[fr4c]

I would have to say Marlon Brando. The Godfather amongst my favorites.

 

[Thaddy]

Although he's not my favorite, I really like Ed Norton...especially the roles he's played.

 

[TheChemist]

Kevin Spacey. The Usual Suspects and The Negotiator are both top 5 movies for me, and he really does well in all of his roles.

 

[Borat]

I like Morgan Freeman. He is as good as it gets IMO. He gives powerful performances that are very natural and he never overdoes it. Some of my fave performances are Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, Glory, and Se7en.

 

[SptsNaz]

Al Pacino. Must I really explain why?

EDIT: Another one I absolute love is George C. Scott

 

[Wmcmanus]

It's hard to pick just one... Ok, Robert Di Nero.

But also Anthony Hopkins, Jack Nicholson, Christopher Walken, and Jimmy Stewart. Gosh, where do you stop!?!?

 

[Alu]

I think performance-wise it has to be Edward Norton. Brad Pit also did a great job with Snatch.

But there's also Bruce Willis who's starring in 2 of my all-time favourites Pulp Fiction and Sin City.

 

[Kirosia]

Uh . . I dunno. I like the guys you mentioned, plus nicholas cage (for the movie family man mostly) and john cusack in those old teen 80s flicks. Montage galore. Don't have a favorite yet.

 

[RYCeT]

Charismatic Actor/Actresses: Al Pacino, Robert Deniro, Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Chow yun Fat (in his early HK triad movie)
Smart/Clever Actor: Tom Hanks, Edward Norton, Gwyneth Paltrow, Russell Crowe

I made this categorization because IMHO they are different. I really like the actor/actresses under Charismatic category, their acting skills is very good, they're perfect in specific kind of movie which highlight their charm but sometimes unable to pull it off under different kind of movie (ex: Robert deNiro in Comedy

)
The second category is for Actor/Actress who has a very good skill however they aren't as charismatic as the first one. Tom Hanks is a genius actor but I don't think he has the charisma to play "Road to perdition" kind of movie. IMHO Al Pacino or Robert Deniro would be perfect for that role, however I can't see other actor who can do 'The Terminal, Cast away, Forrest gump, Philadelphia" better than Tom Hanks.

 

[Jasper994]

Actors:
Denzel Washington
Nicholas Cage
Al Pachino
Anthony Hopkins
Will Smith
Bruce Willis
Paul Bettany

Actresses:
Julia Stiles
Julia Roberts
Drew Barrymore
Kate Bosworth
Jennifer Connelly
Kirsten Dunst

I've chosen the actors and actresses on my list because they are all good to excellent when it comes to acting (IMO) and because they have a lot of charisma. In most cases, I would watch a movie just because they are in it.

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

Denzel Washington

 

[EyeAmEye]

Actors:
Brad Pitt (plays various sleezy/insane characters better than anyone else)
Christian Bale (very diverse)
Denzel Washington (Training Day!!!!)
Rutger Hauer (watched more awful films simply because of his entertainment quality than anyone I could possibly think of)

Actresses:
Kate Beckensale (

)
Diane Lane (

)
Evangeline Lilly (

)
Rhona Mitra (

)

 

[zotjen]

Actors:
Jimmy Stewart
Charlton Heston
Gene Hackman
Leonardo DiCaprio
Divine

Actresses:
Bette Davis
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Natalie Wood
Nicole Kidman
Jodie Foster

 

[bundee1]

Leading Actors:
Robert Deniro
Al Pacino
Denzel Washington
Brad Pitt
Benicio Del Toro

Character Actors:
Luis Guzman aka Pachanga
Dennis Hopper

 

[fante7]

Thanks to a high school friend who introduced me to a much wider variety of movies:
Benicio Del Toro
Naomi Watts

Other more obvious choices:
Al Pacino
Samuel Jackson