Who is the best living actor of Philip Seymour Hoffman's generation?

man i'd take river phoenix and hoffman over anyone above and i'd probably extend the parameters to include joaquin phoenix who might've gotten my vote. as it is i guess robert downey jr though it'd be nice to have something recent to back the argument up.

i was surprised not to see leo on the list but apparently he was born one year after your cut-off

Yeah, extending it just one year in either direction would bring actors like Kenneth Branagh, Sean Penn, Leo DiCaprio, Joaquin Phoenix, and Christian Bale into the mix. Which could've been interesting to include, but with everyone else born in 1960 and 1974, it would've been over the poll limit.

penn and branagh feel very much like a different generation, penn esp. by the time psh was just getting started ppl were wondering if/when penn would act again and writing concerned pieces about the finest actor of his generation just walking away from his talent etc.

tom cruise being pretty much the same age as ralph fiennes and just a year older than johnny depp and brad pitt is one of those things that makes sense if i think about it but seems so weird on its face.

it almost feels like cruise has been with us for centuries and centuries

Glad Daniel Day-Lewis isn't on here (1957, after checking). I'd have to think about this, but my favourite performances would be: Tim Roth in Reservoir Dogs, Forest Whitaker in Smoke, Don Cheadle in Boogie Nights, John C. Reilly in Boogie Nights and Magnolia, Mark Ruffalo in You Can Count on Me and Zodiac, Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men, Robert Downey, Jr. (who I generally don't like) in Zodiac, and Matt Damon in Rounders. So probably one of them. Jude Law is one of our finest actors, but he won't win.

man i'd take river phoenix and hoffman over anyone above

You know, when I had the idea for this thread, it was really to say "OK, who is it now?" -- but including Hoffman and River Phoenix (was there anyone else? I don't recall) might've been worthwhile to simply test the argument that Hoffman was the best.

Brits born in 1960 who wd be in the discussion: Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance. The youngest US film actor I think has been consistently good to great is Sean Penn, also born '60.

Branagh has done mostly crap on film for the last 15 years, of course, ditto David Thewlis.

Nicolas Cage reportedly has a solid serious indie perf coming up this year, but he's been a joke for years.

I need to see a guy onstage to call him great, but that's just me maybe.

i'm tempted to say giamatti but his scope seems too limited. didn't realize cranston was so much older than these guys (though obv has no oscar nomination)

When these guys act it all seems the same to me so I'll just go with the guy who gave the performance I enjoyed the most (Hugh Jacman in The Wolverine)

Michael Shannon, b. 1974!

Assorted others born during 1961-73 (no Oscar nominations):

Simon Russell Beale, Jared Harris, Andre Braugher, Matthew Broderick, Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, Michael Chiklis, David Thewlis, Crispin Glover, Rob Lowe, Keanu Reeves, Mathieu Amalric, Kyle Chandler, Alan Cumming, Tracy Letts, Mads Mikkelsen, Jeremy Piven, Ben Stiller, Jeffrey Wright, Vincent Cassel, John Cusack, Guy Pearce, David Schwimmer, Kiefer Sutherland, Will Ferrell, Liev Schreiber, Rufus Sewell, Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Billy Crudup, Aaron Eckhart, Timothy Olyphant, Sam Rockwell, Michael Stuhlbarg, Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Peter Dinklage, Michael Sheen, Raul Esparza, Vince Vaughn, Bobby Cannavale, Sacha Baron Cohen, Michael C. Hall, Jon Hamm, Ewan McGregor, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Wahlberg, Ben Affleck, Idris Elba, Patrick Wilson, Neil Patrick Harris.

yeah i'd agree w/ penn being the youngest i can think of w/ consistent greatness - so many of them i look at and think of blown potential to a certain extent (norton, ruffalo, cheadle in a way - certainly little has approached his performance in devil in a blue dress imo), that might just be a reflection of the industry at large, just alot of time in amusement parks and comic books up there.

man include that no oscar nod group and i change my vote to jeffrey wright

man i thought dinklage was nominated for the station agent

Harrelson, Bardem, Renner and McConaughey (of late) don't disappoint me often if ever. I also think Wahlberg is better than half these guys, but that's cuz they are mostly movie stars. Carrey is snubbed bcz comedy.

Wright is formidable but I haven't seen him in much lately, and not onstage since Angels in America.

he was in the last hunger games w/ psh

you and i do not have conversations on this board, but yeah i know they both did paycheck shit

There some very good actors on this list mixed in with a lot of meh. Harrelson's a very strong actor. Bardem always interesting (except for in pap like Skyfall). Roth was a very good/great for a time now not so sure.

Crazy that Shannon is a year younger than me but somehow looks and plays 10 yrs older

Voted for Brolin as much on the strength of Milk as NCfOM. Obviously, Milk is nowhere near as good a film, but he's incredible in it.

this has got to be cage

Kinda inclined to go w Harrelson here. Does both comedy and drama really well. Almost always reliable to deliver an interesting performance. Love a lot of these other folks in individual things, but a lot of crap on everybody's resumes. Morbz comment on some other thread about available material not meeting the quality of available acting talent is otm.

Wright and Cassel and Mikkelsen definitely interesting too. Pearce a good actor. Danny Huston (also from the Proposition very good).

does he? i'd have guessed 40. xxxxp

also, why limit this to men?

Of jaymc's non-Oscar list, crispin glover all the way

who's the "best living actor" up there, the way joe dimaggio was the "best living ballplayer" even though ted williams and willie mays were alive and well. thinking depp was it but maybe there's been enough of a backlash that it's someone else (downey maybe). clooney would be a good candidate except his mystique or whatever is tied to his being a great movie star, he's maybe taken too seriously as an actor but he's not taken that damn seriously as an actor (ie if he'd somehow gotten an oscar nod for gravity it would definitely be him). what two guys up there would you pick for the equivalent of those james earl jones - malcolm mcdowell commercials? forest whitaker and ralph fiennes?

Sorry I didn't even see Fiennes up there. This is pretty easy. Fiennes definitely a better actor than anyone I named initially.

also, why limit this to men?

yeah was thinking the actress list might be more interesting and i'd have more confidence in my vote

jaymc marky mark got an oscar nomination for the departed

From the also-list, I was really liking Billy Crudup during his Without Limits/Jesus' Son/Almost Famous run. He seemed to disappear after that, although checking his IMDB page, he was still making a film a year, just stuff I rarely saw. I don't even think he registered with me in Public Enemies until the credits.

and obv ben affleck has had multiple oscar nominations and wins ;)

abstaining from voting due to marky mark snub

ok, but wtf is the throughline in Crispin's roles since George McFly? I can't think of any leads I've seen him in other than Willard and Bartleby (in which he is admittedly better than the movies)

xxxxxxxp

yeah Fiennes has chops and has been good or near-great in Schindler's, Spider, The End of the Affair, Coriolanus.

Crispin's not really a lead guy, it's true

Oh man forgot about Wahlberg! Oops.

The fact that Affleck has 2 Oscars and neither is for acting or directing is amusing to me.

xpost he was the true lead of river's edge

From jaymc's list of "others" above, Amalric, Wright, MGregor, Sarsgaard (plus dark horses Carrey & Wahlberg) are contenders for me. Gotta think on the poll list some more.

Probably just an optical/ temporal illusion, an aftereffect of PSH's death, or an arbitrary artifact of Hollywood career vicissitudes, but this Gen X cohort as a whole seems outshone by generation before and after (like, just by a year).

while the absence of marky still renders this poll a sham, gonna vote for clive owen just cuz that dude is not having the career he should have and i feel for him

Marky has of course been in what some consider two of the worst US films of last year

was also in the most extraordinary war film since saving private ryan iirc

broken city sucked and i haven't seen lone survivor or pain & gain, but if 2 guns is one of those movies, those "some" are welcome to feel the vibrations

actors on this list where i'd probably see (or at least, start) any movie they're in (if it's on hbo or netflix, not buying a ticket necessarily): cruise, cage, dillon, owen, reilly, brolin, downey, smith, damon, hawke, renner

and of course, marky

that dude is not having the career he should have and i feel for him - this is like most of the list for me

dillon really croup?

also not getting the plum gigs he deserves but i dig his vibe

he's doing some canadian heist movie with kurt russell that i sure hope appears on "recently added" soon

lol

I keep forgetting that films are just more TV these days

man someday owen's gonna get to play a dad in a movie (or maybe an hbo show) someone actually wants to see and his moment will come. unfortunately no wants to see a euro-snooze about the boogeyman or a film about web predators directed by david schwimmer.

i couldn't vote for reilly just cuz there's just too many head to head battles he's losing w/ some of these names but boy his paycheck 'this is where most american recognize him from' roles are way more interesting than most of these guys slumming it in an iron man movie.

From that list maybe del toro, although renner just doesn't have enough under his belt to quite steal it. From alternates, it would be a nightmare to choose between Vincent cassell and Michael Shannon, who can kind of do no wrong, even given my general dislike for black swan.

Nick cage voters can stfu

don't know who the best actor is from this list, but the most interesting actors from this list are don cheadle, john c. reilly, paul giamatti, and javier bardem. maybe reveals my preference for character-actors.

I like a lot of these guys. from the list I'd probably go with fiennes, who's impressed me from the get go. He has PSH's ability to play losers and frightening creeps with equal aplomb, and also shares a lot of his charismatic qualities which a lot of these guys don't have.

from the rest of the list, I think harrelson is great. bardem is fantastic. big fan of brolin and renner. mcconaughey it goes without saying has really come into his own. I think Brody has the ability and he's been A+ in a lot of roles but his career like some others feels like a missed opportunity.

if we're expanding the list I have to agree with JJ re: cassell and shannon.

harrelson's had an interesting career. never thought, when i used to watch him as "woody," that he'd play someone like john mccain's top political advisor in game changer (and be so good).

eddie

Surprised John Hawkes was born in 1959 and McConaughey isn't older.

Norton had it sewn up for a few years there.

:-(

Judd Asher Nelson (born November 28, 1959) is an American actor, screenwriter , and producer. He is best known for his roles as John Bender in The Breakfast ...

Ugh you guys don't realize how annoyed I am at having overlooked marky mark.

Judd nelson??

Kidding, kidding. For me, Dillon/Giamatti/Howard/Norton.

i really.need to see marky mark on stage before i can judge him

Eazy let's have lunch and talk Wolf of Wall st

garrett dillahunt's another character actor from this generation i like a whole lot

lol I just remembered I saw hustle & flow in the theater with deej.

I remember Dillahunt from 12 Years a Slave. What else has he been in?

he's done more tv than film, but he was in no country for old men, assasination of jesse james, winter's bone, a few others. he's obv insanely great in deadwood.

Still haven't seen deadwood or justified despite this thread making me seem like a big Olyphant fan.

My consistent favorite out of this whole list is Giamatti.

Ethan Hawke can fuck off.

Let's talk Ruffalo, guys.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8q32apuX21r0x9x6o1_500.gif

If Djimon Hounsou ever had another interesting-looking movie (it's been a long time since In America), he'd be the one I'd most want to see, but his body of work is pretty thin.

PSH would be an easy call here, none of the remaining names jump out. Will Smith & Clive Owen are great movie stars, Ruffalo is... pleasant? I guess. Garrett Dillahunt on Deadwood was outstanding and McConaughey for the last couple of years has been great but I'm not ready to write off the 15 years of paycheck romcoms.

Love giamatti forever for American splendor but dude can be mad grating in a bad movie.

For the ladies:

Who is the best living actress of Philip Seymour Hoffman's generation?

Jude Law is one of our finest actors

― clemenza, Saturday, February 8, 2014 9:33 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

what the

You voted for him too? Me too

ralph fiennes and don cheadle are the best actors on this list. voting for nicolas cage

I wouldn't, but I imagine his Hamlet was better than Wahlberg's would be. xp

i really.need to see marky mark on stage before i can judge him

Easy to laugh at, but "best actor of generation" mostly being drawn from mall movies it seems.

Law is usually pretty strong in support roles.

Assorted list way more interesting.

Marky Mark is really really good at playing Mark Wahlberg, but anyone comparing him favorably to the best actors on this list I think has a limited understanding of what acting is.

Matt Damon and Brad Pitt far more interesting actors than he was ten years ago, but that's the same with McConaughheyhey. Is it the Paul Newman disease whereby actors get more comfortable when they turn 40?

Penn is consistent but never a favorite, especially when he gets Method-ical.

he was = they were

Similarly Clive Owen is very good at playing Clive Owen (who is a different person than Mark Wahlberg, but no less easy for Owen to play).

Marky Mark is really really good at playing Mark Wahlberg, but anyone comparing him favorably to the best actors on this list I think has a limited understanding of what acting is.

I'll bite -- what is acting? I guess you don't for Gary Cooper or Cary Grant either (and, no, Wahlberg isn't that kind of actor)>

Wahlberg good in Fear, Boogie Nights, The Yards, The Italian Job, I Heart Huckabees, The Departed, We Own the Night, The Fighter, all different.

and I'm sure I'm missing at least four more.

1) Easy part: ability to inhabit a character (so people forget they are watching "acting")
2) Much harder part: ability to inhabit different characters (a lot of actors barely even try this)

1) Easy part: ability to inhabit a character (so people forget they are watching "acting")

thats not easy dude

This expression basically sums up everything I think about Mark Wahlberg's acting:

http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/WahlbergDuhHappening.jpg

1) Easy part: ability to inhabit a character (so people forget they are watching "acting")

he does this all the time; he's scary-good at it

2) 2) Much harder part: ability to inhabit different characters (a lot of actors barely even try this)

when RoboStreep tries it she's a bore.

Oh it's totally not easy. But it's easier than the second part. And it's definitely the baseline for being a good actor.

if you have a bunch of ppl who are all frequently good, versatility wd seem to be a good thing to value.

I mean he's either playing slightly slowly, slightly tougher or slightly meaner variations of himself. I don't see much difference in his character in all the movies you cited (even if the tone of the movies is wildly different).

slightly slower

Jude Law is one of our finest actors
― clemenza, Saturday, February 8, 2014 9:33 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark
what the
― Hungry4Ass, Sunday, February 9, 2014 10:39 AM (15 minutes ago)

I thought this was pretty famous in the annals of humorless drudgery:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWGNsP26ttQ

He is good at the first part. But Fiennes (to give an example) is good at the FIRST part and the SECOND part.

xp oh yeah haha i forgot about that

im not gonna go to bat for wahlberg as a Great Actor though i do really enjoy the guy and i appreciate that hes a good role model for people who want to make a life after committing multiple hate crimes

man someday owen's gonna get to play a dad in a movie (or maybe an hbo show) someone actually wants to see and his moment will come. unfortunately no wants to see a euro-snooze about the boogeyman or a film about web predators directed by david schwimmer.

― da croupier, Sunday, 9 February 2014 03:44 (12 hours ago)

Well... he played a father in his most famous role.
http://www.visualhollywood.com/movies/children-of-men/children%2Dof%2Dmen064.jpg

Has anyone talked about Forrest Whitaker? I love him. A lot of these actors kinda bore me. Most of them, really. PSH never bored me and I feel like they emote similar types of "heart".

I mentioned him earlier for Smoke; he's also unforgettable in his one scene in The Color of Money (Kael singled him out), and--it's not really a performance--funny in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. (Or least the way people react to him is funny, like the kid who says "He lives here? I thought he just flew in for games.") Haven't seen his award-winning film.

Norton had it sewn up for a few years there.

Seriously, it's weird to see him so ignored here when he was so universally marked as "great actor of his generation." And since I haven't seen any of the movies he's been in since the ones that gave him that status, I voted for him, because he really was pretty great.

garrett dillahunt's another character actor from this generation i like a whole lot

had no idea he was more than "the terminator in sarah connor chronicles" -- a show in which he was fine but didn't distinguish himself as a great actor

This is making me wanna watch Ghost Dog. I feel like he has versatility too. I don't know about the :best: anything, but Forrest Whitaker is my favorite from that list.

norton's a really good actor, i got a little tired of him for a while there cuz he was playing so many knowitall dickheads (spacey syndrome) but you go look at his best work and it holds up

fishburne's another guy on here where whenever i see him in something i'm like "man i love this dude"

yeah norton's had an odd career. even back w/'the score', one of the perhaps unstated reasons he was cast in that film is they wanted to have the great
actors of their respective generations in a single movie (brando, deniro, norton). I really like him, it's too bad he hasn't been working as much these past few years. maybe hulk broke him.

Don't expect anyone will agree, but I thought Fishburne was often excellent up until the Matrix movies: Class Action, Boyz n the Hood, King of New York, others. I find the Morpheus character pure camp--unintentionally so, I think. I lost track of him after that (he was good in Mystic River, though).

he was in mi:3 w/ psh and billy crudup

hes great in it too

John C. Reilly could be fantastic if he wanted to be.

reilly knows the game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5JAPkvnyso

whittaker or downey jr, i guess. lots of good choices.

Whittaker for me. But this list really shows that Hoffman was the best. It's true that that the actress list is much, much better.

Lots of good performances from that list of actors, but I can't see voting any other way but Fiennes here.

cage at his best really goes toe to toe w. any of these.

that's true, but he's rarely at his best, and he has a habit of accepting terrible, really terrible roles.

2) Much harder part: ability to inhabit different characters (a lot of actors barely even try this)

I feel like this is the narrow, kind of "rockist" definition of acting. It's the kind of thinking that leads to all of those dumb oscar bait movies where people are handicapped or play a famous person with a different accent. "if you have a bunch of ppl who are all frequently good, versatility wd seem to be a good thing to value." makes sense from a critic's point of view if you need to make lists and participate in polls, but it doesn't really mean that #2 is a better or higher form of acting.

xpost, he's still actually probably had more great compelling parts than almost anyone else on that list i can think of. maybe Javier Bardem?

yeah, but since about 1990, ugh . . .

now, 1995's leaving las vegas atones for a lot of sins, but here, there are a lot of sins.

cage in bad lieutenant: POCNO >>>>>>>>

No-one here immediately jumps out at me. I'd probably go for Pitt and Norton who both have 3-4 performances that stick in the memory. I'm voting Pitt.

he's rarely at his best, and he has a habit of accepting terrible, really terrible roles

not comparing Cage to these guys, but see Brando and De Niro

I like Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt is not one of the thousand best actors on the planet.

I feel like this is the narrow, kind of "rockist" definition of acting. It's the kind of thinking that leads to all of those dumb oscar bait movies where people are handicapped or play a famous person with a different accent. "if you have a bunch of ppl who are all frequently good, versatility wd seem to be a good thing to value." makes sense from a critic's point of view if you need to make lists and participate in polls, but it doesn't really mean that #2 is a better or higher form of acting.

― wk, Sunday, February 9, 2014 4:33 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark

Stfu

not comparing Cage to these guys, but see Brando and De Niro

it's painful watching de niro in most roles these days. haven't seen the movie he was in last year that was nominated for all the acting oscars, tho. honestly, seemed too depressing to watch at the time.

last De Niro where it seemed like he gave half a shit was Stone, and that was the first one in a while.

I feel like this is the narrow, kind of "rockist" definition of acting. It's the kind of thinking that leads to all of those dumb oscar bait movies where people are handicapped or play a famous person with a different accent. "if you have a bunch of ppl who are all frequently good, versatility wd seem to be a good thing to value." makes sense from a critic's point of view if you need to make lists and participate in polls, but it doesn't really mean that #2 is a better or higher form of acting.

― wk, Sunday, February 9, 2014 4:33 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark

Stfu

― AIDS (Hungry4Ass

nah you stfu he's right

then again I'm alone thinking Meryl Streep is a fucking bore so what do I know

think any application of rockism to film is a stretch and would be more likely to take the form of giving oscars to crash. range isn't a necessity (esp range in terms of accents, ability to play different periods, other cosmetic showy Actor stuff) but it shouldn't be disregarded, esp when considering ability to do drama and comedy.

Range is a lot more than different accents.

I think his point though was praising actors because of their ability to perform accents and wear wigs and facial hair. It's the Paul Muni disease.

I don't recall doing that though.

Streep has kinda ruined the accent thing though I'll give you that.

certainly on the male-actors side, there's this irritating tendency to over-emote, and deliver lines so stiffly, that it becomes seriously off-putting. who is the last director or actor that really excelled at naturalism? robert altman films did, back in the day, with characters consistently talking-over, or perpetually interrupting, each other, stammering, saying things awkwardly, or without finely-delivered accuracy and efficiency, then trying to rephrase them. not much of that today.

naturalism or realism? I think you mean realism. Actresses tend to be better with tics (Sandy Dennis comes to mind), but think of Jack Lemmon; when the tics freeze into a manner we get Cate Blanchett (and Jack Lemmon at his worst).

maybe it's realism. it's the reason i like actors like bill murray (when he isn't doing shtick) and -- yes, i know this is a silly example -- michael keaton when he played bruce wayne in the batman movies (stumbling, awkward, starts-and-stops sentences, introverted, etc etc).

Lena Dunham's nailing that these days.

a lot of 70s movies did that realism/naturalism well. lena dunham's a great actress; i've got to dig deeper into her filmography.

(and i've got to see more of that hbo show with her, too)

I"m just saying, I think that's precisely what lets her carry her show. Not saying she has a long resume of work.

Daniel, Esq there is a film genre called mumblecore for you.

Range is a lot more than different accents.

― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Sunday, February 9, 2014 7:56 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

yeah

Daniel, Esq there is a film genre called mumblecore for you.

― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Sunday, February 9, 2014

i wants to know all abouts this "mumblecore."

seriously, very glad you mentioned this genre. i seen a number of these films, and now i want to see more.

nah you stfu he's right

― Bryan Fairy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, February 9, 2014 7:39 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

i was really just responding to the word rockism more than their argument

that said... like i think of bryan cranston as an actor with a ton of range, not meaning "oh he can play a british guy or a gay maori cripple no prob" (in fact he's the last guy in the world who i want to hear do an accent of any kind) but that he's a guy who's incredibly expressive and doesn't seem to struggle with any kind of emotional material

pitt and wahlberg are more inexpressive actors even when they're going big, they're guys like uh like michael madsen where you can definitely enjoy watching them do their thing (i dont enjoy michael madsen btw he just came to mind) but there's places they can't go very credibly. at the same time they're also not still-waters-run-deep guys like tony leung (who btw is in the age range for this poll and who i would've voted for over any of the poll choices) who can suggest a vast inner life with the tiniest amount of visual information, they're more... dudes who are comfortable in their own skin and are fun to hang out with. and im not putting that down at all, ive tried to convince a lot of people that wahlberg is underrated b/c having not just watchability (feels like a more apt word for MW than 'charisma') but a certain kind of it that nobody else does is definitely worth something, but i mean cranston and leung (and hoffman) can do that too in addition to their fancypants stuff

then again I'm alone thinking Meryl Streep is a fucking bore

oh you must be kidding, you read more than that.

lena dunham's a great actress; i've got to dig deeper into her filmography

pretty short dig so far.

i agree w/you on pitt and wahlberg, h4a. i like them both a lot but what they do is pretty limited. for example in world war z i enjoyed it well enough and thought pitt was a comforting center to the film, like a cozy old yellow sweater, but as the apocalypse widened he just spent the whole time seeming nothing but mildly curious about the whole thing even while fleeing the scene. actually come to think of it marky mark would have had some incredible running in that role, i bet. he's one of cinema's great runners, like cruise or william l peterson.

leung is a good call. even in the mix with a lot of great charismatic HK actors (i'd put anthony wong up there with him, chow yun fat on the second tier, guys like francis ng and simon yam right alongside him) he towers above. i just remember seeing him in a bunch of widely different pics one right after the other (hard boiled, the tigers, the longest nite, chungking express) and he was assured and confident and he lived deep in every role.

I think I would seriously consider Ben Stiller if he were on the list.

xp In the Tom Cruise thread I think I have the same reaction of "watching Tom Cruise play Tom Cruise play John Anderton" instead of just "John Anderton" - maybe it's different from what you guys are talking about

And Cruise has been good in recent movies I've seen (Jack Reacher, Oblivion)

Simon Yam should be first tier, imo - you never know if he's gonna be the good guy or the bad guy, face is like the Cheshire cat

Chow has been pretty bad in the recent stuff I've seen (Last Tycoon, the Monkey King) but I think it's down to directors who don't know how to use him, Wong Jing is such a hack

Chow's got one of the brightest smiles in the world imo

yeah I probably underrated yam, I forget his gentle wistful fishing scene in election turning on a dime into terrifying brutality. Have to give a shout out to lau ching-wan too.

Saw Tony Leung's name on a list of actors born in whatever year he was born but forgot to list him in the assorted others. Good call.

if Joaquin Phoenix had been on the list, he'd be my winner, hands down.

then again I'm alone thinking Meryl Streep is a fucking bore

oh you must be kidding, you read more than that.

― images of war violence and historical smoking (Dr Morbius),

I've also seen more than that.

I forget his gentle wistful fishing scene in election turning on a dime into terrifying brutality.

god bless my feverish brain reading this as 'gentle wishful fisting'.

ha, same here^

I feel like Danny Huston and Jeffrey Wright are a couple of heavyweights and should-be leading men/household names.

Of the big names up top I voted Downey Jr. w/ his rockist range and physicality. One of the handful of actors I'll stop to watch when flipping channels.

but he just does 'franchise' shit now

he was gonna star in the next PTA but i think the schedule didn't work out or something.

haha Downey, Jr. is actually the kind of actor Alex in SF should be suspicious: a star bringing a bag of mannerisms and ticks to every role as he "plays himself"

*should be suspicious of

while his schedule is indeed full of sherlock and stark, he also did Due Date in '10 and has two comedies coming out this year - admittedly nothing overtly oscarific since the soloist.

cage probably the most compelling actor on the list in terms of drawing you in to the worst fucking movies

idk how you judge any of this shit tho

(not an invitation for ppl to explain to me)

actually, turns out of one of the comedies is being planned for the '14 awards season, despite being directed by the dude from Wedding Crashers.

rdj will play a hotshot attorney going back to a hometown full of people like Melissa Leo and Billy Bob Thornton when his father, Judge Robert Duvall, is accused of murder.

in a wild road-trip w/ co-star zach galifianakis

i don't allow anybody to draw me into the worst fucking movies

he also did Due Date in '10

is this supposed to be a defense?

Downey has maybe the most disgusting four "known for" titles on his iMdB page: Avengers and three Iron Mans. Gee, where's The Gingerbread Man?

...in the $3 bin @ Big Lots where it belongs.

Now Back To School...

http://media1.onsugar.com/files/2010/05/18/4/192/1922283/rdj-back-to-school/i/Back-School-1986.jpg

howbout Short Cuts and Wonder Boys?

anyway he's too old for this thread.

surprised you aren't championing Two Girls and a Guy?

never saw that, but my fave moment in his career is probably when Mike Tyson slaps him in Black & White.

(he needs slapping more often)

anyway, thread needs more French and Asian actors

(sorry, he's not too old. i was anesthetized about 3 hours ago)

howbout Short Cuts and Wonder Boys?

Those I can get behind. (And TGM isn't ultra-bad, it's just that if Altman hadn't been involved, I'd have had no time for it.)

that's a big caveat! ditto Pririe Home Companion, OC and Stiggs, etc.

I don't know his exact age and he may be a little too old, but I'm going to say Naeem Uzimann.

I'd probably vote Damon. Second maybe Russell Crowe, though he's in a lot of crap.

Michael J. Fox (1961) is excellent in Casualties of War and Bright Lights, Big City.

xp Re: Jeffrey Wright. I heard the NYT theatre critic saying that about 10 years ago they had to decide who to name the best actor on Broadway and the top three contenders were Hoffman, Wright and Liev Schreiber. Given that I live in London and don't see many plays anyway, I love hearing about this side of things. Weird that 2/3 ended up in The Hunger Games.

no weirder than Mike Leigh's rep company filling out the Harry Potters

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

were sam rockwell eligible he'd probably be my actual vote.

xp Good point Morbs. I guess I'm just more used to seeing British stage actors in all kinds of things.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Two Will Smith votes making me laugh a little.

wait how many times did horseshoe vote

RUFFALO RUFFALO RUFFALO RUFFALO RUFFALO

Rark Muffalo.

The answer is obviously Drake.

lol i did not vote at all but otm!

about ruffalo, i mean

lol who are the two people who voted for paul giamatti?!

Love Ruffalo!

happiest @ Crowe getting 0

about 2 dozen of you are grounded

Depp's taken a hit. He probably would have won this 8-10 years ago.

Weird to think of Jared Leto and Jackie earle Haley as being in the same "generation"

Very surprised to find I voted for the winner here. (And in the actress thread, too!) Of everyone named in this thread, though, it probably should have been Tony Leung.

once again eddie gets robbed

Ha, just realized that I forgot someone else who technically qualified for this poll: Justin Henry, born in 1971, nominated at age 8 for Kramer vs. Kramer.

All those 0 votes could make a great heist movie together.

xp Well that changes everything.