Who is the greatest actor/actress evah?

Fay Wray


I'm pretty sure that Naomi Watts used to be her.

I'd go for Johnny Depp as well, and Tom Hiddleston. (have you seen him mimic other actors? It's amazing and hilarious at once!)

Joss Whedon. ("Numfar! Do the dance of shame!" )

But seriously, I love all the actors who were in Buffy/Angel/Firefly. Seems Joss had a way of getting star performances round the board.

Kate Blanchett and Meryl Streep.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (although I haven't seen mission impossible III - have a serious dislike for Tom Cruise!)

Druid, definitely agree with Johnny Depp topping the list, but have to disagree about Meg Ryan - proof of life was abysmal!

Keanu Reeves for both categories.

lock thread.

My mind-blowingly eclectic list...

Paul Newman
Jeff Bridges
Al Pacino
Groucho Marx
Woody Allen

Janet Margolin
Reese Witherspoon
Mia Kirshner
Leslie Caron
Becki Newton

Michael Caine
Rosalind Russell
Gary Oldman
Sydney Poitier
Kathy Bates
Chi McBride
James Stewart
Gérard Depardieu
William Sadler
Kevin Bacon
Steve Buscemi
Edward James Olmos
John Goodman
Martin Short
Sigourney Weaver
Tony Shalhoub
Stanley Tucci
Barbara Stanwyck
Henry Fonda

I'll stop here and defend Crybaby's honor with this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlejWYghuIE

The topic is greatest actor/actress ever....

Kind of silly to put a lot of the new comers on the list when compared to actors such as;

Richard Burton,
Elizabeth Taylor,
Natalee Wood,
Spencer Tracey,
Katheryn Hepburn,
George C. Scott,
Peter O'Toole,
Peter Sellers,
Sean Connery,
Sidney Poitier,
Clark Gable,
Marilyn Monroe,
Betty Davis,
Errol Flynn,
Trevor Howard,
Karl Malden,
Vincent Price,
Robert Mitchum,
Lauren Bacall,
Humphrey Bogart,
Susan Hayward,
Susan Hayworth,

and the list goes on and on of actors and actresses truly deserving of the title of greatest ever, but I understand we all have our favorites.

Oh, and Jodie Foster. I like her movies, and I've liked her ever since I was a little kid. Looking back, I can see that Jodie was my first age-appropriate crush. The others were older teenage girls in my neighborhood, movie stars (see Janet Margolin, above) and the nun who was my third-grade catechism teacher.

Greatest actor/actress evah?

I know it's been said, oh, about a million times or so, but sometimes the masses get it right. I'll fall in line and concur that Robert De Niro is the greatest film actor I've ever seen, and Meryl Streep the greatest film actress. As far as stage actors I just don't know. I ain't that cultured.

Some others that I think deserve honorable mention, Sean Penn, Al Pacino, Morgan Freeman, Bette Davis, Vivian Leigh, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Daniel Day Lewis, Catharine Keener, Donald Sutherland, Judi Dench, Edward Norton, Joe Pesci, Frances McDormand, Kate Winslett, Susan Sarandon, Piper Laurie, Geraldine Page, Gena Rowlands, Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek, Montgomery Clift, Jack Lemmon, William Hurt, Nick Nolte, Laurence Fishburne, Philip Seymour Hoffman... it's pretty clear that I don't feel like working today.

Oh boy...

Tom Hanks
Sally Field
Robbie Williams
Meryl Streep

To name a few.

What a thread!

Best (this was tough):

Dudes:
Dustin Hoffman
Christopher Guest
Marlon Brando (young)

Gals:
Meryl Streep
Bette Davis
Charlize Theron (just watch Monster if you don't believe me)

Other favorites:

Kate Hepburn
Spencer Tracy
Vivian Leigh
Clark Gable
Cary Grant
Audrey Hepburn

carrot top.







*locks thread*

_ _ _ Greer Garson deserves a mention in the very least.
Robert Mitchum is ultra cool too. Funny thing is that he said in an interview that he doesn't act. He just goes on set and is himself.
Last but not least >> Shirley Temple!

Actors:

James Dean
Paul Newman
Al Pacino
James Stewart
Will Ferrell (Flame me, but he's in some of my favorite movies. ELF is a classic!)


Actresses:

Vivian Leigh
Jodie Foster
Audrey Hepburn
Marilyn Monroe

In no particular order...

Tommy Lee Jones
Robert Duval
Humphrey Bogart
F. Murray Abraham
Anthony Hopkins
Tom Hanks
Denzel Washington
Kevin Spacey
Javier Bardem
Geoffrey Rush
Michael Clark Duncan
Christopher Walken
Daniel Day Lewis
Rex Harrison


Meryl Streep
Cate Blanchett
Elizabeth Taylor
Rita Hayworth
Helen Mirren
Kathrine Hepburn
Gene Tierney
Jennifer Jones

And a sentimental favorite... Danny Kaye

But to pick just ONE? Can't do it. Nope. No can do.

This is more 'my faves' than people I think are the greatest ever. Obviously there are tons of actors and actresses from way back that are very deserving of that title, but I'm not 60 years old, so...yeah...

Dudes:
I really like Cillian Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Johnny Depp (My girlfriend likes them too. Perhaps a little too much if you know what I'm sayin'). I enjoy some Nicholas Cage every now and again, even those he's both a terrible actor and a nutcase. I love Michael C. Hall solely because of Dexter.

Chicks:
Obviously I'm biased here, because how attractive they are definitely plays a part. I like Emma Stone because she's hilarious. I love Kristen Bell, for all of the wrong reasons, and will totally watch any movie she's in without hesitation. Anne Hathaway is pretty great. Milla Jovovich is the only reason I've seen the first three resident evil movies.

Yvonne Strahovski is like the prettiest woman alive, and also a great actress who puts on an amazing american accent despite being an aussie. She even added a very subtle southern twang to it in her new role on this season of Dexter. Having been born in the southern united states and hearing plenty of southern accents throughout my youth (despite never picking one up myself), I am very impressed.

BeatrixKiddo said:

I have my favorites, but I'd say Meryl Streep, as far as the greatest ever.

She has, and can play, anyone in anything. She became Julia Child, she became Margaret Thatcher, etc. I've never seen an actress disappear into a role quite as well as she does. There are actors who come close, but not quite.

Some actors seem just good at playing "themselves" all the time like DeNiro and Nicholson.

There are character actors I've liked over the years, that are good at playing all kinds of rolls, but you don't necessarily know their names, just their faces. I've found some of the character actors I've liked better then some of the "A list" actors we all know.

Click to expand...

You might want to take a closer look at films like Bang the Drum Slowly, The King of Comedy, Angel Heart, Cape Fear, Raging Bull, Falling in Love, I could go on...

Hmmmm.
I'll put it down to age, and maybe culture.

But not one person has yet mentioned the greatest actor of the 20th century, Laurence Olivier.

tut, tut.

(and no mention of John Gielgud or Derek Jacobi. I assume Betty Davis has been mentioned)