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I think it's Tom Hanks.

Anyone else?

Tom Hanks is a fantastic actor who deserves to be at the top of that list. He has played a varied set of roles, and has been equally convincing as each.
Although for loyalty purposes, I still say Harrison Ford!

I'd like to vote Chris Farley, with the runners up being Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Marlon Brando, and Jack Nicholson. It was a tough choice but it really came down to the absolute emotion and drama exemplified with each film.

Tom Hanks is not the greatest actor of all time, he's not even remotely close.

My personal favorites are Dustin Hoffman and Paul Newman, although for sheer number of truly brilliant performances, I'd say it has to be Robert De Niro.

Alec Guinness

if i was going yto go for a modern actor is would be one of the following

Sean Penn
Gary Oldman
Edward Norton

Deniro and Pacino

I think it's impossible to narrow it down to just one. There are a lot of extremely good actors out there that deserve recognition. The ones that come to mind for me are:

Robert DeNiro
Gary Oldman
Harrison Ford
Tom Hanks
Keifer Sutherland
Donald Sutherland
Alec Guinness

There are others I know, but those are the ones that spring to mind at the moment.

I will say Tom Hanks, although it could easily be JOhnny Depp,... and I like most of Brad Pitt's movie choices.

Originally posted by jaden101
Alec Guinness

if i was going yto go for a modern actor is would be one of the following

Sean Penn
Gary Oldman
Edward Norton you have the list i was a bout to type ahh shock

Alec Guinness was an amazing actor he has got to be somewhere near the best actors

Gary Oldman to is a great actor extremely talented and unique

Originally posted by ladygrim
you have the list i was a bout to type ahh shock

Alec Guinness was an amazing actor he has got to be somewhere near the best actors

Gary Oldman to is a great actor extremely talented and unique

great minds think alike eh?

i put those cause they have each played many different types of character to a brilliant standard

alec guinness in oliver twist as fagin, professor marcus in the lady killers...his roles in lawerence of arabia, dr zhivago and hotel paradiso

sean penn in i am sam, dead man walking, 21 grams, mystic river, before night falls, the game, carlitos way,

gary oldman in 5th element, hannibal, leon, true romance

edward norton is still to find a defining role for himslef but american history x, fight club and 25th hour were all superb

Sean Penn is a good actor, but he really is miserable. It has nothing to do with talent I know, but I find it very off-putting. I would never rate Oldman as one of the alltime greats, for the same reason as I wouldn't Pacino (that is if Dog Day Afternoon and The Godfather never existed); tendency to fall back on over acting.

Brad Pitt isn't one of the greatest, although I do think he is very underrated by some as a serious actor. He's delivered some magnificent performances.

Stand by my vote though. He may be an obvious choice, but De Niro is the master. The Taxi Driver performance, to me, is perfect acting. I've never seen anything better. Other candidates..

Dustin Hoffman
Paul Newman
Klaus Kinski
John Torturro

Nominees...
Lawrence Olivier
Alec Guiness
Al Pacino
Dustin Hoffman
Edward Norton
Meryl Streep
Bette Davis
Paul Newman
Katherine Hepburn
Shirely McClaine
Anthony Hopkins
Robert Deniro

Christopher Walken.....yeah

Oh yes, add to my nominees ^

Frighteningly good in The Deer Hunter.

Johnny Depp!

Dustin Hoffman without a doubt.

John Wayne.

Morgan Freeman

Originally posted by Mindship
Nominees...
Lawrence Olivier
Alec Guiness
Al Pacino
Dustin Hoffman
Edward Norton
Meryl Streep
Bette Davis
Paul Newman
Katherine Hepburn
Shirely McClaine
Anthony Hopkins
Robert Deniro

All very good actors.The ONLY one that doesnt belong on that list is Lawrence Olivier and the reason for that-stick with me on this one folks,is because he IS the greatst actor of all time.Because he was considered the greatest actor of all time by most every film maker back in his days who directed him and his actor peers as well. so the others would be nominees since he is indeed the greatest actor of all time.

btw,while Tom Hanks is indeed a very good actor,he is hardly the greatest of all time. Those others mentioned on this list are WAYYYY ahead of him.

Originally posted by ladygrim
you have the list i was a bout to type ahh shock

Alec Guinness was an amazing actor he has got to be somewhere near the best actors

Gary Oldman to is a great actor extremely talented and unique

Funny that you mentioned those two names Amy because me and you think alike as well Because I was about to make a post about those two actors. I was going to post that Alec Guinness is considered the chameleon actor of his day and time.Meaning in just about every film of his,moviegoers even though they knew who Alec Guiness was and that he was in that certain movie they were seeing,they could not recognize him in his roles he played in his movies because he always looked so much different in all his movies he would be in.Well Gary Oldman has that same gift and he is this generations Chameleon of actors.Just about every movie he is in as well,you have a hard time believing that he is that character because also looks so much different and unrecognizeable in his movies.Take Batman Begins for example.I kept hearing that he was in that movie and even though I had an idea of what he looks like since I have seen him in quite a few movies,I never knew until like the 4th time I saw it,that he was indeed commissioner Gordon.When I learned THAT was the role he played in the movie on like the 4th time,I was like THAT was Gary Oldman? wow he fooled me.I didnt know that was him. so yep,he is this generations Chameleon of movies. great actors like him and guinness have that rare gift.

Not one single mention of Marlon Brando..................*sigh*

Alec Guiness is good

Harrison Ford too...

Johnny Depp is ok...

Ewan Mcgregor > dont ask why...

Originally posted by Impediment
Not one single mention of Marlon Brando..................*sigh*

oh yeah,forgot about him.He should for sure be mentioned in that list as well.

Originally posted by Mr Parker
Funny that you mentioned those two names Amy because me and you think alike as well Because I was about to make a post about those two actors. I was going to post that Alec Guinness is considered the chameleon actor of his day and time.Meaning in just about every film of his,moviegoers even though they knew who Alec Guiness was and that he was in that certain movie they were seeing,they could not recognize him in his roles he played in his movies because he always looked so much different in all his movies he would be in.Well Gary Oldman has that same gift and he is this generations Chameleon of actors.Just about every movie he is in as well,you have a hard time believing that he is that character because also looks so much different and unrecognizeable in his movies.Take Batman Begins for example.I kept hearing that he was in that movie and even though I had an idea of what he looks like since I have seen him in quite a few movies,I never knew until like the 4th time I saw it,that he was indeed commissioner Gordon.When I learned THAT was the role he played in the movie on like the 4th time,I was like THAT was Gary Oldman? wow he fooled me.I didnt know that was him. so yep,he is this generations Chameleon of movies. great actors like him and guinness have that rare gift.

unfortunatly i looked at pictures of G.Oldman in batman before i went to watch it but still he didnt look reconiseable at all

Well, i agree with my friend mr parker in almost all the things that he posted. Alec Guiness and Gary Oldman are, absolutely, two of the greatest actors of any generation or any time because they are human chamaleons, they could play any role in any movie. People like John Hurt should be in those lists because he is in the same chamaleon range that guiness or oldman.

Also, people like Marlon Brando should be in those lists too. He was one of the greatest actors ever.

About the Laurence Olivier issue. True, he was named in his time the best actor of all time, but that was on stage, in theatre, not in cinema. In cinema , he was very good in movies like spartacus, rebecca, sleuth , marathon man or his shakespeare adaptations, but never nearly as good as he was in theatre.

Although i am huge peter Falk fan I have to say for me it has to be Dustin Hoffman, with a very close second of Anthony Hopkins.

Originally posted by ladygrim
unfortunatly i looked at pictures of G.Oldman in batman before i went to watch it but still he didnt look reconiseable at all

Like I said,he is amazing the way he is able to fool people in his movies.your always thinking -so where is Gary Oldman,I dont see him? when he is right there in front of you.LOL.then when you leave the theater,your like-wow THAT was him,I cant believe it.

Originally posted by Dr_Joshua_Keyes
Johnny Depp!


Johnny Depp is my all time favourite actor as well! I can't believe there are only two mentions of him! I think he's fantastic, the way that he can change from one role to the other rather than seeming to be the same character in a different film.

Originally posted by Mr Parker
Like I said,he is amazing the way he is able to fool people in his movies.your always thinking -so where is Gary Oldman,I dont see him? when he is right there in front of you.LOL.then when you leave the theater,your like-wow THAT was him,I cant believe it.


ok here are some more

JOHNNY DEPP

JOHNNY DEPP

JOHNNY DEPP

JOHNNY DEPP

JOHNNY DEPP

JOHNNY DEPP

JOHNNY DEPP

JOHNNY DEPP the others are not even close!

Winners

Robert De Niro
Joe Pesci
Tom Hanks

Nominees

Kevin Spacey
Christopher Walken
Pete Postlethwaite
Edward Norton
Brad Pitt
Al Pacino
Daniel Day-Lewis

Robert DeNiro, Kevin Spacey, Sean Penn and Harrison Ford in that order imo.

Bogart. Butt ugly guy who probably weighed 150lbs soaking wet. But on the screen he was totally believable as either suave ladys man or a two fisted tough guy. Bogart in a trenchcoat is an iconic image that'll last forever.

I think a better question would be: who is your personal favourite actor? But I'll try my best.

There are the obvious four screen legends: Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, James Dean and Gregory Peck.

Then later icons like Robert De Niro (one of the most devoted actors in history), Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Jack Nicholson, John Malkovich to name a few.

And even newer greats from the past ten years, Nicholas Cage, Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Edward Norton and Ewan McGregor.

But as a wise man once said: "I would not think of quarreling with your interpretation nor offering any other, as I have found it always the best policy to allow the film to speak for itself."

Anthony Hopkins, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Robert Deniro, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson

to me its between Pacino, Newman and Hopkins

and more recently, Tom Hanks, Ed Norton, Kevin Space, Brad Pitt and Russel Crowe

I really think Brad Pitt is an amazing actor. He's played an autistic, serial killing thug, mythical warrior, police detective, farmer, con man you name it, and came up aces on the parts given to him. He is my all time favorite actor.

I'm going with Jack Nicholson. His portrayal of madness in Cuckoo's Nest and The Shining are perfect, and the stern bluntness of his character in A Few Good Men set new standards for military acting. He is brilliant in everything he's ever done, even his random cameo appearance in the rock opera Tommy.

Maybe not the best, but certainly one of them, and my personal favourite.

I just watched As good as it gets and Jack Nicholson is now in my top 3. he is an Amazing Actor, but anyone who has won a best actor Oscar must be really good, just like Tom Hank, Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman and Daniel Day-Lewis. they are all amazing actors.

I really like Brad Pitt as an actor, I am surprised he has never won an Oscar.

There are simply too many to really even make a qualitive and reasonable list in my mind. You have the obvious ones like Ford, Pacino, De Niro, Hoffman of the New Hollywood era, the method school of actors like Brando and James Dean, some of the Shakespearean actors like Olivier, Holm and although perhaps a tad arguable, Alan Rickman. Then you have the classics like John Wayne, Cagney, Archibald Leach and Jimmy Stewart. Bloody Hell: Heston (although a certified anus), Eastwood, Jack Lemmon. Forget that. There are many.

In the recent decades you have people like Gary Oldman coming into their prime, Christian Bale, Tom Cruise (Scientology aside he is an amazing actor), Daniel Day-Lewis et cetera et cetera.

Thing is, practically everyone anyone has mentioned (with notable exceptions. Mr.Depp, I'm looking in your direction) would bring something great to a role that in script-form was wafer thin.

What about actresses you sexist pigs?

Originally posted by jaden101
alec guinness in oliver twist as fagin, professor marcus in the lady killers...his roles in lawerence of arabia, dr zhivago and hotel paradiso

Kind Hearts and Coronets!

Helen Hunt, Patricia Arquette, Sharon Stone, Charlize Theron, Jodie Foster

Marilyn Munroe, Audrey Hepburn, Meryl Streep

there are loads of great actresses its too hard to choose

It's hard for me to decide between Will Smith, Johny Depp, and Geoffry Rush. (Don't know if I spelled those names right. Forgive me)

Originally posted by exanda kane
Kind Hearts and Coronets!

HE played Fagin??!!!!! HOLY CRAP!!!!! HE'S IN MY TOP 10. Period.

Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Peter O'toole are my personal favorites

Originally posted by MovieRose0101
It's hard for me to decide between Will Smith, Johny Depp, and Geoffry Rush. (Don't know if I spelled those names right. Forgive me)

Will Smith?

hahaha...might as well say Ben Affleck as well

Mine would be Nicholas Cage, great actor. Loved him in Con Air.

Chevy Chase. The man has so much breadth. I remember seeing him as Macbeth in an off-Broadway production at The Little Dildo. Stunning.

Lawrence Olivia is easily the greatest actor of all time so this discussion can end now.Thats a known fact.Every major director and actor will tell you the same thing,that he is considered the greatest actor of all time that everybody tries to measure themselves up to in trying to become a good actor.okay whos the SECOND greatest? we can discuss THAT now.

Originally posted by Mr Parker
Lawrence Olivia is easily the greatest actor of all time so this discussion can end now.Thats a known fact.Every major director and actor will tell you the same thing,that he is considered the greatest actor of all time that everybody tries to measure themselves up to in trying to become a good actor.okay whos the SECOND greatest? we can discuss THAT now.

Laurence Olivier? That the guy you mean? The guy you believe is the greatest actor of all time?

Laurence?


Olivier?


That one?

hahaha...i sense fail

Originally posted by jaden101
Will Smith?

hahaha...might as well say Ben Affleck as well

That's what I said.
WILL SMITH.
I didn't like his work in Fresh Prince of Belair, but his later works blew me away. My favorites being The Pursuit of Happiness and I Am Legend.

I like him. Still funny to see him on a "greatest actor of all time" list.

My personal favorites. This was the Hollywood i grew up on

Harrison Ford
Jack Nicholson
Robert De Niro
Michael Douglas

i also admire James Stewart and Gregory Peck

No mentions of Christopher Lee? I'm appalled. He is leaps and bounds ahead of some of the rubbish performers we see today.

I wouldnt say 'leaps and bounds'. Dont get me wrong, he's a terrific actor, but he only made it 'big' (all the Dracula films and Wickerman aside) late in his career, which is why he's in such popular demand in Hollywood today.

Ian McKellen tops my list.

I am also very fond of Sigourney Weaver, Morgan Freeman, River Phoenix, Peter Sellers(in Being There but not in the Pink Pather movies),Peter O'Toole and Chewbacca.

Originally posted by Bardock42
Laurence Olivier? That the guy you mean? The guy you believe is the greatest actor of all time?

Laurence?


Olivier?


That one?

"I don't like the name Lawrence, only ******* and sailors are called Lawrence. From now on you're Gomer Pyle."

Laurence Olivier was a bisexual.

Heath Ledger

American Film Institute's top 100 list. See where your pick ranks.

1. Marlon Brando
2. Laurence Olivier
3. Robert DeNiro
4. James Stewart
5. Alec Guinness
6. Humphrey Bogart
7. Gregory Peck
8. Jack Nicholson
9. Henry Fonda
10. Spencer Tracy
11. Charlie Chaplin
12. Gary Cooper
13. James Cagney
14. Al Pacino
15. Cary Grant
16. Sidney Poitier
17. Paul Newman
18. George C. Scott
19. Burt Lancaster
20. Anthony Hopkins
21. Dustin Hoffman
22. Peter Sellers
23. Robert Mitchum
24. Richard Burton
25. Yul Brenner
26. Edward G. Robinson
27. Charlton Heston
28. Clark Gable
29. William Holden
30. Jack Lemmon
31. Gene Kelly
32. Charles Laughton
33. Denzel Washington
34. Fredric March
35. Errol Flynn
36. Kirk Douglas
37. James Dean
38. Orson Welles
39. Gene Hackman
40. Robert DuVall
41. John Wayne
42. Anthony Quinn
43. Michael Caine
44. Sean Connery
45. Peter O'Toole
46. Harrison Ford
47. Robert Redford
48. Buster Keaton
49. Richard Harris
50. Sean Penn
51. Toshiro Mifune
52. Morgan Freeman
53. Lee Marvin
54. Kenneth Branagh
55. Steve McQueen
56. Paul Winfield
57. Ben Kingsley
58. Ralph Richardson
59. Montgomery Clift
60. Rod Steiger
61. Victor Mature
62. Marcello Mastroianni
63. Tom Hanks
64. Christopher Walken
65. Clint Eastwood
66. Walter Matthau
67. Peter Finch
68. Gary Oldman
69. John Malkovich
70. Daniel Day Lewis
71. John Gielgud
72. Dennis Hopper
73. Liam Neeson
74. Geoffrey Rush
75. Samuel L. Jackson
76. James Mason
77. Peter Lorre
78. Fred Astaire
79. Jon Voight
80. Mel Gibson
81. Johnny Depp
82. Gerard Depardieu
83. James Caan
84. Max von Sydow
85. Ralph Fiennes
86. John Hurt
87. Boris Karloff
88. Richard Widmark
89. Kevin Spacey
90. Nicholas Cage
91. Micheal Douglas
92. Russell Crowe
93. William Hurt
94. Richard Dreyfuss
95. Ian McKellan
96. Robin Williams
97. Sydney Greenstreet
98. Tom Cruise
99. Willem Dafoe
100. Gene Wilder

-

John Wayne being 41, let alone on this list is a shame, that guy sucks unwashed ass.

My pick for worst made 90.


Then again, Tom Cruise is on the list.

Oh, i dont know. Pretty much the best list you could assemble - if you know film well enough to recognise the greats like Gable, Bogart, Cagney, etc

Originally posted by Bardock42
My pick for worst made 90.


Then again, Tom Cruise is on the list.

Not only did the AFI place him on the list, but they placed him 5 spots ahead of my favorite actor,who just happens to be a classically trained stage actor, widely regarded as one of the finest of his generation. So, clearly the AFI has been spending too much time buying-in to their own hopped up, trailer park, blue collar comedy tour-watching, self-agrandizing egos. GOD why does America have to be so stupid, sometimes?

Originally posted by Bardock42
Laurence Olivier? That the guy you mean? The guy you believe is the greatest actor of all time?

Laurence?


Olivier?


That one?

yeah thats the one.Thats the one that everybody considers to be the greatest actor of all time.Never have seen any of his films so I wasnt aware thats how it was spelled. well now I know.

Seeing as this seems to be who we feel is the best actor/s outside of our own preference for roles:

Ian McKellen, Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Christian Bale, Daniel Day-Lewis, Peter O' Toole, Denzel Washington to name a few, I suppose.

I don't think Edward Norton, despite being one of my favs, will ever rank up there. Unless he churns out some more Fight Club or better calibre performances, it's not gonna happen.

Daniel Day-Lewis has x-factor, though. I think there's something about his roles that just command every single bit of attention, which can sometimes be a bad thing. The first time I noticed him, really, was Gangs of New York, so maybe I caught on a bit late, but I'm sure that is a role that is a fav with anyone.

I don't know much about technical acting, but I think he gets it.

I also think Gene Hackman, on his best day, is amazing. Very explosive.

Walken is going the Samuel L. Jackson route of almost just being Walken in every movie.

Originally posted by Mr Parker
Lawrence Olivia is easily the greatest actor of all time so this discussion can end now.Thats a known fact.Every major director and actor will tell you the same thing

That doesn't make it fact.

-AC

speaking of great actors, i'm going to draw a big collage of them all to add to my portfolio. The AFI list is a good place to start - not perfect, but when have you ever seen a perfect 'top 100 list'?

I should certainly add Kenneth Branagh to my list. Like McKellen, I've never seen him in a movie where he didn't make it better simply by virtue of his addition to the cast. I'd also add Stanley Tucci.

Laurence Olivier was one of the best actors of all time in theatre. But in cinema, he wasnt that good. Anyways, he was one of the best actors of all time.

Here is a list of mine: Laurence Olivier, Marlon Brando, Robert Deniro, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Ian Mackellen, Daniel Day-Lewis, Al Pacino, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Montgomery Clifft, Cary Grant, James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Edward Norton, Christan Bale, Spencer Tracy, Alec Guiness, Charles Laughton, Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Peter O'toole, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine, Terence Stamp, Richard Harris, Peter Cushing, Sean Connery, Paul Newman, Peter Sellers, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Brigdes, Nick Nolte, Charles Chaplin, Humprey Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, Buster Keaton, Gregory Peck, Robert Duvall.

I could posts some more , no dubt.