Opening today, Soul Men features the final performance from Bernie Mac, who died unexpectedly on August 9. The movie also includes a cameo from Isaac Hayes, who died one day later. Both men join a long list of people whose last films were released after their deaths, a list that includes Brad Renfro, whose final performance, in The Informers, can be seen in theaters come next May.

Unlike some names on that list, Bernie Mac, whose voice can also be heard in the new animated sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, isn’t likely to receive a posthumous Oscar nomination as a tribute to his final work. But as one of the most underrated comic actors of the past few years, Mac likely gives a great performance as soul singer “Floyd Henderson,” enough to fall in with the crop of posthumously released roles we’ve showcased below:

1. Spencer Tracy in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Tracy died from a heart attack June 10, 1967, a couple weeks after finishing his work on Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, which was released that December. It would end up one of his most distinguished performances, earning him a posthumous ninth Oscar nom for Lead Actor.

2. James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause

Dean received two posthumous Oscar nominations, but it’s easy to forget that neither of them were for Rebel Without a Cause, despite the film being Dean’s first posthumous release. Were it possible under the Academy’s rules, Dean could have been nominated for playing iconic teen Jim Stark, but he was instead recognized solely for East of Eden (the first official posthumous Oscar nomination for acting), which had been released a few months prior to Dean’s accidental death. Meanwhile Dean’s costars in Rebel, Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood, were each nominated for this film.

3. James Dean in Giant

This film became Dean’s second posthumous release and earned him his second posthumous Oscar nomination (he won neither). The actor had pretty much finished his work on Giant right before his death, though some post-production vocal work had to be performed by a substitute later on, and the film wasn’t to come out in theaters until two months after the first anniversary of Dean’s death.

4. Clark Gable in The Misfits

Like the death of Heath Ledger (see below), Gable’s was blamed on the demands of a role. Whether his performance in The Misfits was too physically demanding or he experienced immense tension from lack of things to do or he lost too much weight too quickly to prepare for the film, there may not have been one single thing that led to his having his third heart attack and then ultimately succumbing to coronary thrombosis mere weeks after finishing up principal photography. A few months later, on Gable’s birthday, his performance was unveiled to the world, and while not as historically remembered as his characters in Gone With the Wind and It Happened One Night, nor one of his three Oscar-nominated roles, it is arguably his greatest work.

5. John Cazale in The Deer Hunter

Cazale should have been honored with a posthumous Oscar nomination at some point (I can’t believe I left him off that list), if for no other reason than to recognize his achievement of acting solely in features nominated for Best Picture (including The Godfather Part III, in which he’s only shown in archive footage). But an even bigger reason is that Cazale was a damn good supporting actor and he actually would deserve that statue. For all the talent he displays in The Deer Hunter, though, he was easily upstaged by his costar Christopher Walken, who actually took home the Oscar.

6. Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon

There are tons of artists who didn’t live long enough to see their work become huge successes. Unlike most of them, though, Lee at least experienced some level of stardom prior to his death on July 20, 1973. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to see his final film, Enter the Dragon, open to huge numbers in the U.S., eventually even topping the box office chart here after a few months in theaters. He also tragically never got to see how iconic, influential and culturally significant his performance would become.

7. Brandon Lee in The Crow

Bruce Lee also never got to see his son grow up to have a #1 movie, too. Sadly, neither did the son, Brandon, who died accidentally from a malfunctioned prop gun on the set of The Crow. And while the star’s then-mysterious death may have helped to make the movie more popular than would otherwise have been expected, it’s primarily Lee’s performance, not his legacy, that has allowed the movie to remain worthwhile viewing 15 years later. Even if some of that performance was assisted through a controversial yet groundbreaking use of stunt doubles and digital effects.

8. Richard Harris in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

There have now been more Harry Potter films released in which Michael Gambon portrays Albus Dumbledore, yet Harris will forever be remembered more clearly and favorably in the role. Even those of us who like Gambon as the Hogwarts headmasterhave more vivid memories of Harris’ performances in both Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the latter of which arrived in theaters less than three weeks after the actor’s death on October 25, 2002. Surely some fans would have preferred to see Harris reprise his role in the subsequent films courtesy of effects wizardry similar to that done in The Crow and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (see below).

9. Laurence Olivier in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

It may have been morally wrong for Kerry Conran to digitally create a villainous performance from Olivier 15 years after the legendary actor’s death, but who doesn’t want to keep getting new performances from such a master thespian, even if it it technically consists of nothing but archive footage? Besides, it’s still better than making him posthumously hawk beer, vacuum cleaners, or McDonalds cheeseburgers. Too bad the film as a whole was such a disappointment.

10. Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

His performance as The Joker is better than anyone ever dreamed it would be, before or after he died suddenly last January. He’ll get an Oscar nomination, at least, and will probably even win. Will his final performance, in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, yet to be seen or released, be as remarkable? It’s quite possible that if this list is ever rewritten in the future that Ledger will join Dean as another actor with two slots, for two monumentally great performances released posthumously.