Except in Harry Potter, even he has said of that performance that it was underwhelming. To his credit though, he said that at the time the only source material he had to read from was Prisoner of Azkaban. I think he did the best that he could under the circumstances but literally everything else Ive ever seen him in he steals the fucking show. 5th element, True Romance, Air Force One, Lost in space.
Did he? I thought he was fantastic. Villain vibes at first, heroic and likeable when the plot unravelled. And both personalities made sense in the story. In fact, I would say he's the highlight of the whole saga.
Sorry to disagree with him in that.
Gary Oldman.
Anytime I see his name on the credits to anything, I damn near have to watch it. There are random films that aren't all that great but I always walk away from them think "damn...that Gary Oldman"
Funny thing is I LOVE his performance as Zorg. Absolutely great, over the top villain. But, based on stuff I’ve read, Gary hates his performance as Zorg.
Undoubtedly, Daniel Day Lewis is one of the most impressive actors of all time. He is a method actor, for one of his roles, he trained for 18 months under the guidance of Barry McGuigan, a former world featherweight champion. His regimen included weight training and twice-daily workouts to meet the standards of a professional boxer. **McGuigan even commented that Daniel could easily turn professional.**
Normally, I'm skeptical about such claims, but when I watched the movie, especially the famous rope-jumping scene, I was blown away. Although I know little about boxing, the realism was undeniable.
just watch the jumping scene:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF1Mxsst2IY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF1Mxsst2IY)
In Gangs of New York he fitted himself with a prosthetic eye and taught himself to tap on it with a knife without blinking to freak people out. Never underestimate his commitment to the part lol.
impressive. If we take Marlon Brando's theory that everyone in this world is acting to survive, I can only imagine what Daniel Day-Lewis's career might look like if he had chosen to be a real gangster.
Or like how the cast would go on break and everyone would go back to their trailers and stuff- except Daniel.
He'd go to the butcher set and practice his meat cutting.
There are many famous actors who could be considered for this category, but my personal choice is Barry Pepper. Although he may not be widely recognized, he has delivered some of the best performances across a variety of film productions. "25th Hour" is a pure gem, Edward Norton is an exceptional actor and Spike Lee deserves more recognition for his work.
Steven Root is the guy who brings together cinematic achievements such as No Country, Dodgeball, Barry, Office Space…and his voice acting is insane. His imdb is like 300+ films long. My favorite role? Bubbles from Finding Nemo or Fuches in Barry
The dude even rocked an awesome S. African accent when he was in Ghandi in 1982.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQaYTYZc-3A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQaYTYZc-3A)
*Alan Tudyk* - chicken in Moana, robots in I Robot and Rogue One, ConMen, Firefly, Dollhouse, Dodgeball. Man has range
Chiwetel Ejiofor - from Kinky boots to 12 Years a Slave, then man is good at the acting
Even when I saw him on John Mulaney's Sack Lunch Bunch, i was so impressed. Here's this very silly cameo character, and Jake went in guns blazing. Left nothing on the table. Absolute peak performance, like it was a PTA film.
What a professional.
Just one scene, the board meeting in Margin Call, is a masterclass on acting. The little things he does...flicking the pages of the report with his thumb, moving a glass of water, looking aside at Demi Moore and Simon Baker even though they're off screen.
Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall. The first movie I know of with Duvall was Bullitt. It was just a bit part, he was a cab driver mostly seen from the back seat but he was acting above his pay grade.
Idk, I loved the movie when it first came out, but I recently rewatched and that movie did not hold up well, imo. The fight scenes were way too stylish with music and choreography, but DDL's acting still as good as ever.
For me it's Michael Keaton. My favorite of his is Clean and Sober (1988), but there's one that's interesting to me: he was scorned at when Tim Burton said he would cast Keaton as the new Batman a year later. People were anticipating a comic Batman in the style of Adam West. Yet in that film he showed an excellent range and talent.
Javier Bardem. Admittedly, that haircut in No Country for Old Men might have biased me forever. My next choice would be Jesse Plemmons. Looks like I have a thing for actors who play creepy sociopaths extremely well.
Edward Norton. He always kills it and is very versatile. From American History X to Fight Club to Leaves of Grass, the man can act his way out of an escape room (riddles be damned).
For me it’s always been DDL. He’s the only reason I rewatched Gangs of Nee York, he’s just that good in it, even tho I don’t care for the movie as a whole. But since he’s stepped away from acting my pick now would be Christian Bale
I was gonna say Gary Oldman, but several folks already mentioned how awesome he is.
So, I'll go with Anthony Hopkins and gimme Gene Hackman just for good measure.
Sam Rockwell, and I don’t feel like he gets enough love. Also Edward Norton I know he has t been in as much for the last however long but man is impeccable
Edward Norton, Gary Oldman and Daniel Day Lewis. I think Leonardo DiCaprio is underrated here, too - he’s had a tremendous variety of roles and I can’t think of one he’s been bad in.
Daniel day lewis- irish monster
Hugh Jackman- 200 year old monster
Christopher waltz- basterd
Amy adams-annoying princess who cuts curtains without thinking of consequences
Liam Neeson - jew protector ,Batman trainer,Jedi trainer
Heath ledger- guy who attracts another guy who has Anne Hathaway as wife.joker
Owen wilson- a guy who talks and acts like woody Allen and all Wes Anderson characters
Ian mckellan-anything with long beard
Helena bonham Carter- ape and master of the house
Christopher walken-another ape
Madds milkelsen- the weeper poker player
Laura dern-paleobotanist
Christian bale,Johnny depp
Denzel Washington
He’s done a few movies where on paper they don’t look that good. His acting and charisma elevate the material and makes the movie better.
Yeah but the actors are like the least important ppl in the making of movies. And its only the past 100 years they have escaped their association with prostitution. Ancient Rome, Kabuki etc. To me they are still glorified hookers.
- Whats your name?
- Whatever you want it to be.
Pretty much…
Gary Oldman. The guy has versatility like I've never seen before.
Watch his tv show; slow horses…. God tier level acting in there
Very quickly became my favourite spy story.
["And in the role of a lifetime... Gary Oldman."](https://youtu.be/O3qGGk5ymQ4?si=-qgxY8YwSeZwl_YC) This was a big miss.
Only dude who could somehow play Dracula, Churchill, Truman, Beethoven, Sid Vicious and the barista at your local Starbucks. Man has no limits.
Except in Harry Potter, even he has said of that performance that it was underwhelming. To his credit though, he said that at the time the only source material he had to read from was Prisoner of Azkaban. I think he did the best that he could under the circumstances but literally everything else Ive ever seen him in he steals the fucking show. 5th element, True Romance, Air Force One, Lost in space.
Did he? I thought he was fantastic. Villain vibes at first, heroic and likeable when the plot unravelled. And both personalities made sense in the story. In fact, I would say he's the highlight of the whole saga. Sorry to disagree with him in that.
How Sirius is one of my favorite roles of his
Idk to me the role never felt right, but maybe that’s because of how I saw the character in the books.
Couldn’t disagree more. He was the most likable character in all those movies imo
*Tiptoes* enters the chat.
Facts
The man is a national treasure. I can't think of anyone else with his range and ability.
No joke, i thought the same thing. For some reason Dracula came to mind
Gary Oldman. Anytime I see his name on the credits to anything, I damn near have to watch it. There are random films that aren't all that great but I always walk away from them think "damn...that Gary Oldman"
ZORG!!
Funny thing is I LOVE his performance as Zorg. Absolutely great, over the top villain. But, based on stuff I’ve read, Gary hates his performance as Zorg.
He sounds like he hates a lot of his work which is probably why so much of it is so good. Jean Baptiste. Emmanuel. Zorg. Genius.
You are a monster, Zorg! I know.
I didn’t even know it was him in Oppenheimer
Now,I know I'm pretty, but I ain't as pretty as a couple of titties
Not white boy day
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
PSH legitimately the greatest to ever do it
DDL rocks every single role I've ever seen him play.
Undoubtedly, Daniel Day Lewis is one of the most impressive actors of all time. He is a method actor, for one of his roles, he trained for 18 months under the guidance of Barry McGuigan, a former world featherweight champion. His regimen included weight training and twice-daily workouts to meet the standards of a professional boxer. **McGuigan even commented that Daniel could easily turn professional.** Normally, I'm skeptical about such claims, but when I watched the movie, especially the famous rope-jumping scene, I was blown away. Although I know little about boxing, the realism was undeniable. just watch the jumping scene: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF1Mxsst2IY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF1Mxsst2IY)
In Gangs of New York he fitted himself with a prosthetic eye and taught himself to tap on it with a knife without blinking to freak people out. Never underestimate his commitment to the part lol.
impressive. If we take Marlon Brando's theory that everyone in this world is acting to survive, I can only imagine what Daniel Day-Lewis's career might look like if he had chosen to be a real gangster.
Or like how the cast would go on break and everyone would go back to their trailers and stuff- except Daniel. He'd go to the butcher set and practice his meat cutting.
Holy fuck, I had no idea that scene was real!
That is impressive indeed. Gives the character something superhuman.
Thanks! Nice story.
If you dig Gary, you should check out State of Grace.
Christian bale
Based on The Machinist alone, absolutely
Christoph Waltz
There are many famous actors who could be considered for this category, but my personal choice is Barry Pepper. Although he may not be widely recognized, he has delivered some of the best performances across a variety of film productions. "25th Hour" is a pure gem, Edward Norton is an exceptional actor and Spike Lee deserves more recognition for his work.
def agree with Ed Norton
Sam Rockwell or Steven Root.
Steven Root is the guy who brings together cinematic achievements such as No Country, Dodgeball, Barry, Office Space…and his voice acting is insane. His imdb is like 300+ films long. My favorite role? Bubbles from Finding Nemo or Fuches in Barry
Panshot!
“I can’t seem to find my stapler?”
David Keith
And Keith David.
I’ve been saying for years they need to make a buddy movie.
The dude even rocked an awesome S. African accent when he was in Ghandi in 1982. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQaYTYZc-3A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQaYTYZc-3A)
he is the master of voice acting, hands down GOAT
Matt Mercer has entered the chat.
*Alan Tudyk* - chicken in Moana, robots in I Robot and Rogue One, ConMen, Firefly, Dollhouse, Dodgeball. Man has range Chiwetel Ejiofor - from Kinky boots to 12 Years a Slave, then man is good at the acting
Never seen a bad performance from Jake Gyllenhaal. So versatile and committed to his roles.
"Dog poop? ...This is *awesome*!" And by contrast - "I would rather spend one minute holding you than the rest of my life knowing I never could."
Very underrated movie.
500 DOLLAHH!!!
Yes, I would like to have $500.
Even when I saw him on John Mulaney's Sack Lunch Bunch, i was so impressed. Here's this very silly cameo character, and Jake went in guns blazing. Left nothing on the table. Absolute peak performance, like it was a PTA film. What a professional.
The first movie I've seen him in was bubble boy. I guess he did commit to the role
Annoying beard though.
Jeremy Irons
He was terrible in Dungeons and Dragons.
He doesn't get enough love. Who has given a better performance on film than Irons in 'Dead Ringers'? No one, in my estimation.
Just one scene, the board meeting in Margin Call, is a masterclass on acting. The little things he does...flicking the pages of the report with his thumb, moving a glass of water, looking aside at Demi Moore and Simon Baker even though they're off screen.
Micheal Shannon he's not as versatile as say Gary Oldman or DDL but I'm glued to the screen with anything he's in
I like him a lot too
Bill Paxton! Doesn’t matter how bad the movie is, his character always delivers. May he drink in eternal peace at Pinacoladaburg
Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall. The first movie I know of with Duvall was Bullitt. It was just a bit part, he was a cab driver mostly seen from the back seat but he was acting above his pay grade.
Both actors just by presence tend to elevate scenes. (I was looking for the Duvall mention but now that you mention Tommy Lee Jones...)
At one time I might have thought Tommy might be too old, then I saw No Country For Old Men. Of course everyone was great in that movie.
Robert Duvall was in “To Kill a Mockingbird”, for what it’s worth.
Yep. I do remember that now. I did see him first in Bullitt though.
Cate Blanchett. Always commits to a role. Hard pressed to think of bad performance.
Ralph Fiennes. I don't know if M. Gustav was written specifically for him but I don't see anyone else in that role.
Thats a good one. Strange days is still one of my favorites.
Jack Nicholson. Ralph Fiennes. Leonardo DiCaprio.
Gangs of New York is amazing. Although I always thought Cameron Diaz may have been wrong for her role. Not sure why.
She's famous for her looks, not acting ability
She was definitely the weakest part of that movie but it was the early 2000’s she was the hot actress at the moment
Idk, I loved the movie when it first came out, but I recently rewatched and that movie did not hold up well, imo. The fight scenes were way too stylish with music and choreography, but DDL's acting still as good as ever.
Ben Mendelssohn, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Elliot, Saroise Ronan, Olivia Coleman
Clancy Brown
Nicolas Cage is probably the best example of this. He's done some really bad movies, but he is always entertaining and he always gives 110%.
He makes any bad movie into a fun mediocre movie and any good movie to a classic
For me it's Michael Keaton. My favorite of his is Clean and Sober (1988), but there's one that's interesting to me: he was scorned at when Tim Burton said he would cast Keaton as the new Batman a year later. People were anticipating a comic Batman in the style of Adam West. Yet in that film he showed an excellent range and talent.
Viola Davis, Meryl Streep, Paul Dano and Morgan Freeman
Why did I have to go down this far to find Meryl Streep?
Too far down to find a female actor. I’ll add Kate Winslet.
I’ll go a little off-book and say I’m a huge Titus Welliver fan.
Was Phillip Seymour Hoffman rest in peace.
Matthew Lillard elevates any role and movie he is in.
I can’t see anyone else as live action Shaggy
Andrew Scott. I think this guy is the greatest screen actor since Peter O'Toole...
Javier Bardem. Admittedly, that haircut in No Country for Old Men might have biased me forever. My next choice would be Jesse Plemmons. Looks like I have a thing for actors who play creepy sociopaths extremely well.
Scrolled all the way down and didn’t see one mention of Ethan Hawke yet, so I am putting his name on the list
Gary Oldman is obvious. Vincent D'Onofrio Val Kilmer Denzel Washington Brad Pitt
John Goodman
Adam Driver, Leonardo, Brad Pit, Jamie Fox, Denzel, Cate Blanchett, Scarlett Johannson, Liam Neeson, Michael Keaton, Tom Cruze,
Christoph Waltz
I like John C. Reilly in pretty much everything I have seen him in, funny or serious. Peter Stormare as well.
Ryan Gosling is ma boy. Charlize Theron for actresses.
Tim curry…………
Margo Martindale
Josh Brolin. DiCaprio. Pitt. Cruise.
100% Viggo Mortensen. Been in a few duds but he's always great no matter the role.
I'm usually pretty confident with Johnny Depp movies.
agree, even Tim Burton's... though not my favorite director
SAAVY!!
Until of late but yeah
Edward Norton. He always kills it and is very versatile. From American History X to Fight Club to Leaves of Grass, the man can act his way out of an escape room (riddles be damned).
Denzel , Leo, Christian Bale
Tyler Labine has never been bad in anything, even if the thing he was in was bad.
For me it’s always been DDL. He’s the only reason I rewatched Gangs of Nee York, he’s just that good in it, even tho I don’t care for the movie as a whole. But since he’s stepped away from acting my pick now would be Christian Bale
I was gonna say Gary Oldman, but several folks already mentioned how awesome he is. So, I'll go with Anthony Hopkins and gimme Gene Hackman just for good measure.
Danny Day, Christian Beezy, Denzel
Daniel Day Lewis Tom Hardy Sam Rockwell Joaquin Phoenix
Oldman, Washington, Lewis and Del toro
Phoenix
Sharlto Copley
Amy Adams. Cate Blanchette. Willem Dafoe. Philip Seymour Hoffman. Just a few but even in their mediocre movies they are amazing to watch.
Rowan Atkinson
Oliver Platt Daniel day Lewis Joaquin Phoenix
John Turturro, that creep can roll, man..
Dark horse, Matthew Lillard. Dude gets all of my attention no matter what he's doing.
[This looks like such a familiar post.](https://www.reddit.com/r/moviecritic/s/mBT5kLwMqB)
Jim Carrey Benedict Cumberbatch Michael Cane Kevin Cline
Sam Rockwell, and I don’t feel like he gets enough love. Also Edward Norton I know he has t been in as much for the last however long but man is impeccable
Peter Dinklage. That man commands the stage or the screen whenever he's on it.
I don't see Jeffrey Wright or the great James Hong mentioned yet. They both deserve the mention.
Ian McGregor
Edward Norton, Gary Oldman and Daniel Day Lewis. I think Leonardo DiCaprio is underrated here, too - he’s had a tremendous variety of roles and I can’t think of one he’s been bad in.
Edgar Ramirez
Robert pattinson post twilight has been nothing short of amazing
He's so good he almost ruins the movie
DiCaprio, Bridges, Tom Hanks
Daniel day lewis- irish monster Hugh Jackman- 200 year old monster Christopher waltz- basterd Amy adams-annoying princess who cuts curtains without thinking of consequences Liam Neeson - jew protector ,Batman trainer,Jedi trainer Heath ledger- guy who attracts another guy who has Anne Hathaway as wife.joker Owen wilson- a guy who talks and acts like woody Allen and all Wes Anderson characters Ian mckellan-anything with long beard Helena bonham Carter- ape and master of the house Christopher walken-another ape Madds milkelsen- the weeper poker player Laura dern-paleobotanist Christian bale,Johnny depp
Ben Kingsley That dude played Dom in “Sexy Beast” and Ghandi in “Ghandi.” That’s some fucking range right there.
Benicio del toro Viggo Mortensen
Tom Hardy
Tom Hanks.
Denzel Washington He’s done a few movies where on paper they don’t look that good. His acting and charisma elevate the material and makes the movie better.
Man why are the so many actor fanboy posts?
Could be worse. Could have been another, *tHOugHtS?” Karmafarm
look up, notice the sub name?
Yeah but the actors are like the least important ppl in the making of movies. And its only the past 100 years they have escaped their association with prostitution. Ancient Rome, Kabuki etc. To me they are still glorified hookers. - Whats your name? - Whatever you want it to be. Pretty much…
lol, ok dude. Let's see Steve Martin pull off Maximus in Gladiator
Dang it, now that's in my head canon.
Same way u cant have fat hooker pull off slim hooker
Gibberish take
Over 2000 years this was the consensus