Favorite Actors and Actresses

[Ardentfrost]

haha, nice clip. You should check out SFW. Great movie.

[imind]

this thread is not complete without mention of philip seymour hoffman.

He has played mostly in supporting roles; some might remember him as gust avrakotos from charlie wilson's war, but i would guess that most of you have overlooked him, even though he has been in some big films. this might contradict my vote for him, but i easily forward him as a great actor. able to do comedy and drama equally, he has taken the pathetic characters (lead in love, liza (a great, great film), and scotty j from boogie nights, but can just as easily adapt to the more serious (lead in capote, a film i really didn't like all that much but could appreciate his abilities in it), before the devil knows you're dead, and the more comedic (along came polly). that basketball scene is still one of the funniest things i've seen on screen.

he's an all-around actor. one of the most versatile, i'd say. which leads me to the most versatile and, IMHO, most talented actors alive today. Robin Williams. The man is a comedian, at his core, but look at his performances in non-comedic roles. You might not like his comedy, as he is comedy. I can't stand watching interviews with him because frankly his improvisation is just too aggressive - its always on. but his comedic roles on the screen are hilarious, and his more serious roles are breathtaking, and i don't know that i've ever used 'breathtaking' to describe any person, in any professino, accept perhaps some female actors, and i am speaking purely of their beauty at that point.

i'm surprised, pleasantly, that so many of you select johnny depp, as i thought it was 'understood' that he was only a 'heart throb', a description sorely lacking. it seems that whenever i speak of actors with people i mention depp and so many people are suprised to find him in my list of top 5, despite his performance in pirates. that character was his, entirely, and continued with his interpretation of that character despite the execs trepidation towards it. it was nothing short of brilliant and depp deserves accolades for it.

as for the females. cate blanchett, natalie portman, and jennifer connelly are my top three, with the rest falling in line in no special order. all three stunningly beautiful, stunningly beautiful, IMO, yet seem to be such smart actors. the only thing holding them out of my list of favorites is some roles they take, and its only because i'm not a girl that i wouldn't appreciate all of them, i think. i just won't watch some films that are women oriented, with few exceptions.

i mention love, liza again with hoffman as lead cause its truly something remarkable. if you haven't seen it, do so.

[jff.law]

Sean Penn

[givesUsFree]

natalie portman, eva mendes