August 17, 200718 yr Try not to throw big lists out I'll start the nominations with a few of my favorites: Ben Kingsley Albert Finney Sean Connery
August 17, 200718 yr Peter O'Toole Anthony Hopkins Michael Caine Daniel Day-Lewis Liam Neeson Christian Bale Russell Crowe
August 19, 200718 yr How about non-American actors who have potential to one day be on this list? 1) Clive Owen (almost there) 2) Johnathon Rhys-Meyers The critics all seem to point towards James McAvoy.
August 19, 200718 yr I won't take credit for the original idea although I absolutely agree with it but is Clive Owen much more then an incredible voice and dominant male looks? I like Clive - a lot, but I have to agree. No role of his that I have seen have I ever thought to be incredible or that he was perfect in the role. A case could be made for him in Closer but even then I still have the same thought. McAvoy absolutely should have been nominated for an oscar last year for supporting actor. To me he gave the best supporting performance too (no offense to Arkin). Hell, LKoS should have gone all Amadeus on the Academy and been nominated for two best actor awards in the same year. Will Smith could have gotten the boot. (Ken Watanabe should have been under strong consideration for a nomination as well and should have recieved one.) Cillian Murphy deserves to be on this list. See Breakfast on Pluto pronto (if you aren't a homophobe). I'll throw out an up and coming name: Daniel Bruhl, I've only seen him once playing the title role in Puig Antich but I was sold. I'm going to be following his career for sure. I've been meaning to see Good Bye Lenin! for years but haven't gotten around to it, he plays the lead in that film as well.
August 19, 200718 yr I'll throw out an up and coming name: Daniel Bruhl, I've only seen him once playing the title role in Puig Antich but I was sold. I'm going to be following his career for sure. I've been meaning to see Good Bye Lenin! for years but haven't gotten around to it, he plays the lead in that film as well. If you like Bruhl, definitely check out Good Bye Lenin. It's a great movie, and he's great in it.
August 19, 200718 yr Kingsley is great but Day-Lewis is just on another level from any other actor alive today and in the top handful in the history of acting on film as far as I am concerned. If you haven't seen My Left Foot see it as soon as you can. That performance is above and beyond any other performance I've ever seen it isn't funny. Then you throw in his performance in Gangs of New York where only Jimmy Stewart in '39 and Peter O'Toole in '62 can claim they were more screwed for not winning the best actor award (although I think Day-Lewis' performance is the best and ironically all three men lost to very very good performances [Donat, Peck, Brody respectively]). The thing that has always set Day-Lewis apart for me is he has done no stinkers. All his roles are extremely varied and since '89 every film he has appeared in has been very good and he has performances have all been best actor type of stuff. Several of the films he has been his performance has virtually been the movie, few actors can claim or handle that. Off the top of my head (and when it comes to Day-Lewis my head is pretty good :mischief ) his recent roles are: Man stricken with cerebal palsy White man integrated into a dying Indian tribe Rich 19th century lawyer Falsely accused prisoner 17th century farmer Boxer Racist Gang Leader Dying Scottish Father That is simply absurd. I'm not discounting or dismissing Sir Ben but Daniel Day-Lewis is just a cut above the rest in my mind. Any role he takes now is pretty much required viewing he has had no stinkers in role or movie in nearly two decades.
August 19, 200718 yr I'd choose him over his Closer co-star, Jude Law. Owen needs a couple more big hits (specifically ones that show his acting ability a bit more) for me to finally consider him a step above ordinary.
August 19, 200718 yr Concur on Ben Kingsley being #1. I have only seen him in one film, but was absolutely blown away by the performance of Ulrich Muhe in The Lives of Others. I would say he is one to watch in the future and his star was absolutely going to shine bright after this film, but tragically he died of stomach cancer last month.
December 17, 200718 yr Add my name to Christian Bale's fan list. He could not have been more perfect in Batman Begins. Think about that. He took a comic book superhero and delivered such a real and believable performance that it boggles the mind. When you take that performance and put it up against his work in The Machinist and American Psycho and The Prestige? Just an amazing body of work already.
December 17, 200718 yr I agree with all of the noms so far... I'd like to add someone like Eric Bana, but I just haven't seen him noteworthy in more than a couple of films. Also, Pierce Brosnan has had some great roles, but unfortunately I've also watched some of his putrid performances.
December 17, 200718 yr Add my name to Christian Bale's fan list. He could not have been more perfect in Batman Begins. Think about that. He took a comic book superhero and delivered such a real and believable performance that it boggles the mind. When you take that performance and put it up against his work in The Machinist and American Psycho and The Prestige? Just an amazing body of work already. His best work for me was Empire of the Sun. At 13. He should have been nominated for an Oscar that year.
December 19, 200718 yr Patrick Stewart>Ben Kingsley :stare Blasphemy. Ever watch Gandhi? Sexy Beast? Or just Star Trek and X-Men?
December 19, 200718 yr While I was thinking of Patrick Stewart and Ben Kingsly, these people popped into my mind. In no particular order: Orlando Bloom Sir Ian McKellan Sir Laurence Olivier Maggie Smith Helen Mirren Sir Richard Burton Peter O'Toole Hugh Jackman Chow Yun Fat and one to watch: Daniel Radcliffe. I know he's Harry Potter but, he's young and has gotten critical acclaim for the production of Equus he was in.
December 19, 200718 yr While I was thinking of Patrick Stewart and Ben Kingsly, these people popped into my mind. In no particular order: Orlando Bloom Sir Ian McKellan Sir Laurence Olivier Maggie Smith Helen Mirren Sir Richard Burton Peter O'Toole Hugh Jackman Chow Yun Fat and one to watch: Daniel Radcliffe. I know he's Harry Potter but, he's young and has gotten critical acclaim for the production of Equus he was in. Sorry to break the news to you but he's been dead longer than most of us on this forum have been alive.
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