Best American Actor Ever?

[foodcourtdruide]

Living or dead, who would you say is the best American actor?

I don't think they have to be American born, but have to have most (95%) of their success in American cinema.

My pick is De Niro. Not only does he have an impressive resume, he makes some of these movies what they are:

- Mean Streets
- Raging Bull
- Midnight Run
- We're No Angels
- Goodfellas
- Awakenings
- Godfather II
- Cape Fear
- Bronx Tale
- Deer Hunter
- Analyze This (some may disagree with me on this :P)

[razorboy]

uhh... Brando, Brando, and Brando. Honerable mention goes to Paul Newman, and George C. Scott, but I will reiterate, Marlon Brando.

[razorboy]

I will throw one in the direction of Robert Mitchum as well.
edit: For personal reasons I will include Jimmy Cagney in the conversation.

[barjockey]

he is a great actor even though its been 10 yrs since his last good movie

[barjockey]

Humphry Bogart

[Snacks]

I would agree with De niro, but ther are so mnay great actors, too many to even go through them all.

[Yerdaddy]

My favorites are Paul Newman and Bogart. I think they've got tremendous range that they used to humanize the way we think about ourselves as American men.

But for raw CGI-like ability to morph into an unfamiliar character and make him real to us I can't think of anyone in history who's better than Phillip Seymour Hoffman. From his breakthrough performance in a small role as the smarmy but scared prep school kid in Scent of a Woman to Capote, when the man finally got the official recognition he's deserved for a decade now, I can't remember the guy giving a half-assed performance in anything. (But then i never saw MI3 so I don't know if it's his shark-jumping role like "Air Force One" was for Gary Oldman.) We all know and love his performances in Boogie Nights and Big Lebowski, but I'll add these lesser-known roles that he's been stellar in - some of which would not have been made if he hadn't have taken the movie:

Flawless
Owning Mahoney
Love Liza
Happiness
25th Hour
Magnolia
Punch Drunk Love

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/8169/punchdrunklovethatsthatea0.jpg

"THAT'S THAT!"

[Judge Smails]

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/7/77/Billly_staples_wiki.JPG


"Third Watch" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0197182/) .... Bus Driver (1 episode, 2003)
- Payback (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0720955/) (2003) <SMALL>TV Episode</SMALL> .... Bus Driver
A Day in Black and White (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0184384/) (1999) (as Billy Hine) .... Tri-athlete lawyer
Use Your Head (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141944/) (1996) (as Billy Hine) .... Doug Crowder
The Broccoli Theory (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404833/) (1996) .... Locksmith

[klaus_kinski_Jr]

Willam Holden - Network, The Wild Bunch, Sunset Blvd

[docgoblin]

I'll make a case for Henry Fonda. He may not be the greatest, but he has to be up there. Here's a short list of some of his best work. There are literally dozens more:

Summer Solstice (his last role, a terrific TV movie)
On Golden Pond (Academy Award-Best Actor)
Gideon's Trumpet (Great TV movie. Nominated for an Emmy)
Battle of the Bulge
Fail-Safe
The Longest Day
How The West Was Won
12 Angry Men (Academy Award Nomination-Best Picture (as producer))
The Wrong Man (great little known film-noir)
Mister Roberts
Fort Apache (With John Wayne)
The Grapes Of Wrath (Academy Award Nomination-Best Actor)
Drums Along The Mohawk
Young Mr Lincoln (One Of My All-Time Favorites)
Jezebel (With Bette Davis)
You Only Live Once

[DarkHippie]

The just watched Butch Cassildy the other day, so I'm gonna say Paul Newman.

[Bulldogcakes]

uhh... Brando, Brando, and Brando. Honerable mention goes to Paul Newman, and George C. Scott, but I will reiterate, Marlon Brando.

Without Brando, there is no DeNiro.

There's alot of great actors out there. Some are leading men/women and some are character actors, but Brando was a pivotal figure in movie history. Also, his range is unmatched. I cant see anyone arguing that DeNiro had the coat tails and impact that Brando had. He's the movie equivalent of the Beatles or Elvis.

[sailor]

My favorites are Paul Newman and Bogart. I think they've got tremendous range that they used to humanize the way we think about ourselves as American men.

But for raw CGI-like ability to morph into an unfamiliar character and make him real to us I can't think of anyone in history who's better than Phillip Seymour Hoffman. From his breakthrough performance in a small role as the smarmy but scared prep school kid in Scent of a Woman to Capote, when the man finally got the official recognition he's deserved for a decade now, I can't remember the guy giving a half-assed performance in anything. (But then i never saw MI3 so I don't know if it's his shark-jumping role like "Air Force One" was for Gary Oldman.) We all know and love his performances in Boogie Nights and Big Lebowski, but I'll add these lesser-known roles that he's been stellar in - some of which would not have been made if he hadn't have taken the movie:

Flawless
Owning Mahoney
Love Liza
Happiness
25th Hour
Magnolia
Punch Drunk Love



was also great as that smarmy prep school kid all growed up in the talented mr ripley.

[TheMojoPin]

Gene Hackman.

[Bulldogcakes]

Gene Hackman.

I was going to say Gene Hackman. You pretty much know if he's in a movie, its going to be a good one, and his performances are always solid. But he falls into the "Great character actors" category for me and there's alot of them around.

Pacino is my personal favorite, but I agree his best work was in the 70's-80s.

To be the greatest, I think you have to be influential. Spawn a million imitators. Thats why I go w/Brando. To be fair, Lee Strasburg deserves alot of credit for Brando's career as well.

[docgoblin]

Without Brando, there is no DeNiro.

In a way, without Brando there may not have been a Henry Fonda. This is from Fonda's bio:

Born in Grand Island, Nebraska, Henry Fonda started his acting debut with the Omaha Community Playhouse, a local amateur theater troupe directed by Dorothy Brando, mother of Marlon Brando.


Okay, so I never said which Brando.

[Crispy123]

John Wayne
Robert Redford
Cary Grant
Paul Newman
Brando

[TheMojoPin]

I love me a good John Wayne flick as much as the next guy, but we can we please stop pretending like he was a GOOD actor?

[ralphbxny]

Humphry Bogart. I love all those old movies he did. A cig hangin out his mouth and tough guy.


Also Mr. B for pretending he works for CBS while collecting a check all through out Hockey and Basketball season.....I think he is the best.

[El Mudo]

http://www.facade.com/celebrity/photo/Paul_Newman.jpg

[bostonronandfezfan]

deniro is one of the best actors just look at his body of work. he is one our true legends.

[TheMojoPin]

While he's not exactly in the "legend" category, I think it's safe to say that Ed Norton will end up there with the greats as the years go on.

[DarkHippie]

He's not the best, but George Kennedy deserves more credit than he gets. He's one of the best character actors ever.

[epo]

I love me a good John Wayne flick as much as the next guy, but we can we please stop pretending like he was a GOOD actor?

Thank you. John Wayne played John Wayne in every fucking movie he ever did. No acting involved.

My vote for "best" starts and stops with Marlon Brando. He is the gold standard.

[Dudeman]

http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/s/stucker/portrait.jpg

[TheMojoPin]

He's not the best, but George Kennedy deserves more credit than he gets. He's one of the best character actors ever.

Too bad he sweats garlic.

[A.J.]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Johnbarrymore.jpg

[ChimneyFish]

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c217/luxa1/drew-barrymore-picture-1.jpg

[foodcourtdruide]

I love me a good John Wayne flick as much as the next guy, but we can we please stop pretending like he was a GOOD actor?

Totally agree with this statement! I mean, I love John Wayne movies, but as far as being a great actor.. he really didn't have a lot of range.

Brando is incredible, but as far as body of work goes.. don't you think De Niro has the edge? Past 10 years aside.. he's starred in more movies than anyone I could think of.

[BoondockSaint]

I'm a big, big fan of Paul Newman. Not sure he is the best actor but he has more movies that I love than anyone else. It's not even close.

[Fat_Sunny]

F_S Loves The Old Black & White Movies Best And Was Going To Name The Incredible Lawrence Olivier. But Then He Remembered This Is American Actors, And He Is Not American.

So Fat Votes With Epo For Marlon Brando. By Far.

Reading Through The Names And Movies Mentioned In This Thread, It Doesn't Seem Like Much "Great" Stuff Has Appeared In The Last 30 Years.

[DarkHippie]

I like Danny Kaye.




















No homo.

[torker]

http://www.born-today.com/Today/pix/lancaster_burt.jpg

[docgoblin]

I'm gonna go old school again and nominate Jimmy Stewart. Even though everyone thinks of him as the loveable John Doe character, he played so many different types of characters. Here are some of the classics he starred in and a few of the many awards he won:

You Can't Take It with You
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Winner NYFCC-Best Actor, Academy-Best Actor Nomination)
Destry Rides Again
The Philadelphia Story (Academy Winner- Best Actor)
It's a Wonderful Life (Academy Best actor Nomination)
Harvey (Academy Best Actor Nomination, Golden Globe Best Drama Actor Nomination)
The Glenn Miller Story
Rear Window
The Far Country
The Man from Laramie
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Spirit of St. Louis (BAFTA Best Foreign Actor Nomination)
Vertigo
Anatomy of a Murder (Winner- NYFCC, Winner-Golden Laurel, Academy Best Actor Nomination, BAFTA Best Foreign Actor Nomination)
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (Best Actor-Berlin Film Festival, Golden Globe Nomination)
Cheyenne Autumn
Shenandoah
The Flight of the Phoenix
The Shootist

He was also the Golden Globe winner in 1974 for the TV show "Hawkins."
He was a very accomplished radio actor and starred in "The Six Shooter" in 1953-54

I'd say that is quite a resume.

[furie]

Living or dead, who would you say is the best American actor?

I don't think they have to be American born, but have to have most (95%) of their success in American cinema.

My pick is De Niro. Not only does he have an impressive resume, he makes some of these movies what they are:

- Mean Streets
- Raging Bull
- Midnight Run
- We're No Angels
- Goodfellas
- Awakenings
- Godfather II
- Cape Fear
- Bronx Tale
- Deer Hunter
- Analyze This (some may disagree with me on this :P)

I disagree with DeNiro. Look at the movie's you posted; he's playing the same fucking character. wow, what range!

I'm going to go with Kevin Kline

[TheMojoPin]

http://www.bobbyworks.com/images/mug%20shot%20steve%20mcqueen.jpg

[torker]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/mikeyboy/FezMrRoberts2.jpg

[FUNKMAN]

http://www.chopsticksensei.com/archives/images/ChuckNorris.jpg

[FezPaul]

http://www.coucoucircus.org/series/images-series/maxheadroom.jpg

[FUNKMAN]

http://www.dcs.bbk.ac.uk/~hlamh01/mr-ed.jpg

[torker]

http://www.dcs.bbk.ac.uk/~hlamh01/mr-ed.jpg

Please. They had to dub all his lines.

[foodcourtdruide]

I disagree with DeNiro. Look at the movie's you posted; he's playing the same fucking character. wow, what range!

I'm going to go with Kevin Kline

Johnny Boy - Mean Streets
Leonard - Awakenings
Vito Corleone - Godfather II

These three roles exhibit range.

[foodcourtdruide]

I'm gonna go old school again and nominate Jimmy Stewart. Even though everyone thinks of him as the loveable John Doe character, he played so many different types of characters. Here are some of the classics he starred in and a few of the many awards he won:

You Can't Take It with You
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Winner NYFCC-Best Actor, Academy-Best Actor Nomination)
Destry Rides Again
The Philadelphia Story (Academy Winner- Best Actor)
It's a Wonderful Life (Academy Best actor Nomination)
Harvey (Academy Best Actor Nomination, Golden Globe Best Drama Actor Nomination)
The Glenn Miller Story
Rear Window
The Far Country
The Man from Laramie
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Spirit of St. Louis (BAFTA Best Foreign Actor Nomination)
Vertigo
Anatomy of a Murder (Winner- NYFCC, Winner-Golden Laurel, Academy Best Actor Nomination, BAFTA Best Foreign Actor Nomination)
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (Best Actor-Berlin Film Festival, Golden Globe Nomination)
Cheyenne Autumn
Shenandoah
The Flight of the Phoenix
The Shootist

He was also the Golden Globe winner in 1974 for the TV show "Hawkins."
He was a very accomplished radio actor and starred in "The Six Shooter" in 1953-54

I'd say that is quite a resume.

That is an amazing resume! I'd say Stewart is probably my #3 behind De Niro and Brando. Penn is up there too.

[Landblast]

Jeff Bridges - The Contender, The Big Lebowski, Fisher King, and many others....just don't bring up Starman.

[FUNKMAN]

http://www.reelfilm.com/images/starman.jpg

[Landblast]

great, thanks funk.

[TheMojoPin]

How about John Cazale?

http://entimg.msn.com/i/150/Movies/Actors3/Coppola_cas72550_150x200.jpg

Pretty impressive that every film he was in before he died was nominated for Best Picture, due in no small part to his fantastic performances in each one.

[El Mudo]

How about we go real old school




http://web.gc.cuny.edu/Mestc/programs/images/s06/Edwin-Booth.jpg



Edwin Booth

[razorboy]

How about John Cazale?

http://entimg.msn.com/i/150/Movies/Actors3/Coppola_cas72550_150x200.jpg

Pretty impressive that every film he was in before he died was nominated for Best Picture, due in no small part to his fantastic performances in each one.

It's better to burn out than to fade away.

[TheMojoPin]

It's better to burn out than to fade away.

Don't know if that's true when you go out far too young due to incredibly painful and terminal bone cancer.

[Fallon]

Jeff Bridges - The Contender, The Big Lebowski, Fisher King, and many others....just don't bring up Starman.
Plus he won the TiVo for life and TV! Though he was told "for life" means five years and the chair company pulled out, so that wasn't in the prize pack. D'oh!

[razorboy]

Don't know if that's true when you go out far too young due to incredibly painful and terminal bone cancer.
I was going purely from a standpoint of legacy. Actors still talk about Cazale the way musicians talk about Nick Drake. No disrepect to the man. I know his biography well.

[epo]

So Fat Votes With Epo For Marlon Brando. By Far.



It's nice to know that Fat Sunny & I can agree on occasion.

[Fat_Sunny]

It's nice to know that Fat Sunny & I can agree on occasion.

Yes, F_S And Epo Have Agreed On A Couple Of Things Recently. Fat's A Lover And Not A Fighter, So He's Happy When There Is Harmony. Fat's Even A Brewers Fan (But Half-Hearted).

F_S Is Looking Forward To Learning More Of What's In The Proposed Senate Immigration Bill. He Suspects That He And Epo Won't Be At Each Others' Throats On That Either!

[Snacks]

Jeff Bridges - The Contender, The Big Lebowski, Fisher King, and many others....just don't bring up Starman.

I have never liked Jeff Bridges. I always hated how he seems to have food in his mouth when he talks. Hes a little weird too.

[sailor]

I have never liked Jeff Bridges. I always hated how he seems to have food in his mouth when he talks. Hes a little weird too.

this from a guy named snacks who used to have a fat bastard sigpic??

[torker]

I have never liked Jeff Bridges. I always hated how he seems to have food in his mouth when he talks. Hes a little weird too.
He made that shark sammich look real good in The Contender.

[drusilla]

johnny depp probably. pretty much all of the real great actors come from other countries (in my eyes) , so i think he's the best american actor of today at least. i really don't know many of the classics, so i can't throw out their names. a friend of mine is going to lend me about 30 movies he considers to be classics, so i'll take a look. maybe my mind will change after that.

[A.J.]

He made that shark sammich look real good in The Contender.

"More like SHIT sammich."

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/125606.jpg

[EliSnow]

Without Brando, there is no DeNiro.

There's alot of great actors out there. Some are leading men/women and some are character actors, but Brando was a pivotal figure in movie history. Also, his range is unmatched. I cant see anyone arguing that DeNiro had the coat tails and impact that Brando had. He's the movie equivalent of the Beatles or Elvis.

I concur wholeheartedly. And if you asked DeNiro, I bet he'd say the same thing.

If you asked Brando, you'd have to wait a long while for an answer.

[epo]

johnny depp probably. pretty much all of the real great actors come from other countries (in my eyes) , so i think he's the best american actor of today at least. i really don't know many of the classics, so i can't throw out their names. a friend of mine is going to lend me about 30 movies he considers to be classics, so i'll take a look. maybe my mind will change after that.

Amongst the younger American actors, the two that I would think of as great are Ed Norton & Johnny Depp.

[Sweet_Ness]

I'd have to go with DeNiro since I am more partial to british actors.

[outlawfrank]

Paul Newman and Steve McQueen, the Corey's are a close second.

http://www.perezhilton.com/Corey_Haim_Corey_Feldman_Dream_a_Litttle_Dream.jpg

[Gvac]

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c34/Gvac/david-carradine.jpg

[tupper65]

How about Tom Hanks:

Philadelphia - Best Actor
Forrest Gump - Best Actor
Saving Private Ryan
Apollo 13
The Green Mile
A League of Their Own
Big
and of course.......Bachelor Party

Kinda reminds me of a modern day Jimmy Stewert

[FUNKMAN]

http://www.c7nema.net/canais/7/danson.jpg

nobody beats Sam Malone