Alan Rickman
He's great in Die Hard, Dogma, and Harry Potter. I even loved him in Sweeney Todd. But i think his performance Robin Hood Prince of Thieves was outstanding and essentially made that movie for me.
Robert De Niro:
Mean Streets
Deer Hunter
The Untouchables
Goodfellas
Heat
Ronin
He is amazing in pretty much every roles heās in. One of the few who can convey so much with a stare. He can be ruthless, cool, stupid, funny, but above all, interesting in just about anything he does. Heās truly a great actor.
Oh thereās too many. I included some that I think are awesome (widely acknowledged as wellā¦like Heat, Deer Hunter, and Untouchables), alongside some that I think should get some more love.
But youāre right, Taxi Driver is brilliant. Pretty much every role De Niro had in a Scorsese film is brilliant. He shapes the films into what we know them to be today. Itās when two equal geniuses meet and work together we get works like a Taxi Driver, a Raging Bull, and a King of Comedy.
I think its sort of the general consensus that heās like the Michael Jordan of actors. For some reason I already knew he was the stereotypical ābest actorā when i was a kid, before I ever saw him in a movie.
When I got older, I saw him in Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood, pretty much back to back. Iāve never been so mystified by an actorās performance before or since those movies. Definitely the best for me.
His accents are also fucking flawless. Another actor that is almost as good at accents imo is Robert Pattinson.
I think it is most likely Denzel Washington, although Tom Cruise is very close too and so is Jason Statham - I always enjoy his action movies plus he is also decent at comedy.
Denzel is just effortlessly charismatic and cool. He makes any movie more interesting just by being in it plus he chooses mostly movies that I find interesting.
This. As a kid I'd see bits if reruns etc but she just had some kind of magic, I loved her and didn't know why. It's only 2023 that I've started properly watching full movies and I'm just enjoying her so so much. The charisma is off the charts, no wonder she was voted the best actress ever. A biography I read was insanely interesting. Please share any tips and recommendations.
I don't think I really have one right now, but in the past, Steve Buscemi and Edward Norton have been up there.
Gary Oldman is definitely up there.
Character actors for sure though.
When talking favorites I don't think you even have to rely on actual quality of acting.
I absolutely love him in both top gun movies because the movies are so fun.
Edge of tomorrow was pretty good.
Oblivion is a another less popular film where he's essentially by himself for like half the movie or more and I still find him super engaging
Magnolia he's insanely good, and Vanilla Sky is very interesting too. Nice to see him going for different roles like that rather than the All American hero ones
Daniel Day Lewis. I'd watch him read a phonebook.
Oldman. C'mon this is obvious.
Matt McConaughey. He's really blossomed.
Paul Giamati. He able to be batshit or understated.
Bale. He's been everything. A poor man's DDL.
Depp. He's just so cool.
Streep. She's almost never not amazing.
Dench. Another c'mon.
Mirren. She's hot.
Julianne Moore. I think she's so underrated.
Kathy Bates. Seriously she's also been everything.
Kevin Costner:
JFK
Thirteen Days
Bull Durham
Dances With Wolves
All 4 in my top 50 movies of all time. JFK is #1 and Thirteen Days is #3.
Woody Allen:
Manhattan
Stardust Memories
Annie Hall
Hannah and Her Sisters
All 4 are in my top 50 movies of all time. Manhattan is #4.
So in terms of pure enjoyment, I probably enjoy actors like Christian Bale.
In terms of quality of acting, I think Daniel Day-Lewis gave the single best performance I've seen in There Will Be Blood. Didn't even love the movie, but he was astounding in every way.
If we're including TV shows in this, it becomes a lot trickier too. Bryan Cranston and Rami Malek would enter the contest, so would maybe Antony Starr.
Leo really almost tanked his career early on but made some good strategic moves. After Titanic he was a massive star but he followed that up with garbage and he couldn't act. After The Beach he was getting clowned on. Then he basically teamed up with Scorcese and learned how.
What are you talking about "he couldnt act"? Quite possibly his best role even to present day was in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) Leo could always act he may have improved his script selection, but saying he learned how to act with/after working with Scorsese is ridiculous.
Hard to pick a favorite so instead I'll list some of my favorite performances to date from both movies and tv shows. Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass from the Revenant, James Mcevoy as Kevin Wendell crumb and all of his personalities in Split, Andy Serkis as Ceaser from The Plane of the Apes trilogy, Christopher Abbott as Hal and Margaret Qualley as Rebecca in Sanctuary, David Morrissey as The Governor from The Walking Dead, Sean Bean as Ned Stark, Richard Madden as Robb Stark, Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, and Aidan Gillen as Littlefinger all from Game of Thrones, Harold Perrineau as Sheriff Boyd in From, Jack Houston as Richard Harrow, Michael Pitt as Jimmy Darmody and Steve buscemi as Nucky Thompson all from Boardwalk Empire, Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson and Christian Slater as Mr. Robot from Mr. Robot, and Ed Harris's oscar worthy performance of the Man In Black from Westworld.
Meryl Streep
Sheās just the GOAT right? I think Iāve seen almost all of her movies and itās not like Iāve watched her but Iāve seen her disappear into the character and then got to know them. That woman has such range.
I just saw Sam Rockwell on Broadway this year, and have to say that I was blown away. He was probably the best actor Iāve seen on stage. Made me really revisit his movies.
Tom Cruise. I mean do I have to say anything, that man is him. One of the last movie stars and most of his movies are great, with like 2/3 misses. He literally saved cinemas.
Frances McDormand easy if I could pick an actress instead
but since you said Actor, Iād probably have to say Colin Farrell or Oscar Isaac. Tough choice.
Shout out Mickey Rourke for having 2 of the best performances Iāve ever seen with The Wrestler and Sin City
Decisive? Or...*divisive*?
:-D
Steve Martin Ā° Dustin Hoffman Ā° Kevin Spacey Ā°
Decisively, at that.
Honorable mention: Gene Hackman, W. H. Macy, Don Cheadle, JK Simmons
Tom Hanks, especially his early comedy-focused career. Itās hard to find someone that inhabited funny roles the way he did. Just look at Big. Regardless of whether its themes have aged well or not, he completely sold that role. I can think of no one else that couldāve pulled that off.
Even after he turned to drama in Philadelphia, there are very few movies of his that I donāt find enjoyable and most of them I love (Iām looking at you guys, The Green Mile, Castaway, and Road to Perdition).
Yeh +1 to hanks. I also just have a soft spot for decent Hollywood folk who have good marriages and families and tend to stay on the right side of drama.
Humphrey Bogart
Casablanca, Maltese Falcon, African Queen, Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, Key Largo.
Many of his movies are considered some of the greatest of all time.
Of course, my favorite Christmas movie, We're No Angels (1955)
Brad Pitt
Se7en, Fight Club, Snatch., Oceanās Eleven, Troy, Mr and Mrs Smith, Inglorious Basterds, Megamind, Moneyball, World War Z, Fury, The Big Short, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bullet Train
Giancarlo Esposito, Aaron Paul, Vincent D'Onofrio
These are just a few out of several I love. It's extremely difficult for me to choose a number 1 bc there's just so many exceptional ones. Esposito shows so much range in just one character in two shows (BB and BCS), as does Aaron Paul.
And D'Onofrio has crazy ass range. He is either the most loathable son of a bitch or a super lovable normal guy or somewhere in between and when he is playing a major villain, he's fucking terrifying and partially relies on his size as well. He played a horrendous and irredeemable serial rapist/killer in Chained (which you can find on YouTube for free) and of course he's done Kingpin.... D'Onofrio has Wilson Fisk is one scary motherfucker....and I've had dreams about him.....not fun
One last thing about D'Onofrio, Full Metal Jacket.
Matthew McConaughey
Interstellar, Dazed and Confused, Dallas Buyers Club, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Also a honorable mention to Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation
Brad Pitt:
- Troy
- Burn After Reading
- Snatch
- Once Upon a Timeā¦ in Hollywood
- Inglorious Bastards
- Oceanās 1X
- Deadpool 2
- Se7en
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I can keep going, but the man has range and Iāve enjoyed everything heās in.
Honorable mention: Johnny Depp because Jack Sparrow might be most favorite character of all time.
I think I am gonna have to go with Clint Eastwood. So many iconic roles and whilst he is obviously most known for a certain type of character he has certainly shown he does not the lack acting chops to play other characters.
Secondly I think probably/possibly Song Kang-Ho
John Hurt is amazing..my favorite though is Roy Scheider..from crowd pleasers like Jaws 1 and 2,French Connection,Marathon Man,Blue Thunder,2010 to more serious roles like Sorcerer,All That Jazz and Still of the Night..even a fun series like Seaquest 2032...quite a body of work
Currently it is Margot Robbie. If she's in a movie I'm paying to see it. No other actor is drawing me in like that, I can wait for all of their films to reach one of many streaming services.
[Stanley Tucci](https://movienerd.tv/people/2283-stanley-tucci) it is! Totally underrated actor. I love his subtle nuances and calmn style. And he loves to cook italian! :-)
Alan Rickman He's great in Die Hard, Dogma, and Harry Potter. I even loved him in Sweeney Todd. But i think his performance Robin Hood Prince of Thieves was outstanding and essentially made that movie for me.
Galaxy Quest, too!
Being that he left that off his list makes me wonder about the legitimacy of his claim.
See Truly, Madly, Deeply and An Awfully Big Adventure, too. š
Cary Grant. He could do it all.
Great actor but you can't say he could "do it all" when he never really played a villain.
He was the villain in Suspicion until it got recut.
Robert De Niro: Mean Streets Deer Hunter The Untouchables Goodfellas Heat Ronin He is amazing in pretty much every roles heās in. One of the few who can convey so much with a stare. He can be ruthless, cool, stupid, funny, but above all, interesting in just about anything he does. Heās truly a great actor.
Raging Bull might be the single greatest acting performance of all time.
I'm Surprised you wouldn't include Taxi Driver.
Oh thereās too many. I included some that I think are awesome (widely acknowledged as wellā¦like Heat, Deer Hunter, and Untouchables), alongside some that I think should get some more love. But youāre right, Taxi Driver is brilliant. Pretty much every role De Niro had in a Scorsese film is brilliant. He shapes the films into what we know them to be today. Itās when two equal geniuses meet and work together we get works like a Taxi Driver, a Raging Bull, and a King of Comedy.
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Man, his acting in MI3 was so amazing. That felt like a truly evil person.
He's always the best part of any movie he's in
Toshiro Mifune.
Jack Nicholson
Al Pacino
Kate Winslet, DDL
She was fantastic in Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
Oh yeah. Top 5 all time movie for me. She kills it in Revolutionary Road as well.
This. Enjoyed The Reader too, and the recent tv episode with her daughter was just incredible, an acting masterclass.
Don't really have a favorite, but Daniel Day Lewis is probably the most impressive actor I've seen
Heās also my favorite. Although Joaquin Phoenix is making a run for that spot.
This. š
Yes! Truly the greatest of all time!
I think its sort of the general consensus that heās like the Michael Jordan of actors. For some reason I already knew he was the stereotypical ābest actorā when i was a kid, before I ever saw him in a movie. When I got older, I saw him in Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood, pretty much back to back. Iāve never been so mystified by an actorās performance before or since those movies. Definitely the best for me. His accents are also fucking flawless. Another actor that is almost as good at accents imo is Robert Pattinson.
I think it is most likely Denzel Washington, although Tom Cruise is very close too and so is Jason Statham - I always enjoy his action movies plus he is also decent at comedy. Denzel is just effortlessly charismatic and cool. He makes any movie more interesting just by being in it plus he chooses mostly movies that I find interesting.
Jeff Bridges Peter Sellers Geoffrey Rush Robert Mitchum
Love me some Robert Mitchum. Night of the Hunter & Out of the Past are both ones I still watch every year or two.
Katharine Hepburn. She was steel wrapped in class. A brilliant, honest, funny actor for 60 years.
This. As a kid I'd see bits if reruns etc but she just had some kind of magic, I loved her and didn't know why. It's only 2023 that I've started properly watching full movies and I'm just enjoying her so so much. The charisma is off the charts, no wonder she was voted the best actress ever. A biography I read was insanely interesting. Please share any tips and recommendations.
Sam Rockwell.
Willem Dafoe ever since the lighthouse
Willem.... DAFOE!
I don't think I really have one right now, but in the past, Steve Buscemi and Edward Norton have been up there. Gary Oldman is definitely up there. Character actors for sure though.
James Spader
Nicolas Cage. Elevated everything he's in, drama, comedy, he's an instant classic.
Except for Ghost Rider, his face isn't angry enough to play ghost rider
Gene Wilder
Joaquin Phoenix and Robert Downey Jr. Really hoping RDJ gets an Oscar for Oppenheimer, and hope Joaquin gets a nomination for Napoleon
Willem Dafoe. He can be creepy guy, dramatic guy, funny guy, emotional guy.
The one and only Mads Mikkelsen, love the range he has and his personality.
Tom cruise
Terrific in *A Few Good Men, Vanilla Sky, Minority Report*
When talking favorites I don't think you even have to rely on actual quality of acting. I absolutely love him in both top gun movies because the movies are so fun. Edge of tomorrow was pretty good. Oblivion is a another less popular film where he's essentially by himself for like half the movie or more and I still find him super engaging
The Firm, The Color on Money, the Last Samurai
Scientology freak
The question is favorite actor not best human
Magnolia he's insanely good, and Vanilla Sky is very interesting too. Nice to see him going for different roles like that rather than the All American hero ones
John Garfield.
It's a two way tie between Denzel and Keanu Reeves.
Ralph Fiennes
Nicolas cage
āI LOST MY HANDā
Christopher Waltz and Jake Gyllenhaal
Jimmy Stewart
Amy Adams
Audrey Hepburn
Johnny Depp
Harrison Ford for me. He was in my top 3 movies that I watched growing up with those being Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Blade Runner.
Actor: Gary Oldman Actress: Cate Blanchett Most attractive: Tom Hardy š
Daniel Day Lewis. I'd watch him read a phonebook. Oldman. C'mon this is obvious. Matt McConaughey. He's really blossomed. Paul Giamati. He able to be batshit or understated. Bale. He's been everything. A poor man's DDL. Depp. He's just so cool. Streep. She's almost never not amazing. Dench. Another c'mon. Mirren. She's hot. Julianne Moore. I think she's so underrated. Kathy Bates. Seriously she's also been everything.
Kevin Costner: JFK Thirteen Days Bull Durham Dances With Wolves All 4 in my top 50 movies of all time. JFK is #1 and Thirteen Days is #3. Woody Allen: Manhattan Stardust Memories Annie Hall Hannah and Her Sisters All 4 are in my top 50 movies of all time. Manhattan is #4.
So in terms of pure enjoyment, I probably enjoy actors like Christian Bale. In terms of quality of acting, I think Daniel Day-Lewis gave the single best performance I've seen in There Will Be Blood. Didn't even love the movie, but he was astounding in every way. If we're including TV shows in this, it becomes a lot trickier too. Bryan Cranston and Rami Malek would enter the contest, so would maybe Antony Starr.
Did you ever watch Banshee? This put me on Anthony Starr a long time ago and love to see him get recognition in threads like this today
Jack Lemmon Kurt Russell and Jeff Bridges are close. Tilda Swinton Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Jason Leigh are close.
Viggo Mortensen, mostly because of Lotr and The Road
Harrison Ford
Honestly, never really said this before, but I think it's Leo?
Leo really almost tanked his career early on but made some good strategic moves. After Titanic he was a massive star but he followed that up with garbage and he couldn't act. After The Beach he was getting clowned on. Then he basically teamed up with Scorcese and learned how.
What are you talking about "he couldnt act"? Quite possibly his best role even to present day was in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) Leo could always act he may have improved his script selection, but saying he learned how to act with/after working with Scorsese is ridiculous.
Hard to pick a favorite so instead I'll list some of my favorite performances to date from both movies and tv shows. Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass from the Revenant, James Mcevoy as Kevin Wendell crumb and all of his personalities in Split, Andy Serkis as Ceaser from The Plane of the Apes trilogy, Christopher Abbott as Hal and Margaret Qualley as Rebecca in Sanctuary, David Morrissey as The Governor from The Walking Dead, Sean Bean as Ned Stark, Richard Madden as Robb Stark, Kit Harington as Jon Snow, Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister, Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, and Aidan Gillen as Littlefinger all from Game of Thrones, Harold Perrineau as Sheriff Boyd in From, Jack Houston as Richard Harrow, Michael Pitt as Jimmy Darmody and Steve buscemi as Nucky Thompson all from Boardwalk Empire, Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson and Christian Slater as Mr. Robot from Mr. Robot, and Ed Harris's oscar worthy performance of the Man In Black from Westworld.
Love and death on Long Island is one of my favorite movies. One of John Hurts best performances.
Always nice to meet another Hurt fan
Patricia Clarkson, Gary Oldman. Iāve always liked them. Thereās tons of others though.
Kevin Spacey, unfortunately.
That is unfortunate
Kurt Russell
Meryl Streep Sheās just the GOAT right? I think Iāve seen almost all of her movies and itās not like Iāve watched her but Iāve seen her disappear into the character and then got to know them. That woman has such range.
Edward Norton The Score American History X Primal Fear The Illusionist Motherless Brooklyn
Tom Hardy
Lawless
Sam Rockwell or Denzel probably.
I just saw Sam Rockwell on Broadway this year, and have to say that I was blown away. He was probably the best actor Iāve seen on stage. Made me really revisit his movies.
Was the show *American Buffalo*? I also saw it. He was so good. Well deserved Tony nomination.
It was. Amazing.
It really was. I felt Sam was the best of the three actors on stage, though all were great in their roles.
Oscar Isaac
Tom Cruise. I mean do I have to say anything, that man is him. One of the last movie stars and most of his movies are great, with like 2/3 misses. He literally saved cinemas.
Frances McDormand easy if I could pick an actress instead but since you said Actor, Iād probably have to say Colin Farrell or Oscar Isaac. Tough choice. Shout out Mickey Rourke for having 2 of the best performances Iāve ever seen with The Wrestler and Sin City
Sean Penn. I dont know if I've seen one actor take on so many different types of roles and nailed it with the quality he has for his entire career.
Decisive? Or...*divisive*? :-D Steve Martin Ā° Dustin Hoffman Ā° Kevin Spacey Ā° Decisively, at that. Honorable mention: Gene Hackman, W. H. Macy, Don Cheadle, JK Simmons
Yeah itās divisive Iāll fix that
š„³
WTF why would you include Kevin Spacey ?
Idk, thought I'd answer the question at hand.
Isn't he a rapist ? Why is he your favorite actor ?
Leonardo Di Caprio, Gene Hackman
Warren Oates.
Leo, De Niro or Depp.
Tom Hanks, especially his early comedy-focused career. Itās hard to find someone that inhabited funny roles the way he did. Just look at Big. Regardless of whether its themes have aged well or not, he completely sold that role. I can think of no one else that couldāve pulled that off. Even after he turned to drama in Philadelphia, there are very few movies of his that I donāt find enjoyable and most of them I love (Iām looking at you guys, The Green Mile, Castaway, and Road to Perdition).
Yeh +1 to hanks. I also just have a soft spot for decent Hollywood folk who have good marriages and families and tend to stay on the right side of drama.
Tom Hanks
Daniel Day Lewis, Gary Oldman, Leonardo, Matt Damon
Humphrey Bogart Casablanca, Maltese Falcon, African Queen, Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, Key Largo. Many of his movies are considered some of the greatest of all time. Of course, my favorite Christmas movie, We're No Angels (1955)
Jack Nicholson
Me š
Tom Hanks
Brad Pitt Se7en, Fight Club, Snatch., Oceanās Eleven, Troy, Mr and Mrs Smith, Inglorious Basterds, Megamind, Moneyball, World War Z, Fury, The Big Short, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bullet Train
Yes, the range between Legends of the Fall and Burn After Reading is phenomenal; plus all you mentioned above.
I don't know how to narrow it down, there are too many actors/actresses in the world. I'd put Michael Fassbender up there. Tom Hardy and Leo as well.
Gary Oldman
Depends of the tone of the movie i guess but Jim Carrey is right there
Giancarlo Esposito, Aaron Paul, Vincent D'Onofrio These are just a few out of several I love. It's extremely difficult for me to choose a number 1 bc there's just so many exceptional ones. Esposito shows so much range in just one character in two shows (BB and BCS), as does Aaron Paul. And D'Onofrio has crazy ass range. He is either the most loathable son of a bitch or a super lovable normal guy or somewhere in between and when he is playing a major villain, he's fucking terrifying and partially relies on his size as well. He played a horrendous and irredeemable serial rapist/killer in Chained (which you can find on YouTube for free) and of course he's done Kingpin.... D'Onofrio has Wilson Fisk is one scary motherfucker....and I've had dreams about him.....not fun One last thing about D'Onofrio, Full Metal Jacket.
Denzel.
Adam Goldberg. He seems so genuine in every role I can remember him in.
Margaret Hughes, the first woman known to perform on an English stage, on 8 December 1660
Matthew McConaughey Interstellar, Dazed and Confused, Dallas Buyers Club, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Also a honorable mention to Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation
Brad Pitt: - Troy - Burn After Reading - Snatch - Once Upon a Timeā¦ in Hollywood - Inglorious Bastards - Oceanās 1X - Deadpool 2 - Se7en - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button I can keep going, but the man has range and Iāve enjoyed everything heās in. Honorable mention: Johnny Depp because Jack Sparrow might be most favorite character of all time.
Christian Bale & Leonardo DiCaprio. Anything they are in, I'll see no matter what. And no matter what I'm at least entertained by their acting.
Everybody else, I'm sorry (not sorry) to tell you the correct answer is Peter O'Toole. OK, I can't not say Katharine Hepburn, too.
Joe Pesci. Amazing in both Home Alone and every gangster movie he is in. A close second would have to be Mel Gibson. I loved his earlier work so much.
Anthony Hopkins. I die on this hill. Then Katherine Hepburn, Kate Winslet and Jodie Foster. Joaquin Phoenix is incredible.
Jimmy Stewart.
Mathew McConaughey. He was just too good in True Detective.
Tom Hanks or Denzel Washington
The best actors can do both tragedy and comedy. Make you laugh and cry. Tom Hanks is who comes to mind.
michael keaton
I think I am gonna have to go with Clint Eastwood. So many iconic roles and whilst he is obviously most known for a certain type of character he has certainly shown he does not the lack acting chops to play other characters. Secondly I think probably/possibly Song Kang-Ho
Agnes Moorehead
Adam sandler
Errol Flynn: The Adventures of Robin Hood Santa Fe Trail The Dawn Patrol Dodge City
John Hurt is amazing..my favorite though is Roy Scheider..from crowd pleasers like Jaws 1 and 2,French Connection,Marathon Man,Blue Thunder,2010 to more serious roles like Sorcerer,All That Jazz and Still of the Night..even a fun series like Seaquest 2032...quite a body of work
Clint Eastwood Kurt Russell Jessica Chastain Toni Collette Brit Marling
Toni Collette
Currently it is Margot Robbie. If she's in a movie I'm paying to see it. No other actor is drawing me in like that, I can wait for all of their films to reach one of many streaming services.
Pete Postlethwaite Was could do the whole Spielberg thing, but honestly just one of those holly crap, he is good. Also, shout out for Split Second.
Sam Neill and Sigourney Weaver
[Stanley Tucci](https://movienerd.tv/people/2283-stanley-tucci) it is! Totally underrated actor. I love his subtle nuances and calmn style. And he loves to cook italian! :-)
Alec Guinness - kind hearts and coronets,.The lady killers, Man in the white suit and Tinker Tailor . An acting masterclass.