Consistently great acting

[DotCommunist]

how dare you impugn a man who has done such greats as 'Football Factory' and 'Run for your Wife'

 

[Orang Utan]

I think he's great. At playing Danny Dyer.

 

[imposs1904]

He's not really a good actor though and he mostly makes stinkers.

He's a good actor who openly admits that he taken certain roles in shitty films to pay the bills. I admire his candour.

 

[Hellsbells]

I'd go with dicaprio too. For a 'heartthrob' he's fucking brilliant.

Johnny depp irritates the fuck out of me for some reason.

Me too. His 'quirky' roles irritate me. I HATED his version of willy wonka.

 

[campanula]

Katharine Hepburn

 

[catinthehat]

James Spader, Alison Steadman, Woody Harrelson.

 

[Idris2002]

Richard Harris.

In the Wild Geese it was clear that his costar Richard Burton regarded his role with contempt - as well he might given that it was a terrible film. But Harris was happy to have a laugh with it, despite that fact.

 

[DotCommunist]

Rutger Haur has never been in a shit film- not that I've seen. And he was sculpted back in the day. I'm in love with a german film star.

 

[zoooo]

Tim Roth, Aidan Gillen.
And (newly discovered) Norman Reedus.

 

[alsoknownas]

 

[Chuff]

On a more serious note, Paddy Considine has been pretty darn good in most things ive seem him in, although I watch a lot less films than I used to, what with all the great TV that's on, so he may have sucked at some point recently.

Now thats made the whole thread worthwhile, I loved Dead mans shoes and a couple of his others and theres a whole IMDB list of films I can binge

 

[Chuff]

Woody Harrilson generally floats my boat as does, Rutger Haur- Mmmmm Hobo with a shotgun? I might have to re-watch it while not on ketamine though i thought it were crap, Blind Fury however was class bunkum.
James Stewart in harvey (my favorite film of all time) generally pleases my sensibilities as does cary Grant, Arsnic and old lace and especially in operation petticoat which the was first film he made after taking LSD, Tony Curtis actually played an okay supporting role though he generally turns me off (except tarus Bulbar and the Vikings)

I always used to search by directors but am finding actor searched can be far more rewarding

I will throw in John Travolta for an excellent series of reinventions

 

[Chuff]

Sean Penn can act

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

When I read the OP, the first name that sprang to mind was Paddy Considine, then Olivia Coleman, Kevin Spacey, Claire Danes, Archie Panjabi, and of course, Meryl Streep, and Dustin Hoffman*. And Samantha Morton's a good call too.

*I think Dustin Hoffman's the only Desert Island Discs guest who I've really really wanted to hear more from and reckoned he could've easily done a part two, with more anecdotes... it felt like it was only touching the surface, fascinating and very lovely man.

 

[Kaka Tim]

mark strong.

 

[Casually Red]

Gary oldman

I was going to say that .

 

[Casually Red]

mark strong.

And him as well .

Flips sake .

Ellen page is another one I've found quite impressive , although I've only seen 2 of her films . Hard Candy and Super .

John turturro I quite like too .

Klaus kinski...has always been a fascinating watch because he's so damn creepy and wrong . Not sure I'd ever have wanted to meet him in real life mind .

 

[BigMoaner]

hoffman. clooney

 

[Casually Red]

Nicol Williamson...brilliant..in a word .died skint a few years back . And Helen Mirren .

 

[Jon-of-arc]

Ellen page is another one I've found quite impressive , although I've only seen 2 of her films . Hard Candy and Super .

Juno is good, although someone will be along shortly to say that it's too saccharine, smug, self-important and michael cera. But that person is wrong.

 

[DexterTCN]

..Ellen page is another one I've found quite impressive , although I've only seen 2 of her films . Hard Candy and Super ....

Not seen Inception?

 

[Reno]

Rutger Haur has never been in a shit film- not that I've seen. And he was sculpted back in the day. I'm in love with a german film star.

Rutger Hauer is a decent actor in the right role, but has mostly been in low rent straight-to-video stinkers, his flabby rump has never seen the inside of a gym and he is Dutch.



I've never seen Gena Rowlands give a bad performance but she also was lucky to be the muse of John Cassavetes who wrote her fantastic parts. An actor is only ever as good as the screenplay and no actor stands a chance against a poorly written role. She is also unfeasably cool.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Jimmy Stewart. Plays Jimmy Stewart, and does a fine job. Ditto Cary Grant. Old fashioned stars.

J Emmet Walsh. Oozes fabulous American sleaze.

Max von Sidow. Been in some stinkers as well as some classics, but always great.

Judi Dench. Sleepwalks her way through lots of pay cheques but an utterly brilliant actor - see Notes on a Scandal.

Kathy Burke. Just sublime in everything.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Oh and James Mason.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I think he's great. At playing Danny Dyer.

Nowt wrong with being great at playing yourself.

Another in that line, always watchable: Robert Mitchum.

One that I think is overrated: Robert de Niro. Strikes me that he always plays himself too, but difference is he's trying to inhabit a part and failing.

 

[Orang Utan]

I think he has more range than he's given credit for. He's quite a talented comic actor.
People go on about Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, but what about The King Of Comedy and Casino?

 

[Orang Utan]

Jimmy Stewart. Plays Jimmy Stewart, and does a fine job. Ditto Cary Grant. Old fashioned stars.

M Emmet Walsh. Oozes fabulous American sleaze.

Max von Sidow. Been in some stinkers as well as some classics, but always great.

Judi Dench. Sleepwalks her way through lots of pay cheques but an utterly brilliant actor - see Notes on a Scandal.

Kathy Burke. Just sublime in everything.

blue pen

 

[littlebabyjesus]

blue pen

Still fabulous.

As for de Niro, Taxi Driver is kind of my exhibit A. Here he is playing a narrow-minded racist nob, and you end up kind of rooting for him because you like de Niro. De Niro gets in the way of any kind of perspective in that film, and it ends up a pretty misjudged piece of shallow, bigoted rubbish.

 

[Reno]

Still fabulous.

As for de Niro, Taxi Driver is kind of my exhibit A. Here he is playing a narrow-minded racist nob, and you end up kind of rooting for him because you like de Niro. De Niro gets in the way of any kind of perspective in that film, and it ends up a pretty misjudged piece of shallow, bigoted rubbish.

if you rooted for him by the end, you watched it wrong.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

if you rooted for him by the end, you watched it wrong.

I watched it again recently, and I was surprised by my reaction. I didn't root for him. Travis Bickle is a pathetic human being on every count. His reaction to the world around him is pathetic. But de Niro gives him dignity. He can't help it, seems to me.

I'm confused by that film, tbh. Confused in many ways as to why it was made. If you're going to do that, make a film about how disgusting everything is, do it all the way in a Hubert Selby style.

And the lingering shots of the black pimps? Harvey Keitel's character was originally supposed to be black, but they changed it because they thought it would look racist. That's bizarre to me. Leaving the only black characters as wordless pimps plus one other taxi driver, to whom Bickle can barely bring himself to talk, only makes the whole thing feel more racist to me.