UKH

And when I say actor, I'm referring to all flavours of human beings.

You are also more than welcome to suggest a film that show's off their talent. Or you could break the role down to action, adventure, drama, comedy or such like.

Jack•

•Either Lemmon or Nicholson, can't decide 

Daniel Day Lewis has got to be up there but recently Ive been impressed with Colin Farrell 

Philip Seymour Hoffman or Gary Oldman. 

Or maybe Sam Rockwell. 

Bill Nighy. Brightens up every movie he appears in. 

John Wayne

Emma Thomson. Yet to see her in a role where I wasn’t 100% convinced she was the character. 

Not sure I'd be be fully prepared to argue he's absolutely the finest, but as a maybe not-too-obvious suggestion the Cruiser's got a legitimate claim to be in the mix; Ethan Hunt and Maverick, to be suer, but also Vincent, Frank T.J. Mackey and, of course, Les Grossman 

Robert de Niro. As for a film that shows off his talent, take your pick: Raging Bull, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Godfather II, Deer Hunter, King of Comedy, Once Upon a Time in America, Goodfellas, Awakenings, Cape Fear, Heat, The Irishman. No wonder Scorsese has worked with him so often.

The Duke only just scrapes into 'the last 50 years' but The Shootist (1976) is a pretty good film. He made some duffers and his politics were contentious, but his best films were gold-plated classics.

I was sort of joking but he did some good films. I always liked The Quiet Man but thats well out of your 50 year window .. I'm showing my age now I always rated Clint Eastwood as well 

Clint is very entertaining but is he a great actor? I often feel he plays almost the same character in most of his films (certainly his Westerns). It depends on how 'finest' is defined. From the era when I was actually paying to see a film - Tom Hanks might be a contender (he's certainly had a good long innings).

How about Sean Connery?

Now there is an actor that could only play one part, himself.

100% agree. Clint only ever played Clint, but we loved him playing him. A wonderful screen actor, but not a contender for greatest actor of the last 50 imho. 

He of course said it best himself, I have two looks, the one with the hat, and the one without the hat.

well, it’s Keanu Reeves just for John Wick, let alone The Matrix. However, the Migs are flying towards the carrier, the F14s are in the air, and Kenny Loggins is singing Danger Zone. Looks like Tom Cruise has aced the action hero nomination. c.f Top Gun Maverick

Lots of possible answers: Helena Bonham-Carter. Gary Oldman, Brian Cox, Donald Sutherland, Sigourney Weaver, Tom Hanks, Bill Murray,  Robert Shaw., Al, Bob, Keanu, Winona etc... 

But the correct answer is:

The Rock

Close this thread now. 

50 years is too short a period because Peter o' Toole is the best by far.....and the film which shows off his talent has got to be Lawrence of Arabia. The best film of all time....  mind you Sidney Poitier was good in TH of TN...as was Rod Steiger....all outside the qualifying time though.

Shout out for Gary Oldman due to his ability to physically transform into a huge range of characters. Possibly not enough of a front man to make the grade though.

I'm watching 'Sink the Bismarck' and just spotted Jonny Briggs (Mike Baldwin off Corrie). Blink and you miss him.

Bit male so far. Women are actors too (formerly known as actresses).

i’d nominate Meryl Streep, my two favourites being Sophie's Choice and Bridges of Madison County (and she made many more). Such a versatile actress who was brilliant with accents. 

I know the thread is about best actors, and Clint Eastwood might not make the cut, but as a director there are few better (Spielberg). My top picks would be

Gran Torino

Bridges of Madison County (also acted)

Unforgiven

American Sniper 

The Mule

Mystic River (brilliant film)

Sully

Clint knows what makes a good film. 

Yes to all of this.  But watch any scene where he acts crying. It’s abysmal, he’s one of my favourite actors, but he’s not the best.

Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave?

Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave.

Some actually great suggestions here, particularly Shaw and Cox.

But then in the same post you mentioned Keanu Reeves.  Not even the a good actor, let alone one of the best?!

FFS who recommended Keanu Reeves? Finest FILM actor of the last 50 years? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I kinda like him within his very limited range. But even as one of those sort of wooden actors who still manage somehow to be good the best is definitely Christopher Walken. If you want to go back further it's Robert Mitchum. 

Roger Moore must be up there...   somewhere?

Gillian Anderson. Damian Lewis.

Like this?

youtube.com/watch?v=84zY33QZO5o&

You mean with his ability to raise one eyebrow when required?

youtube.com/watch?v=8DkdK8tFP6Y&

Judi Dench

You forgot the Eiger Sanction!

Another one to add, Olivia Colman really is superb. Hard to take and objective view as she’s so much of the moment right now, but she’s superb in everything she appears in.

Tyrannosaur is my favourite of hers. Absolutely incredible performance.

Hes one of those actors where I'm amazed at the roles hes played when I think back. I'm always a bit taken aback when I remember how much of a nasty bastard he played as the baddie in Leon. 

Similar to Dustin Hoffman. When I remember he was Hook? No way!

Some good calls already; Anthony Hopkins and Meryl Street, particularly.

But I'd vote for Alan Rickman.

T.

Toby Jones. 

Surprised nobody has mentioned DiCaprio yet. Must be the finest of his generation at least.

Helena Bonham Carter is fantastic but perhaps not in the lead enough.

Sean Penn for me.

I can't cope with the suspense any longer. Who is the best?

Oldman or Hoffman for me, I already suggested them upthread!

Yes, good shouts - although I still haven't forgiven Oldman for dignifying the awful Darkest Hour with his brilliant impersonation.

Brad Pitt.  P*k*y Mikey alone should win it for him!  (Censored😮)

Cheers

Toby

There’s a ‘greatest guitarist of all time’ thread which circulates most of the platforms constantly. If you use a strict metric of ‘brilliance’ (whatever that is), you get a shortlist which starts with Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery, maybe Django Reinhardt, definitely Eddie Van Halen, Jeff Beck, Alan Holdsworth, Pat Metheney, Steve Vai, Jimi Hendrix…the list goes on, and grows all the time, Guthrie Govan, the kid with the tattoos in Polyphia….etc.

Then you run it through the filter of relevance, does anyone listen to them, because at the end of the day they’re entertainers. Rick Beato’s youtube channel often picks up the stats. In the grand scheme of things, hardly anyone listens to any of those players, except…for Eddie Van Halen. Out of that list, the only ones I actually listen to regularly are Jeff Beck, Pat Metheney, EVH plus the guys in Slayer, Megadeth, etc. I can’t remember the last time I listened to Hendrix or my hero Rory Gallagher. So maybe the same applies to films? Looks like The Rock wasn’t such a bad suggestion after all?😂

That's interesting, I listen to hendrix a bit still although once you know most of the hits I guess you don't listen to them as much as you think you do. A favourite of mine is richie blackmore and I've been listening to him more again since watching the recent Dio documentary. I really like Jeff beck but don't actually listen to him that much or Dave gilmour. I think by beatos metric brian may probably wins.

For actor I guess I'd go for Jack Nicholson, I really like Paul Giamatti but he doesn't seem to have done much recently. 

Nobody does nasty with that sneer as well.

Gene Hackman has some pedigree with French Connection & Unforgiven to name just two.

The finest film actor of the last 50 years?

My award goes to Isabelle Huppert.

Dunno if you mean actor or star, so I'm fudging Max von Sydow. 50 years though... I'll plump for that class comic actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Honorable mention for single compelling appearance to Paddy Considine. Oh, and a thousand others. But we don't seem to have those overwhelmingly easy answers these days. 

Some Rainbow/Purple albums have been played a lot over xmas. I didn’t put him in the list, because Ritchie is in that exclusive top group with Jimmy Page, and they both get played a lot round the world

Maggie Smith and Alec Guinness as they continued on in to this period

Will Shat

I love Paul Giamatti, but he’s only ever been the lead once so I’m not sure if he qualifies due to that. 

One of the best supporting actors in the business though, no doubt.

I’d say the same for Paddy Considine and Mark Strong.

John Hurt.

Richard Burton. A voice unmatched.

Sat and watched the 3hr epic Cleopatra this afternoon. Brilliant cast, incredible sets, costumes, thousands of extras and all without CGI. Elizabeth Taylor was pretty decent too. Probably on iplayer and a perfect accompaniment that leftover port.

Great thread!

Anthony Hopkins and Tom Hanks are both great (and versatile) but my favourite actor has to be Robert Shaw. His performance in Jaws is brilliant and he pretty much wrote that monologue about the USS Indianapolis himself. To think that Spielberg originally wanted Lee Marvin to play the role of Quint! 

Shaw was great in The Sting too. 
 

When that thing exploded out of his chest the whole cinema sh@t its pants. He was good in Rob Roy too but it was Tim Roth who stole the show. I've never been happier to see someone get stabbed.

The late American Actor Brian Dennehy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Dennehy has to be a contender despite never making mega stardom. Many roles to pick there. OK this one's from a TV series not a film, but his portrayal of John Wayne Gacey practically had me shouting at the telly at the character he was so good an actor 

Edit: his personal life "Vietnam" thing was a bit odd, maybe that's why he never achieved real fame 

I don't think I ever saw a bad film with Robin Williams in.

Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in Heat - Outstanding

Tom Cruise - Top Gun Maverick

Michelle Williams

Isabelle Huppert, Michael Sheen

Harrison ford is the highest grossing actor or is it Samuel l Jackson can't remember. 

Frances McDormand is pretty good and has some Oscars too, but she doesn’t often seem to come up in these type of conversations. 

She crossed my mind when thinking about this thread.

Giamatti has been the lead more than once 

Right you are. Have only seen Sideways and thought that was his only lead but I stand corrected.  

Point remains that he’s rarely the lead though…

Steve Buscemi is another one - wonderful character/supporting actor, but too rarely the lead to be considered for being the greatest.

Morgan Freeman, Olivia Colman, Gillian Anderson, Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino..

If I had to pick one, Al Pacino. From Dog Day Afternoon to Godfather, he's versatile and convincing.

Apologies if I missed the nominations, but I can't see any mention of the John's?

Tuturro and Malkovich must be up there?

Anyway, it's de Niro for me.

For the women, Diana Quick stole my heart for her portrayal of Julia Flyte in the old Granada TV classic, Brideshead Revisited, 1981. I remain faithful

Alan Rickman

Lots of good suggestions already. I'd add Willem Dafoe and Viggo Mortensen into the mix.

Also Tom Cruise isn't a silly suggestion for the finest (at least in terms of Blockbusters). Yes he's often typecast as an action movie hero, but he has more range than most people realise - Collateral being a good example of a rare time he played a villain

When I first read Tom Cruise, Collateral popped into my head.

"Show me the money!" 😀

Brilliant in Magnolia, funny as hell in Tropic Thunder. He’s undeniably a brilliant actor.

Funny one though isn’t he? Never really the critics or film bores favourite, probably as a lot of his films fall into that blockbuster category rather than chin stroking meaningful pieces.

But then if cinema is about getting bums on seats, entertaining people for a couple of hours and sending them home happy and turning a big profit (which I can’t see why it shouldn’t be) then Cruise is one of the best in the business.  I’m just not sure that makes him the best actor? If it does, then we’re back to the Dwayne Johnson argument!

Has anyone suggested Brad Pitt?

Viggo Mortensen - his turn in Green Book was brilliant. That Aragorn could become Tony Lip was scarcely believable.

He's certainly a good comic actor

Streep?

Not many female actors mentioned in this discussion. Surely Kate Blanchette has to be up there?

This may be due to the stereotyping of longevity of having to look young and beautiful if your female, while as a male you can pull of leading roles when you are going gnarly and grey.

Never heard of her.

Is she as good as Cate Blanchett though?

Is that tumbleweed rolling past?

Come now, this is UKC forum, the natural home of internet based pedants! 

If you'd managed to spell one of her names incorrectly I might have let it slide, but misspelling both...

She's a wonderful actor though, good shout.

An impossible question.

The first name that pops into my head is Juliette Binoche.

Was that not Jerry Maguire ?

I watched Sexy Beast last night. How this passed me by I don’t know.

Ben Kingsley as a result must be in with a shout.

Surprised no one seems to have mentioned Tom Hanks. Got to be in contention 

Have you considered that I am dyslexic?

Or would you rather make fun of my disability?

Be careful when you play the pedant card.

I'd say that Tom is up there in the Top 3.

So am I thanks.  Have never reacted like that when someone picked me up on my poor grammar or spelling.  Grow up mate.

Go forth and multiply

"Yes. Yes Yes. Yes.

I'd like to turn this opportunity yes"

Several already have further up the thread - yes, he is a fine actor. He seems to have had longevity without controversy (although I got the impression he wasn't a big fan of Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globes).

Wonder why that would be?
BTW, Ricky has been booked again for the Awards Night.

I wouldn't know. I get the impression that Hanks is just one of those people who would rather the image of Hollywood 'glamour' remained untarnished. When Gervais punctures the bubble with a savage dose of sarcasm and wit he's (obviously) upset. I haven't heard of any mud attaching to Hanks personally.

Tom Hanks credits his relative low count of skeletons in the closet to the fact that his career started and grew so well because he predated the internet and social media era.

In one interview I saw, Tom said without the scrutiny of the internet and the ability to document failings for ever online, he was able to make mistakes as a younger person, and those mistakes would just fade with time. He recounted being at his most rebellious around his Money Pit film. Back then, he had the luxury of making mistakes in life and not have them documented on the internet to follow him around for ever.

Good grief - isn’t Viggo M the chap who played Aragorn in Lord of the Rings? If so, I don’t think I could name a worse actor of the last 50 years. Probably I have the wrong man.

jcm

He is Aragorn but that's quite a damning indictment. He's done some good films although I certainly wouldn't rate him in the top flight. History of Violence was good. I haven't seen it but he was apparently good playing Rick Stanton (cave diver) in the recent Thirteen Lives.

And sports some remarkably short shorts in GI Jane

There are many talented and unknown actors who have graced the big and small screens over the last few decades. However, it is hard to choose just one who stands out as the most underrated and undiscovered talent. Some possible contenders include John Hawkes, who has delivered powerful and memorable performances in films such as Winter