NYT: The 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century

acting is nonsense and this list is nonsense

I don't put much stock in the list, NV, but I think acting is hugely underrated when it comes to understanding why you love the films you do. There was an immense body of theory that came along in the '60s and '70s centered around the director; over time, I drifted away from that and began to realize how many of my favourite films were mostly about the performances.

Which would go a long way, for me, to explaining why Mad Men and The Sopranos were more important to me this past decade (I was late) than almost any film: multiple directors, but an amazing core ensemble and a supporting cast that was continually changing and always great.

theatre requires actors, movies require personalities, but I do agree that great performances are at the core of my favorite films/shows.

I think the personality vs. acting point is true sometimes, but I wouldn't want to pin down where that line is. That was the view of John Wayne for a long time, but I think the general consensus now is that he gives performances of subtlety and depth in The Searchers, Red River, and other films. And I know I didn't put Carrie Coon second on my list because she's some definable personality I respond to; she's just a great actress.

I mean certainly there are tons of movie actors that are capable of and deliver great acting performances, sure. I just meant it's easier to get by with just a personality in film if you're not necessarily great at your craft (without the movies suffering for it). I am actually shooting my first movie (an amateur hobby production, not something that will be seen anywhere) after years of theatre and it's so bizarre to me. I had a hard time adjusting.

some of that in theatre for sure (Ethel Merman), but seems less true in modern age of theatre.

I'm a big treat em like cattle guy but I like acting well enough really, even if it's just being memorably movie star-looking

i like acting and am sort of good at it so inevitably i feel nothing but contempt toward the entire discipline

I'm a semi-retired theatre kid who hates actors

One of these four...

Isabelle Huppert
Zhao Tao
Viola Davis
Tilda Swinton

― On average, this critic grades 8.3 points lower than other critics (Eric H.), Friday, November 27, 2020 10:57 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Agree with this list.

Binoche's absence is insane given how her range has expanded since she said fucknit to cutie-pie Miramax fare.

My daughter's a would be professional actress I guess but she's mostly in it for the singing and dancing, the good bits.

lol singing is how I got roped into it as a kid. they pulled the School Board out of choir for Music Man.

PSH in Mission Impossible III is a classic performance

Writing > acting > looking right > directing

But you couldn't drop any of em neither

Plenty of great films with shaky or non-actorly acting, not so very many with poor technical work

I definitely have an easier time looking past mediocre/ordinary direction than bad performances. I love all the performances in Broadcast News, and it could have been directed by anybody (from a technical standpoint; I'm sure James Brooks had a major hand in guiding those performances). I'd contrast that with something like De Palma's Femme Fatale, where--I know I will reap the wrath of at least one person here--the performances (and writing) are so ludicrous, I couldn't care less about the flashy, definitely auteurist direction.

Film is not theatre is how I break it down

And that's without going full auteur theory, but imo the defining elements of film are to do with the medium, not the necessary moving parts

But I should stop being dogmatic or lol playing dogmatic, hard and fast rules are for schmucks

Plenty of great films with shaky or non-actorly acting, not so very many with poor technical work

― Bandscamp Fryday (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 28 November 2020 17:21 (fourteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Think, tho I'm sure I could pull dozens of personally-adored examples either way, that I just flat disagree with that tbh.

Course, as to what's "directing", sure who knows.

Loads

Bonus loads there fyi

Film is not theatre is how I break it down

The record is not the song.

Binoche is by far the least excusable omission here. So good in so many different kinds of roles.

(My guess is that looking at the studied diversity of the list, they just couldn’t have two French white women.)

Sorry, THREE French white women.

Which, I mean, I love Deneuve, but why is she on a 21st century list?

thought hard and i’m gonna go with tilda

Which, I mean, I love Deneuve, but why is she on a 21st century list?

― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra)

Like Deneuve, she's looser and more fun now than she ever was. I've loved her work in the last 20 years.

er, like Binoche.

Went with Daniel Day Lewis. He towers over the rest of this list, and his performance in There Will Be Blood alone is enough, but Lincoln and Gangs of New York just pile on. I haven't seen Phantom Thread yet, and this reminding me to do so.

How the heck is Hoffman not on this list?! Ledger? DiCaprio? I mean DiCaprio's filmography post 2000 is probably one of the most consistently outstanding resumes I've seen when looking at any actor or actress, and got his Best Actor Oscar in the process. Dump Reeves and Dafoe... jeez.

Yeah, I'm just going to say: Keanu Reeves is not a good actor. Sorry.

keanu rules

U spelled "rulz" rong

Love Keanu but no actor

Octobeard you really should catch PT

I love Keanu enough to have gone to see Man of Tai Chi at the cinema AND enjoyed it, and he was brilliant in A Scanner Darkly, but no way does he belong in the list of 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century, sorry.

I love Keanu. It's okay to love someone's whole vibe but think they're not an excellent actor. Nic Cage same way for me at least.

Keanu is the uncarved block of Hollywood and that's a compliment.

I think I need two separate lists to work with, Best Actors and Best Movie Stars, several ppl on this list aren't really the former but certainly qualify as the latter

― it bangs for thee (Simon H.), Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Even if you like Daniel Day-Lewis more than I do--especially if you do--I'd count The Gangs of New York as a minus, not a plus.

I had to look up most of these actors to see if I had seen any of their movies. I'm definitely more focused on directors and their films, I don't recall ever watching a film just because of who was performing in it.

My favourite film featuring any of these actors (since 2000) is Les Destinees Sentimentales, but Huppert is a supporting player in that. So I voted for Zhao Tao, largely for the scene in The World where she is looking at her smartphone.

I loved her confronting the woman who stole her belongings in Ash Is Purest White

Yeah, I'm just going to say: Keanu Reeves is not a good actor. Sorry.

I don't know, the story he tells Lori Petty in Point Break is pretty convincing.

All boxes checked!

Kind of shocked that Philip Seymour Hoff wasn’t in the mix

No Gandolfini on the list! Well, he’s no Melissa McCarthy

you've probably avoided some bad news about them by not reading articles

Whether I agree with it or not, I like that McCarthy's on the list. Movie critics are usually incredibly shitty about judging comedic performances.

yeah, especially satisfying that they went so hard on Spy in the piece

Which, I mean, I love Deneuve, but why is she on a 21st century list?

if only there was any kind of answer to this in the mini-essay about her approach and performances

How the heck is Hoffman not on this list?! Ledger?

I could give you some bad news but you obviously don't read threads or articles (or display names, or tweets)

wait what happened to Heath? WHAT HAPPENED TO HEATH

his acting got worse so they left him off this list

Christ, you scared me for a minute!

Even if you like Daniel Day-Lewis more than I do--especially if you do--I'd count The Gangs of New York as a minus, not a plus.

My favorite thing about that film was Day-Lewis' acting in it, and his character. The rest of it around him seemed a bit much, but as a villain and a personality, he felt larger than life and I couldn't wait to see every second of his time on screen in it.

I don't recall ever watching a film just because of who was performing in it.

Not a judgement, just an observation: I'm guessing you'd have a hard time finding someone who shares that viewpoint.

I imagine one of the only times that was true for me was Dancer in the Dark.

I watched The Bishop's Wife last week cuz #CaryGrant. I should've stayed away because Loretta Young.

I'm in this camp, actors rarely if ever have anything to do w/ my seeing a given movie