Robert Duval. Anthony Hopkins.

 

Nicholas Cage?? C'mon Passion....

 

What's wrong with Academy Award winner Nic Cage?

 

He's my favorite actor and was tremendous in Adaptation, Matchstick Men, Leaving Las Vegas, The Weather Man, and others.

 

I don't think he is the greatest actor ever, but he deserves to be in the pool of those it's taken from.

 

hmmm.... ok I'll give you Leaving Las Vegas. Matchstick Men's on my Netflix list. I just have too many Con Air / The Rock / Gone In 60 Seconds images in my head I guess. But I suppose everyone's done their share of stinkers. It's not like Analyze This means I can't still appreciate DeNiro for Taxi Driver and The Deer Hunter...

Alan Rickman

Jeremy Irons

Gary Oldman

Gary Sinise

 

If anyone has ever seen On the Waterfront, Brando can't be denied.

James Stewart was pretty bad ass in a couple of Hitchcock films.

 

Re: Cage...

 

He's had some really bad roles (as mentioned before), but I don't think that should be held against him. I like him a lot. Adaptation he did an amazing job playing two different characters (I mean, I really thought they were twins!). And he did a much better job than Travolta in Face/Off :lol

I was never really impressed by James Dean.

 

Rebel Without a Cause is just okay. And Giant, except for a few cool hat motions he makes, is worthless to me. Plus, he was just a Brando imitator. Like he used to watch Brando and try to act like he did (which would be fine if we're talking about craft, but he used to try and imitate Brando).

 

I know there's a story where Brando went to a party Dean was at. And Brando made this habit of taking of his jacket and throwing it on the floor. That was his thing and it meant Marlon was in the house. So, James Dean shows up, not knowing Brando is there. And he takes his jacket off and throws it on the floor. Brando sees, and has heard stories of Dean doing things that he himself was known for on sets and at parties, this and is like, "Hey, kid, you stole my bit." And Dean turns around, sees Brando and goes ghost white. He says something to the effect of, "I only did it because I'd heard you did." And Brando took him aside and gives him this kind of lecture, "Look, kid. You gotta' start doing your own thing. You can't just be trying to do the things I do all the time."

 

 

 

There's a better picture at a party in one of Brando's books, and it's just great because you see Marlon, probably drunk and yelling at the cameraman, and then off to the side you see Dean watching him, almost taking notes.

 

Anyways, too many people try to compare the two, but for money Dean was too much of an inward actor. Marlon was great at taking that inner emotion and expressing it in some way.

Val Kilmer hands down

 

Im sure you were being sarcastic, but he isnt even the best Batman ever lol

Thought I'd bring back this topic.

 

My picks are:

Brando

Daniel Day Lewis (AMAZING performance in My Left Foot)

Bill Murray

Robert De Niro

Dustin Hoffman

Harrison Ford

I really find it beyond difficult to label the "best" anything, but here are my two favorite contemporary actors:

 

- Kevin Spacey

Standout roles: The Usual Suspects, Swimming with Sharks, American Beauty

 

I don't know how many of you have seen "Swimming with Sharks", but I think it might be Spacey's best role. He plays a Hollywood bigwig producer, whose sole purpose seems to be making his assistants' lives miserable. The colassal prick that Spacey transforms himself into for this movie is astounding. His assistant is played by Frank Whaley, and together he and Spacey make one of the most underrated movies ever.

 

- Tom Hanks

Diversity is king with Hanks. He can play any character and make you forget that he's an actor. From lighthearted to coldblooded, from Josh Baskin in "Big" to Michael Sullivan in "Road to Perdition" to Andrew Beckett in "Philadelphia", he shows he's a case study in range.