Ah, but I don’t think anybody actually considers him to be good, as per the OP. Everyone pretty much dismisses him as a B-List dork.
(Frankly I don’t see how anyone who’s seen more than a couple Leonardo DiCaprio movies could not understand that he’s the greatest actor of his generation. I mean, I get that he had a pretty obnoxious personal life for a while, and a lot of people developed a prejudice toward him on that count, but he’s never not entirely stolen a movie away from anyone he shared a screen with. I mean did you see This Boy’s Life, Sampiro? He acted the rug right out from under Robert Deniro when he was just a teenager.)
Anyway, I would rather feed my eyeballs to a wolverine than watch Debra Winger in anything.
But don’t you think it sounds really intense when you end every utterance with the name of the person you’re talking to, Cisco? Did you ever think of that, Cisco?
Huh? What’s the title of this thread and is this opposites day?
To all the naysayers, I’m talking about in general. Sure, there will be one or two movies that the actors actually acted in, but for the most part, they play the same parts over and over in every movie.
And yes, Harrison Ford acts the same in every movie. You can take him out of one movie and put him in another and not notice a difference. Try it mentally. I’m not talking about the clothing they have on or makeup, but the actual character.
What I mean is, he isn’t a shitty actor, he can hold his own. But he’s not phenomenal and versatile. If you don’t understand what I’m saying, I can’t make you. 
Sorry.
I agree a hundred percent too. To say he’s not an outstanding actor is just plain stupid. I’m not even going to be nice about it. If you can’t see he’s a genius actor, you’re stupid and know nothing about acting. He’s literally a different person in every single movie. Go rent Basketball Diaries and then watch The Beach. Two different people entirely.
And before someone nitpicks, yes, I posted three times in a row. But I’m tired, watching three kids by myself and am a little sick.
Yeah I did. Not to mention that earlier than that he’d outacted the legendary Kirk Cameron (mainly because he was angled towards the mouth). I’m not saying he’s talentless at all- he’s very capable and can be good- but I think his striking looks (actually don’t know much about his private life beyond “single/rags-to-riches/obligatory gay rumors/supermodels/posse” rep) and capable acting (along with the fact he was the star of the movie) were responsible for his scene stealing more than extraordinary talent.
You’re entitled to your opinion and I disagree, but let’s keep personal attacks in the appropriate places: family, politics, and the Pit. I think Matt Damon’s a better actor than you give him credit for but don’t feel the need to insult you due to a subjective disagreement. :rolleyes: (otoh, if you’d said the same thing about somebody who bashed Johnny Depp I’d agree)
For the list-
Philip Seymour Hoffman- he’s certainly not bad, but I think he’s way too lauded for being of average talent. Of course part of it is because I thought PSH won an Oscar for basically doing a Capote impersonation, while Toby Jones absolutely became the character in a just outstanding job in Infamous the same year and never got a mention.
While I agree with you that Toby Jones was a much more authentic Capote (something which I think was helped by his diminutive stature. PSH was really too tall to be entirely convincing in the role), I have to protest that I think Hoffman is much better than an “average” talent. I find him compulsively watchable in just about eveything he’s in. I do think he’s better in character roles than leading roles, though (all his work in P. T. Anderson’s movies, for instance, is top notch).
I think there is also a category of actors who can and have been great, but who later in their careers start just picking up paychecks, working in almost anything and end up becoming parodies of themselves to such an extent that it hurts their entire legacy. Examples would include Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Christopher Walken – all Oscar winners who have appeared in long strings of shit.
I can’t possibly agree with this. Russel Crowe is always awesome in a movie.
Now Colin Farrell sucks. I have never seen him bring anything of interest into a character that he plays.
I wouldn’t even have to try very hard 
Bud White (LA Confidential) is not the same character as Ben Wade (3:10 to Yuma). I mean, you don’t have to like the guy, but I think “the same character” is over-stating things.
I hate Jack Nicholson, and am sickened by the thought that someone, somewhere on this stupid planet of ours is going to compare Heath Ledger to him unfavorably in their role as the Joker. Jack Nicholson was the worst possible Joker!
I don’t like Robert Deniro very much, either. That lower-lip scowl works its way into every movie, and it bothers me. Ronin was absolutely unwatchable, because of him.
Let’s also not forget that how an actor appears in a film is often very much a product of how the director (and producer) want them to appear.
Brash badass would sum both of them up, though. He plays a lot of brash badasses who are against tough odds for the big win, whatever that might be.
I just don’t like Russell Crowe. I think he choses a lot of ego epics and then overacts through them. He’s overrated, bigtime.
I really disliked Quaid when he was younger. He had that grinning cocky monkey thing that Tom Cruise still displays.
But in the past 10 years or so I’ve started to enjoy some of his performances. I thought he was quite good in Frequency, In Good Company and Vantage Point.
I wonder too how much is casting bias.
“We need a stoic, wooden badass in this role… call up Harrison Ford” vs “We need a flamboyantly gay social worker… call up Harrison Ford”
Actors are likely to be put into roles they’ve already shown to be competant in.
Then again, it’s generally an open casting process as far as I know so actors can try to stretch themselves… I could see that bias playing a role in how people are cast into similar roles though.
I think his best performance is either in The Talented Mr. Ripley or Happiness.
Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind, EXACT same character. :rolleyes:
You people bashing DiCaprio are the same types of people who would bash Michael Jordan for being overhyped. “He’s great but not that great.” Sure, they get a ton of credit, no one really deserves to be deified, but they are about as good as can be reasonably hoped for anyone.