Who are/will be the great actors of our era? (ekmanning5)
 

The comments above resonated with me as my wife & often talk about this exact point. We love to watch exemplary acting and pose the same question as to whom will be thought of in the same regard as Spencer Tracy, Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, et al. The greats, the legends, the never to be seen again! So many times it would appear that Hollywood has forgotten how to make a film that has a compelling story as well as the acting to support it.

So, who will take their place? I'll start this off with some that I think are well on there way & perhaps even there now along with the film that got me to notice them originally in this regard. Add yours in the same way. Who do you think we'll see referred to in the same light as the icons from back in the day?

Here are my candidates in no particular order -

Edward Norton (Primal Fear)
John Cusack (Grifters)
Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai)
Jim Carrey (Truman Show)
Tim Robbins (The Player)
Russell Crowe (LA Confidential)
Guy Pearce (LA Confidential)
Djimon Hounsou (Amistad)
Tobey Maguire (Ciderhouse Rules)
Paul Giamatti (Sideways)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Gangs of New York)
Jason Statham (Snatch)

Reese Witherspoon (Election)
Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind)
Nicole Kidman (To Die For)
Kim Basinger (LA Confidential)

I would add Christian Bale and John Malkovich.

Wow! My name in the title line of a thread. There'll be no living with me now. :banana:
I may not be qualified to answer this as I haven't been to a movie in quite some time and the movies we tend to view at home are older...but. Actors and actresses that I tend to feel fall into this catagory, the ones who are not afraid to take a much lesser part in a movie, the ones with real staying power, are these;
Gene Hackman
Ed Harris
Harvey Keitel
Robert DiNero
Judi Dench
Steve Martin
Robert Duval
kind of a quick, very incomplete list. But I don't think I've ever seen any of these in a bad role.

Tom Hanks
Gene Hackman
Sean Connery
Julia Roberts
Meg Ryan
John Trivolta

Yeah, I think Christian Bale is excellent, Ed Norton as well....actually, I am pleasantly surprised at how good DiCaprio is..I liked him in Blood Diamonds.

Russell Crowe is definitely a flexible and intense actor as well..I think the actor that did Hidalgo has good potential.

Problem is that styles and topics are so varied nowadays....it seems that the previous generations had a more narrow scope. Its harder to choose good work and directors who think cineamatically in the classical sense, instead of the wow-me Hollywood style.

Both Sean Penn and Tim Robbins' performances in Mystic River were incredible.

There is great stuff out there. You just have to look beyond the fluff.

Come on guys, add the movie that first got your attention to your choices.

Well, like I've said, the 5 or 6 in my response have in my estimation never made a bad flick. Especially Hackman and Duval.

hackman has been in some so so movies,where his presence was just for box office, not acting talent...

like the one where he is the aircraft carrier commander and his pilot gets shot over Bosnia...

Ed Norton - American History X
Leonardo DiCaprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape

I don't know how Ed can get any better than he was in X but Leo just keeps getting better and better. Recently you had The Aviator, Gangs of New York, The Departed, and Blood Diamond. He's turned into an amazing actor with what appears to be unlimited skill. I suspect he will be named as one of the all-time greats before his career is over. Not to say Ed has peaked but his performance was so strong in X.

Lots of good names so far but what about Johnny Depp?

Lots of good names so far but what about Johnny Depp?[/QUOTE]

Like him or not, he probably is America's greatest living actor.

cubdog

Never responded to this forum 'til now, but I'll second Johnny Depp:

Dead Man
Ed Wood
Edward Scissorhands
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
Finding Neverland

There are more.

Thought he was pretty good in Blow...

Greatest actors of our era?

Gotta include Bill Clinton. That guy could turn on the emotion in the blink of an eye!

Denzel Washington