I’m not asking will there ever be an actor better than our current best and brightest.
I’m wondering whether the next generation or subsequent ones will look at the films of today’s best actors and puff their chests at how far the craft of acting has come since the days of Hanks and Deniro.
Acting in films has evolved greatly since the days of B&W. A more realistic style has emerged since earlier days. In older films, actors, probably used to stage work, machine-gunned their lines and seemingly overplayed it a bit. Jimmy Stewart, one of the most beloved actors of all time was one of the biggest gunners in the business. Reminded me of “Bookman” from Seinfeld. When you compare the work of the 40’s and 50’s with today, the old performances, while still excellent, are very dated on style alone.
Sure there were exceptions. One actor was particularly good.
To see a clear contrast, one need only look at Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940). The legendary Joan Fontaine delivered her lines in the rat-a-tat-tat style. She was a very good actress. She was nominated for an oscar for the role (and won for another). But she looked ESPECIALLY stilted because her co-star, Laurence Olivier was already starting a more nuanced approach to acting.
But, largely until the 60’s or 70’s, it was still being refined (I guess there’s a reason Olivier was called the greatest living actor until his death).
I know the future generation will giggle at our special fx, our camera clarity, and our lingo/fashion.
But will they see any difference in the acting?
Of course there will be changes in acting style that the audience will soon accept as normal or preferred, just as method acting has become the most influential style over the past 60 years ago.
Not being an expert on the dramatic arts, I don’t know what styles will evolve, but given the advancements in the technical side of film, I’m willing to hazard one guess.
On stage, broad, sweeping movements and loud speaking were needed to reach the folks in the balcony. As soon as movie projectors started showing an image 3-4 times actual size, and later on, when sound was added, that style of acting gave way to “smaller” portrayals of character.
Now with advances in image reproduction and sound, film audiences can see and hear better than ever. I’ll bet there will be more emphasis on showing character through more subtle gestures, slighter changes in vocal inflection, etc. A twitch of an eyebrow will replace a hand gesture, just as that replaced waving an arm.
In a couple of decades, we’ll look back at someone like Meryl Streep as playing every role at a high emotional pitch, and people like Hoffman and Hanks will be considered impossible hams.
Of course that will mean an even bigger split between live theater and cinema, as what is considered an excellent performance in live theater comes across as too big on the screen and a magnificent screen performance seems underplayed on stage. At some point, an innovative theatrical producer will mount a live production where the entire show is seen on a huge screen with Dolby sound and the actors performing, in effect, off stage.