MY TOP TEN ACTORS OF ALL TIME (Top Ten Actors)

Member Name: pacinofan79

Product:	Top Ten Actors
Date:	18/05/09 (111 review reads)
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In the wonderful world of cinema there are many fine actors past and present, but only a few can really be classed as the worlds finest. This is a matter of opinion of course and everyone's top ten would probably be different in some way depending on age, style of film you maybe into etc, etc. For actresses I will do a separate list, anyway this is my top ten, counting down from 10 to 1, hope you enjoy.

10. Steve McQueen :
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For me McQueen or the 'King of Cool' is the original Hollywood action hero or anti-hero as the case may be. The first McQueen film I remember seeing as a young boy was 'Hell is for Heroes' and I thought McQueen was just the coolest guy on the planet, a real man's man.

What I loved about McQueen was his talent for acting on screen when there was no dialogue, he had that rare ability to convey so much just through his expressions and body language, his on screen presence was undoubtedly his biggest talent and one that was only matched in my opinion by Clint Eastwood and the late great Marlon Brando. He has without doubt played some of motion pictures greatest characters such as 'Hilts' in the Great Escape, 'Vin' in the Magnificent Seven, 'Bullitt', 'Doc Mcoy' in the Getaway, 'Henri 'Papillon' Charriere' in Papillon , 'Michael O'Hallorhan' in Towering Inferno and of course 'The Cincinnati Kid', and in my opinion deserves to be in anybody's top ten.


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9. Jack Nicholson:
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Jack Nicholson is one of those actors that you either love or hate; I obviously love him and find his neurotic and irascible acting style refreshing and diverse. I love that no matter what role he is playing he gives the impression that he could turn into a mad man in an instant and his acting style almost intimidates the viewer and he has the ability to be slightly creepy while charming at the same time, and his sarcastic sense of humour is very entertaining in an industry full of predictable boring male protagonists.

Predictable and boring Nicholson isn't and like Pacino he is a very explosive actor, very in your face and if you don't like it then who gives a s***. His most memorable roles for me were as 'Gittes' in Chinatown, 'McMurphy' in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, 'Jack Torrance' in The Shining, 'Col Jessep' in a Few Good Men, 'Joker' in Batman and 'Melvin Udall' in As Good As It Gets. Love him or hate him he is without doubt one of the finest actors around and it is hard to imagine Nicholson doing anything else.


8. Daniel Day Lewis:
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Daniel Day Lewis is one of those actors who is often overlooked when it comes to these kinds of lists, and in a sense I can understand why as he hasn't done a huge list of films and keeps himself to himself, but that is why I admire him so much, the fact that he does this job purely for the love of it and this shows in his brilliant performances. Daniel Day Lewis is very selective when it comes to film roles and rarely will you see two films in the same year starring him, in fact he usually does one every couple of years, but when he does do a film there are few actors who can give a performance with such devotion and passion. A real modern day method actor, Day Lewis immerges himself into the characters he plays and almost becomes that person until filming is finished, of course it is well documented that method acting can be detrimental to the mind and soul which maybe why Day Lewis only works every couple of years.

Who can forget his mesmerizing portrayal of 'Christy Brown' in My Left Foot, a truly amazing piece of work and as 'Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting in Gangs of New York and more recently as 'Daniel Plainview' in There Will Be Blood. His commitment, passion and devotion to his work are admirable and his talent is up there with the best and he is now one of the most respected actors in the business not just by his peers but by movie fans and critics.


7. Clint Eastwood:
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For me Clint Eastwood is one of those actors who should be in everyone's top ten, ok so many of you might not agree and my friends and I have argued over this many times, some of my friends think he is over-rated but I couldn't disagree more. There are certain levels of movie star, there are those actors that are well known like, Jack Black, Adam Sandler and Robert Downey Jnr, then there are movie stars like, Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise, Ewan McGregor and there are movie legends such as Steve McQueen, Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro and Paul Newman. Eastwood definitely belongs in the latter category, he is as big a star as they come and in my opinion should be in everyone's top ten just on screen presence alone, no actor in history oozes machismo masculinity like Eastwood he is the ultimate alpha male and never has anyone been able act with just there eyes like Eastwood can, he has motion pictures greatest stare.

And not only this but the guy can act as well and has given us some of motion pictures greatest icons 'The man with no name' from the Dollars trilogy, easily the greatest cowboy of all time and he also played the greatest cop of all time 'Dirty Harry'. And not only is he a great actor but he also one of the finest directors around today bringing us films like 'Unforgiven', Bridges of Madison County', 'Mystic River', 'Million Dollar Baby' and the more recent 'Gran Torino'. As well as all this he is a producer and composer, his talents are endless and his longevity unmatched and that is why he should be in everyone's top ten

6. Leonardo DiCaprio:
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Ok so this maybe a controversial choice as many people might wonder how I could put DiCaprio ahead of Nicholson and Eastwood etc, but in my opinion he is the finest YOUNG actor around and anyone who has seen his performance in 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape' will surely be as puzzeld as me why he never one an oscar for that role, that performance was breathtaking.

With the exception of 'Titanic' I can't think of one film DiCaprio has been in where his performance has not been exceptional, from his early films like 'The Basketball Diaries', 'Marvins Room' and 'This Boys Life' to his great performances in 'Romeo and Juliette', 'The Beach', 'The Departed', 'Blood Diamond', ' The Aviator' and 'Body of lies', his acting is flawless and in my opinion he is the most under rated actor around. The only thing that puts Johnny Depp ahead of DiCaprio is that Depp takes on more challenging and unique roles where as DiCaprio tends to play it safe with similar kinds of roles (Gilbert Grape aside), but that doesn't change the fact that DiCaprio is a brilliantly talented actor and I am sure that if he keeps going the way he is going and maybe if he takes on some more challenging roles then in many years to come he will be regarded as one of the best of all time.



5. Sir Anthony Hopkins:
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If ever there was an actor who is the total opposite to Jack Nicholson but is just as good, if not better it is Sir Anthony Hopkins. One of Wales' greatest exports and a great film and theatre actor, Hopkins style of acting is quite understated compared to many actors on this list, but he pulls it off with such ease and makes it seem so effortless.

There are many actors who are particularly good in a certain genre of film but Hopkins is one of those actors who could act in any type of film and still steal every scene he is in. His most memorable roles are his disturbing but brilliant portrayal of 'Hannibal Lecter' in The Silence of the Lambs, 'Richard Nixon' in Nixon, 'Picasso' in Surviving Picasso, 'John Quincy Adams' in Amistad, 'Jack Lewis' in Shadowlands and 'James Stevens' in The Remains of the Day. Watching Hopkins act is a joy and his performances are consistently brilliant and flawless, a true British treasure.


4. Marlon Brando
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Marlon Brando would perhaps be many peoples first choice but for me being a great actor is about the whole package and this is where Brando falls short for me. Some of his performances are undoubtedly breathtaking and his style was groundbreaking and set a new president for acting at that time, and some of his performances will go down as the greatest of all time, but for a period of time and as Brando said in his own words he 'lost himself to self loathing and self-parody' and became more well known for his sulks rather than his acting ability and will not only be remembered for his great talent but also his huge list of personal embarrassments.

This aside though Brando in terms of acting is about as good as they come, his performance in 'A Street Car Named Desire' brought about a new revolution in acting and the audience were shown for the first time how far an actor could be pushed emotionally and physically and this is widely considered to be the best performance by an actor of all time and Brando became an instant star. Brando gave us many more world class performances in films like' On the Waterfront', 'Last Tango in Paris', 'Viva Zapata', 'The Young Lions' and of course the brilliance that is the 'Godfather'. He will be forever regarded as one of the greatest of all time but for me personally he doesn't quite make the number 1 spot.


3. Al Pacino
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You maybe surprised that Pacino is not my number 1 considering my user name, but it was the first thing that came to mind when registering with Dooyoo, so that explains why he is my username, anyway he is still one of my favourite actors and easily one of the best of all time. Well known for his explosive, intense acting style, Pacino at his best is nothing short of sensational and in terms of entertainment is the best actor to watch on screen. The first Pacino film I ever saw was 'Dog Day Afternoon' and from that moment I was a huge fan, the film is truly brilliant as was Pacino's performance and for anyone who hasn't seen it you really should give it a watch, this is early vintage Pacino at his best.

Pacino's intensity on screen is pure genius and unpredictable and he is brilliant to watch and it is hard to take eyes off him when he is on screen, he does without doubt have that x-factor and the list of great performances is endless from his early work that includes 'Serpico', 'Godfather', 'Scarface' to his awesome performances in 'Scent of a Woman', 'Carlito's Way', 'Heat', 'Devils Advocate', 'Donnie Brasco', 'Any Given Sunday', the list just goes on. Ok so we haven't really had vintage Pacino for a good 10 years now but he is and will be forever regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time.


2. Johnny Depp
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First of all sorry Jan, I hope you understand my reasons...lol.

It was so difficult not to put Depp as my number one, especially as at the current time he is my favourite actor and is by far the best actor in the world at the moment, but I simply can't compare him to my number one at this stage in his career.

What makes Depp stand out as the best at the moment is his uniqueness and the choices he has made in his career, he could of so easily took the easy route and been a Hollywood heart throb and leading man in many a rom/com, but his desire to play the Hollywood game the way he wanted to and stay true to his beliefs was/is his greatest asset.

Never before has there been such a diverse actor and never before has an actor been criticized so much for taking on certain projects only to go and prove everybody wrong time after time. What make's him such a good actor is obviously first and foremost his talent, but also his honesty and integrity, with Depp what you see is what you get, no frills, a man who likes the simple life away from the glitz and glammer of Hollywood and his life story is truly inspiring as is his perception of the world . What I also love about Depp is that he is always ready to challenge an audience's perception of what a Hollywood actor should be, a challenge that he overcomes every time. But odd characters and risky film selections aside he is the most talented actor of his generation and everything he does is critically acclaimed, and he never fails to disappoint. His collaborations with best friend and confident Tim Burton have brought to the screen some truly magical experiences and some of his most memorable characters include, 'Captain Jack Sparrow', 'Ichabod Crane', 'Donnie Brasco', 'Edward Scissorhands', 'Ed Wood', 'Willy Wonker', 'Don Juan' and 'Gilbert Grape'.


1. Robert DeNiro
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For me personally there is only one actor I can put in the top spot and that is the sensational Robert DeNiro.

In my opinion he is the greatest actor of all time and a master of his craft. An amazing method actor who raised the bar in terms of how acting should be approached and the task undertaken. To say he is a master of his craft is an understatement; he is the bench mark that every aspiring actor should be aiming for.

For me every single performance he gives is flawless, and even in the more recent films that have been nowhere near vintage DeNiro, his acting is still flawless, take the recent 'Righteous Kill' for example, the film wasn't very good and Pacino looked a shadow of the actor he used to be but DeNiro despite the film being poor still gave a faultless performance and that is what he has done consistently for the past 45 years, it doesn't matter how poor the films have been, DeNiro's performances have always been 1st class.

The way he physically changes his appearance for roles is testament to his commitment to his craft, he gets inside the characters he is playing and literally becomes them. The first DeNiro film I saw was 'The Deer hunter' and I was blown away with his performance, his performance as Jake LaMotta in 'Raging Bull' also blew me away, his performance in 'Awakenings' was breathtaking, then there is his performance as Jimmy Conway in 'Goodfellas' and as Travis Bickle in 'Taxi Driver' and as a young Vito Corleone in 'Godfather 2', the list is endless and I can honestly say I have never seen DeNiro give a bad performance, even when he was criticized for moving into comedy with films such as 'Meet the Parents' no one can deny he played the part of the intimidating, overprotective father in law brilliantly well, there is just nothing DeNiro cannot do in films.

There has only ever been and ever will be one DeNiro and that why he is my number 1 actor of all time.

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Some actors that just missed my top ten were, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, James Stewart and Michael Caine.

Summary: 10 OF THE WORLDS BEST