Since everyone is in such an Oscar mood, I thought I'd get everyones favorite actors. (Male or Female) the only catch is they have to still be alive and actively working.(Use your best judgement on that) 1) Pacino- The man! 2) Newman - Cool Hand Luke, Hustler, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid....man he's made some great movies. 3) Hanks - All his awards and he may still be the most underated actor ever. Has serious range. 4) DeNiro- A lot of people have him #1, but I think he just plays himself most of the time. 5) Nicholson- Shining, Cookoos Nest, A Few Good Men...need I explain?
More than 5, but my list in no particular order: Robert Redford Ben Kingsley Robert DeNiro Tom Hanks Denzel Washington Gene Hackman Gary Sinese Sidney Poitier Dustin Hoffman I probably missed a couple but those are off the top of my head.
Gary Sinese????? Forest Whittaker Bill Nunn Christopher Walker Jeff Goldblum DON CHEADLE! The guy from Fight Club [NOT PITT!!] The guy who played Magneto Anthony hopkins these are my most underrated actors. Rocket River
My very personal top 5 male and female m 1. edward norton 2. john cusak 3. bruce campbell 4. brad pitt 5. guy pearce f 1. maura tierney 2. joan allen 3. kim cattrall 4. franke potente 5. laura san giacomo
No particular order: Actors: Anthony Hopkins Robert DeNiro Denzel Washington Samuel L. Jackson Michael Douglas Robert Duvall Jack Nicholson Actresses: Jodie Foster Michelle Pfiefer Meryl Streep Kate Winslet
In no particular order: Russell Crowe - awesome in LA confidential...decent in gladiator....almost perfect in beautiful mind...still haven't seen the Insider. Denzel Washington - Philadelphia, Training Day. Tom Hanks - very true...serious range. From awesome comedies like "The Money Pit" and "Big" to more serious roles in "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump", he's versatile. Kevin Spacey - Usual Suspects, American Beauty. John Cusack - Gross Pointe Blank, High Fidelity, Better Off Dead -- some of my favorite movies. Great comedy actor.
No order Tom Hanks Morgan Freeman Charlton Heston Dustin Hoffman Kevin Spacey But the best: Arnold!!!
John Cleese Eric Idle Michael Palin Terry Jones Terry Gilliam Graham Chapman (okay, I cheated. Graham's not quite dead.)
Yeah! I always wonder why 'actor' has to be limited to men. And does this only mean 'movie actors' or can it be from theater or TV as well? (There I go being picky again...sorry guys!) Just the 5 best are hard to come up with. There are so many great actors out there. My two favorites though are Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. I also love Kelsey Grammar, and David Hyde Pierce (for TV). They're wonderful. I love Friends, but I don't think any of them are 'great' actors. Everyone anyone else has already posted I agree with (except for Brad Pitt-maybe he's a good actor, but I personally don't think he's gorgeous and I can't stand his voice so that taints my opinion of him).
Honestly, I never like to rank the 'best' actors. The question is too open, for example in The Fellowship of the Ring, there weren't many superb actors (exception for Chris Lee, Ian McKellan), instead the casting was for the part rather than the actor. The actors suited the parts, but they weren't the best actors. Can anyone imagine Tom Hanks in a torn shirt with a bazooka in hand firing rockets at psychotic robots in a Terminator type role? Or Arnie wearing a good suit falling in love and acting like a school boy? How about Sly Stallone in Shakespere? Or Adam Sandler in a dramatic film about a young boy dying of cancer? Sure, this leads to actors playing the same role over and over, and I urge them to broaden their horizons, but some actors seem to do better in certain roles. Christopher Lee, for example, has (and will be forever) cast as a villain. He plays the bad guy to perfection. Tom Hanks acts very well as dramatic characters. Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, and Cast Away are all fine examples. And even Arnie and Sly are perfect for the characters they play. The question should have been, "Which actor has most successfully played characters from all types of roles?" But even that question is wide-open to critcsm! How about, "Best Dramatic actor? Best Comedy actor? Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Actor? etc...." Even those questions get too tedious and open ended to an extent.
Pacino Ed Norton Denzel Washington Tom Hanks Dustin Hoffman Honorable Mention: Gary Oldman Billy Bob Thornton De Niro Tim Robbins Morgan Freeman
Bruce Willis Samuel L Jackson Tom Hanks (especially for his role in "Forrest Gump") Denzel Washington John Travolta Honorable Mentionsacino,D.Hoffman
Robert DeNiro Denzel Washington Tom Hanks Mel Gibson Kevin Spacey Notable of mention: Dustin Hoffman (a Master at both comedy and drama - who can forget Dorothy?) Gary Oldman (a Masterful intellectual actor) Brad Pitt (he really is good... will probably be top 5 some day) Jack Nicholson (still got it) Ed Norton (Brad Pitt's other half... can play any role)
