Best Actor of the modern era?

Mysterypunter · 09-07-2020 1:44am

Deleted User wrote: »

Really? Why don't you like films?

Didn't say I don't like them, I just don't watch many. Someone mentioned Michael Kenneth Williams who was Omar in The Wire, he is in a Netflix film, the Red Sea diving resort, I watched that and enjoyed it. I do watch a bit of TV, but mainly documentaries, and not many films.

jazz_jazz · 09-07-2020 8:19am

Anthony Hopkins
Judi Dench
Maggie Smith
Edward Norton
Gary Oldman
Emma Thompson
Tom Hardy

All excellent actors

Eduard Khil · 09-07-2020 10:51am

Maybe consider some of these points in thinking about your choice.

Box Office draw, ability to coexist with fellow cast members and the director, acting talent, can they be both a hero and villain. Do they fit the personality of a certain type of role. Are they good looking or god awful.

I Am Nobody · 09-07-2020 3:16pm

Jeff Bridges,has some great film roles.

Montage of Feck · 09-07-2020 3:44pm

Ed Norton was in some great movies but sort of disappeared after doing the hulk.

chopperbyrne · 09-07-2020 6:13pm

From the 60's until now is very long period to choose from.

Jamie Foxx is very talented.

ShatterAlan · 09-07-2020 6:49pm

castletownman wrote: »

Just on your point about an actor's versatility, tell that to the 'woke' brigade.

There is no way Day Lewis would be allowed play Christy Brown today.

They'd probably have a problem with Hoffman in Rain Man and De Niro in Awakenings too

ShatterAlan · 09-07-2020 7:05pm

jazz_jazz wrote: »

Anthony Hopkins
Judi Dench
Maggie Smith
Edward Norton
Gary Oldman
Emma Thompson
Tom Hardy

All excellent actors

She is just brilliant

Sheridan81 · 09-07-2020 7:17pm

O.J. Simpson

Limpy · 09-07-2020 7:18pm

Fr Ted

Effects · 09-07-2020 7:34pm

castletownman wrote: »

There is no way Day Lewis would be allowed play Christy Brown today.

Who would play him instead?

AMGer · 09-07-2020 7:36pm

Daniel Day Lewis, and by some distance

Sheridan81 · 09-07-2020 7:52pm

Effects wrote: »

Who would play him instead?

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

AMGer wrote: »

Daniel Day Lewis, and by some distance

It's not a race.

Eduard Khil · 09-07-2020 8:11pm

ShatterAlan wrote: »

They'd probably have a problem with Hoffman in Rain Man and De Niro in Awakenings too

Leonardo DiCaprio should have won an Oscar for Arnie Grape

KaneToad · 09-07-2020 8:15pm

Ray McAnally

RandomViewer · 09-07-2020 8:56pm

Effects wrote: »

Who would play him instead?

That Paddy guy who does the fashion thing

RandomViewer · 09-07-2020 9:00pm

Jason Statham ,

RandomViewer · 09-07-2020 9:05pm

byronbay2 wrote: »

I’m surprised there are so many different actors being proposed as the best. For me, one actor is well ahead of the rest and that is Marlon Brando. He brought method acting into the mainstream and the intensity/passion he brought to his roles is unsurpassed.

His greatest roles for me were in On The Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Godfather but The Wild One and Last Tango in Paris would be in any other actor’s Top 3. Even his cameo in Apocalypse Now (greatest movie ever made) is exquisite!

He was MILES ahead of his time in the causes he supported (the environment, black civil rights, justice for native Americans) and was willing to risk opprobrium to promote these issues. This is irrelevant to his acting ability, of course, but I thought it should be mentioned.

From that era I would put Paul Newman and Burt Lancaster ahead of Brando,

RandomViewer · 09-07-2020 9:08pm

Seriously Walter Matthau was probably the best actor from the sixties until the eighties, Charley Varrick a masterpiece

ExMachina1000 · 09-07-2020 9:09pm

RandomViewer wrote: »

Seriously Walter Matthau was probably the best actor from the sixties until the eighties, Charley Varrick a masterpiece

I don't actually know who or what any of those things or people are

09-07-2020 9:14pm

I hate doing best or worst at things like this. Acting is too complex and nuanced to pick one.

But two people have mentioned Brendan Gleeson already and I have to say that whether he is playing a wizard or a cop or anything else - I become instantly emotionally invested in any character he plays. I am not sure what he has going on that does that to me - but what ever "it" is he has "it" in spades. It's not a Patrick Stewart kind of confidence or a Robert Downing Jr. charisma. There is something else going on with Gleeson that I can not put a finger on and it's powerful.

I love great actors that pop up in weird places though. Not the "best" actors or anything - just people who got a part and made it shine. My friends on a dare have me watching every episodes of the TVs shows in the "arrowverse" at the moment. And the actor Paul Blackthorne who plays "Quentin Lance" just shines. It does not matter how good or bad the other actors are - he just controls the screen when he is on it. And I love actors like that.

I guess the word I am looking for is "believable". Whenever you watch acting you have to help the actor by suspending your disbelief. But some actors you just _believe_ them from the get go and you do not have to work with them to make that happen.

Rodney Bathgate · 09-07-2020 9:17pm

KaneToad wrote: »

Ray McAnally

I enjoyed ‘A Very British Coup‘, also remember him from ‘A Perfect Spy’.

I hadn’t realised that he was Irish and father of Ray. D’oh!

I see he was in a few other files I have seen (The Fourth Protocol, The Looking Glass War) but don’t remember him in them.

RandomViewer · 09-07-2020 9:22pm

ExMachina1000 wrote: »

I don't actually know who or what any of those things or people are

Look it up, he cameos as the drunk in Earthquake if that helps

RandomViewer · 09-07-2020 9:23pm

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

I enjoyed ‘A Very British Coup‘, also remember him from ‘A Perfect Spy’.

I hadn’t realised that he was Irish and father of Ray. D’oh!

I see he was in a few other files I have seen (The Fourth Protocol, The Looking Glass War) but don’t remember him in them.

From Buncrana

Capt'n Midnight · 09-07-2020 9:53pm

RandomViewer wrote: »

Jason Statham ,

Top Tip
Don't waste your time watching a Jason film where he doesn't drive fast and kick ass.

He's one of the last action hero actors who hasn't done comedy, because that rarely works out well.

Capt'n Midnight · 09-07-2020 9:55pm

Calculon: Lies! I change my identity and upgrade my appearance every few decades to avoid suspicion. I was all of history's great acting Robots: Acting Unit 0.8, Thespo-mat, David Duchovny!

trashcan · 10-07-2020 11:17pm

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Top Tip
Don't waste your time watching a Jason film where he doesn't drive fast and kick ass..

There are no such films, are there ?

Capt'n Midnight · 10-07-2020 11:26pm

trashcan wrote: »

There are no such films, are there ?

too many

These are some of the better ones
The Bank Job (2008)
The Mechanic (2011)
Killer Elite (2011)

Bobblehats · 10-07-2020 11:33pm

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Top Tip
Don't waste your time watching a Jason film where he doesn't drive fast and kick ass.

He's one of the last action hero actors who hasn't done comedy, because that rarely works out well.

And don’t watch a pop video where he doesn’t gyrate suggestively whilst oiled up in leopard print briefs?

daretodream · 10-07-2020 11:34pm

Brad Pitt

Bobblehats · 10-07-2020 11:38pm

Channing Tatum.

Capt'n Midnight · 10-07-2020 11:43pm

Bobblehats wrote: »

And don’t watch a pop video where he doesn’t gyrate suggestively whilst oiled up in leopard print briefs?

Christopher Walken was great in Weapon Of Choice.

Like James Cagney he could dance or play the dangerous psychopath.

Bobblehats · 11-07-2020 12:19am

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Like James Cagney he could dance or play the dangerous psychopath.

There was definitely psychotropes involved. Would he put his past up for ‘erasure’ I wonder. Yes I’ll dwell on that, as I drift off to sleep...

Kylta · 11-07-2020 10:02am

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

too many

These are some of the better ones
The Bank Job (2008)
The Mechanic (2011)
Killer Elite (2011)

True but he should change his direction into comedy, he is actually very good in Spy. But he is not one of the best actors in the modern era by a long shot, and I actually like watching his movies.

sunshinew · 11-07-2020 10:44am

Meryl Streep has been barely mentioned here considering she's been nominated for 21 Oscars.

Toni Collette has pulled out some great performances too.

Stephen Graham is a wonder... The virtues floored me.

Kylta · 11-07-2020 11:42am

sunshinew wrote: »

Meryl Streep has been barely mentioned here considering she's been nominated for 21 Oscars.

Toni Collette has pulled out some great performances too.

Stephen Graham is a wonder... The virtues floored me.

Good pick there, Collette is top class

Be right back · 11-07-2020 12:50pm

sunshinew wrote: »

Meryl Streep has been barely mentioned here considering she's been nominated for 21 Oscars.

Toni Collette has pulled out some great performances too.

Stephen Graham is a wonder... The virtues floored me.

He's very good in Little boy blue too.

Galwayguy35 · 11-07-2020 9:00pm

Arghus wrote: »

I can understand that, to an extent, there aren't many films that he's appeared in that would qualify as easy entertainment. Personally, I think he's great in just about everything. If I was to recommend any of his films for pure entertainment I'd say Last of The Mochians or maybe even Lincoln.

I could never get tired of watching Last of the Mochicans.

Wes Studi was the star of that movie IMO.

Galwayguy35 · 11-07-2020 9:09pm

Watched 12 years a slave the other night, Chiwetel Ejiofor was very good in it.

Was in hard luck that he lost out on the oscar to that normally useless sap McConaughey who actually deserved it as well that year.

I Am Nobody · 11-07-2020 9:29pm

I throw in Peter Sellers and Bill Bixby

The Princess Bride · 11-07-2020 9:35pm

Julianne Moore, Frances McDormand.
Sarah Lancashire is brilliant too.

Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Douglas, Sean Penn and Ed Norton.

RandomViewer · 11-07-2020 9:38pm

Steve Mc Queen and Bob Hoskins

timthumbni · 11-07-2020 10:00pm

billyhead wrote: »

The actor from the Green Book is good. Marshala Ali. Not sure if the spelling is correct

He is good but he isn’t even the best actor in that movie imo. Viggo Mortenson was great as Tony Lip and has been great in a number of roles.
Eastern promises, A History of Violence, Captain Fantastic, The Road come to mind.

For you movie trivia buffs, the real life bouncer character Tony Lip that Viggo played in Green Book actually done a bit of acting himself. He was the old Mafia guy Carmine, who was the head of the New York/New Jersey gangs in The Sopranos and also small roles in goodfellas and Donnie brasco.