Thats where my screen name is from, yes. Cash is the king!
“left wing dramas?”
Mystic River
Casualties of War
Carlito’s Way
Colors
Sweet and Lowdown
I Am Sam
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Taps
These are left wing dramas that nobody watched? I don’t even think Milk was left wing, and people certainly watched it.
Sean Penn is universally recognized as one of the best actors working, and probably the best of his generation. The guy’s got two Oscars, and multiple other nominations. I put him at or near the top of my list. I find him riveting onscreen, and every bit the chameleon that Brando was.
Did you know, people have been using the term “snarky” since 1906?
Ha. Maybe. He was awesome in The Great Garrick.
Some great actors mentioned here. Oldman is amazing, but I also find Robert Duval and Phillip Seymour Hofman completely believable in whatever they’re in. For volume of great work, Oldman might beat them out. He portrayed Sid Vicious, Beethoven, Drexel, Stansfield and Jim Gordon. The guy has amazing range. PSH and Sean Penn come close.
Dracula was quite the treat, with Oldman and Hopkins carrying the movie for Winona Rider and Keanu Reeves.
And he WAS Sirius Black!
Anthony Hopkins was the name I was trying to recall.
And it’s Katherine Hepburn. 
Actually, it’s Katharine Hepburn!
Gaudere strikes again!
:smack:
And he had Lee Harvey Oswald down. The voice and mannerisms were amazing.
I am glad to see so many Gary Oldman fans here who agree that this guy is possibly (I say he is) the BEST actor around and doesn’t get the acclaim he deserves.
I will say something about him and people give me a funny look like they know the name and then ask “what he was in again?”
I’m more of a TV watcher but I think, Bryan Cranston is an amazing actor.
He was the father in Malcolm in the Middle (comedy) as a doofish dad that pretty much was in uber love with his wife. To the dark Walter White in Breaking Bad, an old high school chem teacher that was a brilliant guy “wasting” his talents away finally discovering he has lung cancer and need cash so begins to manufacture meth.
Jimmy Stewart and Humphrey Bogart need to be in the conversation - especially Stewart, who could do more than the nice guy roles he’s most remembered for. I see someone has already mentioned Laurence Olivier.
For my money, the answer needs to be someone who is both a great actor (like Oldman) and a massive star. That’s the only way to answer a question as unanswerable as this - Oscar nominee material, and able to open a blockbuster film.
Male actor I would say Robert De Nero. Very funny in Midnight Run & Analyze This . Simply outstanding as a dramatic actor.
Female - I’m going to put in another vote for Bette Davis. I was watching Of Human Bondage whic now looks terribly stagey & dated. Then came Her Big Scene - & she just transformed. It was a breathtaking piece of work & could have been used in a modern film.
Thomas Dunson of Red River was not the same character as Tom Doniphon in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Nor was he anything like Guns Donovan in Donovan’s Reef.
If Wayne really was everyone he played on screen … what a strange, complex dude.
Big vote here for Henry Fonda.
That’s exactly what I was asking for. I was looking for people to come up with some damn good actors in some damn good roles. And you did.
One performance that mesmerized me was Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh, the calmly wacko killer in No Country for Old Men. I don’t recall him in any more roles, though. I thoroughly enjoyed that flick.
Daniel Day-Lewis.
He’s incredibly versatile. It helps that he’s blessed with good enough looks that he can either tone down or play up.
Not quite sure if I would name Stewart but he could play both nice guys and more cynical, harder edged guys in such films as “Man from Laramie” and “Winchester 73” very well.
Of course when it comes to acting I keep in mind what Katharine Hepburn said about it: “It’s not as hard as everyone thinks, Shirley Temple was doing it when she was four.”
Loved this answer!
But, I can’t go with Shirley Temple.
I respect actors that can move from role to role and do it seamlessly. That is why Streep and Oldman get so much respect. But one I haven’t seen mentioned so I’ll nominate him.
Ed Harris.
Simply, routinely great. See him in Just Cause, and you will get a flavor of what I’m talking about.
THIS JUST IN…
Gary Oldman not NOMINATED for an Oscar…again.
Celluloid at 11.