Best Current Actor

[hockeyboy]

I thought about this, and consistently my favorite is Denzel Washington. He can make even a crappy movie good.

[wingnut4772]

Gary Oldman. The end.

[MacLeod]

Gary Oldman. The end.

Hard to disagree with that one. My favorite performance of his was in Bram Stokers Dracula.

However, my alltime favorite performance by an actor in the history of film is Sir Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. This is the only character in a movie that actually scared the shit out of me. It was, dare I say, the perfect performance.

[Roy Munson]

One of my favorite actors is Morgan Freeman, he almost always gives a good performance and makes what ever movie he's in a little better.

[candyliquor35m]

stuart little did a good job

[Demiurge]

Edward Norton.

[pmckeealaska]

Will Smith can make even a crappy movie watchable

[jdhdiggs]

I'd add Kevin Spacey to the mix as well

[daboyz]

Tom Hanks.

[Ron-P]

Depp

[Ethancf]

Burt Reynolds

[SolidSqual]

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a great character in most anything he's in.

[Keiko]

Tom Hanks

Best Actresses - Meryl Streep/Jodi Foster

[McLoki]

My favorites (defined as - will watch even if the movie is not exactly my style just because they are in it and I usually enjoy their movies.....



Morgan Freeman (If I am only allowed to pick one - I have to go with Morgan)
Tom Hanks
Will Smith
John Cusack (not much range (went from playing the troubled teen to now playing the troubled adult), but I do tend to enjoy most of his movies)



Michael

[zombie boy 2000]

Gary Oldham. He has never played the same role twice, and is probably the most versatile actor on the planet.
I'll also have to nominate Daniel Day-Lewis for the same reason. Watch In the Name of the Father and Gangs of New York back to back to see what I'm talking about.

[ESavinon]

Christian Bale.

[SolidSqual]

If there is one actor that I'd like to kill, it's John Cusack. I hate that M'Effer like no other. He's annoying. His demeanor. His mannerisms. All of it screams shoot my miserable ass because I'm wasting too much of your air.

[kuntasensei]

And the award goes to the most prolific actor of our generation... CLINT HOWARD.

That's right! SUCK ON THAT, OPIE!

[hockeyboy]

Clint Howard made famous the alien baby role in classic Trek.

[Deadof_knight]

I have to agree currently Morgan Freeman has my vote.

[Deadof_knight]

My wife states George Clooney ......

[Demiurge]

My wife states George Clooney ......

This isn't the "Actor you'd most like to smash in the face with a tire iron," thread. :)

[obieone]

I gotta go with Christopher Walken. Yeah, I know he always plays psycho's, but, C'MON!
Nobody does it better!:p:eek:

[bobman1235]

Lots of good ones, I"d like to throw in the oft overlooked Leonardo DiCaprio. He gets a bad rap cuz of stupid Titanic, but watch "The Aviator" or "Blood Diamond" some time, the kid's fantastic.

[Keiko]

Clint Howard made famous the alien baby role in classic Trek.

LoL! Commander Balok...Time to break out the Tronya.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27lQMyCUAj0

Suck em' up fellas. :p

[killerb]

Don Cheatle!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Norm Apter]

Edward Norton.

I agree that when Ed Norton is really into it, he gives some incredible performances (Fight Club, Rounders).

But based on volume of material, I'd have to agree with Bobman and go with Leo.

Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, Catch Me if You Can, Blood Diamond, The Aviator, The Departed, (I didn't see Gangs of New York, so I can't comment on that one) and his soon-to be released (Oct. 10), Body of Lies, in which it appears he'll give one more stunning performance.

[Keiko]

Couple more to toss into the mix here if I may.

Gene Hackman-Unforgiven

Forest Whitaker-Last King of Scotland

[dancingwater]

1. Robert De Niro
2. Denzel Washington
3. Tommy Lee Jones ( Ever since Lonesome Dove )
4. Tom Hanks
5. Viggo Mortensen

[Keiko]

Al Pacino

Dustin Hoffman

Robin Williams

Cuba Gooding Jr.

[shadowofnight]

Nicolas Cage for the newer stuff ( He also rescued me from puking way back when I HAD to watch Valley Girl with a girlfriend....he single handedly made that movie watchable ) ....for old school it would have to be Sean Connery.

[Keiko]

I gotta go with Christopher Walken. Yeah, I know he always plays psycho's, but, C'MON!
Nobody does it better!:p:eek:
Celebrity Death Match:

Christopher Walken vs. Anthony Hopkins aka Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

[bobman1235]

Al Pacino

Dustin Hoffman

Robin Williams

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Wow, is that a murderers row.

Pacino is a ridiculous parody of his former self, yelling through every role he gets.

Hoffman is still all right.

Robin Williams? Seriously? Funny guy, but... best actor?

And Cuba Gooding was good in Jerry McGuire but has made some TERRIBLE role choices over the years so much so that I can't take him very seriously as an actor.

C'mon. We're talking about the BEST, not people who you like a few movies of.

[concealer404]

Kevin Spacey
Edward Norton
Christian Bale

I hate to say it, but i do like Nicolas Cage and Keanu Reeves. But are they one of the best? Nah.

[NotaSuv]

Is this thread who we think some of the best actors are or to pick apart the choices of others?

concealer404 I second your choices there....... enjoy all Kevin Spacey flicks

[Keiko]

Wow, is that a murderers row.

Pacino is a ridiculous parody of his former self, yelling through every role he gets.

Hoffman is still all right.

Robin Williams? Seriously? Funny guy, but... best actor?

And Cuba Gooding was good in Jerry McGuire but has made some TERRIBLE role choices over the years so much so that I can't take him very seriously as an actor.

C'mon. We're talking about the BEST, not people who you like a few movies of.

I guess I am thinking of older movies. I did like Robin Williams in Awakenings and Good Will Hunting. And Cuba Gooding in Men of Honor. It's just an opinion Bob. ;)

[Keiko]

Linda Lovelace :p

[zombie boy 2000]

Snow Dogs has forever cemented Gooding as a god among thespians.

[bobman1235]

It's just an opinion Bob. ;)

I know, just debating, not saying you can't have your opinion. :)

[Keiko]

I know, just debating, not saying you can't have your opinion. :)
It's all good. :cool:

[Mike Kozak]

Hard to beat Pacino in Scarface

[woodyjacobs]

I think that you have to look at actors that are consistently convincing in a variety of roles. Depp and Spacey are my two picks.

[BottomFeeder]

I'm down with Morgan Freeman. What an amazing actor. & Tom Hanks has to get props as well. He has amazing range and flexibility as an actor and has been excellent for a long time.

[reeltrouble1]

WTF??????

It is:

John Wayne and/or Jimmy Stewart

RT1

[bobman1235]

John Wayne! The guy was iconic, but hardly a good actor.

Jimmy Stewart was great though.

However, the thread title is "Best current actor" not "of all time." Otherwise this thread would be Brando, Paul Newman, maybe some Bogey thrown in there.

[reeltrouble1]

gotcha, BoB.

Then its Newman or is he dead too...........anyway, I am sticking with the old guys.

RT1

[Jstas]

Nobody has mentioned Russel Crowe? I mean, in his personal life, he's a bit of an arrogant jackass at times but if you want to REALLY see what he is capable of, watch Gladiator then watch Master and Commander.


Another one that I think gets over looked is Ron Livingston of Office Space fame. But go check out his IMDB page and see how much stuff he is actually in. Sometimes I think he just chose a bad role for himself. Not that he doesn't do good with it just that the role doesn't get him the exposure he deserves.

The thing about Ron is that so often in his roles, I forget he's even in them. He becomes the character so well that he's more of a plot device instead of a character that the movie is about. I think that is what makes Tom Hanks so good too. I'm never really watching Tom Hanks playing playing Charlie Wilson in Charlie Wilson's War. I'm watching a movie about Charlie Wilson and nothing about his performance clues me in that it's Tom Hanks playing the part. Even in a bad movie like The Ladykillers or a good movie like Forrest Gump. Tom Hanks is a name in the credits not a dude playing a character in a movie.

[woodyjacobs]

Very good points, and you are right, Russell Crowe has done some really good work and we probably forget about him since he has been out of the spotlight for a couple of years. I thought he was brilliant in the Outsider as well as M&C and Gladiator.

Ron Livingston is probably under-rated too because he so often kind of slips under the radar. He was great in Band of Brothers (hell, everyone was, but he really made an impression in that).

I've never seen Hanks be bad or even seem mis-cast in a role, much to his credit. I would like to seem him play someone really nasty (even in Road to Perdition he seemed kind of like a nice guy). But of course then maybe he would come off as miss-cast. Fine actor though and seems like a good human being...not sure that can be said of all of the others mentioned above.

[reeltrouble1]

Crowe was good in that fight movie with Zellwiger.

RT1

[leroyjr1]

Denzel Washington Great movie after great movie


My daughter said

BARNEY
and
Dora

[bobman1235]

Crowe was good in that fight movie with Zellwiger.

RT1

Cinderella Man. Fantastic movie, and he was really good in it.

[Jstas]

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a great character in most anything he's in.

I gotta echo this sentiment as well. Hoffman, the dude is so good every character he touches turns to gold. He just has a laundry list of excellent roles. Whether it's a leading role or a supporting role, he approaches it the same every time. From "Dusty" in "Twister" to the lead role of "Truman Capote" in "Capote" to "Gust Avrakotos" in "Charlie Wilson' War", he is a master of his craft.

Very much like Johnny Depp, there are not many roles that he hasn't brought a higher level of competency too and I can't imagine any one else playing the part. Hell, he was so good in "Charlie Wilson's War" I didn't even realize it was him until halfway through the movie!

[Keiko]

Marylin Chambers :D

[AsSiMiLaTeD]

Will Smith
Burt Reynolds
John Cusack
Christian Bale
George Clooney
Robert De Niro
Al Pacino
Robin Williams
Cuba Gooding Jr
Nicolas Cage
Are you frikkin' kidding me? I like a couple guys on that list (Will Smith is one of my favorite actors), but no way any of them even belongs in the "Best Actor" discussion.

Hell, there's lots of roles that I really liked (Matt Daman in the Bourne movies, Val Kilmer in the Saint, etc) but they sure as hell don't go on the "Best Actor" list.

Jeezus, why don't we just go ahead and add Brad Pitt, Matt Daman and Ben Afleck on there as well...did I miss anyone, or would that complete the list???

[Keiko]

Are you frikkin' kidding me? I like a couple guys on that list (Will Smith is one of my favorite actors), but no way any of them even belongs in the "Best Actor" discussion.

Hell, there's lots of roles that I really liked (Matt Daman in the Bourne movies, Val Kilmer in the Saint, etc) but they sure as hell don't go on the "Best Actor" list.

Jeezus, why don't we just go ahead and add Brad Pitt, Matt Daman and Ben Afleck on there as well...did I miss anyone, or would that complete the list???
You're right! Let's quit messin' around here people. The 2 greatest actors of all time...

John Holmes

Ron Jeremy

:rolleyes:

[concealer404]

Snow Dogs has forever cemented Gooding as a god among thespians.

I never knew if that was serious or not until last week.

I have my answer now.

[BAD ASP]

Morgan Freeman
DiCaprio

Almost all of those listed above except Cusack and Norton.

Favorite actress - Sandra Bullock

[nooshinjohn]

Meryl Streep for actress and Johnny Depp for actor...

All time favorite??? Sir Anthony Hopkins

[AsSiMiLaTeD]

Hah, I was just about to comment on some of the picks on the list, until I read post #54 and realized i'd already done that :D

Also I'm kind of an a$$hole sometimes...





But seriously, CHRISTIAN BALE!!!???

[kevhed72]

Bill Murry - has come a long way in non-comedy roles since CAddyshack and Stripes
Clint Eastwood - has remained iconic and never really "sold out" over the years like many other actors.
Bruce Willis - just a great actor

[nooshinjohn]

Bruce Willis - just a great actorYippy Kay Yay motherfu...:D

That is about the only line I remember him ever speaking in a movie.

[obieone]

Hands down, it's gotta be.....






















John Cenna:p

[ozzy21236]

Tom Hanks
Kevin Spacey
Johnny Depp

All three terrific actors.

I'd also like to throw some props to:
William H. Macy
Robert Downey Jr.
Harry Dean Stanton
Steve Buscemi
Ben Kingsley

Russ

[RCFGuitars]

I think Gary Oldman is great, but the best current actor out there has to be Daniel Day-Lewis. Look at all the Oscar nominated/winning perfomances.

[woodhead 2]

Robert Duvall

[concealer404]

He's got some growing to do, but i'm pretty impressed with Michael C. Hall. Especially for a "tv actor."

[Huck344]

Jack Nicholson
Sean Penn
Russell Crowe
Denzel Washington

[nooshinjohn]

Jack Nicholson
very good but one dimentional

Sean Penn
he should move to Venezuela

Russell Crowe
to full of himself and also one dimentional

Denzel Washington
Good choice and very much overlooked

[bobman1235]

HAHA, I love how you call two guys one dimensional but praise Denzel. Denzel can play one character - Denzel. He plays it really well, but the guy defines one dimensional.

[zombie boy 2000]

Sorry... but I gotta agree. I know there's all this love for Denzel, but the man has shit for an acting range. I may pay ya Training Day, but even then... I only think his performance was so noted because he managed to step away from his "Denzel persona". In retrospect, was that performance even that good? Or were we just shocked to see him playing something other that what he's always brought to the table.

There's a difference between a charismatic celebrity and an excellent actor. I still stand behind my picks of Gary Oldman and Daniel Day-Lewis. Neither actor ever seems to play the same role twice. Sean Pean can suck it when it comes to method acting, as those two are light years ahead of him.

[anton.chigurh]

Pauly Shore....can't believe nobody mentioned him yet?

[vc69]

HAHA, I love how you call two guys one dimensional but praise Denzel. Denzel can play one character - Denzel. He plays it really well, but the guy defines one dimensional.

Yup. Add to that list Al Pacino. Nicholson? Hardly one dimensional IMO.

[Huck344]

he should move to Venezuela




Never said that I liked his politics. In fact it takes a lot for me to overlook how outspoken he is. But, he is Spicoli!!!

[Shizelbs]

Gerard Butler

[bopicasso]

I cant believe no one has said Daniel Day-Lewis (There will be blood, Gangs of New york, the last of the mohicans, my left foot, to name a few..) Won 2 best actor oscars out of 4 nominations. He doesnt make many movies, but when he does he puts everything into it.
And I think one of the best actors as of lately is Leonardo Dicaprio.

[Sami]

I cant believe no one has said Daniel Day-Lewis

Actually he has been mentioned. Him or Daniel Craig from the current actors get my vote.

[shawn474]

Denzel

Good choice and very much overlooked


Denzel = Overlooked. NO CHANCE! I have said it before; the guy is typecast into one type of role and does it ok. I seriously don't know how he ever gets mentioned in the same breath as "Best Actor." But, to each thier own.

My vote goes to Edward Norton

[xcapri79]

Sir Anthony Hopkins
Sir Sean Connery
Robert DeNiro
Russell Crowe
Johnny Depp
Clint Eastwood

Sir Laurence Olivier is the standard by which all other actors are measured.

[hearingimpared]

^^^ reported spam

[Roy Munson]

For old school actor:

Humphrey Bogart..Just too many great films!

[halo71]

Robert DeNiro
Jack Nicholson
Al Pacino
Morgan Freeman
Russell Crowe
Ed Norton
Kevin Spacey

....I have too many favorites to list just one.


Oh yeah, Jessica Biehl and Kate Beckinsale! For obvious reasons. :p

[justsomarvelous]

Denzel and Will Smith

[RCFGuitars]

I cant believe no one has said Daniel Day-Lewis (There will be blood, Gangs of New york, the last of the mohicans, my left foot, to name a few..) Won 2 best actor oscars out of 4 nominations. He doesnt make many movies, but when he does he puts everything into it.
And I think one of the best actors as of lately is Leonardo Dicaprio.

See post #64 :)

[Ron Temple]

I've got to agree with the Daniel Day Lewis suggestion. The guy is amazing. I didn't see My Left Foot until a few years after Last of the Mohicans...but if you havent checked it out, it will make you rethink what this guy does in order to get into his roles. Follow this up with Gangs of NY and There Will be Blood and you'll realize that you never see the real guy, just the roles he creates. He could have been a "leading man" for 20 years if he accepted anything but the most challenging parts...that seems to be all he's interested in though and he's a gift to us because of it.

Russell Crowe also can melt into a role, but I praise him for The Insider and some of his non-leading man roles more. When he doesn't have to pose, he's a chameleon with loads of charisma.

[bopicasso]

If you watch Daniel Day Lewis recieve a award or be interviewed, his accent is so different from all his characters its almost scarey! The guy definately is one of the best. Not many go through the drastic changes he does to play a role. Most play the same charater that is based off there own character.

[hearingimpared]

Yippy Kay Yay motherfu...:D

That is about the only line I remember him ever speaking in a movie.

"Zed is dead baby!"

[hearingimpared]

If you watch Daniel Day Lewis recieve a award or be interviewed, his accent is so different from all his characters its almost scarey! The guy definately is one of the best. Not many go through the drastic changes he does to play a role. Most play the same charater that is based off there own character.

Christian Bale does, BIG TIME!

[bopicasso]

Bale does change his accent and has gone through alot for a role (machinist), but he plays the same roles alot also, tough guy, military, or police roles... Batman, Harsh times, Terminator, Public Enemies, Rescue Dawn, 3:10 to Yuma, Reign of Fire, etc..
I could go on and on.
Dont get me wrong Bale is a great actor but tends to play a character thats probably close to his own natural character, minus the accent. (Loved him in Harsh Times)

[Shizelbs]

You're right, DDL is the best. Everyone is wrong.

[bopicasso]

Glad you agree lol

[hearingimpared]

Bale does change his accent and has gone through alot for a role (machinist), but he plays the same roles alot also, tough guy, military, or police roles... Batman, Harsh times, Terminator, Public Enemies, Rescue Dawn, 3:10 to Yuma, Reign of Fire, etc..
I could go on and on.
Dont get me wrong Bale is a great actor but tends to play a character thats probably close to his own natural character, minus the accent. (Loved him in Harsh Times)

Don't forget "American Psycho."

[Ron Temple]

Bale can do tense, worried, frightened and angry, as well as, crazy...that's pretty much every role he's ever had. From what I've read, that's not really acting for him...it's him. He's been in some big films, but I wouldn't call him a great actor.

[bopicasso]

Me either, Im a fan but dont consider him a 'great' actor..

[hearingimpared]

Bale can do tense, worried, frightened and angry, as well as, crazy...that's pretty much every role he's ever had. From what I've read, that's not really acting for him...it's him. He's been in some big films, but I wouldn't call him a great actor.

He played Jesus Christ too.