Tuesday, September 4, 2012

My List of the Best Actors of My Lifetime

  • Chris Cooper (easily one of my favorites)
  • John Cusack
  • Johnny Depp
  • Matt Damon (and not his buddy Ben Affleck –though Casey is definitely in the running)
  • Robert Downey, Jr. (I realize he’s having “fun” with his career now, but I think he deserves it after all the sh*t he’s been through --he’s also a stellar actor even though he’s made some bad ones)
  • Harrison Ford
  • Dustin Hoffman (I still love going back to early stuff like Straw Dogs and obscure things like American Buffalo –also, best Willy Loman ever)
  • Phillip Seymour Hoffman
  • Daniel Day Lewis
  • John Malkovich
  • Ian McKellen
  • Viggo Mortensen
  • Edward Norton (another super favorite)
  • Gary Oldman (what happened with Air Force One and The Fifth Element though?!)
  • Brad Pitt (he gets a Mulligan for Seven Years in Tibet)
  • Pete Postlewaite (oh, how I miss him)
  • Robert Redford
  • Ken Rockwell (another super-fave)
  • Kevin Spacey 
  • Benicio Del Toro (but what happened to this guy?!)
  • Denzel Washington (just barely made it for the plethora of bad movies amongst the good)

Then there are the “classics” that are so obvious it’s not really worth putting them on a list (Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Anthony Hopkins, Marlon Brando, etc.) I realize I included Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, who fall into this category, but it’s just ‘cause I like them so much more than those other guys!

I wish I could put Val Kilmer on this list for his portrayal of Doc Holiday in Tombstone, but he’s SO bad in everything else (except maybe Heat).

3 comments:

Warden said...

The Fifth Element is one of my favorite movies, and is probably my favorite Gary Oldman performance. He has so much fun with that goofy role. You so crazy.

The Invisible said...

That role is a blight on the entire career of an otherwise brilliant actor.

The Invisible said...

Which is not to say I didn't like the movie. I actually love it! He's just awful (I would also suggest that it's not necessarily his fault, but perhaps the director's).