Yeah, Eastwood should be on a longer list. But what inspired this thread was the glorious experience I’ve been having working my way (though “work” is hardly the word") through 5 of Randolph Scott’s movies made with director Budd Boetticher, masterpieces every single one. Find a way to see Ride Lonesome please.
Not trying to be contrary, but I’d leave off the dudes who tried to be cool, the ones with the studied coolness. To be truly cool, you shouldn’t know that you’re cool.
So I’d take McQueen, Bronson, Palance, and Bogart off the list. I’d leave Mitchum on though – he knew he was cool but he didn’t care.
I don’t know who was most consistently cool throughout a career, but…
John Travolta as Chili Palmer in Get Shorty was charmingly cool. He was equal to any situation without being above it all. Some cool guys operate in another plane, Chili is always emotionally involved in what’s going on around him, and handles gangsters, hitmen, starlets, and movie producers with equal aplomb.
(although Danny DeVito did leave him with some egg (whites) on his face.)
This makes no sense at all. McQueen defines cool. Bogart just was a cool customer. Brando would be more what you were talking about.
BTW: Any love for Connery?
In no particular order and the ability to portray a character with a cool temperament who I also think is cool in an in-the-know and a lot of fun way:
In no particular order:
Robert Mitchum
Steve McQueen
Warren Oates
Humphrey Bogart
Clint Eastwood
John Wayne
Daniel Craig
Johnny Depp
Kevin Costner (Bull Durham, Tin Cup, Mr. Brooks and some others, but not all)
Sean Connery
Gene Hackman
Denzel Washington
Ewan McGregor
Harrison Ford
Al Pacino
James Caan
James Garner
Jack Nicholsen
Alec Baldwin
Some of the ladies:
Susan Sarandon
Bette Davis
Cameron Diaz
Ingrid Bergman
Michelle Pfeiffer
Grace Kelly
Carrie Fisher (space bitch is hella cool!)
Natalie Portman
Shirley McClain
Mae West
Hmmm. While I bow to know one in my appreciation of James Cagney, the reason I didn’t include him on my list is that I was distinguishing between cool, and tough.
Cagney belongs near the top of any list of *tough *guys, but his tough guys were all a little unhinged; the opposite of cool.