[lmf22]

Alexis Bledel
Zooey Deschanel
Johnny Depp
Robert de Niro 
Al Pacino

 

[jjinh]

Quote:

Whos your favorite Actor/Actress and why?

 
What's happened to all the explanations?

 

[J W]

Quote:

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. 

A stupendous response! I've always liked Steve McQueen, too. I need to see Papillion.
 
You know, I watched The Lion in Winter more for Peter O'Toole than for Hepburn. Going in I had thought she was past her prime. I was certainly wrong! She didn't quite possess her striking beauty of independence as she did in earlier movies, but "sharp wit" is an apt way of describing her acting. I'm currently working on her library of work.
 
 
Quote:

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).

A well articulated post! I enjoyed reading it. Unfortunately, I've never see any of her performances. I have friends who rave about 500 Days of Summer. And it's weird that I haven't seen it because I followed it fairly closely when it was being filmed. I guess I should see it, too.
 
Edit: Oops. I had to fix meh gremmah.

 

[grokit]

Actors: Gary Oldman, Jack Nicholson, Sean Penn
 
Actresses: Gweneth Paltrow, Chloë Sevigny, Eve Myles
 
And after reading through this thread, honorable mentions go to Steve McQueen and Zooey Deschanel

 

[bobbyt52]

In an attempt to stray away from the obvious choices of the Marlon Brandos, Al Pacinos and Robert di Neiros of the movie world I'll suggest Paddy Considine. English actor who is mainly noted for his work in British films but is making headway (he was in the last Bourne movie). He has a fantastic ability to mimic accents and regional dialects and is adept at menacing, comedic and thoughtful roles.
 
Really love this guy and hope he carries on doing what he does...anyone who wants a taste of him should watch Dead Man's Shoes and then watch Le Donk and Scor-say-zee...couldn't get two more different roles so excellently executed.

 

[chadbang]

Gene Hackman. The modern Spencer Tracey

 

[Landis]

I like Gary Oldman and Robert Downey Jr.
 
George Clooney and I have a love/hate relationship.
 
As for actresses... I really can't pinpoint one.

 

[KneelJung]

I didnt see Sean Penn on any lists as I quickly scanned the first few pages, a lot of great performances put together by this actor in many a good movie. I didnt see jeff Bridges listed either gotta love the Dude. A lot of folks have mentioned Gary Oldman. Solid choice. One of my favorite all time movies is True Romance and Oldman as Drexl Spivey was some great stuff. What a cast too, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken (...so am I lying?) Bradd Pitt (...dont condescend me), James Gandolfino, and Christian Slater (...I always liked you Clarence). Another great Christian Slater role was, He was a Quiet Man.
 
Edit: Forgot I wanted to include Elmore Gantry (Burt Lancaster), Cool hand Luke (Paul Newman), and Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando)

 

[alphaphoenix]

Quote:

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.

x2. My favorite being Shawshank Redemption. He also has a very good and naturally sounding commentary voice such as when he did "March of the Penguins".
 
Would like to add Christian Bale.  His performance in American Psycho and The Machinist is bone chilling to watch.  On a true gentleman scale, I would have to pin Michael Caine, which I would say is equal to Freeman - like ebony and ivory - no pun intended.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Let's go really old-school: Harold Lloyd.  Still funny even after all these years.
 
Same with Max Schreck, who is still creepy after all these years.  Download Nosferatu from archive.org (it's legal!) and damned if he's not ten times better than the CGI fakery we get today.  And speaking of creepy, there's always Peter Lorre, another longtime favorite.  Always weird, always good.

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

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 

 

[KneelJung]

Quote:

 

Check post #78 above, from Spiccoli to Milk what a long strange trip its been 

Your quite right Grokit, good call. Did Billy Bob Thornton make anybody's list?
 
From Sling Blade to Bad Santa.