I'm sorry for getting off topic, but for those who put John Cusak down as best actors, can y'all please explain? I mean, the guy is not bad, but every movie I can recall seeing him in, he is the same type of guy: some loser that talks a lot and has confidence problems and somehow gets a hot chick. I mean, he talks the same way and walks the same way...maybe it's not his fault...it's probably just type cast. Terrible movies in which John Cusak acts the same way in each and show no real acting ability: -That airplane movie with Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie. -That 80's movie in which is was on a road trip w/ the girl from growing pains. -Being John Malkovich (okay movie, but Cusack sucked) -Con Air I think the guy didn't act in any of those movies. The only movie in which Cusak was good in was Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil, which was probably the best movie he was in. Now for my top 5 in no particular order: Tom Hanks Sean Penn Denzel Washington Kevin Spacey Robert Downy Jr. Top 5 Actresses: Jennifer Connelly (awesome ever since the Rocketeer) Marissa Tomei Halley Berry Jodi Foster Kim Basinger
Better Off Dead Say Anything The Grifters Bullets Over Broadway Grosse Pointe Blanke High Fidelity Eight Men Out The Thin Red Line Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Being John Malkovich And those are just the excellent performances he's delivered in awesome movies.
1) Robert DeNiro - he is on another level compared to most other actors 2) Tom Hanks 3) Jack Nicholson 4) Robin Williams 5) Harrison Ford Honorable Mentions: Tom Cruise, Sharon Stone, Al Pacino, John Travolta, and Charlize Theron Best Up and Coming Actor: Owen Wilson
Two of my favorites that haven't been mentioned: James Woods - check out Salvador if you've never seen it Benicio Del Toro RM95 - Good listing of Cusack's films. I think he is a very underappreciated actor.
I forgot a couple: Morgan Freeman Anthony Hopkins Edward Norton As for Cusak, I actually like Joan better than John. And I totally missed females: Jodi Foster Helen Hunt Judi Dench Sissy Spacek Sally Field Angelica Huston
Stephen Rea Forrest Whitaker Gary Oldman Ben Kingsley Chris Cooper Edward Norton Toni Collete Judy Davis (or the Judy who was in Husbands and Wives and The Ref - I have trouble with her last name) Frances McDormond
I can't believe nobody's put Karl Malone on the list yet. Is this some sort of bias against whiny b****es?
I just caught this. I'm not sure that is true. Pacino and Nicholson (two others on your list) are far more guilty of playing "themselves" than DeNiro. Yes, when you want the very calm but seething brutality under the surface, DeNiro is certainly your guy. But roles like Stanley & Iris, Wag the Dog, Tax Driver, (where he is just plain nuts), Awakenings, Men of Honor and Cape Fear were relative departures for him. Pacino, from his beginnings in Dog Day Afternoon and The Godfather, has always had the wild-eyed, fiery, cocky swagger in his characters and the running joke with Nicholson in Hollywood is that people just write Nicholson roles and let him play himself. I think they both can stretch (The Shining and A Few Good Men showed Nicholson fairly differently although my favorite is where he plays himself in As Good As It Gets and Pacino's Scent of a Woman was definitely a little unique for him) but not like De Niro does.
I'm going to be pummeled for this, but how about Patrick Stewart? His "popular" roles (ie: Trek, X-men) only show a small amount of his range. His "Christmas Carol" blew me away (he plays every damned role in the thing, and *makes you forget the gimmick*), and anyone who can do justice to Shakespeare...
~DeNiro ~Denzel ~Tom Hanks ~Robin Williams (if he didn't do so much ****e) ~Alec Guiness (but he is dead)
I'm really not trying to start an arguement and I'm not upset or bothered by anything. But I was noticing how most people put male actors first and then female actors second, if at all. I was attributing it to the title of the thread being "actors" but I don't think that limits gender. Is there a real opinion that males are better actors than females or do they just receive more praise? Can male and female actors really be compared? And if so, do most people think males are better or do some of you think some females are better? Like I said, I don't want to start trouble. It was just something I noticed and thought I would ask about it. I forgot Hunt, Foster and Field as well. Good picks Jeff!
Princess! You're back! I was afraid we'd lost you to Lynus. Like you, I was dismayed to see how few women were on the lists. I think the word "actor" still makes most people think of males only. Jeff, on the other hand, thinks women aren't given the diversity of roles in Hollywood, therefore they don't come to mind as readily when people think of great actors. In fact we had a nice little spat about it -- thanks a lot Princess! Anyway my top five female actors: Annette Bening Jodie Foster Rachel Griffiths Jessica Lange Emma Thompson
Princess... i think the term ACTOR has most to do with it. It *is* gender specific . .. otherwise there would be no need for the word ACTRESS Also . . .2. I think mental blind spots. Bias. Men think of men. Maybe to an extent people think in terms of their ethnic groups etc. While Denzel Sam L Morgan Freeman Forrest Whittaker and Don Cheadle stand out to me a black man . . .Halle berry, Angela Bassett, Jada pinkett, Lelah Rochon, and Robin Givens. . stands out for a black female. . . . yadda yadda yadda But by and Large . . . to be more open i guess it should say the best acting individuals. Angela Basset and Jodie Foster IMO represented cream of Actresses Tom Hanks and Robert D, and Denzel are the same for men. There is no real shortage of Good and great acting individuals unfortunately they sometimes have to work with the endless supply of viscious HACKS who could not act as themselves in their own life story. Rocket River
No, I placed the male actors first simply because the names came to me more quickly. Of course that reflects my attentiveness to female actresses. I find the acting ability of many movie "stars" (male and female) to be very suspect, so it took me awhile to think of the female actors. I forgot Laura Linney on my female actress list BTW. And I'm at 400 posts. Doesn't that make me special.
I think most of it has to do with the fact that this board is overwhelmingly male. As guys, we tend to like more guy-type movies, and thus actresses aren't thought of as "not as good as actors," they just get overlooked (on this bbs, at least) for the reasons Rocket River mentioned. For example: I absolutely cannot stand Julia Roberts. When I see her name in credits, I automatically don't want to see the movie. I don't like the movies she's in, and I don't like the parts she plays. The odd thing is that I do think she's a decent actress, so its not like I'm put off by any performance of hers I've seen. Conspiracy Theory is the only exception to my no-Julia rule that I can think of, and I think that is more of a guy movie than Pretty Woman, for example. I pretty much feel the same way about Meg Ryan. No disrespect to the actresses involved, but I just can't stand chick flicks. If this discussion were on a bbs more related to a woman's interest, I'm sure this thread would be a very different read. I do like Princess Leia, ummmmm.......Daisy Duke.......ummmmm....
