Who do you think the greatest living Actor is thesedays?

CO_Kid said:
I may be off the beaten path with this, but I think that the best actor in terms of acting ability and versatility is Jeff Daniels. He pulled off being a complete goof in Dumb and Dumber, was the creepy killer in Blood Work, and was a war hero as Col. Chamberlain, and a bunch of things in between.

As far as big names, I think Tom Hanks is also very good and versatile.

As much as I enjoy Clint Eastwood and John Wayne movies, they are/were usually typecast.
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I thought Jeff Daniels was good. I think John Lithgow is very good as well:
harry-hendersons-movie1.jpg
 
Road Rat said:
There are still a few "great actors" out there working today.

I had to read way down in this posting to find one of the best of all time: Gene Hackman - - - the man has range of characters he has played . . . almost as good as Jimmy Stewart was!!!

And, yep, Eastwood has been entertaining the people since Rowdy Yates was a pup............

Ned Beatty is another wide ranging actor............always enjoy his outings!

Let us not forget our brothers on the other side of the street:

Denzel Washington.............now, he is good.
Cuba Gooding JR.................has a great range
Will Smith..........................a very large surprise winner
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Good choices. Cuba Gooding is my favorite of the three.
 
TOUGH CHOICE

He may likely still be unheard of. Lot's of good actors make some stinkers, & there a tons of great actors to choose from already mentioned, (Brando still alive?) A lot of the performance is determined by a combined effort of cast/crew & writers material & a director that can bring the skill into focus. Largely a matter of opinion also.
 
hangnoose said:
He may likely still be unheard of. Lot's of good actors make some stinkers, & there a tons of great actors to choose from already mentioned, (Brando still alive?) A lot of the performance is determined by a combined effort of cast/crew & writers material & a director that can bring the skill into focus. Largely a matter of opinion also.
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Brando passed away on July 1st, 2004 unfortunately.
 
Just my opinion...With rare exceptions I think the part can make the actor...Exceptions I guess would be John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Sir Richard Burton etc; In most cases the part is so in tune with a specific actor it becomes great due to the connection between the actor and the part. Examples could be in my limited opinion would be..Russel Crow as the Gladiator.Along with Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus, Robert Duval as Ned Pepper, The little bad guy that played Crow's henchman in the remake of 3:10 to Yuma, (a super bad guy) Those parts made the actor, due to the great fit of character.Good acting and great type casting...One that I admit I didn't know who he was the guy who played the turn coat in Heat (Kevin Gage), with Duval and Di nero . No slouches in their own right.....Great casting makes great actors....In my opinion the casting of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector was pure genius. How could have anybody played that creepy role any better? When a actor makes you believe, that then is a great actor or a great part in some cases both...Heck just my opinion!
 
There all great choices here.

It's what roles they were casted in at what time. This could boost there career or break it. Some surely got on the right bus headed for stardom.
There were lots of stars with class in the old days. Plus the press isn't like it was then like it its today. The press can break a star by too much bad coverage too. Look at Lindsey Lohan. The press should have limits put on them. I wouldn't want the press to follow me 24/7. The stars have a limited personal life. Some live in seclusion. That's sad.
I'm glad I'm no star.
 
Sean Connery
Liam Neeson
Tom Hanks is extremely versatile. From all his comedy to "Philadelphia" he has been impressive.

and a young kid who I like is:
Ryan Gosling - he played opposite Anthony Hopkins in Fracture and was outstanding.
 
Texas Star said:
It depends on the role. Liam Neeson is very good in both his action movies like, "Taken" and in erotic thrllers like, "Chloe."
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Neeson was brilliant in "Schindler's List".

Connery has done some good work, if you can accept the idea of a Lithuanian-born Russian navy submarine captain with a Scots accent.

Let's not forget Damian Lewis--splendid in "Brideshead Revisited", creepily ambiguous in "Homeland", and so convincing as Dick Winters in "Band Of Brothers" that early on some of the other actors didn't believe he's a Brit.

And speaking of "Band Of Brothers", Donnie Wahlberg was awfully good in that one.
 
Last edited:
Morgan Freeman
Robert DeNiro
Al Pacino
Forrest Whitaker
Anthony Hopkins
Cicily Tyson
Alan Arkin
Meryl Streep
George C. Scott
Tom Hanks
Whoopie Goldberg
Cedrick the Entertainer
Jack Nicholson
Etc, etc, etc...
 
Nobody likes Matt Damon from the Borne movies? Or how about Mark Wahlberg in the sniper movie? But again, the question was best and I would have to say that if you are looking at length of career and body of work, Clint Eastwood is the man.

From the Rowdy Yates days through the spaghetti westerns to Dirty Harry to the war movies, the Eiger Sanction to the Ford Torino movie to Trouble with the Curve, the list is endless. Actor, director, producer. I think his career is unequaled.

2012 Trouble with the Curve
Gus
2008 Gran Torino
Walt Kowalski
2004 Million Dollar Baby
Frankie Dunn
2002 Blood Work
Terry McCaleb
2000 Space Cowboys
Frank Corvin
1999 True Crime
Steve Everett
1997 Absolute Power
Luther Whitney
1995 The Bridges of Madison County
Robert Kincaid
1993 A Perfect World
Chief Red Garnett
1993 In the Line of Fire
Frank Horrigan
1992 Unforgiven
Bill Munny
1990 The Rookie
Nick Pulovski
1990 White Hunter Black Heart
John Wilson
1989 Pink Cadillac
Tommy Nowak
1988 The Dead Pool
Harry Callahan
1986 Heartbreak Ridge
Highway
1985 Pale Rider
Preacher
1984 City Heat
Lieutenant Speer
1984 Tightrope
Wes Block
1983 Sudden Impact
Harry Callahan
1982 Honkytonk Man
Red Stovall
1982 Firefox
Mitchell Gant
1980 Any Which Way You Can
Philo Beddoe
1980 Bronco Billy
Bronco Billy
1979 Escape from Alcatraz
Frank Morris
1978 Every Which Way But Loose
Philo Beddoe
1977 The Gauntlet
Ben Shockley
1976 The Enforcer
Harry Callahan
1976 The Outlaw Josey Wales
Josey Wales
1975 The Eiger Sanction
Jonathan Hemlock
1974 Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Thunderbolt
1973 Magnum Force
Harry Callahan (as Harry Calahan)
1973 Breezy
Man at Marina (uncredited)
1973 High Plains Drifter
The Stranger
1972 Joe Kidd
Joe Kidd
1971 Dirty Harry
Harry
1971 Play Misty for Me
Dave
1971 The Beguiled
John McBurney
1970 Kelly's Heroes
Pvt. Kelly
1970 Two Mules for Sister Sara
Hogan
1969 Paint Your Wagon
Pardner
1968 Where Eagles Dare
Schaffer
1968 Coogan's Bluff
Coogan
1968 Hang 'Em High
Marshal Jed Cooper
1967 The Witches
Carlo (Segment "Sera Come Le Altre, Una")
1966 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Blondie
1965 For a Few Dollars More
Monco
1959-1965 Rawhide (TV Series)
Rowdy Yates
 
george minze said:
Just my opinion...With rare exceptions I think the part can make the actor...Exceptions I guess would be John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Sir Richard Burton etc; In most cases the part is so in tune with a specific actor it becomes great due to the connection between the actor and the part. Examples could be in my limited opinion would be..Russel Crow as the Gladiator.Along with Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus, Robert Duval as Ned Pepper, The little bad guy that played Crow's henchman in the remake of 3:10 to Yuma, (a super bad guy) Those parts made the actor, due to the great fit of character.Good acting and great type casting...One that I admit I didn't know who he was the guy who played the turn coat in Heat (Kevin Gage), with Duval and Di nero . No slouches in their own right.....Great casting makes great actors....In my opinion the casting of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector was pure genius. How could have anybody played that creepy role any better? When a actor makes you believe, that then is a great actor or a great part in some cases both...Heck just my opinion!
Click to expand...

I fully agree. Duke, was great as a Cowboy, Sir John Mills was a great Soldier--kind of thing.
 
BigBill said:
There all great choices here.

It's what roles they were casted in at what time. This could boost there career or break it. Some surely got on the right bus headed for stardom.
There were lots of stars with class in the old days. Plus the press isn't like it was then like it its today. The press can break a star by too much bad coverage too. Look at Lindsey Lohan. The press should have limits put on them. I wouldn't want the press to follow me 24/7. The stars have a limited personal life. Some live in seclusion. That's sad.
I'm glad I'm no star.
Click to expand...

Speaking of which--you remember the lady who played Alice-on The Brady Bunch? she lives somewhere in San Antonio--in seclusion--last I heard which was several years ago. Richard Dawson was the same.
 
I just watched a great old movie from NetFlix it reminded me of one of the greats and two of my all all time favorites and that was Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. Always at their best when they worked together. The movie I watched last night was "The Keeper of the Flame" Outstanding performances and dialogue. "Pat and Mike" and all the Tracy/Hepburn movies were great. Tracy was also great in that star studded classic, "Bad Day At Black Rock". Co-stared Earnest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan.
 
Criteria is living, actor (male)=ignore politics, directing, etc.. I have to say diversity in roles is crucial.

Eastwood is like Kostner==he mostly does Eastwood (I know, Beguiled is an exception).

Kostner plays Kostner. His Wyatt Earp was "Wyatt Earp plays Kevin Kostner" more than the other way around.

I have to go with Kevin Spacey, I think. Largely based on Glengarry Glen Ross and Usual Suspects.

Actress: Helen Mirren, I think.

But, my opinion might change by tomorrow.
 
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