This was a harder list to put together than I thought.
Off the top of my head, I thoughtMatt Damonwould have a shot to crack the list.
He never really did.
When I started really looking at the options, Damon would struggle to crack the Top 15.
I say all of that as a huge Damon fan.
How stacked is this list?
I couldn’t find a spot forDustin Hoffman.
He was nominated for seven Oscars and won two.
That might not seem as much of an absence to younger people.
He is 86 and his prime was literally a century ago but Hoffman is very accomplished.
This is list only takes acting under consideration.
It’s also actors only (no actresses).
This list is tough enough to put together with just guys.
Here are the ten greatest living actors:
10.
He’s even written the score for a few of his movies.
He has five Oscar nominations as a producer.
It’s easy to forget what a great actor he is.
It’s incredible depth and consistently very good work over a very long time.
That has to count for something.
Daniel Day-Lewis (66 yearsold)
This might seem a little low for some people.
I still think Philip Seymour Hoffman was a better actor than Daniel Day-Lewis.
Hoffman could play anyone at any time from Art Howe to Truman Capote to the weirdo in Twister.
Day-Lewis never seemed comfortable or very interesting in playing anyone in this time.
That’s not meant to shit on Day-Lewis though.
He gives one of the best performances in the century as Bill The Butcher in Gangs Of New York.
He says he keeps playing different variations of Jack.
He certainly became that more and more especially once he got out of the 1970’s.
It also doesn’t bother me that much.
I think he’s such a unique presence that the work is still exceptional.
I believe him as the rebellious patient in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.
I believe him losing his mind in The Shining.
I even believe him as a gangster who falls in acid and becomes the Joker.
Hanks' work the last 20 years has been so much weaker than the 20 years that preceded.
There are obvious exceptions like Captain Phillips and Sully but there are so many more misses than hits.
His work in Elvis alone makes it hard to put him ahead of the other names on this list.
Hanks won back to back Oscars before he turned 40.
He had five nominations before he was 46.
He’s had a single nomination since 2001.
I still think Hanks has never been better than his work in Cast Away.
I put it right there with the greatest performances in film history.
I’d argue he’s never been in a great one at all.
He’s not his fault.
John Q is a shitty movie.
Denzel is great in it.
Flight is a shitty movie.
Denzel is great in it.
Even his best movie (Training Day), I see as really good but not great.
He somehow can even make his eyes go vacant and empty.
His ability to completely encompass a role is similar to Daniel Day-Lewis.
Gene Hackman (93 years old)
Gene Hackman might be the greatest character actor of all-time.
But he may be best remembered most for leading roles in Hoosiers, The French Connection and The Conversation.
Watching him go from good to bad to evil is astonishing.
Somehow he even makes his whole face change.
All of it morphs.
Leonardo DiCaprio (49 years old)
DiCaprio and Bale are the youngest actors on this list.
I have DiCaprio so high mostly because I respect his choices so much.
However, if you look at the entire body of work, DiCaprio never misses.
He’s not only the last movie star but he might be the most consistent.
For many years, it was Jack Nicholson who had the front and center seat at the Oscars.
George Clooney had that seat for a couple years but it really should be DiCaprio’s now.
But he’s even incredible in smaller movies like Sleepers, The King of Comedy and Awakenings.
He can be loving in Sleepers or a cold killer in Cape Fear.
Maybe DiCaprio can catch him but it’s tough.
Bale has too many misses and I don’t think Damon has enough range.
If there was an Acting Hall of Fame, he’d be my very first vote.
