Swank seems to be on her way to a very good career.
I don’t watch award shows. Do the academy awards still have an actress category or is it a female actor category? They are so careful to call themselves actors on talk shows.
Good one, i completely blanked on him.
(my favorite movie of his is Traffic though)
You can’t be serious. I’d nominate her as one of the worst actresses working today. She’s on par with Milla Jovovich.
Daniel Day-Lewis
George Clooney
Johnny Depp
Ciaran Hinds
Kate Winslet
Rachel Weisz
Toni Collette
Tilda Swinton
I think Cate Blanchett and Laura Linney are among the best.
I would go with Hoffman. Not a Hollywood “leading man”, just a solid actor who gets roles because of his skill, not his looks. I like Depp, but his roles are so odd and campy, it’s off-putting. Blanchett is outstanding. I wouldn’t have given Penn a second thought, since his roles always seem to be the same character type. Then I finally saw Dead Man Walking the other day and he blew me away.
Yes, Cate Blanchett for sure.
Dang-
I forgot about Cate Blanchett. Now I have three to choose from. Don’t think I can do it. Since that seems overly weighted on the British/Aussie side, for American actresses I’d pick Laura Linney or Frances McDormand.
I, too, will nominate Winslet on the female side.
For actors…I don’t like Hoffman, though maybe it’s just his characters I hate (couldn’t stand Sideways, just to name one). I like most things that I’ve seen Leonardo DiCaprio in, though I hate to make this sound like a Titanic-centric post. He doesn’t seem to be getting much love in this thread.
Hoffman wasn’t in Sideways. Are you thinking of Paul Giamatti?
:smack:
Now I have a four-way tie. Well–three-way tie for second place, anyway. I have decided to give Winslet a nudge upwards on account of her goddesshood.
Think you have your actors and/or movies mixed up. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was not in Sideways.
Argghhh. I meant Winslet, not Blanchett (who I really don’t like). I get those names mixed up quite often.
Within the broad definition of “this generation,” I would say Sean Penn, Denzel Washington, Daniel Day-Lewis PSH and Ed Norton Jr. are some of the best on the male side. If Meryl Streep is too old, then I would go with Kate Winslet and Cate Blanchett on the female side.
We have iconic movie stars too, who are different from great “actors.” Bruce Willis, for instance, is pretty iconic, as is Samuel L. Jackson.
You should see his work in Casualties of War and Carlito’s Way. Totally different characters. It’s hard to believe it’s even the same person. His charater in Casualties is incredibly real and scary.
Don Cheadle
Good call!
I’ve loved him in every thing he does.
How about Tilda Swinton?
Dang it, you stole mine 
He plays an affable, generally likeable priest in Doubt. Might be a paedophile, but other than that he seems a great guy.
Robert Downey Jr. deserves a nod.