Who is the best living actor? And why? (no lists!)

Da Shins Kelly

In your opinion?

Delta_Raven1

In terms of dedication, i'd go for Christian Bale. His appearence in "The Machinist" is unbelieveable in comparrison to his in "Batman Begins"

Black Swan

New Zealand born Russell Crowe. Some of his best films:

• Cinderella Man
• A Beautiful Mind
• LA Confidential
• Gladiator
• The Insider
• Master and Commander

This list demonstrates the diversity of roles that this actor can perform. Certainly he is not type-cast, given this diversity. From secluded researcher with mental problems to up-front commander that overcomes most adversities.

Jimmy Iovine

Blue_Lagoon wrote: »

New Zealand born Russell Crowe. Some of his best films:

• Cinderella Man
• A Beautiful Mind
• LA Confidential
• Gladiator
• The Insider
• Master and Commander

Cinderella Man is an incredible film. Great performance from Crowe in it.

A Beautiful Mind remains one of my all time favourite films

KerranJast

Daniel Day Lewis or Leonardo Di Caprio IMO. They've made some unreal films over the last few years.

DazMarz

List thread coming up... these things make the Film Forum mods cry!!!

but...

for me:

Michael Sheen:

a brilliant actor in any role that he plays. Has made something of a name for himself for playing 'real-life' roles (Tony Blair, David Frost, Brian Clough etc.) but has also excelled in any role from the White Rabbit to a werewolf. I think he is one of the most underrated actors going, although he is now starting to get some recognition and becoming much more recognised.

Robert deNiro:

an obvious candidate. Pretty much defines 'method acting' at times. Some of his film roles are now more iconic that the films themselves: Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, Jake LaMotta (to play the aged Jake, he gained a huge amount of weight deliberately instead of wearing a fat-suit) from Raging Bull, a young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, Sam 'Ace' Rothstein in Casino, etc. Has been mildly criticised in recent times for some roles, but from his heyday until now, he has still had some very, very good roles (though not up to his highest standards). These roles include his turns in Heat, Meet The Parents, etc.

bnt

Over the years I've been very impressed by Sir Ian Holm, who's at home in everything from Shakespeare to Science Fiction. He's best known these days as Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings, but his career spans over fifty years and includes Alien, The Sweet Hereafter, Lord of War, Brazil, The Fifth Element, and even Ratatouille. He's the very opposite of a scenery-chewer; always does just enough for the scene, never grandstanding unless the role calls for it.

Theboinkmaster

KerranJast wrote: »

Daniel Day Lewis or Leonardo Di Caprio IMO. They've made some unreal films over the last few years.

I think Di Caprio is brilliant, if you look at his body of work it's hard to believe he's so young.

This generations de niro/pacino IMO

mikemac

He's certainly not there yet but he is young and has an amazing future ahead of him

Michael Sheen

In a decade he might be on the list

But for now, I second Meryl Streep

Juwwi

Di Caprio isnt in the same league as Robert de Niro imo.

Sad Professor

Posts consisting of just a name or boring lists will be deleted. Explain why you think this actor is the best.

don ramo

robbie1977 wrote: »

Di Caprio isnt in the same league as Robert de Niro imo.

i wouldnt say that at all, De Niro has had great roles as has di caprio, both have had some shockings ones also, most people just think of the fact that De Niro has much larger body of work compared to Di Caprio, i think Di Caprio is the most likey actor today to match the body and quality of work deniro has done in his career,

other great living actors would be russel crowe, tom hanks, mel gibson, hilary swank, dustin hoffman, clint eastwood, forest witaker, robin williams, will smith, helen mirren, kate wnslet, cate blancett, kevin spacy, jack nicholson,

it goes on and on, i rememer reading an article a few months back about what actors earn in film, the average was something like E300k, the article stated that theres probably a hollywood elite of 50 actors that can pretty much demand what they like, and id say half of them could be considered best living actors, them plus the one that have retired, ones that do projects more personal to themselfs, or moved behind the camera,

to bad Daniel Day Lewis puts all to shame, , from my left foot to gangs of new york, and there will be blood, how many actors can you honestly say put themselfs so into there work, he probably doesnt have nearly enough roles on his resume as he should, but what is there is quailty pure and simple,

Ullrich

I would go with Christian Bale as well. He is a true and devoted actor so far from anyone I else. He is not stucked with one role as for exampel Russel Crowe. It feels like he is himself in every movie just because we have only seen this side of him.

MagicMarker

Ullrich wrote: »

I would go with Christian Bale as well. He is a true and devoted actor so far from anyone I else. He is not stucked with one role as for exampel Russel Crowe. It feels like he is himself in every movie just because we have only seen this side of him.

Batman?

Bale is probably my favourite actor but he needs to give the superhero a rest and get stuck in to more serious roles a la The Machinist and American Psycho. Hopefully he will show us again what he's made of in The Fighter.

JP Liz V1

For actor I would it is between Day Lewis (he doesnt act very often but when he does he is brillant on screen and it usually is talked about for many years), De Niro (lately his roles have been more comedic performances which he does well but he has some turkeys but overall the good out way the bad for me in his roles) or Eastwood (more known as a top class director but when he does act on screen which is not often he portrayals are flawless) and for actress it has to be Streep (no one comes close to her even after all she has the most Oscar nominations of any actor or actress, can pull off any role drama, comedy and even musical)

I think the likes of Gosling, Di Caprio, Bale, Norton and Phoenix have the potential to join these ranks one day not yet imo

Cattleforker

Meryl Streep,
Appart from her longevity, i would say she is pretty versatile and always carries a very strong, physical presence through her acting.

ziedth

I second Christian Bale too,

I'd have to say I have never seen him in a film when I was at the very least impressed by him and at best blown away.

Having said that, hard to not pick Crowe,Day Lewis or Di Caprio either. They all have top top films under their belts.

I also have really like Anthony Hopkins over the years.

I exclude Pacino and De Niro (even though both in their day are two of my all time favourites) for the very sad reason that that niether of them have been in a good film for some time.

krudler

robbie1977 wrote: »

Di Caprio isnt in the same league as Robert de Niro imo.

De Niro hasnt made a really good film since Heat, thats 15 years ago, DiCaprios body of work in the last decade as been outstanding, I still think he was robbed of an Oscar for The Aviator, his best performance by far.

Dots1982

John malkovich because he's the best At playing a villain. See conair and especially in the line of fire.

Reganio 2

Crazy to think Leonardo Di Caprio is only 36, it seems like he has been around years and some very memorable films as well, its hard to look past him for at the very least top 3.

From an Irish perspective Colin Farrell could be an inclusion in a few years if he stays away from the Celebrity lifestyle that he seems to enjoy. Phonebooth is an amazing film and its all down the Farrell's acting, that movie should stink to high heaven's and be incredibly boring, its a bloke trapped in a phone booth for 2 hours what's so good about that, but his acting just captivates you. In Bruges is possibly my favourite film ever, Intermission is up there as well.

Brendan Gleeson is a favourite actor of mine as well but he usually takes a back seat role rather than be the main star.

Klingon Hamlet

At the moment, the greatest actor out there would be Billy Bob Thornton. Reason being, he's one of the few odern-day actors out there who can completely shed his own personality and take on his character's. As a person he is eccentric and a bit of a cowboy, but consider some of his most famous roles:

Sling Blade---unrecognizable as the mentally challenged brute of a man with a heart of gold. Shuffles about with kindness and anger all rolled into one.

Pushing Tin---bit of a yee-haa, could kick your ass, hippy and laidback but with a crazy streak.

A Simple Plan---again not the full shilling. major worrier, huge inferiority complex, but also very gentle and ultimately prone to taking on everyone else's guilt. A pawn in a horrible game, dragged along without really understanding the consequences. My heart broke with this character.

Armageddon---disciplined and direct, strong leader, totally capable of running NASA with his hands behind his back.

Bandits---meek, compassionate, romantic, and shy.

The Astronaut Farmer---a dreamer with a genius' brain. Likeable but irritatingly stubborn in his pursuit of a life-threatening accomplishment. Family man but a little self-orientated.

All these characters and more really stood out as unique and distinct. Note how he's starred in 3 films with Bruce Willis, and each encounter he's had a completely different personality and interaction, it's fascinating actually. He doesn't show up in anything of much quality these days but I guarantee he'll headline an Oscar-winner again.

A future best living actor in time willbe Tom Hardy, without doubt. The man is even more chamelonic than BBT. His first major role was in the stinker Star Trek Nemesis, but he still hammed it up quite well and brought a little juice to an otherwise dry final outing for Picard and co. He brought menace and pathos to an underwritten, poorly formulated villain.

Bronson is one where he pulls out all the stops. Always on the verge of violence, he inhabits the role much like Eric Bana took on Chopper. He electrifies with his stage-y, one-on-one scenes and steals the entire film, as he rightly should.

Inception went from excellent to superb thanks to his under-used, intriguing character Eames. He broguth quick wit and a calculation to his mercenary/forger role that immediately turned this into something better than Ocean's Eleven meets Shutter Island. His Bond action scenes around and upon the Fortress Hospital are exciting but it's his barbed banter with Arthur that won me over---seemed there was a bit of their real chemistry kicking in.

I hope that if Mad Max: Fury Road ever takes place, he's given the chance to become a superstar in his own right, and not just based on a revived franchise.

seiphil

Daniel Day Lewis I believe is the greatest actor of our generation. His performances are so believeable and I find I get a better understanding of the character with him at the helm.

Reckon he will pick up his 3rd oscar for the Film Lincoln when it comes out.

You just know he will deliver an amazing performance.

MagicMarker

I think in a few years time Cillian Murphy will be up there too. Just needs the right role!

the whole year inn

I agree with most posts here about leo and lewis,but I think Gary Oldman should be menitoned,he is a great actor and very Im very impressed when I see him.

On a side note DiCaprio as been around for years,he was a child actor I didnt see 'Basketball Diaries' mentioned,savage stuff.

crazygeryy

jeff bridges is climbing the ladder rapidly as a great actor.and my pick would be edward norton hes excellent.and i agree with the above.billy bob thornton.so hard to pick just one.

pasta-solo

Vincent Cassell at his best is incredible, his intensity is often terrifying! Looking forward to seeing him in Black Swan, I've not seen him in a really good english language role yet.

Bog

Paddy Considine.

He mightn't have reached the heights of others mentioned so far (Bale, Di Caprio, Lewis..) but for me he has been the single stand out factor of any film he has starred in to date. I would go to to see a film with him purely based on his involvement and his turn as Richard in Dead Man's Shoes was a tour de force.

Bog

pasta-solo wrote: »

Vincent Cassell at his best is incredible, his intensity is often terrifying! Looking forward to seeing him in Black Swan, I've not seen him in a really good english language role yet.

Good call. One of the greatest living actors, and he's married to Monica Belluci. Grrr..

pasta-solo

Bog wrote: »

Good call. One of the greatest living actors, and he's married to Monica Belluci. Grrr..

Yeah, but he's French....

Rabidlamb

It was, it is & forever will be Daniel Day Lewis.
He just outshines everyone next to him on the screen.

Honourable mentions to Anthony Hopkins, Meryl Streep & Jeff Bridges.

X-Calibre

Woah, no mention of Sean Penn yet.

He has to be the greatest living actor for me. He just completely inhabits every role he plays. I rarely find myself watching Sean Penn, always the character. His range is unbelievable as well - such emotional depth. A few examples that come to mind are

Carlito's Way where he plays a completely hyper coked up lawyer.

Dead Man Walking where he plays this uneducated paranoid murderer who we completely sympathise with

Milk where he completely transforms to play this loveable homosexual politician.

I could go on for pages talking about his films but I won't. I just recommend everyone to watch all his films. Even the one's that aren't as highly rated as others, his performance is usually the best thing about them (Assasination of Richard Nixon, I Am Sam, Sweet and Lowdown)

I will also give a special mention to Daniel Day Lewis who I love probably equally but who's been mentioned a few times already.

the whole year inn

Matt Damon will surly be in the running in the next few years,can play serious to comidic roles with ease.

SirDelboy18

X-Calibre wrote: »

Woah, no mention of Sean Penn yet.

He has to be the greatest living actor for me. He just completely inhabits every role he plays. I rarely find myself watching Sean Penn, always the character. His range is unbelievable as well - such emotional depth. A few examples that come to mind are

Carlito's Way where he plays a completely hyper coked up lawyer.

Dead Man Walking where he plays this uneducated paranoid murderer who we completely sympathise with

Milk where he completely transforms to play this loveable homosexual politician.

I could go on for pages talking about his films but I won't. I just recommend everyone to watch all his films. Even the one's that aren't as highly rated as others, his performance is usually the best thing about them (Assasination of Richard Nixon, I Am Sam, Sweet and Lowdown)

I will also give a special mention to Daniel Day Lewis who I love probably equally but who's been mentioned a few times already.

Completely agree. Finest of his generation without question in my opinion. Dead Man Walking was mesmeric, simply because of his performance. Mystic River was one of the finest performances given in the past decade AT LEAST

I Am Sam, Sweet and Lowdown and 21 Grams are further examples of his talents.

He is also a fantastic writer - Into the Wild

Bodhidharma

Why has no one mentioned Jack Nicholson?

In my opinion there are three actors who could be described as the greatest living actor, they are Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson.

I recently rewatched The Shining and The Departed and About Schmidt and I challenge anyone to say that they do not feature some of the greatest acting you could imagine.

Having said that I also rewatched Heat and you could argue for Pacino and De Niro.

I think in terms of quality Pacino has probably made the best films, De Niro has given the best performances and Nicholson has been the more consistent as of late.

As regards some of the other names on the list - Sean Penn and Matt Damon??? Are you serious?

Di Caprio is a good actor, not brilliant. I find he plays himself a lot.Just because he gets offered the best movies from the best directors that does not necessarily mean he's the best actor.

For me Daniel Day Lewis is the actor I would choose if I had a challenging role to cast. He becomes the character, and very few actors do that.

In short, my answer is Pacino, purely on the basis of his CV, but Nicholson and De Niro are only a hairs breadth behind.

thebullkf

Di Caprio for his Sheer varied career, Playing a Junkie,Handicapped Child,Fraudster,Diamond Seeker,gangster, etc..

hasn't made a bad film.

A close second would be Bale/Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

thebullkf

Bodhidharma wrote: »

Why has no one mentioned Jack Nicholson?

In my opinion there are three actors who could be described as the greatest living actor, they are Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson.

I recently rewatched The Shining and The Departed and About Schmidt and I challenge anyone to say that they do not feature some of the greatest acting you could imagine.

Having said that I also rewatched Heat and you could argue for Pacino and De Niro.

I think in terms of quality Pacino has probably made the best films, De Niro has given the best performances and Nicholson has been the more consistent as of late.

As regards some of the other names on the list - Sean Penn and Matt Damon??? Are you serious?

Di Caprio is a good actor, not brilliant. I find he plays himself a lot.Just because he gets offered the best movies from the best directors that does not necessarily mean he's the best actor.

For me Daniel Day Lewis is the actor I would choose if I had a challenging role to cast. He becomes the character, and very few actors do that.

In short, my answer is Pacino, purely on the basis of his CV, but Nicholson and De Niro are only a hairs breadth behind.

i was basing my answer on current actors and current films....if you wanna go back,sure you're list is just as valid..but what about brando?...Poitier,Mitchum,Lee MArvin,Eastwood,Spencer Tracy,.....list is endless.
Day lewis i actually forgot about:o


if you want best actor for an entire career then John Cazale gets my vote.... During his six-year film career he appeared in five films, each of which was nominated for an Oscar for best picture.... he had cancer making the deer hunter,still he soldiered on.

CL7

De Niro because all the drab he starred in in the last 10 years or so doesn't take away from his performances in Taxi Driver, The Dear Hunter,Raging Bull etc.

Dicaprio get better with every film though so I think he will eventually overtake him.

Bodhidharma

thebullkf wrote: »

i was basing my answer on current actors and current films....if you wanna go back,sure you're list is just as valid..but what about brando?...Poitier,Mitchum,Lee MArvin,Eastwood,Spencer Tracy,.....list is endless.
Day lewis i actually forgot about:o


if you want best actor for an entire career then John Cazale gets my vote.... During his six-year film career he appeared in five films, each of which was nominated for an Oscar for best picture.... he had cancer making the deer hunter,still he soldiered on.

As far as I'm aware Pacino, De Niro and Nicholson are all alive and still making movies.

I agree with Cazale. I actually started a thread about him on here a month ago. Very interesting career. There's a documentary about him called 'I knew it was you' featuring Pacino, Streep, Hackman and De Niro talking about how great he was. Good show

don ramo

there is no deffinative answear to this question, you cant vote on it, and can argue till the cows come home, but there is no one deffinative actor that doesnt have at least one rival that they cannot be seperated from,

try seperating day lewis in my left foot, and de niro in raging bull, stellar performances, and if both got released together and nominated for oscars youd have to cut the statue in half,

or charlize theron in monster, and kathy bates in misery, both are not considered great actors, but were stellar in these films, but all it takes is one great performance to make a career, now both those actresses are nowhere near the top of a list of this sorts, but at the same time if you were picking great performaces in film id say both would be on that list,

how do you define a great actor, de niro has a list of great films, but has a list also of very sub-par films(82 in all), should one cancel out the other, day lewis has a short list of films but great films (20 in all), if you cut down the percentages day lewis will possibly come out on top of great performers, but it would be criminal to not have de niro next to him for what he has done,

thats just two actors, add another 20 living actors into the mix and have fun:D

Bullettooth

Robert de Niro for me he can play an character well

krudler

Bodhidharma wrote: »

Why has no one mentioned Jack Nicholson?

In my opinion there are three actors who could be described as the greatest living actor, they are Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson.

I recently rewatched The Shining and The Departed and About Schmidt and I challenge anyone to say that they do not feature some of the greatest acting you could imagine.

Having said that I also rewatched Heat and you could argue for Pacino and De Niro.

I think in terms of quality Pacino has probably made the best films, De Niro has given the best performances and Nicholson has been the more consistent as of late.

As regards some of the other names on the list - Sean Penn and Matt Damon??? Are you serious?

Di Caprio is a good actor, not brilliant. I find he plays himself a lot.Just because he gets offered the best movies from the best directors that does not necessarily mean he's the best actor.

For me Daniel Day Lewis is the actor I would choose if I had a challenging role to cast. He becomes the character, and very few actors do that.

In short, my answer is Pacino, purely on the basis of his CV, but Nicholson and De Niro are only a hairs breadth behind.

Nicholson was brutal in the Departed, hes been just playing himself for years.

don ramo

krudler wrote: »

Nicholson was brutal in the Departed, hes been just playing himself for years.

maybe so, but he has proven he is a great actor,

macquarie

Can't believe no-one has mentioned brad pitt yet!

Fight club, Se7en, 12 monkeys, benjamin button, inglourious basterds, etc great performances in all those to name a few. Even his lighter roles like meet joe black, mr + mrs smith, oceans 11/12/13 were great.

krudler

macquarie wrote: »

Can't believe no-one has mentioned brad pitt yet!

Fight club, Se7en, 12 monkeys, benjamin button, inglourious basterds, etc great performances in all those to name a few. Even his lighter roles like meet joe black, mr + mrs smith, oceans 11/12/13 were great.

Pitt gets a lot of stick but hes one of the most solid actors around, he can do comedic roles like Burn After Reading, and sombre ones like Jesse James. Plus he seems like a really nice guy, and funny too in any of the commentaries I've ever listened to with him.

NickDrake

DI Caprio?? Oh dear god. He plays the same part in EVERY film.

how can people find him the best living actor?

Absolute madness. He is one character

ricero

id say the best is de neiro even though hes gone lazy in the last decade.

best newcomer to hollywood fame who i think will be a huge star and most of his work to date is outstanding is tom hardy amazing actor.

also notable mentions to di caprio and christian bale

titan18

While actors like De Niro,Pacino,Day Lewis etc are all good choices, I think the best is Michael Caine.

He has a huge body of work and it's remarkable in that he has managed to turn in strong performances over the decades.Unlike De Niro and Pacino who have waned a little over the last few years,Caine hasn't.

From his early days of Zulu,Ipcress File and Alfie to The Cider House Rules and The Quiet American more recently, he has turned in award-winning performances with impressive regularity.

He has appeared in some duds(The Swarm ) alright, but the majority of his films have been great and he has put in strong performances.He has also worked with some of the best directors and actors around over the years.His earlier work with actors like Laurence Olivier and Sean Connery, and directors like John Huston, and of course the ridiculous cast put together for A Bridge Too Far, and then his later work appearing in several of Chris Nolan's films(Batman Begins,The Dark Knight,The Prestige and Inception) and through those working with DiCaprio,Bale etc.He also put in a fantastic performance in Harry Brown and where he really rolled back the years to his earlier performances.


Just thought I'd mention him considering there were a lot worse actors being mentioned ahead of him imo.

Also,Tom Hanks and Dustin Hoffman deserve to be included,along with the likes of Pacino,De Niro,Day-Lewis,Di Caprio etc

don ramo

NickDrake wrote: »

DI Caprio?? Oh dear god. He plays the same part in EVERY film.

how can people find him the best living actor?

Absolute madness. He is one character

he must still be a 12 year old fighting with de niro,

i wouldnt consider him top but he wouldnt be far off, he was great in the aviator, inception, catch me if you can, and gangs of new york, you consider howard hughes an eccentric multi millionare, is the same as frank abignale and 19 year old runaway that went on to be to become a renowned forger,

i think people biggest problem with di caprio is his age, most actors wouldnt have 2 great role by the time there 50, never mind 30,

py2006

In modern times I would have to go with DiCaprio and Day Lewis. The obvious two are DeNiro and Pacino but they are well passed it now.

I think Titanic was a mistake for DiCaprio and alot of people think "Titanic" when they hear his name. Therefore excluding him as a top actor. That movie could have destroyed his career. He could have done a string of girlie, romantic movies after that and made a fortune. But he was clever in his choice of movies after that. For those who don't rate him as an actor I suggest you take a look at:

This Boys Life
The Basketball Diaries
The Aviator

irishh_bob

titan18 wrote: »

While actors like De Niro,Pacino,Day Lewis etc are all good choices, I think the best is Michael Caine.

He has a huge body of work and it's remarkable in that he has managed to turn in strong performances over the decades.Unlike De Niro and Pacino who have waned a little over the last few years,Caine hasn't.

From his early days of Zulu,Ipcress File and Alfie to The Cider House Rules and The Quiet American more recently, he has turned in award-winning performances with impressive regularity.

He has appeared in some duds(The Swarm ) alright, but the majority of his films have been great and he has put in strong performances.He has also worked with some of the best directors and actors around over the years.His earlier work with actors like Laurence Olivier and Sean Connery, and directors like John Huston, and of course the ridiculous cast put together for A Bridge Too Far, and then his later work appearing in several of Chris Nolan's films(Batman Begins,The Dark Knight,The Prestige and Inception) and through those working with DiCaprio,Bale etc.He also put in a fantastic performance in Harry Brown and where he really rolled back the years to his earlier performances.


Just thought I'd mention him considering there were a lot worse actors being mentioned ahead of him imo.

Also,Tom Hanks and Dustin Hoffman deserve to be included,along with the likes of Pacino,De Niro,Day-Lewis,Di Caprio etc

michael caine like jack nicholson or john wayne , plays himself in every film

x Purple Pawprints x

Great thread OP. I agree with a lot of the actors people have said so far but I can't believe Jim Carrey hasn't been mentioned yet. Obviously he's a brilliant comedy actor (Ace Ventura, Yes Man, Bruce Almighty) but he's very good in more dramatic roles as well. The Number 23, The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Cable Guy and I Love You Philip Morris are all really really good films.

I'm also a huge fan of Will Smith. He's an really great actor and he's had a few different types of roles. He's been in some really huge films. Independence Day is still one of my favourite films even though it's not a great film, I love it and I actually know it by heart I watched it so much when I was younger. Seven Pounds was an excellent film as well along with The Pursuit of Happyness, Hitch and I Am Legend.

Other actors I do like: Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, Stay, Fracture, Remember the Titans), Shia LaBoeuf (Disturbia), Leonardo Di Caprio (Inception, Shutter Island, Titanic, ).