loy, Deborah Kerr, Betty Davis.