There’s another thread ongoing about Lee Marvin and John Wayne comparing their acting abilities, and it inspired this broader question. First, I’ll suggest that Lee Marvin is not among Hollywood’s iconic superstars, though Wayne certainly is. But if you think he is, and he’s also the best actor, feel free to join in.
My nominee is Paul Newman. I can’t think of any other of the Hollywood icons that has nearly the acting range he did, especially with smaller and comic roles. I thought he was utterly brilliant as the small town goofball in Nobody’s Fool, and the grifter in The Sting, and as the alcoholic lawyer in The Verdict. Unlike so many others, he actually played the character rather than playing his movie persona over and over again, something that Wayne was notable for.
Jimmy Stewart is best known for his aw-shucks Everyman and self-effacing romantic lead, but he burrowed into the darkest recesses of characters for Anthony Mann and Alfred Hitchcock and was adept across all genres (except perhaps sci-fi) like few others.
Henry Fonda. A lot of range in his acting. Once Upon a Time in the West showed he could play completely against type. Paul Newman wasn’t that great of an actor in his early career, good at some roles, but later movies like The Verdict and Nobody’s Fool brought out his talent.
Is this only about the guys? Stone faced acting was pretty much the style in their day, I’d look at the women for the better performances.
ETA: Gregory Peck had roles that ranged, but his persona didn’t change all that much. Cape Fear showed he could be versatile, and also was a good role for Robert Mitchum, another actor to consider.
Another vote for Fonda. The quiet, unshowy decency and integrity of his performances in The Grapes of Wrath and Young Mr. Lincoln move me to tears every time.
He is one of what I think are the three top American speaking actors.
But I want to pick a nit that his persona didn’t change all that much. What about his no holds barred evil role of Josef Mengele? And he had to play that against Laurence Olivier!
His Captain Ahab was grim too, and his King David was remarkably unsentimental.
Humphrey Bogart’s iconic role in CASABLANCA was miles away from what he showed in THE CAINE MUTINY – and what he did opposite Katharine Hepburn to win an Oscar for THE AFRICAN QUEEN was nothing like what he gave Audrey Hepburn to play off for an Oscar nomination in a Billy Wilder comedy – and you couldn’t deduce any of that from back when he was a glowering heavy, before they realized the chemistry that ensues if you put the embodiment of a private eye in the same room as Lauren Bacall.
If we’re going there, then Dustin Hoffman in THE GRADUATE was nothing like Hoffman in MIDNIGHT COWBOY was nothing like Hoffman in TOOTSIE was nothing like Hoffman in RAIN MAN, and that’s just what he did in his spare time from winning an Oscar as a regular guy trying to keep his emotions in check in KRAMER VS KRAMER.
If I hadn’t seen him in something called Mass Appeal, I wouldn’t be able to agree, but he was great in that.
He was.
I want to nominate Lillian Gish, because she actually did some pretty powerhouse acting in the sound era, such as The Unforgiven, and Night of the Hunter, but I don’t think there are too many examples of her doing comedy outside of a few television performances she did, and I doubt most people have seen those, and at any rate, she’s mostly known as a silent actress, even though she worked through the 1980s.
An actress who had fantastic range from the early days of cinema was is Irene Dunne. She did melodrama, like Back Street, straight drama, like* I Remember Mama*, and comedy, like The Awful Truth. I think The Awful Truth has the funniest 10 minutes of film ever in it.
Well, since I was beaten to the punch with my top 2 choices, Bette Davis and Jack Lemmon, I’ll go with George C. Scott. From his spot-on, silly-billy comedic presence in Dr. Strangelove, to his commanding dramatic presence in Patton—his acting chops and range can’t be denied.