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Whatever happened to stars who were also great actors? (1 Viewer)

Michael Reuben

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Several names mentioned in this thread might be great actors, but they're not movie stars. To me, a movie star is defined as somebody that can carry a film and almost guarantee a certain amount of box office success due to their presence in a particular movie.
I agree with that definition. Of course, when it's strictly applied, a number of great actors listed in the first post don't qualify (e.g., Vanessa Redgrave).

I just remembered someone else who is both a bona fide movie star and a great actor, though often underrated: Eddie Murphy.

M.
 

Josh Lowe

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I am in agreement with the original poster. It seems to be that many of the greatest actors to come up over the past 10 years are "character" actors. Or even TV actors. James Gandolfini and Edie Falco come to mind. So does Joe Pantoliano. If your only experience w/ Joe's acting has been the Sopranos and the Matrix, I highly suggest you check out his name on IMDB. You'll find his name in all sorts of movies you've probably seen and may have overlooked him in. I didn't care too much for the movie Bound, but I thought it contained a great performance by him. And Memento, too, of course.

I've liked Tom Sizemore ever since he played the burnt out ex-cop in Striking Distance.

If Will Smith would be given some more challenging roles, I think he'd prove himself as a Hanks-level actor as he progresses.

Oh, and same goes for Ice Cube. That guy is absolutely loaded with acting talent, and if given some unusual leading roles in serious films, he'd blow up.
 

Hunter P

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Sure there's Nicholson, DeNiro, Hanks, etc. But no list is complete without Salma Hayek. She carried me right through Desperado, Dusk Til Dawn, Fools Rush In, etc. Plus, she has a great set of...acting talents. ;)
 

Ricardo C

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Movie stars who are also actually great at their job?

- Ewan McGregor
- Helen Hunt
- Kevin Spacey
- Harrison Ford

Tom Cruise is getting there, but he's not what I would call "great" yet. He will become a great actor sooner rather than later, though.
 

RobertW

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are you serious about ben affleck and brad pitt? to me, they often seem too wooden and dead, more line readers than actors. affleck is far worse than pitt, but they still seem that way. kinda like kevin costner and george clooney.


what about tim robbins or john cusack?
 

rhett

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Watching Tom Cruise in Rain Man reaffirms to me how great of an actor he is and can be.
I also think Sylvester Stallone is a good actor who just keeps picking bad movies. He has that "De Niro-ish" stare that can really convey emoiton.
I'd consider Ed Norton to be a star and a great actor. To me, he is what De Niro and Pacino used to be in the 70's. I think there is a big future ahead for him.
One actor that nobody else has mentioned is Daniel Day-Lewis. He is a phenomenal actor, and seeing him in a new film is like an event for me.
Reese Witherspoon, given some more time, can transfer her charisma into a strong acing career. She was great in Man in the Moon and always steals scenes in all the fluff movies she's been in.
Many may cringe, but I think Leonardo DiCaprio is also a fine actor. This Boy's Life, (especially) What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Basketball Diaries and Titanic have all proven that he is serious about acting and he does a good job at doing so.
Another movie star underrated as an actor is Kevin Costner. He has been in some real stinkers lately, but he is almost always a real pleasure to watch. A Perfect World, Field of Dreams, Dances With Wolves, Tin Cup and The Untouchables are all excellent.
I think there is still a lot of great acting talent in Hollywood, you just have to sift through a lot more garbage to find it now though. :frowning:
 

Terrell

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are you serious about ben affleck and brad pitt?
I was thinking the same thing. But I can handle Affleck better than Pitt, even though I don't consider him a great actor. Pitt is just beyond me. I can't stand the guy. I think he's merely average at best. But other people swear he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I don't see the appeal. One of those different strokes for different folks type deals.
 

NickSo

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Im not a huge movie buff, so i cant say who's a GREAT actor or not, but I'd think that Reese Whiterhspoon has got some pretty good performances in her movies.
 

Brian W.

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The stars were under the wings of the studios for the duration of their contracts and didn't float around like they do now.
Not in the period I'm talking about. The star system was pretty much over by 1970.

Maybe we just lucked out with a great pool of actors during that fifteen-or-so-year period. Maybe it's just the distorted memories of a man fast approaching middle age.

Or maybe it's just that we've seen it all. I mean, it was NEWS when DeNiro gained and lost a bunch of weight for "Raging Bull." People really made a big deal out of that. It was NEWS when Meryl Streep actually learned Polish for "Sophie's Choice." It was NEWS when Dustin Hoffman went out in public dressed as Tootsie when he was preparing for the role, or when Sissy Spacek learned to play guitar and did her own singing for "Coal Miner's Daughter." Maybe we're just used to that kind of thing now.

It just seems like there used to be a celebration of an actor's committment to his craft that doesn't exist today.
I mean, is it my imagination, or do people have less admiration and respect for great acting than they did during the seventies and early eighties?
 

Andy Sheets

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are you serious about ben affleck and brad pitt? to me, they often seem too wooden and dead, more line readers than actors. affleck is far worse than pitt, but they still seem that way. kinda like kevin costner and george clooney.
IMO, Ben Affleck is low fat vanilla. He's got the kind of weak screen presence that infests all too many actors/stars nowadays. I look at the guy in a movie and instantly feel like I could break him in half. Brad Pitt, OTOH, I think is quite underrated. I think the guy is at least good in almost everything I've seen him in. My favorite performances from him include 12 Monkeys, Fight Club, Seven, True Romance, and Kalifornia (there are others I'm forgetting but it's early :)). I don't know if I'd hand him an Oscar for anything he's done but I think he's extremely dependable and he always rises to the occasion as a character actor.
 

ThomasC

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how about these people? i realize some haven't risen to star power yet, but they've still got lots of time...
philip seymour hoffman
julianne moore
john c. reilly
william h. macy (i realize he's 52...)
benicio del toro!!!
don cheadle
dennis quaid
luis guzman
sean penn
robin wright penn
these last two may get me a lot of hate mail, but oh well...
jim carrey
dare i say it? oh, what the heck...adam sandler. i realize he hasn't really starred in any serious movies (punch-drunk love is coming soon though), but in the movies i've seen him in, i think he did a nice job of acting. please don't kill me until you've seen punch-drunk love. :)
 

Robert Crawford

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It looks like we went from a select few to just about everyone's favorite actor in Hollywood.;)
Crawdaddy
 

Dome Vongvises

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Micheal Crawford said:
It looks like we went from a select few to just about everyone's favorite actor in Hollywood.
:laugh:
I don't know, but why do I get the impression that George Clooney is our generation's Clark Gable (read, will be 80 years old and pick up more women than I ever will)? :)
 

Holadem

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philip seymour hoffman
julianne moore
john c. reilly
william h. macy (i realize he's 52...)
benicio del toro!!!
don cheadle
dennis quaid
luis guzman
I see you are a fan of both Magnolia and Traffic (or their respective directors)! ;) So am I, and I entirely agree with the above choices, though I consider none of them a really big star. None of the names above are household names.
I must admit I don't agree witht he premise of this thread, there are IMO as many fine actors/stars today as there have ever been. I simply don't buy into the "decline of Hollywood" school of thougth.
--
Holadem
 

ThomasC

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I see you are a fan of both Magnolia and Traffic (or their respective directors)!
i'm a fan of the movies and the directors...magnolia and traffic are without a doubt the top 2 on my favorite movies list.
oh yeah, what about michael douglas? :) he's 56, but whatever...and how about michael j. fox?
 

JohnE

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I've gotta say Brad Pitt. IMHO, the guy can really act! He's probably my favorite young actor/star.
Oh and how about Leonardo DeCaprio? I personally think he's a fine young actor, and there's no doubt about his star power.:)
 

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