Who is the all time best Actor

[NJmaverick]

bonus question: Best actor for comedy, drama and action/adventure (this can be stage, screen or TV)

[armyowalgreens]

1. Clint Eastwood...

for best actor and best dramatic actor.

I shed quite a few man tears during Million Dollar Baby.


Don't know about comedy.

[NJmaverick]

2. He could also take the best action catagory

Dirty Harry and Outlaw Josey Wales were classics

[RandomThoughts]

3. Well I can't argue with that choice. n/t

I think Eastwood is really cool, great in many ways, but still seems to be just a regular guy. Really respect him. Well sometimes he shows a little ego, but who doesn't. :)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

9. Paint Your Wagon...comedy/musical

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064782/

[hobbit709]

4. Henry Fonda

[applegrove]

13. Yup. But Robert Deniro is the best.

[Dammit Ann]

5. Depp.

period.

[Mad_Dem_X]

6. Kevin Spacey.

I admire anyone who can disappear into a character. And no two of his characters are alike.

[Captain Hilts]

24. Yes, he's in the running as well. nt

[RFKHumphreyObama]

7. Gregory Peck overall

I'll have to think about the other categories

[Orsino]

8. Ian McKellen, maybe?

Hard to pick a favorite. I doubt I'd be able to argue against anyone that gets a mention in this thread.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

10. Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant

fun question.

[Captain Hilts]

19. Grant is under-estimated, especially his comedic timing. nt

[Symarip]

11. John Holmes!!

Oh wait, I thought you said 'biggest'.

[Captain Hilts]

23. That would be Long Dong Silver. nt

[NJmaverick]

12. What about Laurence Olivier?

does he get any consideration?

[Captain Hilts]

20. I think he generally over-acts. Though he has been terrific in some film roles. nt

[NJmaverick]

34. You might be right, but I always thought he was the actors actor

[Captain Hilts]

43. He is. As someone who is not in drama, he's got skills I cannot appreciate.

I would also say the same of Tracy at times. As much as I like him, there's something there that I cannot see or appreciate.

Olivier was a terrific Heathcliff and Mr. Darcy.

[keroro gunsou]

44. and a good zeus in

the original clash of the titans

"it is my wish.... it is my command."

other actors may have been slumming it in that film, but he was the best part of it.

[Captain Hilts]

45. What a voice for Zeus!!!!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

30. A gorgeous man.

[Bucky]

14. David Hasselhoff. There is no other

[Skittles]

32. THAT'S IT

BUCKY HAS ROCKETED TO THE TOP OF MY LIST

[begin_within]

15. James Dean would have become the best actor in cinema history

[keroro gunsou]

16. my picks:

all around: jimmy stewart

comedy: hugh laurie/john belushi

drama: gregory peck/russell crowe

action: john wayne/steve mcqueen/clint eastwood

[Captain Hilts]

21. I'm glad you mentioned Belushi. I agree that he was fantastic. It was interesting

seeing him in that film with Blair Brown? that was a Tracy-Hepburn vehicle that never got off the shelf.

But when he's in a scene, HE's the one you're watching regardless of whether he's the one speaking or not.

I LOVE Steve McQueen, but a great actor? I don't think so.

[keroro gunsou]

37. given the right material

anyone can be a great actor.

steve mcqueen, whose range was somewhat limited due to typecasting, is one of the top 5 cinema tough guys.

the others (in no special order and according to me so YMMV):

lee marvin
bruce lee
clint eastwood and
sylvester stallone (watch the last rambo and rocky flicks before you disagree)

my criteria, they play roles of character i definately didn't want to meet in a dark alley, sans a back up platoon of navy seals.

[Deja Q]

17. William Shatner

[NJmaverick]

35. lol, I don't know about that, but I think he is a very likeable

you can just see the guy doesn't take himself too seriously. He has no problem making fun of himself (reminds me of Adam West)

[Captain Hilts]

18. Spencer Tracy, Frederic March, Robert Duval, Sean Penn. Jack Lemmon. nt

Tracy and Lemon do comedy as well as drama.

Tracy's DeNiro without the sweating, shouting and swearing.

Duval is great at drama and probably would do comedy well, considering his role in "Apocalypse Now" is comedic.

Sean Penn is just terrific at drama. I've not seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High and must do so.

March, like Tracy, cannot be imitated and is versatile, he just doesn't have the movies with Hepburn to help us remember him.

[Individualist]

22. Spencer Tracy, Jack Lemmon

[Tikki]

25. Michael Caine....

His work in Alfie is perfection...



Tikki

[cloudbase]

26. Gene Hackman, Robert Duval.

[old mark]

27. Michael Caine, and....Johnny Depp.

Depp is so much better than he generally gets credit for.
Caine literally wrote the book "Acting For The Camera".
See "The Man Who Would Be King".
mark

[Skittles]

33. saw Caine the other night in "Hannah and her Sisters"

he is just priceless

[old mark]

39. Wait till you see Johnny Depp as John Dillinger.......nt

[NJmaverick]

42. Those are certainly 2 great ones from different eras

[sinkingfeeling]

28. Jimmy Stewart.

[nuxvomica]

29. Spencer Tracy

There was never a more natural actor, even in the stagebound 30s roles. Notable acting achievement: portraying Mr. Hyde without special effects or special makeup.

[Captain Hilts]

31. It's great seeing Tracy get some dap here.

[ceile]

36. Anthony Hopkins

[WinkyDink]

38. Olivier over-all. Comedy: Jack Lemmon. Drama: Bogart. Action/Adv.: Errol Flynn.

[mitchum]

40. Klaus Kinski

[Broken_Hero]

41. Hmm, hard to decide....

I'd have to go with Gene Hackman, he has played many different roles ranging from goofy cornballs, to action adventure, to malicious villians, and portrayed the hero rather well.

Hmm, best actor for comedy, I'd have to go with Chevy Chase, Dan Ackryod or John Candy, its hard to choose one, but if put to the test I think I'll go with Chevy Chase.

Best actor for drama, hmm I really don't know, no actor really jumps out at me, but since I just saw Gran Torino, I'll go with Eastwood.

Action/Adventure actor, hmm, that is VERY hard to pin down, with Arnold, Harrison Ford, and Eastwood...hard to pin down, but I'll go with Harrison Ford.

[Glorfindel]

46. Anthony Hopkins, Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton

It's hard to pick just one. And sometimes an actor in one particular role rises to greatness: Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in "Tombstone," Sir Ian MacKellen as Gandalf the Grey in "The Fellowship of the Ring."

[BuelahWitch]

47. Here's a name I haven't seen yet: Vincent Price

Known mostly for horror films, but watch him in 1944's Laura as the cheating ladies man. That movie made me a fan and now I have to see AlL his movies (at least, the ones available online or Netflix). He and Peter Lorre made a great comedy team.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

48. Shemp Howard

He had that first-name star quality, like "Cher" or "Clint" or "Ah-nuld."



:evilgrin:

[jobycom]

49. Meryl Streep. Most underrated--Geoffrey Rush, with a second to Emma Thompson.

Streep edges out DeNiro by a little.

To me, Olivier and Burton are brilliant stage actors who were also great screen actors, but screen acting is a different style of acting, and in that category I think Olivier and Burton trail several others.

Best animated voice performance--tie between Ellen Degeneres as Dory, and Peter O'Toole as Anton Ego.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

50. Dick Orkin.

Or maybe Stan Freberg. I just thought radio should be represented...

[kwassa]

51. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Newman, Daniel Day Lewis, Anthony Hopkins, Jack Nicholson,

Robert Downey, Jr., Gene Hackman, Frederic March, Spencer Tracy, Billy Bob Thornton, James Cagney, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro,


I can go on.

[flying rabbit]

52. Nicholson, Depp and

Bogart. All for different reasons.
Edited to add Ian Mckellan.