Katharine Hepburn’s favourite ‘Golden Age’ Hollywood actors: “Bigger than life”

If talent were measured entirely by winning trophies, which is usually a pretty good barometer of success, then Katharine Hepburn would be the greatest actor of all time. Even if anyone disagrees, which they’re free to do, then she’s still right up there with the best to ever grace the silver screen.

She’s still the only person in history to win four Academy Awards for acting, and considering she set that benchmark in 1981 and nobody else has managed to join her on that pedestal, it stands to reason that she’ll hold it for a long time unless Meryl Streep or somebody else finally knocks her off that perch.

Hepburn earned 12 nominations in total, and the only decade she wasn’t shortlisted at least once between the 1930s and the 1980s was the 1970s, underlining her incredible longevity. Not only that, but her percentages were remarkable. She only made 44 features, which meant she’d win an Oscar on average every 11 films and be nominated roughly every three and a half performances.

A trailblazer on and offscreen, Hepburn’s talents were counterbalanced by her views on acting in general. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she never took her craft too seriously and even referred to it as a childish profession. Still, despite her ambivalence, her track record speaks for itself.

As one of ‘Golden Age’ Hollywood’s biggest stars, Hepburn naturally worked with a cavalcade of names who also fit that bill. Her co-stars included Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Annette Bening, Burt Lancaster, James Stewart, and many more. However, none of them ranked among her favourites.

Obviously, Spencer Tracy did. They made nine films together and spent 27 years as a couple, making him her most famous colleague. Understandably, she was a big fan. “Spence was a magic actor, funny and quick,” she told Time in 1981 when reflecting on the best actors she’d ever had the pleasure of working with.

Four-time Sylvia Scarlett, Bringing Up Baby, Holiday, and The Philadelphia Story collaborator Cary Grant was another: “He was great fun. He had a wonderful sense of comedy.” John Wayne may not have been viewed as one of his era’s most gifted performers, but he was unquestionably one of its biggest stars.

Even though Hepburn called him a “bastard” once, all was forgiven when they shared the screen in the True Grit sequel, Rooster Cogburn. “He wasn’t as clever as Spence,” she explained. “But a brilliant actor nonetheless. Bigger than life in his performance, often when he didn’t have to be.”

As for the most versatile? Her Lion in Winter scene partner, Peter O’Toole: “He can do everything,” Hepburn offered. “A bit cuckoo, but sweet and terribly funny.” Meanwhile, The African Queen‘s Humphrey Bogart was likened to her On Golden Pond colleague Henry Fonda; “Proud and happy to be an actor.”

One thing they’ve all got in common is legendary and iconic status, and another is their shared position as Hepburn’s favourite ‘Golden Age’ stars.