Who's the best actor on the planet?

Brad Renfro was good in The Client. Is he still around? ;D

 

Great list.

Hoffman wasn't bad as the villain in MI3.

I read somewhere that Christian Bale is going to play John Connor in the next Terminator movie. That would revive my interest in that franchise in a second.

 

I like to think of an actor who could play many different roles, so Crowe gets a nod.

But for all-timers who are still alive?

Paul Newman

Reg Dunlop
Fast Eddie Felson (twice)
Butch Cassidy
Henry Gondorff
Cool Hand Luke
Hud

He makes my circle.

 

If there were a Champions Tour category, we could add Judi Dench, Helen Mirren and Patrick Stewart. The latter may win the Best Actor Tony for Macbeth, which shows his extraordinary range. In this vein, I assign extra credit for big stars who are willing go without a net and expose themselves on the stage, which the Brits (like these folks and Albert Finney) have always done. Ditto Kevin Kline.

Tommy Lee Jones should get some dap, too. Makes everyone around him better.

 

I have, too. Amazing that three of the 17 reside on this board!

 

A name that I haven't seen but I would be inclined to include on this list is Don Cheadle. He makes my list because of Hotel Rwanda alone, but he's done a lot of great work, including Talk to Me and Crash.

For the early knock someone threw on Crowe that he hasn't done much outside of Gladiator and Beautiful Mind, I would offer The Insider, Master and Commander and Cinderella Man as proof that he's one of, if not the best actor on the planet right now.

Also surprised at the lack of love for Kevin Spacey who can shift seamlessly between roles and nails most of them.

I would have some combination of Crowe, Depp, Cheadle, Spacey, Norton and Day-Lewis as my top six. Beyond that, I think Bale, Jim Caviezel, Leo and Matt Damon are in the mix.

 

Not really. Have you seen some of the dorks who hang out in this joint?
And I didn't list actresses, since the thread asked for actors.

Actress division
Streep — Best actress alive and so good she no longer needs a first name
Laura Linney — Good in everything I have seen her do
Catherine Keener — Why yes I did recently see Capote
Tilda Swinton — From ice queen to icy corporate type
Ellen Page — Super duper young, but has been really good in all of her roles so far

And let me add this one note, Adam Sandler. Yeah, he's a jackass who does stupid movies but if you saw him in Punch-Drunk Love or Reign Over Me you would think he was a great actor.
Punch-Drunk Love was a great, great movie. Still one of my favorites.

 

Johnny Depp is the best actor not to have won an Oscar, or maybe its Robert Downey Jr. (Don't they have a former girlfriend in common?)
Ed Norton is good, but he's been MIA for a few years (in terms of great roles)
I also think Amy Adams is incredibly talented, probably the greatest range of any actress working today.
Christian Bale is also damn good.

 

Great addition. He definitely belongs.

 

I'm with you on Sandler, Jay. He's got some chops when he wants to show them. Same with Jim Carrey, who is worlds more talented than Sandler. The Majestic is excellent, and it's all because of him.

 

Comedy is harder to do, so I give big credit for that ability.

I thought Ledger was clearly No. 1... the only one I could think of who really, really ranged in his performances (Like Dustin Hoffman did in that decade stretch between Kramer vs. Kranmer and Rain Man). But, alas.

Not much ranging being done by the current crop. What I see are slight variations on the same character, including by sacred cows such as Edward Norton.

Male
1. Russell Crowe. By default. The guy pours out testosterone, but still pulled off The Insider. Gladiator a tour de force of virility.
2. Johnny Depp. He ranged 20 years ago, but has sort of settled in to very entertaining, somewhat musical performer. Seems he will never recapture the nova greatness of Edward Scissorhands again.
3. Sean Penn. Would love to see the guy do a comedy again. Instead, he is sort of sullen Sean Penn in everything.
4. Daniel Day-Lewis. Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood were cloned performances, for my money. Raging intensity, I get it.
5. Christian Bale.
Dark horse no one else will mention: Owen Wilson. I still can't believe he pulled off Behind Enemy Lines. Marley & Me could be a revelation... I hope. And, as I said, his natural comic ability is tremendous.

Love the Alec Baldwin mention, too. And give Ben Kingsley, Downey and Norton a mention, too.

Female
1. Meryl Streep. Unlike her male contemporaries, she has weighed in in the past few years with a top-notch go in Devil Wears Prada. So, she is still the queen.
2. Cate Blanchett. The Dylan take, pulled her out of a Britain-centric black hole for me.
3. Nicole Kidman. Does a nice job consistently selecting watchable fare.
4. Jodie Foster. Sort of drifting toward insignificance, but has so much credit in the bank, she still makes my top 5.
5. Anne Hathaway. I've seen Havoc and Brokeback. She has plenty of grit to go with her fine, glossy efforts. If she hits it out of the park in Get Smart, she moves way up.
Dark horse no one else will mention: Showed plenty of heart in In Her Shoes, and, to me, is the finest film comedienne/sex symbol combo I have ever seen. Loved her in Vanilla Sky and Being John Malkovich.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Catherine Keener get mention, too.

 

Or maybe he'll say he was talking about a different planet.