# Best Male Actor Of Our Time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380 "2012-07-25T21:35:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eugene_of_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/42 "2012-07-26T01:32:35Z")
DD Lewis is the reigning champ, imo. Oldman number one contender. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/43 "2012-07-26T02:59:03Z")
I’d probably cast a vote for Oldman, but in the honorable mentions, I feel like Jamie Foxx and Will Smith should have been nominated. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/44 "2012-07-26T03:03:17Z")
Also realize I left George Clooney off the list. Feel bad about Foxx and Smith. Maybe I’ll do a redux after we point out more of the obvious omissions (like Duvall). ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/45 "2012-07-26T03:32:49Z")
I picked Gene Hackman. He’s a wonderful actor. Gary Oldman would be a second choice. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/46 "2012-07-26T03:34:29Z")
I’d nominate Christopher Waltz, who has been purely brilliant in the few things I’ve seen him in. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/47 "2012-07-26T03:41:13Z")
I’m still considering the list. A lot of those actors are well liked, but still hacks portraying the same character in different roles. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/48 "2012-07-26T03:49:29Z")
So as I have already posted, I am surprised Gary Oldman is really running away with it. It seems like among dopers, he’s considered the best, or at least very close to the best. I have looked through his filmography, and he certainly has done a lot. Any Oldman fans here want to point me towards a few of his films where he demonstrates being the best actor of our times? Like, his 3 absolute best roles, or something like that? I’ve seen the dark knight movies (except for the 3rd one, yet), and The Fifth Element (really loved him in that one, and blows me away that it’s the same guy who plays commissioner Gordon). Any other recommendations for where he’s at his absolute best? ---
**Author:** ![GovernmentMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GovernmentMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GovernmentMan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/49 "2012-07-26T03:58:29Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I voted for Morgan Freeman, then got all angry when Michael Caine wasn’t on the list. Then I noticed he was there, just under “sir”. Silly OP. I would have voted for Oldman too, but I didn’t think of him. Are you sure you’re not just a Batman fanboy? Because Morgain Freeman and Caine aren’t that good. I’ve never been wowed with any Morgan Freeman role. He’s just there. Solid ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/50 "2012-07-26T04:08:23Z")
An actor I think should be on the list: John Lithgow. He’s under-rated because he’s most famous for his work on a sit-com (although he did a great job playing Dick Soloman). But you watch him in other roles and you see he’s got a lot of range. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/51 "2012-07-26T04:14:21Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Any other recommendations for where he’s at his absolute best? \*Bram Stoker’s Dracula \*The Contender \*Leon: The Professional \*Prick Up Your Ears \*Sid and Nancy \*Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/52 "2012-07-26T04:17:04Z")
Robert Duvall. A lot of his characters are similar over the last few years, but from Frank Burns to Ned Pepper to Tom Hagen to “Bull” Meecham to Gus MacRae is a lot of range and he inhabits every one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/53 "2012-07-26T05:45:47Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Kingsley didn’t really do all that much, though; there was _Gandhi_, and then 10 years of TV movies, then _Bugsy_, then 10 more years of not much, then _Sexy Beast_. What about _Schindler’s List_? ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/54 "2012-07-26T06:02:40Z")
Since I’m on my phone, I can’t see the poll, so I’m going with who’s been listed in the thread… tops goes to Oldman and runner up to DDL. However, my personal best is for (if not listed) Pacino and Hoffman. Can’t help it. I’m a 70s aficionado. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/55 "2012-07-26T06:41:53Z")
I really don’t understand how guys like Nicholson, Pacino, or De Niro get held up as great actors. They play themselves in every role. You can very distinctly think at every point of watching them “oh, that’s Jack Nicholson doing Jack Nicholson, only this time as [character attribute]” They are the exact opposite of great actors like Gary Oldman who are fully playing the role they play. They become the characters. I can see liking their movies simply because you like them acting as themselves, but I don’t know how anyone can consider it to be great acting. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/56 "2012-07-26T06:48:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Kingsley didn’t really do all that much, though; there was _Gandhi_, and then 10 years of TV movies, then _Bugsy_, then 10 more years of not much, then _Sexy Beast_. I thought he was fantastic in _Death and the Maiden,_ and more recently _Hugo._ He’s just a great actor, though I’ll admit his knack for picking a lot of roles can be spotty (Fair warning: whatever you do, for the love of all that is holy, do not see _A Sound of Thunder._ I’m surprised that movie alone didn’t kill Ray Bradbury sooner.) _Alien_ is on tv right now, and I think **John Hurt** deserves a mention; _Elephant Man, Midnight Express, Alien, Contact…_ (hey! He and Tom Skerrit were both in Alien and Contact. Huh.) Also, it’s fun watching Bilbo Baggins play a robot again. **Ian Holmes** is damn good as well. Also hysterical in the _5th Element_ – with fellow actor… **Gary Oldman!** Duh duh duuuuuhhhh! ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/57 "2012-07-26T07:01:58Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Also hysterical in the _5th Element_ – with fellow actor… **Gary Oldman!** Duh duh duuuuuhhhh! [Scenery chewing goodness.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krcNIWPkNzA) > [@Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg](#): > > Life, which you so nobly serve, comes from destruction, disorder and chaos. Now take this empty glass. Here it is: peaceful, serene, boring. But if it is destroyed… > > _[Pushes the glass off the table. It shatter on the floor, and several small machines come out to clean it up]_ > > Look at all these little things! So busy now! Notice how each one is useful. A lovely ballet ensues, so full of form and color. Now, think about all those people that created them. Technicians, engineers, hundreds of people, who will be able to feed their children tonight, so those children can grow up big and strong and have little teeny children of their own, and so on and so forth. Thus, adding to the great chain of life. You see, father, by causing a little destruction, I am in fact encouraging life. In reality, you and I are in the same business. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/58 "2012-07-26T07:21:40Z")
Richard Harris. Better than Olivier, better than Brando, better than Nicholson. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/59 "2012-07-26T09:47:28Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > \*Bram Stoker’s Dracula > \*The Contender > \*Leon: The Professional > \*Prick Up Your Ears > \*Sid and Nancy > \*Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - True Romance ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/60 "2012-07-26T09:50:11Z")
Robert Duvall ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380/61 "2012-07-26T10:25:05Z")
I voted for Oldman. And I disagree vehemently with the OP’s opinion of Streep. > [@drewtwo99](#): > > Any other recommendations for where he’s at his absolute best? Not mentioned yet: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Immortal Beloved Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Track 29 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-male-actor-of-our-time/629380.md?page=4)