Best Actor of the modern era?

Surreptitious

buried wrote: »

James Gandolfini

Just the best in the greatest of them all

Masterclass of the grim criminal

Only saw this now. Sexy as hell when he was alive. Very brooding and intense work from him. The Sopranos is still the best show ever made and has aged well.

CrankyHaus

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

James Cagney and Christopher Walker get bonus points for being able do great villains and dancing.

How many of today's "tough guy's" could out tap-dance Cagney or keep up with Walken in "Weapon Of Choice"

Something like White Heat shows what a clear influence Cagney had on later "gangster" performances, all the way down to Gandolfini playing Tony Soprano.

2lazytogetup

Allison_Janney in itonya and the new addams family animation film.

brendan gleeson, expect he has been mentioned before. daniel de lewis.

Acting isnt really that hard. its about having a look and a good manager. look at that annoying twirp that was in love/hate and is now going to be in batman.

2lazytogetup

very little mention of women. and im a guy saying that. meyryl streep. pauline mcglynn in father ted.

probably cause women always get side roles so harder to notice their acting.

who is the actress that plays jeff's wife in curb your enthusiasm. she is great.

fryup

2lazytogetup wrote: »

very little mention of women.

maybe the mods could re-title the thread.. Best Actor & Actress of the modern era?

The Nal

Julianne Moore is always great.

Jodi Foster is probably my favourite though. Taxi Driver, The Accused, Silence of the Lambs, Nell, Panic Room, Inside Man, Carnage. Acting with De Niro, Liam Neeson, Anthony Hopkins, Christoph Waltz, Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Mel Gibson, Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe and steals most of the scenes she in with them.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

BailMeOut wrote: »

21 pages later and no mention of Meryl Streep who has to be one the greatest actors ever.

Yurt! wrote: »

Hollywood luvvie. Solid actor, but can't think of a single performance where you'd stand back and say 'wow.' Although her Maggie Thatcher was good, but not mind-blowing.

Female actors wise, I'd rate Frances McDormand and Julianne Moore far above her.

Hubs and I were talking about this recently. The problem with Streep is that she doesn't pick really good films. She's an actress who would have her pick of roles and that's going back to the early '80s and yet, I struggle to think of many classic films she was in. Well, she was in The Deer Hunter but that was before she broke out and her part in it was tiny. She doesn't seem to choose the best scripts. I think her problem is that she leans towards worthy, Oscar-baity films which are rarely bold and singular and daring. So they don't age well.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

DavidLyons_ wrote: »

Paddy Considine. Toby Kebbell. Sam Rockwell. Laura Linney. Frances McDormand. Jake Gyllenhaal.

All great choices except Toby Kebbell who I don't know. Glad to see Considine and Gyllenhaal mentioned.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Tom Cruise is a turn off. At best competent. Money spent on him wasn't spent on special effects or scriptwriters :mad:

Christian Bale said he based American Psycho on him "he just had this very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes,"

Is there a Tom Cruise film that wouldn't be better with an actor who cost a third of the price ?

Oh, that is just excellent. :pac:

spurious

Toni Colette, Eddie Marsden, Timothy Spall.
Can't really think of a bad performance from any of them.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

spurious wrote: »

Toni Colette, Eddie Marsden, Timothy Spall.
Can't really think of a bad performance from any of them.

Toni Collette. Yes. She is so brilliant. And her Muriel's Wedding acting buddy Rachel Griffiths is great too and we don't really see enough of her.

Rothko

2lazytogetup wrote: »

probably cause women always get side roles so harder to notice their acting.

Well, that's just nonsense tbh

EmmetSpiceland

Rothko wrote: »

Well, that's just nonsense tbh

Ah, you’re “taking the piss” now. Come on, you must be joking?

raclle

Not sure if this has been mentioned but our very own Cillian Murphy

Riddle101

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor is a very versatile actor I think. It goes without saying his performance of Nidge in Love/Hate was superb but he's been branching out into other roles over the years too.

Aiden Gillen is also very adaptable too.

Rothko

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

Ah, you’re “taking the piss” now. Come on, you must be joking?

Why?

Errashareesh

Wo... this is not my first account. Rothko is not anti women!

I'm a woman, a feminist (albeit old skool - inspired by the Suffragettes and Women's Lib, not today's feminism) and I do not think women are only given side roles, nor do I believe in the gender pay gap.

I think women face other challenges in the world of acting but not the above at all.

Rothko

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

I know you’re fairly anti-women

Which shows that you know nothing about me.

AdrianBalboa

Acclaim in acting has been monopolised by the “stale pale and male” set like Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro for too long. I’m glad female, minority and POC actors are getting a fair shake of it, such as Tessa Thompson and Brie Larson.

DoozerT6

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts wrote: »

Hubs and I were talking about this recently. The problem with Streep is that she doesn't pick really good films. She's an actress who would have her pick of roles and that's going back to the early '80s and yet, I struggle to think of many classic films she was in. Well, she was in The Deer Hunter but that was before she broke out and her part in it was tiny. She doesn't seem to choose the best scripts. I think her problem is that she leans towards worthy, Oscar-baity films which are rarely bold and singular and daring. So they don't age well.

What about Out of Africa? An absolute classic and she was wonderful in it, I thought.

DavidLyons_

DoozerT6 wrote: »

What about Out of Africa? An absolute classic and she was wonderful in it, I thought.

Actually a great example of how her films are overrated. Won the Oscar that year ahead of infinitely better, more entertaining and enjoyable films like Prizzi’s Honor, Back to the Future, After Hours, The Goonies, Commando, Pale Rider, Mask, Police Story, Silverado etc.

All of which are more fondly remembered than Streep’s Oscar bait.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

DoozerT6 wrote: »

What about Out of Africa? An absolute classic and she was wonderful in it, I thought.

I wouldn't call it a classic really, though that's subjective. And if that's the best film one can think of, isn't that kind of disappointing for an actor who would have her pick of scripts for more than thirty years? Think of other actors of her stature and their very best roles. Much more interesting fare, huh? I just think she doesn't seem to have chosen well. It doesn't help that she gets garlanded no matter what role she does. If she did a dramatic fart, she'd get nominated for an Oscar for it.

castletownman

Meryl Streep could play Batman and be the right choice, because Meryl Streep is always the right choice.

Whether she is wearing Prada or divorcing Kramer. Or.......don't get me started on Sophie's Choice.

Wiping away tears here.....

She just couldn't forgive herself, you know.

riclad

Brie larson is a good actor, she's only been in a few films, captain marvel was a big hit.
I think it takes years to become a great actor and there's also abit of luck involved.
You need to get offered a great role by a great writer. And women over a certain age will just offered the role of a mother or a nurse, teacher etc
Cillian Murphy has not had any lead roles in a film so it's a bit early to say he s a great actor.
I think it's great that films like black panther
will encourage more producers to make films with more black and minority actors in the lead role.

Sam Quentin

Errashareesh wrote: »

Wo... this is not my first account. Rothko is not anti women!

I'm a woman, a feminist (albeit old skool - inspired by the Suffragettes and Women's Lib, not today's feminism) and I do not think women are only given side roles, nor do I believe in the gender pay gap.

I think women face other challenges in the world of acting but not the above at all.

Fair Comment.

Mrs Doubtfire was a fantastic 'actress'.

Weepsie

Ben Mendelson and Stephen Graham.

Errashareesh

I'd watch anything with Stephen Graham in it. I love it when he appears.

Be right back

Errashareesh wrote: »

I'd watch anything with Stephen Graham in it. I love it when he appears.

Watching Little boy blue on tv at the minute. He's very good in it.

NoviGlitzko

Nicolas Cage. When he bothers to put a shift in for a film, no one I've seen is on his level.

For the women, I'll echo Toni Collette, she's excellent. Meritt Wever and Patricia Arquette are also top notch.

Surreptitious

NoviGlitzko wrote: »

Nicolas Cage. When he bothers to put in a shift for a film, no one I've seen is on his level.

Leaving Las Vegas was brilliant.

Weepsie

Errashareesh wrote: »

I'd watch anything with Stephen Graham in it. I love it when he appears.

He really is a cut above. He steals films imhes only in for about a minute ( irishman, rocketman) best thing in some bad movies, and has just become a very good character actor.

Mendolson does bad people incredibly well.


For actresses Olivia Colman, Francis McDormand and Cate Blanchett are generally always excellent whatever the material

Errashareesh

Yeah Ben Mendelsohn is excellent in The Outsider and Darkest Hour.

Rothko

Just watching The Virtues now and Stephen Graham has to be one of the best actors of this generation.

Bobblehats

Rothko wrote: »

Just watching The Virtues now and Stephen Graham has to be one of the best actors of this generation.

Yeah I watched that. Bit ****in mad at the end like

DDL would take the title

Gets it for "There will be blood" alone.

Acting Colossus.

Didn't taint himself by doing sell-out shyte like the overrated De Niro for example.

"WHO AHH" Pacino also very overrated. Limited range really.

John Doe1

Edward Norton

ILoveYourVibes

Joan Cusack!

I think we ignore comedy actors!

Yurt2

Riddle101 wrote: »

Aiden Gillen is also very adaptable too.

Gillen has the market cornered as a character actor for shady weasely types. Can't get mad at it, he's carved out a decent career at it. Wouldn't call him particularly versatile though

Surreptitious

Yurt! wrote: »

Gillen has the market cornered as a character actor for shady weasely types. Can't get mad at it, he's carved out a decent career at it. Wouldn't call him particularly versatile though

Best thing he ever did was Queer as Folk. It made him.

silvervixen84

Denzel Washinton has got to be up there.

Errashareesh

glasso wrote: »

DDL would take the title

Gets it for "There will be blood" alone.

Acting Colossus.

Didn't taint himself by doing sell-out shyte like the overrated De Niro for example.

"WHO AHH" Pacino also very overrated. Limited range really.

Yeah I simply love Al and RDN - but I do think they play a similar character all the time.

An actor like Stephen Dillane is so much more diverse - to the point of being unrecognisable at times.

Ladygoodman1

Matthew mc. Woody h. True detectives wow

saabsaab

Brendan Gleeson. Doing Trump..