Top Actor Polls: Current

[What Exit?]

This was not easy to narrow down a list. I used my knowledge of movies and several Internet sources. The lines between Old Hollywood, Post Studio and Current are not sharp but I managed to get 23 actors for each list. (Except Current that went to 25) In the end I will take the top 8 for each category for a second thread to determine the top10. I am sure I left some off and I included some I would never vote for, but I think this is a fair list. Please have fun with it and promote your choices and why or argue with others.
So vote for your top 10 and the top 8 will move on.

(There will also be one wildcard to give us a full 25 for the final round)

[Zuul]

What, no Keanu?

[What Exit?]

What, no Keanu?

It was tough but I left him and Tom Cruise off the list.

[Zuul]

Well...I'll forgive you. This time.

[Myrnalene]

I'm taking everyone who voted for Tom Hanks off my friends' list. You poor, poor fools.

[Lady Xoc]

Not enough love for William Hurt in here.

e. fuck, got him confused with John Hurt. What the hell, poll?

[Oliveloaf]

No Robert Duvall?

[Myrnalene]

No Robert Duvall?

Here, Oliveloaf.

[Oliveloaf]

Here, Oliveloaf.

My bad.

[Cluricaun]

I think that Gary Oldman should win by a mile. You never know it's him! He probably doesn't even know what he really looks like. Every time I see him in a movie I say, "Oh shit, THAT'S Gary Oldman? Crazy!"

[What Exit?]

I think that Gary Oldman should win by a mile. You never know it's him! He probably doesn't even know what he really looks like. Every time I see him in a movie I say, "Oh shit, THAT'S Gary Oldman? Crazy!"

I agree, but I am please Alan Rickman is doing so well, he is also a great character actor with a lot of range, though due to his voice, you always know it is him.

I am surprised there is little appreciation for John Malkovich and I think DeNiro is suffering from phoning it in for over a decade now. But he was so damn good in the 70s and 80s.

Samuel L. Jackson is the biggest surprise to me even though I voted for him. He is mostly a one dimensional actor, but I guess like me, people love that one character so much that he gets the votes.

[Myrnalene]

I am surprised there is little appreciation for John Malkovich and I think DeNiro is suffering from phoning it in for over a decade now. But he was so damn good in the 70s and 80s.

I don't know what the hell DeNiro thinks he has been doing for the past 10 years or so but he seems determined to flush his own legacy down the toilet. And I agree with your assessment of Samuel L Jackson. He's had some killer performances, and he is fun, but he's got a very limited range.

Daniel Day Lewis deserves a little more love than he is getting here IMO, but Oldman, Rickman and Depp are all fantastic.

[jali]

I'm surprised that Johnny Depp is doing so well.

Whenever I see him in a movie, I think, "...it's Johnny Depp as a pirate", or "it's Johnny Depp as a tortured soul." I've never gotten into the actual characters - just Johnny as the character.

I like him though. I think he's kewl.

[What Exit?]

I'm taking everyone who voted for Tom Hanks off my friends' list. You poor, poor fools.

I ended up watching "The Man with One Red Shoe" last night. A small film from 1985 when Hanks was still making a name for himself. If you have not seen this silly little film do so. The cast is excellent and the movie is still laugh out loud funny. If anything it is in a style somewhat like the old screwball comedies of the 30s & 40s.

My whole rambling point is that Hanks was a great young actor and still has his moments more recently. He made weak movies like Volenteers & Bachelor Party good and he is the only one I have ever seen pull off the tired concept of Big and make it great. He was off course awesome in "League of their Own" taking basically a supporting role. Even "The Money Pit" was good for laughs though not as good as the movie it was partially based on.

I'm surprised that Johnny Depp is doing so well.

Whenever I see him in a movie, I think, "...it's Johnny Depp as a pirate", or "it's Johnny Depp as a tortured soul." I've never gotten into the actual characters - just Johnny as the character.

I like him though. I think he's kewl.

I have seen him do non-Depp parts, he is good as both a real actor and as Johnny Depp, Pirate. Johnny Depp, demon barber, Johnny Depp, gangster. I thought he showed a lot of range in movies like Finding Neverland, Blow, Donnie Brasco, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Don Juan DeMarco, Ed Wood, Benny & Joon, What's Eating Gilbert Grape and even Edward Scissorhands. So he seems to be both a skilled actor and has his great character that works through material.

The problem with actors like Tom Cruise is he has almost no range and his one character wore out its welcome for a lot of movie goers. He has been doing Top Pilot, Top Bartender, Top Spy, Top Football player, Top Lawyer, etc. for all of his career and what was great in Risky Business, now just seems boring and old. At least that is my take on it.

[Myrnalene]

I ended up watching "The Man with One Red Shoe" last night. A small film from 1985 when Hanks was still making a name for himself. If you have not seen this silly little film do so. The cast is excellent and the movie is still laugh out loud funny. If anything it is in a style somewhat like the old screwball comedies of the 30s & 40s.

My whole rambling point is that Hanks was a great young actor and still has his moments more recently. He made weak movies like Volenteers & Bachelor Party good and he is the only one I have ever seen pull off the tired concept of Big and make it great. He was off course awesome in "League of their Own" taking basically a supporting role. Even "The Money Pit" was good for laughs though not as good as the movie it was partially based on.

We have talked about this before and I agree that he was a good comedic actor in the 80s. My problem with him is that in the 90s and early 00s he developed a reputation that far, far exceeded his talents, IMO. Also, his personality bugs me but I realize should not affect my appraisal of him as an actor.

[Oliveloaf]

He's low profile, but I think Chris Cooper deserves a look.

[What Exit?]

I hope we can get a few more votes on comments. The poll is nearly closed.

[beebs]

I have nothing left in the tank for either Tom Hanks or Morgan Freeman after returning from Orlando. Those two have the entire narrating gig in a monopoly. When we went to Kennedy Space Center we had the chance to see "Magnificent Desolation - Walking on the Moon", jokingly we argued which one would be narrating this time. It was Tom Hanks.... with introduction by Freeman.