Film Question
 

This went unsettled in a friendly debate so I figured I'd pick OOT's brain... although this might be really easy, not sure.

Who are the three greatest actors of the past 15 years? Pretty much excluding foreign films.

Re: Film Question
 

Brad Pitt
Morgan Freeman

Third is hard: Eric Bana? Paul Bettany?

Foreign: Vincent Cassel

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The standard answer will be Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, and either Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, or Tom Hanks.

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Denzel Washington
Kevin Spacey
Tom Hanks


Feel free to disagree. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Film Question
 

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The standard answer will be Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, and either Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, or Tom Hanks.

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I don't see how these are the standard answers... I'm too lazy to open IMDB but I don't see how you can put Pacino on this list. Or Hoffman, really.

Myself, I thought the list looked like:

Hanks
Spacey
Crowe

The question certainly has a correlation to Oscars/Oscar nominations but that is not the sole factor.

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Tom Hanks
Denzel Washington
Ed Norton

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Norton is cool.

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The standard answer will be Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, and either Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, or Tom Hanks.

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except they all did their best work more than 15 years ago.

don't forget about P. Seymour Hoffman

foreign: Gael Garcia Bernal

Re: Film Question
 

PSH was RIGHT there for me, but I had to take Hanks and Denzel over him, assuming the upper range of the time frame was 15 years.

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Ed Norton
Kevin Spacey
Russell Crowe

Honorable mention to William H. Macy and James Cromwell

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Denzel Washington
Kevin Spacey
Tom Hanks

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I'm not a Hanks fan, but this is hard to disagree with. I might switch him with Norton or Freeman, but that's just because I like them better.

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Russell Crowe
Phillip Seymore Hoffman
Chris Cooper

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Tom Hanks
John Cusack
Edit: Johnny Depp

Re: Film Question
 

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Who are the three greatest actors of the past 15 years?

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Greatest Actors by films appeared in or roles played...

A lot of "great" actors play similar roles (typecast)....

Tom Hanks is definitely up there though...

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by greatest do you mean in terms of generally accepted? or just my opinion?

if the latter:

norton
cusack
crowe

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Ed Norton
Denzel Washington
Kevin Spacey

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Hanks is the only one that isnt debatable.

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Johnny Depp should be in the mix.
I agree with Hanks for sure.

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Hanks is the only one that isnt debatable.

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if we are talking generally, then yes. i just prefer those other guys to him, but he's been in so many great movies:

saving private ryan
green mile
apollo 13
forrest gump
road to perdition
catch me if you can

hard to argue against.

Re: Film Question
 

This begs for a poll.

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This begs for a poll.

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No

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Hanks is the only one that isnt debatable.

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if we are talking generally, then yes. i just prefer those other guys to him, but he's been in so many great movies:

saving private ryan
green mile
apollo 13
forrest gump
road to perdition
catch me if you can

hard to argue against.

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Your forgot "Philadelphia", "Cast Away", "Toy Story", "A League of Their Own", and "Sleepless in Seattle", which were certainly fine performances that fit in the time range given.

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yeah i was just listing the ones ive seen. toy story doesnt count... wasnt even a great voice performence or anything.

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yeah i was just listing the ones ive seen. toy story doesnt count... wasnt even a great voice performence or anything.

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I'm sure a lot of OOTers will disagree with this claim.

Both Hanks and Tim Allen (and pretty much all the voice actors, including Wallace Shawn, etc.) were great in this.

Re: Film Question
 

By "greatest" I do not mean "best in your opinion." Greatest as in popularity, influence, highly regarded by critics, etc. Not some amazing Brazilian actor who does Super 8 films that nobody has heard about.

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By "greatest" I do not mean "best in your opinion." Greatest as in popularity, influence, highly regarded by critics, etc. Not some amazing Brazilian actor who does Super 8 films that nobody has heard about.

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then i'm confused. why are we eliminating foreign actors who are just as highly regarded by your criteria? russell crowe comes to mind, as does antonio banderas, gerard depardeu, bernal, cassell, etc...

hell, didn't the original post even eliminate the brits?

Re: Film Question
 

I'm not eliminating foreign actors in American films. I'm eliminating acting roles in foreign films.

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Hanks
Crowe

no one else is really close as far as I can tell, though Denzel was good in Manch. Candidate, so maybe he'll end up avoiding a decade of Harrison Ford-esque 'I AM JUSTIFIABLY ANGRY IN THIS MOVIE' crap.

Most fun to watch? George Clooney.

On the horizon? I'm rooting for Matt Damon, but I can't tell what he'll be acting in in 15 years cause he still looks so young.

Best character actor? PS Hoffman. Watch Lebowski, Talented Mr. Ripley and Boogie Nights. I don't understand how that's the same guy.

Re: Film Question
 

I feel like 15 years is too long of a time period, if I were to ask a question like this, I would do it over 5 years, 10 max. That being said, I would have to go with

Tom Hanks
Michael Caine
Russell Crowe

I feel like Paul Giamatti belongs on this list, but hasn't been around long enough with leading roles.

John C. Reilly would be best supporting actor IMO.

Re: Film Question
 

Robert Downey Jr.
Johnny Depp
Robert Duvall
Jack Nicholson
Robert DeNiro

I assume "act" doesn't include people who simply play themselves in serial roles -- even if they're very likable, like Morgan Freeman, Harrison Ford, or Sean Connery.

Re: Film Question
 

anythony hopkins hasn't been listed and he put out some good work.

i don't care if jack nicholson's best work was before this period: About Schmidt, As Good as it Gets, A Few Good Men, Hoffa, this is a helluva catalog for anyone.

Re: Film Question
 

I love Johnny Depp, but how many good movies has he made, ever?

I love Robert DeNiro, but the man never turns down a script.

Nicholson isn't phoning it in to the degree that DeNiro is, but that's only cause he can't play cops/criminals. Romantic comedies? Ick.

Robert Duvall straight rocks.

Also, where's the Gene Hackman love?

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Best character actor? PS Hoffman. Watch Lebowski, Talented Mr. Ripley and Boogie Nights. I don't understand how that's the same guy.

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oh man you have to see the one where he huffs gas the whole time. damn..

edit: Love Liza is the name. don't watch it when you're depressed

also Owning Mahowny he plays a degenerate gambler and is just unfreaking believable

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also Owning Mahowny he plays a degenerate gambler and is just unfreaking believable

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Ed Norton and William Macey stand out for me. Deniro has high peaks but he is in so many random bad movies.

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He was also great as the founder of Creem magazine in 'Almost Famous'.

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I love Johnny Depp, but how many good movies has he made, ever?

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It took me 15 seconds to think of five great movies he's been in.

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He was also great as the founder of Creem magazine in 'Almost Famous'.

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Yeah this movie rules.

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I love Johnny Depp, but how many good movies has he made, ever?

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It took me 15 seconds to think of five great movies he's been in.

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List them then.

Re: Film Question
 

Finding Neverland
Dead Man
Ed Wood
What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas