Who are your favourite actors and why?
 

Tom Hanks.
What can be said about this man? He's just unbelievably good at anything he does, I can't really think of a bad film he's been in, he always gives something to the role he plays. Only he could play Forrest Gump.

Johnny Depp.

Because of the eccentric strange wonderful characters he plays and he plays them so well but some actors have 1 identity and never leave their comfort zone but Depp can play other characters such as John Dillinger brilliantly well as well.

Di Caprio

Such a brilliant actor, he's one of the first actors I saw and liked. As a child I loved The Titanic, from an early age I always thought that the true events of the Titanic combined with a story of love was great, really gripping to watch and my favourite childhood film. And since then I've loved a lot of his work, Catch Me If You Can, I thought was a brilliant film. And he seems to have developed a working relationship with Martin Scorsese and I'm really looking forward to seeing Shutter Island.

What about you good people?

-Robert de Niro
goodfellas, heat, sleepers, casino, once upon a time in america, a bronx tale, cape fear, this boys life, raging bull, godsend, hide and seek, meet the fockers, the godfather, i mean come on. One of the greatest actors around.

- Will Smith. I know, i know. I'm going to get some stick for this. Personally i love will smiths acting although i am a total fanboy. I remember seeing him in the fresh prince when i was a little kid and hearing his music too (still have miami single somewhere here) and i personally rate him as one of the top entertainers of our time. He's been in some seriously awesome movies. And he's pretty much regarded as a walking blockbuster now, put him in your movie and you're going to succeed in making millions lol. I like the guy and i enjoy his acting.

btw i agree with what you said about johnny depp. I'm pretty sure this guy could play any character.

As for di caprio, i didn't really like him until gangs of new york (with the exception of this boys life). But after gangs of new york he's been impressing me with pretty much every role i've seen him in. Catch me if you can, the departed, blood diamond ect.

Another actor i enjoy is samuel l jackson. despite critics repetedly saying he's now garbage.

Kevin Spacey-Unbelievably gifted.Only he could make me watch Beyond The Sea.American Beauty comes to mind also

Johnny Depp-Probably the greatest actor of our generation,nobody else can be Jack Sparrow or Ed Wood.

Sir Anthony Hopkins-Hannibal Lechter-nuff said he's the man

I wanted to mention DeNiro too,but he's the most obvious choice

Worst actor-Keanu Reeves.Ruined Dracula(Johnny Depp would have been better as Harker).He's the same person in every movie-Keanu Reeves.I really don't get the obsession with him at all.
Sorry mods for going off-topic

Yes, and definitely one of the most talented actors alive today.

I've always felt that DeNiro was the most overrated actor ever. It's not that he's a bad actor, it just that he always plays, well, Robert DeNiro in everything he does. Not much variation in his characters.

Al Pacino, on the other hand, a bit of the same, but talk about class...

Are you ****ting me? yeah he gets the tough guy/gangster roles but that's because it's what he's good at. Nobody else could have played the parts he played as well as he did. Plus he's been in a lot of comedies and stuff lately. And what about hide and seek or godsend?

People want to see Deniro play the tough guy gangster. He sells. That doesn't mean there aren't other actors that coud do 2/3rds of his roles justice. I'm Not saying he's a bad actor, just that he's not very versatile at all. Even if you stick him in a comedy he's still playing Robert DeNiro...in a comedy...yay. Taxi Driver was a long ****ing time ago. People need to get over it.

i don't really understand what you're trying to say. You could switch his name with the name of any actor in that sentence.

He's the same person (****in duh) but he plays different characters well. What similarity is their between the characters he portrays in meet the fockers, raging bull, hide and seek and goodfellas? aside from the fact he's still him. Which is like saying an orange is an orange that makes it a bad fruit.

and name me an actor who could have played any of his parts as well as he did? al pacino? he can suck an egg. He's great, one of the best. But he couldn't have played de niros part in raging bull or hide & seek or even meet the fockers.

de niro is an icnredibly versatile actor. Just because the majority of the parts he plays is the tough guy/gangster role doesn't mean he's not versatile. He's proven he can play completely different characters with the movies i mentioned.

Anyway, if something isn't broken, don't fix it. Like i said, nobody could play his roles better than he could.


"Anthony Hopkins" - starred in one decent movie and he's one of the best actors ever? The guys living off hannibal lector. What else has he done to deserve that kind of status? beowulf? :rofl: that movie was trash.

Brad Pitt.

I could never understand why people liked this fucktard a few years ago when people were masturbating all over that epic failure Troy and those awful crime movies like Ocean's Eleven and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. A few years later I get an opportunity to see Fight Club, followed with Snatch, Twelve Monkeys, Babel, Burn After Reading and most recently Inglorious Basterds. He's not a bad actor. He just has a predilection for appearing in some truly awful Hollywood-endorsed films.

Hey Captain Awesome, have you ever seen The Deer Hunter? I feel its Robert De Niro's greatest role. Don't let the title fool you either. Its not about deer hunting. I highly, highly suggest it, as it is one of my favorite movies. Has some other great actors and actresses in it too.

My favorites are:

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Juliette Lewis Ever since her roles when she was very young, I can't recall a time when I watched one of her movies and realized she was acting. She has played some roles that have required a huge personality also, and I feel she has pulled them off perfectly.

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A young Jack Nicholson I have been disappointed with 99% of his newer movies out, but back in his heyday, he was hard to beat. The guy just oozed on'ry. His roles were so damned hilarious and full of life. One of the most entertaining guys out there.

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Dustin Hoffman Very talented. The guy just knows how to act and he doesn't try too hard. He has done some very memorable roles in the past and I couldn't see some of the roles he's played with anyone but him.

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Faye Dunaway Besides being beyond gorgeous, the woman could act. She could play those dangerous girl roles so well. Bonnie and Clyde being my favorite of hers- she was Bonnie. I believed every bit of it. I just adore her.

flowerchild - i love the deer hunter. I have it on dvd, i have a lot of his movies on dvd lol.

To the person who mentioned brad pitt. I felt the same way about him but i disagree with what you said, personally i loved troy and the ocean movies. Just different taste i suppose. But yeah, i couldn't see what the big deal was at first but he's definitley a better actor than i originally wanted to give him credit for.

It means he's not funny.

I'll give you Raging Bull, but that's about it. I think that Pacino could have played Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver with style and finesse to spare. However, Deniro at his best couldn't even approach the role of Tony Montana in Scarface. Why? Deniro can't do ethnic roles, unless of course it's Italian American.

Deniro plays the stoic Italian American tough guy. He is a stoic Italian American. Not a big stretch from his own personae. In comedies he plays the stoic tough guy. In gangster flicks he plays the stoic tough guy gangster. Robert Deniro plays Robert Deniro. Period


notice that many of these roles are non-British period pieces, showing his character diversity, and thus his skill as an actor. Unlike Deniro an Italian American who has, to my knowledge always only played Italian Americans, Hopkins is a British actor who has played characters from a diverse range of periods, cultures, and ethnicities:

Hannibal Lecter Silence of the Lambs Oscar winner - best actor
John Quincy Adams (Amistad) Oscar nomination
Pierre Bezukhov (War and Peace)
William Bligh (The Bounty)
Count Galeazzo Ciano (Mussolini and I)
Abraham Van Helsing (Bram Stoker's Dracula)
James Stevens (The Remains of the Day) Oscar nomination
Burt Munro (The World's Fastest Indian)
Richard Nixon (Nixon) Oscar Nomination
Iago (Othello)
Pablo Picasso (Surviving Picasso)
Ptolemy I Soter (Alexander)
Quasimodo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Adolf Hitler (The Bunker)
Richard the Lionheart (The Lion in Winter)
Titus Andronicus (Titus)
Frederick Treves (The Elephant Man)

OK let's go for a few who aren't your usual names:

Michael Sheen:
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It's all about the talent and not the looks. You want someone to play a real character without resorting to caricature- David Frost, Tony Blair, Brian Clough. All carried off with sheer aplomb and then you have his delicate, touching turn in Heartlands and even time for a throway role in the Underworld series of films. Top banana.

Daniel Auteuil
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Consider him the French answer to De Niro but unlike the old masters decline into mediocrity, Auteuil get's better and better- Jean De Florette, Un cœur en hiver, Cache, The Lost Son, 36 Quai des Orfèvres all top films with memorable performances.

Toby Kebbell
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A British star making it big without having to do the usual 'dashing Englishman' schtick to get notices. Dead Man's Shoes, Rocka Rolla, Control- 3 distinctly different performances and all utterly watchable. Still only 28 this guy is going places.

like i said satchmo, his entire careers built off the back of hannibal. Notice he's only ever won an award for that movie, the rest of the time he's been nominated but never gained anything. And that list compared to de niro's list of movies isn't much.

Have you actually watched hide & seek or godsend?

"After the sudden death of his wife, David Callaway takes his traumatized daughter, Emily, away to find peace and to start their life again in a new home. Emily fails to settle in well, with David becoming concerned as Emily identifies with Charlie. Someone who David has never met before, but who likes to play Hide and Seek."

no italian-american tough guys in that movie.

there's no italian-american tough guys in godsend either.

or meet the fockers. and just ebcause YOU didn't find him funny doesn't mean he wasn't funny. It's not your sense of humour that's all.

You keep bringing up Hide and Seek as though it's a good movie!

I don't think listing awards is relevant to establishing an actors ability.

Hide & Seek and Godsend are truly awful movies. De Niro WAS the shit in the 70's Godfather Part 2, Mean streets, Raging Bull etc but he has made only two truly great film in 20 years- Heat and Casino.

Hopkins is the epitome of understated grace- The Elephant Man, Shadowlands, Howard's End, The Remains Of The Day all truly superb performances.

Have you ever seen Kalifornia? That's one of his best performances ever, IMO.

Thought I'd add a couple more names to the thread.

Bill Murray - not for being a versatile actor, but just because he's brilliant in Wes Anderson films like Rushmore and Life Aquatic and others like Groundhog Day. I think he's funny.

And Jeff Bridges! He was brilliant in K-Pax, fantastic in the Fisher King and who could've made a better Dude?

Checkout a little known 80's crime drama called 8 million Way's To Die from the mid 80's where he plays a recovering alcoholic. Very good film but I can't find the damn thing anywhere. The Last Picture Show and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot are great too.

He really ties a movie together.

This guy peed on it. Am I wrong?

This guy's always refreshing to see (great actor IMO):

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Philip Seymour Hoffman

Depp's also a good versatile actor:

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This guy's one of favorites as well:

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Edward Norton

You're not wrong Janzoon, You're just an asshole.

Set and spiked!

Kevin Spacey - I've a little crush on him for years. This will be my only actor based on looks.

Natalie Portman - Oh, come on? Leon? Not her best role, but definitely impressive for a twelve year old.

Speaking of the movie Leon, Jean Reno is pretty ****ing amazing as well.

I can't think of anymore at the moment. I've grown to like Brad Pitt, too, but still don't see why so many women swoon over his looks. His work in Burn After Reading was killer.

Whoah, are you wearing a bikini too !?!?!

I totally misread as that Janet Reno at first glance.

Jean Reno is great in The Big Blue too. It helps if you like dolphins though!

Yep. It's a little chilly in this weather but you know me, anything for fashion.

Dude I'm seriously chaffing. They told me there'd be a lot of thongs on this beach. I feel so outta' place.

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Gary Oldman
Nobody plays psychopaths better than he does. Spends most films practically eating the scenery and can turn a boring generic part in the dullest of films (Air Force One, Lost In Space) and will usually end up stealing the show. Also Nil By Mouth maybe the most realistic film ever about life on a British council estate.

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Michael Caine
I don't really have a lot to add other than if his name is on the poster i'll watch it.
Seems just as comfortable appearing in a light comedy like Alfie as he is in an action film like Zulu or a bleak thriller like Get Carter.
Seeing him in a film is like putting on a comfortable well worn pair of trainers. And he's willing to help out new directors with smaller budgets get a step up the ladder as he showed with Harry Brown.... and he's still as good as ever.

Honorable mentions..

Robert Lindsay
David Morrissey
Robert Carlisle

Excellent. Just making sure. ;)

Johnny Depp is and always will be my favorite actor of all time. Why you may ask? Well, because he is simply brilliant. This man is a perfect example of a charecter actor. Not just silly characters either, but crazy obscure ones. Also, he writes, and directs. He is really involved film. Plus he plays guitar, and is in a band.

I will finish this later, but recently rewatching There Will Be Blood just affirmed it...

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All of this is ignoring the fact that he can grow the greatest Mo in the history of cinema as well.

After watching Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf, I noticed I developed a major crush on Richard Burton, just phenomenal performance...

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I loved hide and seek and godsend. I thought they were great movies. Notice how you're all saying "check out this 80s movie" "check out back before he was so big" blah blah blah.

you all have a bad case of the reminiscents. Move on with the times, don't get stuck behind.
and i'm not just listing awards, hopkins played one good part in one good movie and you're all acting as if he's the greatest actor ever. If he had been in as many hollywood movies or made as much money as de niro, you would be bashing him. The only reason you like him is because he doesn't have that A-list commercial celebrity type status and you think liking him and his work makes you cool.

I'm so non-conformist i won't conform with the non-conformists - jesus south park ****in owns.

P.S good to see someone mention michael caine, he's awesome.

Stuck behind? Damn I am certainly one person who knows their movies and saying Godsend sucks is definitely NOT because I'm stuck in a timewarp. It's this very reason that I CAN judge Godsend against other films is because I watch so many. Even taking away personal opinion away and looking at the film objectively it still sucks. The direction is pedestrian, there is no tension, it's cliched and dull beyond belief.

Saying Hopkins is a great actor was in response to you saying that he has only done one decent performance and we were mentioning other performances and If you think acting is all about money then you have no bloody clue about films whatsoever, actually judging by your posts you don't anyway. Mainstream Hollywood is not the only place that makes movies and I think you should educate yourself a little more and back up your arguments with sound film knowledge and then I may take you a little more seriously.

Yeah sure, 2 years doing media studies counts for nothing. and of course hollywood isn't the only place that makes good movies. El Orfanato is the only decent horror movie i've seen in a long time. It's far from being hollywood.

Stop making assumptions and just admit it. Because de niros hollywood you dislike him. It's uncool to like anything mainstream and very cool to like people who aren't commercial and mainstream.

De Niro is and always will be ten times the actor hopkins is. Comparing him to people like Michael Caine or even johnny depp i can understand. But a guy who's only been in one decent movie? what's next?

beat me to it. great movie.


my personal favourite, not someone most people like but... Keanu Reeves. mainly because most of his acting seems to be something i could achieve, then again most people also thought i was stoned all the time long before i ever had a puff.


Clint Eastwood and Steve Buscemi deserve nods too.

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Two years of Media studies has led you to proclaiming Godsend a great movie? Get a new teacher. Trust me, they know fuck all by the sound of it.