I bow to no one in my slavish devotion to Betty Hutton–she’s on the short list of personal divas. But I would never call her a great actor. One of the greatest entertainers of all time, but you watch her movies for the musical numbers, not the filler in between. Sole exception: The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek. But the acting in a Sturges farce is as stylized as in a Mamet thriller. But of course, YMMV. Still, great to see her mentioned at all!
lissener:
I included her because of the same reasons you don’t. She was a huge “if only.” Maybe Julie Holliday would have been a better choice.
Or Jean Simmons or Donna Reed.
Another vote for Gary Oldman.
A teeny tiny sample:
Drexl
Stansfield
Zorg
Paul Giomatti.
One more for Gary Oldman, an actor who really disappears into his parts.
I meant “beauty contest” metaphorically. Sorry if that didn’t come across.
Al Pacino or Adolphe Menjou.
It’s been said a dozen times but I simply can’t deny reality: Gary Oldman’s the best I’ve ever seen.
John Wayne wasn’t exactly a slouch in the acting department though. Let’s not forget that he won the Best Actor Oscar for *True Grit *and was also nominated for Sands of Iwo Jima. I’m not saying he’s one of the “best ever” but I do think he often doesn’t get the respect as an actor he deserves.
I can’t decide. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is great, as is Alec Guiness and Gary Oldman.
John Gieguld for the stage portion of this. I feel like there is a name I’m trying to come up with and I just can’t re film actor. It’ll probably come to me in the middle of the night…
Tom Hanks
John Wayne played John Wayne. He just demonstrated his persona on screen. He was the same character in every movie.
Catherine Hepburn was pretty good though.
Actually there is no such person as Gary Coleman (or “Colmen”). He is merely Gary Oldman acting under a pseudonym. Yes, he’s* that *good.
Seriously, Johnny Depp has all the range and versitality of anyone named here. He has frequently unrecognizable (or used to be, before he was so well-known), has acted in virtually every genre, and for a long time one could depend on his movies to be inventive and interesting–less so in recent years. In the first “Pirates…” he single-handedly turned an average movie into an unforgettable one.
I hate to claim any actor is the best of all time–Hoffman and Streep and DeNiro and Nicholson and Eastwood all bring something special that no one else really can. But Depp deserves a mention.
I just watched “The Little Princess” last weekend, and while I thought Shirley Temple was wonderful, it was partly in the context of her age (“wow, how is that little girl such a great actress!”). I never saw any of her older roles…is she really that good?
I love watching Gary Oldman, but that experience is diluted by the huge number of B movies. And outside the streak of movies he made around 1990 to 1995, I’m not sure anything’s sticking out for me.
You don’t have to. Honest. But, if you don’t…
Really?
Wow. I don’t think he’s bad, but best ever?
I like it when actors prepare for a role, like when Hanks lost weight for Castaway. I admire it.
Still don’t know about the ‘best’.
What ,no love for Laurence Olivier or Steve McQueen?
David Garrick
I can’t make up my mind.
Dustin Hoffman:
The Graduate
Midnight Cowboy
Rain Man
Kung Fu Panda
Anthony Hopkins:
Hamlet
Titus
Meet Joe Black
Dracula
Gary Oldman:
Sid and Nancy
Lost in Space
They have all done Great Works of Art, and they have all done lightweight-but-really-cool movies, and they have all been the one redeeming feature in a bad movie.
That was Gary Oldman! I’ve got to watch that jewel again. When I’m not stoned.