# Great and Overrated Living Actors/Actresses



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I'm curious to who you feel are great living actors/actresses, and who you feel is overrated? 

I think an obvious choice is Christian Bale as a great actor. 

Side topic: who was the best Joker in any Batman film? I was completely immersed with Joaquin Phoenix as Joker, and never felt Heath Ledger's was as great as people claimed. But I've read a view of Phoenix as self-indulgent as Joker, and respect that view.

Another side topic: does the Method acting style work?


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Phil loves classical said:


> I'm curious to who you feel are great living actors/actresses, and who you feel is overrated?
> 
> I think an obvious choice is Christian Bale as a great actor.
> 
> ...


I've admired Christian Bale since the first film in which I saw him - *Empire Of The Sun*, by Steven Spielberg 1987. The film's events are seen through the child's eyes.

As far as your query on the *Joker* goes, the Joaquin Phoenix film is not a *Batman* movie, but a *Joker* movie, so to compare the characters or the effectiveness of the characters or the performances of the actors as that character would be unbalanced, in my view.

That said, I did not see *Joker*, and saw *The Dark Knight* too long ago to remember whether Heath Ledger was as good as all that. The Joker is always an over the top character and so flashy it's hard to ignore him or not notice him. All I can say about Heath Ledger's performance is that it was more disturbing than the others.

A whole film about that character would be too much.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Who are a few of your favourite actors? I'm curious since you've watched so many movies, especially older ones, and want to see how that perspective travels with more current actors.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Phil loves classical said:


> Who are a few of your favourite actors? I'm curious since you've watched so many movies, especially older ones, and want to see how that perspective travels with more current actors.


I'm not sure I have a favorite actor/actress anymore. I used to love *Gina Lollobrigida* from my teenage years. Of course I liked global favorites liked *Audrey Hepburn* and *Marilyn Monroe* for their beauty and unique acting styles. The "studio system" produced stars like *Greta Garbo*, *Clark Gable*, *Bette Davis*, *Joan Crawford*, *Rock Hudson*, *James Dean*, *Marlon Brando*, *Elizabeth Taylor*, *Judy Garland*, and hundreds of others. Some of their movies are deservedly classics, others just minor projects of their studios (MGM, Warner Brothers, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, RKO, Universal).

Some of the actors I admire for their work in a film, like *Charlton Heston* for _Ben-Hur_ and other mega-productions (_El Cid_, _The Ten Comandments_, _The Greatest Show On Earth_); *Gerard Depardieu* for _Cyrano de Bergerac_; *Alain Delon* for _Plein Soleil (Purple Noon)_; *Chris Hemsworth* for the _Thor_ films, the perfect pairing of the actor and role; *Matt Damon* for the _Jason Bourne_ films; *Henry Cavill* for the _Superman_ films; *Helen Mirren* for embodying _Jane Tennison_ in the TV series; *Judy Dench* as _M_ in the _James Bond_ franchise; *Daniel Craig* as _James Bond_; *Christian Bale* as the best-acted Batman in his _Batman_ series; *Chris Pine* for Captain Kirk in the reboot of the _Star Trek_ films; *Colin Firth* in the heartbreaking _A Single Man_, *Timothee Chalamet* in the equally heartbreaking _Call Me By Your Name_. Who can forget *Marlon Brando* as _The Godfather_ or as Stanley in _A Streetcar Named Desire_; or *Vivien Leigh* in the same movie, or as Scarlett O'Hara in _Gone With The Wind_? There is *Jane Fonda* who seems to inhabit all of her characters, from the ditzy wife in _A Period of Adjustment_ to her star turn in _Klute_ and _They Shoot Horses, Don't They?_. There are others that I can't recall right now.

Of the current crop, *Emily Blunt* doesn't put a foot wrong; *Nicholas Hoult* is both and excellent actor and an attractive face; *Meryl Streep* is peerless in everything that I've seen. I haven't seen many movies in 2018 - 2020, so the more current bunch are unrepresented.

Edited to add:
I should not forget *Ingrid Bergman* for luminous performances in _Gaslight_, _Casablanca_, _Notorious_, _Anastasia_, and _The Bells of St. Mary's_.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Overrated: Kevin Costner, with the possible exception of "Dances with Wolves". Otherwise I've seen sleepwalkers with more variety of expression.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Animal the Drummer said:


> Overrated: Kevin Costner, with the possible exception of "Dances with Wolves". Otherwise I've seen sleepwalkers with more variety of expression.


I don't think I heard of him being a good actor necessarily. But I feel the same. Ever watch 3000 Miles to Graceland? I thought he played a pretty good villain there.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Animal the Drummer said:


> Overrated: Kevin Costner, with the possible exception of "Dances with Wolves". Otherwise I've seen sleepwalkers with more variety of expression.


Certainly *Dances with Wolves* was the pinnacle of his career.


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## pianozach (May 21, 2018)

Joker:

All of the different actors who've played The Joker have brought their own interpretation to the character. It's not really fair to compare.

Now if you want to compare actors who have played real people, like JFK, or Nixon, Trump, or even Hitler, then an actor with their own "interpretation" of a non-fictional character would be derided.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

wkasimer said:


> Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks.


You mean great or overrated?


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

I dont really have a favorite actor/actress, I like most of them. There are a couple I am not too keen on. Among those are Tom Cruise and John Travolta. I find Cruise very arrogant and cant forget him that he was part of the scientology sect, and this personal antipathy overshadows all of his acting talent. Among the actresses, I dislike Gwyneth Paltrow


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## Guest (Sep 10, 2020)

Phil loves classical said:


> I'm curious to who you feel are great living actors/actresses, and who you feel is overrated?


I tend to go to the movies to see stories I like, rather than actors. That means that I tend only to call to mind those actors I've actually seen, rather than have an opinion on, say, Brad Pitt or Penelope Cruz (two that popped into my mind at random) out of context.

So, I've seen Christian Bale in a number of films (11), but in the parts I've seen him in, he's tended to play cold and/or unattractive characters. So, is he typecast? Or is he consistent?

On the other hand, I've enjoyed Hugh Jackman in almost everything I've seen him play (roughly 11 - all those X-Men/Logan films, I've lost track of what I've seen and what I haven't). Does that mean something of his personality shines through regardless, or just he just pick more sympathetic roles? Not in _Prisoners_!

I do like Emma Thompson and Meryl Streep (more for her later movies than her earlier). I wonder at the appeal of Cameron Diaz.

Frankly, there's too many for me to think about - I'll wait and see who else gets a mention.

[add]I thought Kevin Costner did good work in _The Untouchables _and _A Perfect World_..in fact, I can see a number of films that I've seen and enjoyed - _JFK, Wyatt Earp, Robin Hood_...(not _Waterworld_, though that wasn't his fault)


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Phil loves classical said:


> You mean great or overrated?


Overrated. Cruise has been playing the same character since "Risky Business", and Hanks has been playing Tom Hanks for the past two decades.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

MacLeod said:


> So, I've seen Christian Bale in a number of films (11), but in the parts I've seen him in, he's tended to play cold and/or unattractive characters. So, is he typecast? Or is he consistent?
> 
> On the other hand, I've enjoyed Hugh Jackman in almost everything I've seen him play (roughly 11 - all those X-Men/Logan films, I've lost track of what I've seen and what I haven't). Does that mean something of his personality shines through regardless, or just he just pick more sympathetic roles? Not in _Prisoners_!


I agree, although I thought that his character in Ford vs. Ferrari was pretty sympathetic.



> [add]I thought Kevin Costner did good work in _The Untouchables _and _A Perfect World_..in fact, I can see a number of films that I've seen and enjoyed - _JFK, Wyatt Earp, Robin Hood_...(not _Waterworld_, though that wasn't his fault)


His character in Waterworld needed someone like Joaquin Phoenix.


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## Guest (Sep 10, 2020)

wkasimer said:


> I agree, although I thought that his character in Ford vs. Ferrari was pretty sympathetic.


I had a feeling that might be the case - it's one I've not seen.


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

I don't know that we have any truly great actors/actresses at the moment. Perhaps we lack perspective for the judgement, or perhaps there just isn't the environment or material for great acting. Even people like Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren and Cate Blanchett just seem to be walking through their performances and collecting a paycheck, although they are all certainly capable of more. Christan Bale, who has been mentioned, has at least done an interesting range of material, and really seems to get into the role, not merely playing a set type, although, as also noted, he may be typecast a bit now as a cold anti-hero. (He certainly seems to have the ego and unpleasant temperament of a great actor.)


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

wkasimer said:


> Overrated. Cruise has been playing the same character since "Risky Business", and Hanks has been playing Tom Hanks for the past two decades.


I agree. I don't mind Cruise in action movies, but I'm not fond of him in more dramatic roles. For me, he's like Keanu Reeves, that I find them entertaining to watch maybe because of a certain limitation in their acting range, and I find it amusing to watch in different situations. I don't like Tom Hanks either, he seems too mushy or self-conscious (an "All Eyes on Me" sort of deal).


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Phil loves classical said:


> I don't like Tom Hanks either, he seems too mushy or self-conscious (an "All Eyes on Me" sort of deal).


Probably a vestige of his earlier successes in Forrest Gump and Castaway, when eyes really *were* on him all the time.


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## Guest (Sep 13, 2020)

wkasimer said:


> Overrated. Cruise has been playing the same character since "Risky Business", and Hanks has been playing Tom Hanks for the past two decades.


Of course, some might say that that is what casting is all about. He appears in movies where 'Tom Hanks' is required. That's the same for many stars, and audiences hate it when they play against their 'type'.

How many actors do actually 'act' in the sense of taking on a role that requires an impersonation of a character that is quite different than the actor?


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I was pretty impressed by Cruise in Collateral, where he played a villain. The author of Interview with a Vampire was initially critical of the casting of Cruise, but later felt he embodied the role. But I agree often plays himself.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

Phil loves classical said:


> I was pretty impressed by Cruise in Collateral, where he played a villain. The author of Interview with a Vampire was initially critical of the casting of Cruise, but later felt he embodied the role. But I agree often plays himself.


I think he is quite good as an actor, I just dont like him as a person


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Jacck said:


> I think he is quite good as an actor, I just dont like him as a person


Is it because of his religious beliefs? :lol:


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## ThaNotoriousNIC (Jun 29, 2020)

One actor that I always found to be overrated was Mark Wahlberg, who up until recently, was one of if not the most highly paid actor in all of Hollywood. I am not as familiar with his earlier roles but from the movies I have seen, his acting is not very dynamic and his roles are not that interesting either. Great to see that after a couple flops, Hollywood figured out that Wahlberg was a lot of hype. I think that the Rock is more deserving of the honor of highest paid actor.


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## Guest (Sep 19, 2020)

Great acting for the screen? That's easy:

Laurence Olivier "Hamlet"
Orson Welles "Citizen Kane"
Peter O'Toole "Lawrence of Arabia"
Spencer Tracy "Inherit the Wind"
Fredric March "The Best Years of Our Lives" 
Katherine Hepburn "Adam's Rib"
Spencer Tracy "Adam's Rib"
William Holden "Picnic"
James Stewart "Vertigo"
Faye Dunaway "Bonnie and Clyde"
Sean Penn "Mystic River"
Clark Gable "Gone With the Wind"
Jack Nicholson "As Good as it Gets"
Helen Hunt "As Good as it Gets"
Stephen Boyd "Ben Hur"
Charles Laughton "Hobson's Choice" and "The Hunchbank of Notre Dame"
Laurence Harvey "Room at the Top"
Simone Signoret "Room at the Top"
Oskar Werner "Jules et Jim"
Jack Lemmon "The Days of Wine and Roses"
Dorothy McGuire "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"
James Dunn "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"
Joaquin Phoenix "Walk The Line"
Jean Louis Barrault "Les Enfants Du Paradis"
Jessica Lange "Frances"
Montgomery Clift "A Place in the Sun"
Shirley MacLaine "Some Came Running"
Daniel Day-Lewis "In the Name of the Father"
Anna Magnani "Rome Open City"
Jean Gabin "La Grande Illusion"
Emil Jannings "The Blue Angel"
Anton Walbrook "The Red Shoes"


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

I will shift my earlier view a bit and wonder if the best mark of great acting these days is being able to make bad dialog and overblown special effects seem plausible. (For dialog, I think of Alec Guiness in Star Wars. He hated doing those films, but you would never know it just from watching them. He brings a gravitas that the remaining installments truly lacked.)


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Christabel said:


> Great acting for the screen? That's easy:
> 
> Joaquin Phoenix "Walk The Line"


That's one role I just couldn't be convinced of. I think he's great, but just not in that role.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Welcome back, Christabel.


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## Guest (Sep 20, 2020)

MAS said:


> Welcome back, Christabel.


Thanks. It's just the occasional comment for now as things are still very worrying on the family front with the eldest son having a complete mental breakdown (plus plus) and there are 2 children to be cared for (their mother, 43 years, has metastatic breast cancer!). What more can kids tolerate: divorce, mental breakdown, cancer. Whatever happens we will step up and provide for their education going forward; they're beautiful children!!


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## Eclectic Al (Apr 23, 2020)

Tom Hardy is good.

I see he is to be the next James Bond. That will be interesting.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Eclectic Al said:


> Tom Hardy is good.
> 
> I see he is to be the next James Bond. That will be interesting.


I agree he is a versatile actor. One of those guys that can make a bad movie interesting.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Christabel said:


> Thanks. It's just the occasional comment for now as things are still very worrying on the family front with the eldest son having a complete mental breakdown (plus plus) and there are 2 children to be cared for (their mother, 43 years, has metastatic breast cancer!). What more can kids tolerate: divorce, mental breakdown, cancer. Whatever happens we will step up and provide for their education going forward; they're beautiful children!!


Sorry for your troubles, hope things get better for all.


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