# The greatest actors of your lifetime **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150 "2010-03-20T17:58:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/41 "2010-03-21T17:58:21Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > Also: Nancy Marchand. Done and done. I wouldn’t bitch if somebody added Gandolfini to the guys’ side, either. But we’re up to 52 guys and 29 gals. Too many for reasonable polls for Best, I submit. We need to start stripping away the lesser folks. Top 5 lists, please. And if you already voted, let others speak, please. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/42 "2010-03-21T18:35:37Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > A couple more: Alec Baldwin and Johnny Depp (despite his involvement in the questionable _Pirates of the Caribbean_ series… What does Johnny Depp have to apologize for with regards to those films? He was fantastic in them. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/43 "2010-03-21T20:22:58Z")
I like all of the fine actors mentioned, but in semi-rough order of preference. I know you said Top 5, but damn, I can’t not mention some of these. Men: Daniel Day-Lewis Sean Penn Philip Seymour Hoffman Gary Oldman (Happy birthday today) Don Cheadle (not previously mentioned) Robert De Niro Dustin Hoffman Al Pacino Russell Crowe Leonardo DiCaprio (not previously mentioned) Women: Meryl Streep Kate Winslet Sissy Spacek Julianne Moore Cate Blanchett Patricia Clarkson Helen Mirren Judi Dench Laura Linney Joan Allen (not previously mentioned) Not mentioned yet, but, IMO excellent actors, so even if considered “lesser” I thought their names should be mentioned at least once in the thread: Nicole Kidman George Clooney Forrest Whitacre Naomi Watts Billy Bob Thornton Carey Mulligan Tobey Maguire Jake Gyllenhaal ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/44 "2010-03-21T21:12:55Z")
Another Progress Report ```auto Total Posts: 43 / 22 Unique Names As of Post #43 Men: Marlon Brando 3 Russell Crowe 3 Daniel Day-Lewis 5 Robert De Niro 8 Johnny Depp 3 Robert Duvall 5 Henry Fonda 2 Morgan Freeman 2 Gene Hackman 4 Tom Hanks 3 Dustin Hoffman 4 Philip Seymour Hoffman 2 Heath Ledger 2 Ian McKellen 2 Paul Newman 2 Jack Nicholson 3 Edward Norton 4 Gary Oldman 4 Laurence Olivier 2 Al Pacino 2 Sean Penn 4 Brad Pitt 2 Kevin Spacey 3 Jimmy Stewart 3 Spencer Tracy 2 59 Total Names 25 w/ multiple Women: Cate Blanchett 5 Patricia Clarkson 2 Judi Dench 6 Sally Field 2 Jodie Foster 2 Katharine Hepburn 4 Jessica Lange 2 Laura Linney 4 Frances McDormand 2 Helen Mirren 5 Julianne Moore 2 Susan Sarandon 2 Sissy Spacek 3 Meryl Streep 9 Kate Winslet 6 33 Total Names 15 w/ multiple ``` At this stage I believe it will be fairest if this thread stays as a collection source until 40 unique posters have been heard from, or until Wednesday, whichever comes first. At that time I will trim the two lists to 25 each with the higher number of votes determining who stays on the lists. Until then, vote your top 5 (or more) to help make that decision. Thanks for all the input so far! ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/45 "2010-03-21T21:41:41Z")
OK, here are my top 5, along with a few thoughts. Men (in no particular order): Robert DeNiro Gene Hackman Al Pacino Paul Newman Forrest Whittaker Women (again, in no particular order): Helen Mirren Kate Winslet Laura Dern Laura Linney Maura Tierney OK, my list is a bit idiosyncratic. And it’s really, really hard to keep it to five. I’ve seen a number of performances by each of the actors I mentioned, enough so that I’m not basing their inclusion on one great performance, although Paul Newman comes close. He turned in a few brilliant performances (Cool Hand Luke, The Verdict), but made plenty of junk, too. Laura Linney is brilliant, but I put her in the same category as Meryl Streep. They’re both very “actressy”, for want of a better word. And if we’re going to include them, why not the less well-known Lindsay Crouse? She acts in a similar vein, with similar technique. I fear that she didn’t get the great roles only because she didn’t have the looks, which would be a tragedy. Laura Dern may be best known for Jurassic Park, but then there’s _We Don’t Live Here Anymore_. And Maura Tierney has been, for the most part, restricted to television, but shouldn’t go unrecognized. She has amazing range, going from \*News Radio \*to _ER_. Edie Falco is in the same boat. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/46 "2010-03-21T22:49:05Z")
I don’t think anyone has mentioned **Ben Kingsley** yet. The same actor who portrayed Gandhi also played the most psycopathic of psychopaths in Sexy Beast. He could fairly be said to have range. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/47 "2010-03-21T22:58:14Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > At this stage I believe it will be fairest if this thread stays as a collection source until 40 unique posters have been heard from, or until Wednesday, whichever comes first. > > At that time I will trim the two lists to 25 each with the higher number of votes determining who stays on the lists. Until then, vote your top 5 (or more) to help make that decision. I wonder if there’s a site that hosts Instant Run-off Voting for these sort of polls? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/48 "2010-03-21T23:49:42Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I wonder if there’s a site that hosts Instant Run-off Voting for these sort of polls? Interesting idea. Hadn’t thought of such. ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/49 "2010-03-22T04:05:07Z")
GARY OLDMAN And because he could probably play a woman convincingly: GARY OLDMAN ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/50 "2010-03-22T14:29:45Z")
Men: Paul Newman Jimmy Stewart Edward Norton Gary Oldman Peter O’Toole Women: Katharine Hepburn Helen Mirren Kate Winslet Cate Blanchett Judi Densch ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/51 "2010-03-22T14:38:04Z")
Full Summary ```auto As of Post #50 Men: Alec Baldwin 1 Marlon Brando 3 Jeff Bridges 1 Steve Buscemi 1 Michael Caine 1 Don Cheadle 1 George Clooney 1 Brian Cox 1 Russell Crowe 3 Billy Crudup 1 Daniel Day-Lewis 5 Robert De Niro 9 Johnny Depp 3 Leonardo DiCaprio 1 Robert Duvall 5 Ralph Fiennes 1 Henry Fonda 2 Morgan Freeman 2 Paul Giamatti 1 John Gielgud 1 Jake Gyllenhaal 1 Cary Grant 1 Alec Guinness 1 Gene Hackman 5 Tom Hanks 3 Charlton Heston 1 Dustin Hoffman 4 Philip Seymour Hoffman 2 Ian Holm 1 Harvey Keitel 1 Ben Kingsley 1 Heath Ledger 2 Jack Lemmon 1 John Lithgow 1 Tobey Maguire 1 Ian McKellen 2 Ian McShane 1 Toshiro Mifune 1 Robert Mitchum 1 Liam Neeson 1 Paul Newman 4 Jack Nicholson 3 Edward Norton 5 Gary Oldman 6 Laurence Olivier 2 Peter O'Toole 1 Al Pacino 3 Sean Penn 4 Brad Pitt 2 Geoffrey Rush 1 Kurt Russell 1 Liev Schreiber 1 Gerorge C. Scott 1 Kevin Spacey 3 James Spader 1 Jimmy Stewart 4 Patrick Stewart 1 Billy Bob Thornton 1 Spencer Tracy 2 John Wayne 1 Forest Whitaker 2 61 Women: Joan Allen 1 Kathy Bates 1 Cate Blanchett 6 Patricia Clarkson 2 Glenn Close 1 Joan Crawford 1 Lindsay Crouse 1 Bette Davis 1 Judy Davis 1 Judi Dench 7 Laura Dern 1 Edie Falco 2 Sally Field 2 Jane Fonda 1 Jodie Foster 2 Katharine Hepburn 5 Diane Keaton 1 Nicole Kidman 1 Jessica Lange 2 Laura Linney 5 Nancy Marchand 1 Frances McDormand 2 Helen Mirren 7 Julianne Moore 2 Carey Mulligan 1 Joan Plowright 1 Vanessa Redgrave 1 Mercedes Ruehl 1 Susan Sarandon 2 Sissy Spacek 3 Meryl Streep 10 Elizabeth Taylor 1 Maura Tierney 1 Naomi Watts 1 Kate Winslet 8 Joanne Woodward 1 36 ``` ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/52 "2010-03-22T17:58:17Z")
Men: Robert Downey Jr Johnny Depp Colin Farrell Ewan McGregor Gary Oldman (sp?) Women: Maggie Gyllenhaal Sally Field Mary McDonnell Angelina Jolie Uma Thurman ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/53 "2010-03-22T19:57:07Z")
\*\*\* ATTENTION POSTERS \*\*\* I have started a separate thread [Some Issues with Cafe Society Polls](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=556801)where we can discuss methods for dealing with this large number of candidate actors in a poll or polls. Please contribute ideas if you have some – in that thread. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/54 "2010-03-22T20:52:38Z")
I have to add one to my list. I hate to admit it, because I think the woman is a perfect flake, but Cher was amazing in Moonstruck, and Silkwood. . ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/55 "2010-03-22T21:12:15Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I have to add one to my list. > > I hate to admit it, because I think the woman is a perfect flake, but Cher was amazing in Moonstruck, and Silkwood. > > . Hard to argue with that! Added her. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/56 "2010-03-22T23:27:59Z")
Men: Daniel Day-Lewis Gray Oldman Gene Hackman Marlon Brando Laurence Olivier Peter O’Toole Women: Meryl Streep Jodie Foster Julianne Moore Toni Collette Jennifer Jason Leigh Sally Field ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/57 "2010-03-23T00:36:03Z")
Since I was born in 1945, I can almost say that \*\*\*all \*\*\*great actors have been in my lifetime. Unless we’re counting people like Sara Bernhardt and John Wilkes Booth. ---
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/58 "2010-03-23T00:41:58Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Henry Fonda > Katharine Hepburn I was just looking at the stats for actors/actresses (or, if you prefer, just actors) and if you go by the #s, its pretty hard to argue against Hepburn as the best of all time. 4 Best Actress wins (most for male or female), 12 nominations, an emmy, an gobs of secondary awards. Not to mention the longest gap between first and last wins (48 years). Pretty remarkable career. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/59 "2010-03-23T21:54:23Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Another Progress Report > > At this stage I believe it will be fairest if this thread stays as a collection source until 40 unique posters have been heard from, or until Wednesday, whichever comes first. It doesn’t look as if 40 unique posters will make it by Wednesday. So if you want to vote for any of those in the latest summary (top of this page – Post #51) who have only received one mention thus far, now is the time. Otherwise, the polls will be posted tomorrow and will be composed of these actors: ```auto Men: Marlon Brando 4 Russell Crowe 3 Daniel Day-Lewis 6 Robert De Niro 9 Johnny Depp 4 Robert Duvall 5 Henry Fonda 2 Morgan Freeman 2 Gene Hackman 6 Tom Hanks 3 Dustin Hoffman 4 Philip Seymour Hoffman 2 Heath Ledger 2 Ian McKellen 2 Paul Newman 4 Jack Nicholson 3 Edward Norton 5 Gary Oldman 8 Laurence Olivier 3 Peter O'Toole 2 Al Pacino 3 Sean Penn 4 Brad Pitt 2 Kevin Spacey 3 Jimmy Stewart 4 Spencer Tracy 2 Forest Whitaker 2 27 Women: Cate Blanchett 6 Patricia Clarkson 2 Judi Dench 7 Edie Falco 2 Sally Field 4 Jodie Foster 3 Katharine Hepburn 5 Jessica Lange 2 Laura Linney 5 Frances McDormand 2 Helen Mirren 7 Julianne Moore 3 Susan Sarandon 2 Sissy Spacek 3 Meryl Streep 11 Kate Winslet 8 16 ``` ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150/60 "2010-03-23T23:38:27Z")
Men: Top 5: Gary Oldman Russel Crowe Tom Hanks Val Kilmer (Tombstone, Heat, and Spartan sold me) Denzel Washington Honorable Mentions: William Fichtner Jean Reno Tcheky Karyo Zjelko Ivanek Harrison Ford John Cusack Ralph Fiennes Richard Schiff Women: Top 5: Julie Delpy Jorja Fox Kate Winslet Glenn Close Julia Stiles Honorable Mentions: Cate Blanchett Susan Sarandon Robin Wright Penn Minnie Driver Judi Dench -DF [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-actors-of-your-lifetime/533150.md?page=4)