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Which group of actors do you prefer? Past (90's and before vs 00's and today).

1. Which group is more skilled?
2. Which group do you prefer?

90's and before:

Johnny Depp
Brad Pitt
Leonardo Dicaprio
Nicolas Cage
William H Macey
Gary Oldman
Denzel Washington
Ethan Hawke
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Bacon
Willem Defoe
Liam Neeson
Edward Norton
Sean Penn
Robert Downey Jr.
etc...

Vs

More modern:

Miles Teller
Bendeict Cumberbatch
Ryan Gosling
Christan Bale
Tom Hardy
Jake Gyllenhaal
Chris Pratt
Joseph Gordon Levitt
Chadwick Boseman
Bradley Cooper
Michael Fassbender
Hugh Jackman
Jonah Hill
James McAvoy
etc...

Which group is overall more skilled, though?

I also forgot to put guys like Samuel L Jackson and Bruce Willis for the past side.

Originally posted by Senor Cage
Which group is overall more skilled, though?

I also forgot to put guys like Samuel L Jackson and Bruce Willis for the past side.

I feel that more modern actors are more trained and skilled in versatile acting, whereas older actors are more typecast (as a general rule of thumb).

But does being more versatile mean better? Some of the 90s heavy weights include

Johnny Depp
Robert Downey jr
Gary oldman
Willem dafoe
Daniel Day Lewis

Those are the most versatile of the bunch.

Originally posted by Senor Cage
Which group is overall more skilled, though?

I cant really put my finger on something like that. Acting isnt something i can really quantify in that way. I just know what i like, and who i like to watch, sorry.

Originally posted by Senor Cage
I also forgot to put guys like Samuel L Jackson and Bruce Willis for the past side.
Both would be BFO/DOTR for me.

Originally posted by riv6672
I cant really put my finger on something like that. Acting isnt something i can really quantify in that way. I just know what i like, and who i like to watch, sorry.


Both would be BFO/DOTR for me.

Concession accepted, fat faced ogre.

Originally posted by Senor Cage
But does being more versatile mean better? Some of the 90s heavy weights include

Johnny Depp
Robert Downey jr
Gary oldman
Willem dafoe
Daniel Day Lewis

Those are the most versatile of the bunch.
Again, not something i can quantify.
Some very versatile actors, i couldnt care less about the roles they take or movies theyre in.
Some actors play themselves in every movie, buti like watching them.

Obliterate in skill or pure acting ability? Depp is more versatile than someone like Hardy, but I wouldn't put him above him.

Nice breakdown, riv. Cant quote you.

Odd lists when Christian Bale is slightly older than Di Caprio and had his break out role earlier with Empire of the Sun.

Can't say I prefer either list as a whole and like and dislike actors in both.

In the first list Oldman has done an insane range of characters, accents etc and become unrecognisable in some roles like Mason Verger in Hannibal. Compare that to his performance as Churchill or Jean Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg in The Fifth Element, Stansfield in Leon or Dracula and his range is apparent and far broader than most of the others on both lists.

Bale, while a less skilled actor probably puts the most effort into transforming his own body for roles. The ups and downs in weight between The Machinist then Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Fighter then the Dark Knight Rises. Then onto Vice...That level of transformation takes a dedication most of the other actors in both lists can only dream of.

Di Caprio knows how to pick roles that suit him perfectly and works best under equally brilliant directors which he does often. Scorsese, Tarantino, Nolan, Inarritu, Scott, Spielberg

Hardy is fast becoming a brilliant mix of the above. Talented in changing accents and voices, dedicates himself to transforming his physique drastically when the role calls for it. Bit of a mixed bag when picking scripts to suit him though. Same with Gyllenhaal and to a lesser extent, Macavoy

Some on those lists I'll never understand why they get the recognition that they do. Neeson and Denzel rarely play parts that require any change from who they are.

Bacon is underrated and a lot of his best performances were in relatively unknown films like Murder in the First.

Gosling is overrated and is basically a wooden plank although that suits its purpose in the Nicolas Winding Refn movies he's been in.

Cumberbatch is also overrated. Rarely plays anything requiring him to be anything other than himself. Eddie Redmane is far superior.

1 glaring omission from the lists Daniel Day Lewis. A case can be made that he's better than all of them.

Originally posted by Senor Cage
Obliterate in skill or pure acting ability? Depp is more versatile than someone like Hardy, but I wouldn't put him above him.

Give me a general outlier to where you differentiate skill vs pure acting ability and I will answer accordingly.

As a general rule of thumb I would say Oldman and Daniel Day trumps most people on this list by sheer acting ability.

Originally posted by Senor Cage
Depp is more versatile than someone like Hardy, but I wouldn't put him above him.
See, thats what i mean. Its objective.
Its not like acting is running a race, where you can definitively say one person is faster than another.

Originally posted by riv6672
Again, not something i can quantify.
Some very versatile actors, i couldnt care less about the roles they take or movies theyre in.
Some actors play themselves in every movie, buti like watching them.

More regurgitation from the king of shit posts. Get it together.

Originally posted by riv6672
See, thats what i mean. Its objective.
Its not like acting is running a race, where you can definitively say one person is faster than another.

*subjective

Originally posted by Eon Blue
Give me a general outlier to where you differentiate skill vs pure acting ability and I will answer accordingly.

As a general rule of thumb I would say Oldman and Daniel Day trumps most people on this list by sheer acting ability.

Everything is pretty much subjective, so each poster here has their own criteria. For me, it's how convincing the actor is in a role. Deniro in his prime is right up there with someone like Daniel day Lewis. I feel like deniro is more versatile than DDL, but DDL is better at something like drama.

Like Riv pointed out, it's hard to gauge.

Originally posted by jaden_2.0
Odd lists when Christian Bale is slightly older than Di Caprio and had his break out role earlier with Empire of the Sun.

Can't say I prefer either list as a whole and like and dislike actors in both.

In the first list Oldman has done an insane range of characters, accents etc and become unrecognisable in some roles like Mason Verger in Hannibal. Compare that to his performance as Churchill or Jean Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg in The Fifth Element, Stansfield in Leon or Dracula and his range is apparent and far broader than most of the others on both lists.

Bale, while a less skilled actor probably puts the most effort into transforming his own body for roles. The ups and downs in weight between The Machinist then Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Fighter then the Dark Knight Rises. Then onto Vice...That level of transformation takes a dedication most of the other actors in both lists can only dream of.

Di Caprio knows how to pick roles that suit him perfectly and works best under equally brilliant directors which he does often. Scorsese, Tarantino, Nolan, Inarritu, Scott, Spielberg

Hardy is fast becoming a brilliant mix of the above. Talented in changing accents and voices, dedicates himself to transforming his physique drastically when the role calls for it. Bit of a mixed bag when picking scripts to suit him though. Same with Gyllenhaal and to a lesser extent, Macavoy

Some on those lists I'll never understand why they get the recognition that they do. Neeson and Denzel rarely play parts that require any change from who they are.

Bacon is underrated and a lot of his best performances were in relatively unknown films like Murder in the First.

Gosling is overrated and is basically a wooden plank although that suits its purpose in the Nicolas Winding Refn movies he's been in.

Cumberbatch is also overrated. Rarely plays anything requiring him to be anything other than himself. Eddie Redmane is far superior.

1 glaring omission from the lists Daniel Day Lewis. A case can be made that he's better than all of them.

True. Maybe I should have placed Christian bale in the 90s and below. He was also in Dead Poet society.

Let's simplify things. 90s starting five:

1. Daniel day Lewis
2. Gary oldman
3. Christian Bale
4. Robert Downey jr.
5. Kevin Spacey

Modern starting five

1. Tom Hardy
2. Eddy redmain
3. Michael Fassbender
4. Jake G.
5. James MacAvoy

Lewis and Oldman are just too much for the 2nd group, The other 8 are on a par with one another for the most part. Fassbender and RDJ are probably the weak links from their respective lists although I like them both in certain roles and have both done a good mix of serious and light-hearted stuff.

^^^ imo, robert Downey jr. Best role is Chaplin.

Originally posted by Senor Cage
Which group of actors do you prefer? Past (90's and before vs 00's and today).

1. Which group is more skilled?
2. Which group do you prefer?

90's and before:

Johnny Depp
Brad Pitt
Leonardo Dicaprio
Nicolas Cage
William H Macey
Gary Oldman
Denzel Washington
Ethan Hawke
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Bacon
Willem Defoe
Liam Neeson
Edward Norton
Sean Penn
Robert Downey Jr.
etc...

Vs

More modern:

Miles Teller
Bendeict Cumberbatch
Ryan Gosling
Christan Bale
Tom Hardy
Jake Gyllenhaal
Chris Pratt
Joseph Gordon Levitt
Chadwick Boseman
Bradley Cooper
Michael Fassbender
Hugh Jackman
Jonah Hill
James McAvoy
etc...


the older group is much better at the craft and have much more star power. The only real stand outs from the newer crew is James MacAvoy, Chrstian Bale and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Add guys like Jack Nicholson, Jeremy Irons, Michael Keaton, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino to the "etc" part of the old school and its really no contest

Originally posted by relentless1
the older group is much better at the craft and have much more star power. The only real stand outs from the newer crew is James MacAvoy, Chrstian Bale and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Add guys like Jack Nicholson, Jeremy Irons, Michael Keaton, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino to the "etc" part of the old school and its really no contest


I put Bale in the 80's/90's group, since hes in the same age bracket, and started out in the 8os.

Originally posted by Senor Cage
I put Bale in the 80's/90's group, since hes in the same age bracket, and started out in the 8os.

then its even more of a blowout for the older guys

Oldman, DiCaprio, and Dafoe almost certainly elevate team 1 to a higher level