# Who is The Best Actor and Actress? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 21, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850 "2009-02-21T15:06:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/1 "2009-02-21T15:06:56Z")
Certainly I could go do some IMDB searches and find out who most people consider the best actor and actress to be. There are many such lists at other movie trivia sites as well. But I want to know what _ **You** _ think. To decide, think of all the Great Movies you can and then try to think which male and female actor has been in the most of them. That is to say, I don’t want to know who has turned in The Best Performance ever. What I’m looking for is who has been in the most consistently good performances. This, of course, implies somebody who has made more than one good movie. As a bonus, indicate which performances go into your decisions for male and female. No non-humans please. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/2 "2009-02-21T15:33:37Z")
The “Jeopardy answer” is Laurence Olivier, or Marlon Brando if you refuse to acknowledge a furriner. But it’s really whoever you like most. I bet a lot of people would say DeNiro, who I don’t really think is particularly good at all, and a lot of people would screw up their faces at some of the names I would list, without a doubt. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/3 "2009-02-21T15:38:41Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > The “Jeopardy answer” is Laurence Olivier, or Marlon Brando if you refuse to acknowledge a furriner. But it’s really whoever you like most. I bet a lot of people would say DeNiro, who I don’t really think is particularly good at all, and a lot of people would screw up their faces at some of the names I would list, without a doubt. De Niro is a great actor, IMHO, but with less range than some other great actors, so he’s not the greatest. I think the best film actor I’ve ever seen is Gary Oldman. If you want to know why the Oscars are kind of silly, consider that - despite being revered as a talented actor - he has never even been nominated for an Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/4 "2009-02-21T15:44:18Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > The “Jeopardy answer” is Laurence Olivier, or Marlon Brando if you refuse to acknowledge a furriner. But it’s really whoever you like most. I bet a lot of people would say DeNiro, who I don’t really think is particularly good at all, and a lot of people would screw up their faces at some of the names I would list, without a doubt. No quarrel with your reply. But I was hoping to get a sampling of what individual Dopers, including yourself, think about Great Actors and Actresses. Independent of how others may view your choices, I’m curious what they are. It’s only fair for me to list mine. I’ll go with a Top 5 in each group to avoid having to make that final selection of The Best in each group. Male: Brando Philip Seymour Hoffman Robert Duvall Gregory Peck Paul Newman Female: Meryl Streep Judi Dench Helen Mirren Katharine Hepburn Julianne Moore After seeing some other choices here, I may decide to shift some people in and out of my lists, but there’s a first stab anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/5 "2009-02-21T15:47:20Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > De Niro is a great actor, IMHO, but with less range than some other great actors, so he’s not the greatest. > > I think the best film actor I’ve ever seen is Gary Oldman. If you want to know why the Oscars are kind of silly, consider that - despite being revered as a talented actor - he has never even been nominated for an Oscar. And just like that you can replace Duvall on my list with Oldman, since I concur that his talents are so great they are often overlooked. I feel similarly about Billy Bob Thornton, but just don’t consider him all that great in the long haul. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/6 "2009-02-21T16:06:12Z")
I used to list Gary Oldman as #1, and I still think he’s extremely talented, but I don’t think I’d put him at the very top anymore. I’m nowhere near his caliber of actor, but I’ve studied the craft for several years, and I actually don’t think it’s quite as hard to disappear into a Dracula, Beethoven, Sid Vicious, Prisoner of Az-Kaban, etc, as it is to play a really convincing realistic character. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/7 "2009-02-21T16:19:18Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I used to list Gary Oldman as #1, and I still think he’s extremely talented, but I don’t think I’d put him at the very top anymore. I’m nowhere near his caliber of actor, but I’ve studied the craft for several years, and I actually don’t think it’s quite as hard to disappear into a Dracula, Beethoven, Sid Vicious, Prisoner of Az-Kaban, etc, as it is to play a really convincing realistic character. That’s my quarrel with Oldman for the top spot–too many tour de force challenges, too few under-the-radar quiet performances. Has ever played even a likeable character? I’m sure he has, but none comes straight to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/8 "2009-02-21T17:14:14Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > too few under-the-radar quiet performances. Has ever played even a likeable character? I’m sure he has, but none comes straight to mind. His “Commisioner Gordon” in the recent **Dark Knight** I think might qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/9 "2009-02-21T17:57:25Z")
I’d say right now it’s a tie between Hoffman, Oldman, and Sean Penn. They’re all top-notch actors and any difference between them is due to what particular roles they’ve played. They’ve all shown they can play a variety of different characters convincingly - a lot of actors end up playing variations of the same character. It’s tougher to pick actresses because they usually end up with a narrower range of roles offered to them. It’s hard to separate those who are limited by their talent from those who are limited by their opportunities. For example, who would have known how much talent Charlize Theron had if she hadn’t made _Monster_? So I’ll stick with the obvious pick and go with Streep. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/10 "2009-02-21T18:10:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’d say right now it’s a tie between Hoffman, Oldman, and Sean Penn. They’re all top-notch actors and any difference between them is due to what particular roles they’ve played. They’ve all shown they can play a variety of different characters convincingly - a lot of actors end up playing variations of the same character. > > It’s tougher to pick actresses because they usually end up with a narrower range of roles offered to them. It’s hard to separate those who are limited by their talent from those who are limited by their opportunities. For example, who would have known how much talent Charlize Theron had if she hadn’t made _Monster_? So I’ll stick with the obvious pick and go with Streep. That’s a good point about the females. Charlize Theron was excellent in _Monster_ and _North Country_ and some others of lesser impact. I should have mentioned Hilary Swank in my list, but it’s hard to replace any I listed with these more recent ones. Thinking back to earlier generations, one could make cases for Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Joanne Woodward and Jean Simmons. But again, I can’t think who I’d take off my Top 5 list to replace with them. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/11 "2009-02-21T18:15:36Z")
That could be a very long list: Bogart Bette Davis Tracy & Hepburn Judy Garland Fred Astaire Marlene Dietrich Brando Olivier Those are just a few off the top of my head, and I haven’t even mentioned those still alive. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/12 "2009-02-21T18:45:54Z")
I think \*\*Henry Fonda \*\*was the best Actor and the \*\*Katherine Hepburn \*\*was the best actress. I guess I need to defend my pick of Fonda. These 5 roles I think collectively put him over the top. Four great films with him acting great and one good film with him doing a great job. Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) … Abraham Lincoln His roles in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) … Tom Joad Mister Roberts (1955) … Lt. JG Douglas A. ‘Doug’ Roberts 12 Angry Men (1957) … Juror #8 Fail-Safe (1964) … The President BTW: I would lean towards his daughter as one of the top 5 actresses. Others of strong note are \*\*Marlon Brando \*\*but he could be anywhere from great to hamming it up almost as bad as Pacino or Shatner. (Not that that cannot be enjoyable to watch but it is not great acting, it is great hamming. Jack has made a very successful career of it.) \*\*Gregory Peck \*\*is an easy choice. His role as Atticus Finch by itself would nominate him for the honor but his Captain Ahab & Joe Bradley from \*Roman Holiday \*shows his agility as an actor. \*\*Gary Oldman \*\*is excellent, I think he is the best of today’s actors. It was actually his role in \*Tiptoes \*that convinces me of how great he is. I thought it was \*\*DeNiro \*\*but it feels like he has been phoning it in for years now. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/13 "2009-02-21T19:53:37Z")
Better Davis, Henry Fonda. Next question! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/14 "2009-02-21T19:56:29Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Better Davis, Henry Fonda. Next question! I agree on Fonda as seen above. Why Davis? I have never been that impressed with her. She is a good actress, but she is only rarely a natural actress. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/15 "2009-02-21T20:52:24Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I agree on Fonda as seen above. Why Davis? I have never been that impressed with her. She is a good actress, but she is only rarely a natural actress. That’s kind of the point, IMO. You know how Shakespeare can create some of the world’s greatest art within the strict structural boundaries of the Sonnet, and the stylized language of the Elizabethan theater? Or how Mozart can create music that I swear must have a supernatural source within the specific musical formulae that he mostly adhered to? Bette Davis was able to create some of the screen’s most deeply nuanced characters within the “unnatural” stylization that was the style of her day. Watch \*Jezebel \*closely, and every time she communicates something with her face, without opening her mouth, try to imagine another actress of that era even coming within a mile of her. Even modern actresses, no one approaches her genius for depth of character. (FWIW, Meryl Streep agrees with me, that Davis is the greatest actor of all time.) ETA: Even Fonda’s greatest performances, the work he did with John Ford, is well within the style of its day. He and Davis transcend that style. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/16 "2009-02-21T20:53:55Z")
Jack Lemmon, tied with Gene Hackman. Denzel Washington is up there too, as well as Morgan Freeman. As for actresses… gonna give it to Meryl Streep, tied with Kate Winslet. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/17 "2009-02-21T21:27:09Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Jack Lemmon . . . See, I will never get this. I cannot watch Jack Lemmon on the screen; he’s near the top of my list of most horribly bad actors of all time. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/18 "2009-02-21T21:39:42Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > See, I will never get this. I cannot watch Jack Lemmon on the screen; he’s near the top of my list of most horribly bad actors of all time. Really? I’ve always liked his (and Hackmans) “every man” quality, especially in _Glengarry, Glenross_ (sp). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/19 "2009-02-21T21:45:36Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Really? I’ve always liked his (and Hackmans) “every man” quality, especially in _Glengarry, Glenross_ (sp). I agree about Hackman, but Lemmon and his fake stammer, to make his speech sound spontaneous, is like fingernails on my exposed spinal cord. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2009, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850/20 "2009-02-22T07:50:02Z")
Barbara Stanwyck, Meryl Streep, Katharine Hepburn. Cary Grant, Dustin Hoffman, Johnny Depp. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-best-actor-and-actress/486850.md?page=2)