# Pacino, DeNiro, Hoffman, Nicholson, Hackman - 5 greatest actors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2007, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807 "2007-12-21T06:11:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/21 "2007-12-21T14:07:22Z")
As long as we’re just shouting people out now regardless of age range: Gary Oldman ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/22 "2007-12-21T15:21:19Z")
Of that aging Nicholson and friends generation, I will just echo that Anthony Hopkins blows all 5 names in the OP out of the water. Hopkins is able to enthrall me in vastly different roles, and just about the only thing I can imagine him having difficulty playing is stupid (though I haven’t really seen him try). For the next generation, Johnny Depp is the clear stand-out for me. From **Ed Wood** to **Edward Scissorhands** to **Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas** , the man is a bona fide acting genius. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/23 "2007-12-21T15:23:12Z")
Agreed, definitely. And if you’re used to Hopkins as an old man, watch “Magic,” one of his earlier movies in which he plays a ventriloquist possessed by a psychotic dummy. It’s one of the best horror movies I’ve ever seen and his acting in it is amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/24 "2007-12-21T15:29:19Z")
_From that generation_, my top 5 would be: Robert DeNiro Gene Hackman Robert Duvall Alan Arkin Morgan Freeman (even though he was late to the party) Nicholson and Pacino, in particular, are overrated. They always just play themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/25 "2007-12-21T15:30:30Z")
[QUOTE=Windwalker] For the next generation, Johnny Depp is the clear stand-out for me. From **Ed Wood** to **Edward Scissorhands** to **Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas** , the man is a bona fide acting genius. [/QUOTE] Please add **Sweeney Todd** to that list. When Burton & Depp get together, a very dark type of magic happens. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/26 "2007-12-21T15:34:25Z")
What difference does when they started making movies make? Let’s look at Unforgiven Clint Eastwood Morgan Freeman Richard Harris Gene Hackman Throw in Peter O’Toole and you’ll have a fine top five. But I would also include Robert Duvall ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/27 "2007-12-21T15:51:31Z")
The 40s - 70s and the movies that “did it” for **me** : Cary Grant (Father Goose) Gregory Peck (To Kill A Mockingbird) Paul Newman (Cool Hand Luke) Grace Kelly (the country girl) Jessica Tandy (Driving Miss Daisy - The Gin Game) Current generation of actors and the movies that “did it” for **me** : Denzel Washington (Inside Man, He Got Game) Sean Penn (Mystic River, She’s So Lovely) Kenneth Brannagh (Much Ado About Nothing, Warm Springs) Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty) Tom Hanks (Road To Perdition) John Cusak (Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil, Natty Gan) Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas) Robin Wright Penn (State of Grace, She’s So Lovely) Halle Berry (Do The Right Thing - amazing as a crack head) ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/28 "2007-12-21T16:06:02Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Please add **Sweeney Todd** to that list. When Burton & Depp get together, a very dark type of magic happens. [/QUOTE] Except for _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,_ which was a very lame type of magic and an insult to the original, musically and cinematically. The shittiest songs ever to come from the mind of Danny Elfman, and horrible over-used CGI. And _nobody_ will ever top Wilder as Wonka. (In my opinion.) And I don’t care if it was more true to the book - it was a bad _movie._ Good to see another Alan Arkin fan. He was amazing in _Catch-22._ ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/29 "2007-12-21T16:09:00Z")
Ben Kingsley. Watch _Schindler’s List_ followed by _Sexy Beast_. Hard to believe it’s the same guy. He does need a little quality control in his choices though. I also think Depp is the best currently working. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/30 "2007-12-21T16:15:51Z")
Busemi Depp Hanks DeNero Pacino Hackman suffers from George Kennedy disease. He will do anything for money. Richard Burton too far back ? Oldman Why do actresses call themselves actors now? Brando Newman I will watch any crappy movie with Dennis Hopper or Christopher Walken in it. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/31 "2007-12-21T17:56:03Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] The big five are all male and all shouty? [/QUOTE] My reaction to the thread title: Why does greatness = tough-guy roles in movies about organized crime? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/32 "2007-12-21T18:49:54Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Why do actresses call themselves actors now? [/QUOTE] Because it is gender neutral, [historically correct](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor#Terminology) and most of them are members of The Screen Actors Guild. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/33 "2007-12-21T19:27:30Z")
Except than when it is in common usage ,it becomes the rule. We all know the difference between actors and actresses. Why does it now become a problem.? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/34 "2007-12-21T20:44:35Z")
[QUOTE=don’t ask] But if it had to be one replacement then Newman for some of my favourite roles: The Sting Cool Hand Luke Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid The Hustler Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Hud The Verdict Somebody Up There Likes Me Hombre The Long, Hot Summer Sweet Bird of Youth Slap Shot Sometimes a Great Notion Absence of Malice The Color of Money The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean [/QUOTE] If you haven’t seen **Nobody’s Fool** , run to the nearest video store and rent it; I think it’s his best role. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/35 "2007-12-21T20:56:47Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] We all know the difference between actors and actresses. Why does it now become a problem.? [/QUOTE] What’s “now?” I’ve been hearing it for years, going back to high school, and the people who were using it then must have gotten it from professionals. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/36 "2007-12-21T21:24:28Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Except than when it is in common usage ,it becomes the rule. We all know the difference between actors and actresses. Why does it now become a problem.? [/QUOTE] Because actors and actresses are prissy prima donnas who find negative meaning where there is none. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/37 "2007-12-21T22:18:55Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] (Snippetina) Morgan Freeman should probably round out the group. [/QUOTE] I love watching Morgan Freeman work, but doesn’t he always play Morgan Freeman? ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807/38 "2007-12-21T23:04:56Z")
With the exception of Hackman, I’d be tempted to say those are four of the worst actors in Hollywood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-hoffman-nicholson-hackman-5-greatest-actors/430807.md?page=1)