lmf22
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2006
- Posts
- 1,139
- Likes
- 382
Alexis Bledel
Zooey Deschanel
Johnny Depp
Robert de Niro
Al Pacino
Zooey Deschanel
Johnny Depp
Robert de Niro
Al Pacino
Whos your favorite Actor/Actress and why?
Good bump. For actors, I'll go with Steve McQueen as if that isn't obvious. He wasn't a truly exceptional actor. But his cool and machismo more than made up for it. I loved the steel his eyes with just a hint of vulnerability. He played characters that kept the world waiting and at arm's length. For me, his image came to epitomize masculinity. A man that was in control of every situation, no matter what his circumstances. The Great Escape and Papillon were great examples of such. A then common motif was to rebel, then ultimately fail on one's own terms. To me at least, no one did it better than McQueen.
Katharine Hepburn would be my pick for the ladies. My favorite performance of hers, was opposite O'Toole in The Lion in Winter. Her sharp wit has never been better filmed. Although, one can't say there isn't competition in such classics as Adam's Rib and Bringing Up Baby. There was something about her. She srtuck me as the kind of person, that pierced you within a minute of first meet. Hepburn was a women I would never dare tell a lie to, part out of respect, part out of fear.
KevDo said:
Well, apart from some of the all time greats already mentioned I'd just to input a little something.
Zooey Deschanel.
I know I know, a lot of people say she only ever plays one character and I can understand where they're coming from, at a glance, they're right to assume so. Get to know her and you'll see they're nothing alike, much like the comparison between herself and Katy Perry- they look nothing alike. I love the characters Zooey decides to play and I love how she plays them.
The thing about Zooey that pulled me in (apart from the uncontrollable desire to watch her) was her acting style. In many recent years actresses just try to win an oscar by being over-dramatic, trying to steal the show, shouting, crying and screaming. Zooey on the other hand can scream without raising her voice, she can scream with just opening her eyes that little fraction more. It's her subtleties that make her a joy to watch. Her body language, her eye and head movements and how they move with each other, the shape of her mouth when she talks, her half-smiles, her timing. She's never over the top, in fact, she doesn't have to do much at all but the little things she does do she does perfectly. Example. in "The Good Life" there's a shot where Zooey and the other guy (can't remember his name) are walking down the road. The camera has them both in frame, 3/4 length shot so not close in at their faces at all. The guy is talking about how the cinema owner (who he takes care of practically) lost his wife and as soon as he says that you can see Zooey very lightly and subtly biting her bottom lip.. so subtle. Another is the end of "Gigantic" which the film practically ends on, not as subtle as the other example but as the film relies on it you can't blame it.
After watching her films I'm always left wanting more and not a lot of actresses have done that, in fact, I can't name another one. I suppose I have a soft spot for Zooey but she did pull me back into actively watching movies and that in itself proves to me she was made for celuloid (or, well, silicon? in this digital age).
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.
I didnt see Sean Penn on any lists as I quickly scanned the first few pages
Check post #78 above, from Spiccoli to Milk what a long strange trip its been