I have many and I do not know where to start.
Paul Giamatti’s role in ‘Sideways’ was amazing. He is a great actor but for some reason never really gets anything else than mainstream cinemas. I still like him
Kevin Spacey has been a great actor throughout his career. I even liked him in that ‘Superman’ movie.
Russell Crowe is another great actor. ‘The insider’, ‘Cinderella man’, ‘Gladiator’, ‘A beautiful mind’ you name it
Denzel Washington – The only ‘loud’ action hero that is my favorite. Never really liked ‘Training Day’ - can’t do gangsta movies, can’t do ebonix but he is a phenomenal actor. ‘Courage under fire’, ‘The Fallen’, ‘Phialdelphia’ were few of Denzel’s movies I had seen in 90s, and I was a fan of him ever since. Not to mention he very well retained that superstar status in 2000s too.
George Clooney – I wasn’t a fan of him until I started came across ‘Up in the air’ and ‘The descendants’. Good piece of histrionics, it is sad he didn’t win an oscar last year.
Ed Norton – A great actor, but doesn’t act much. ‘Primal Fear’, ‘Death to Smoochy’, ‘American History X’ were good movies.
Amy Adams – Most underrated extremely talented actress. ‘Sunshine cleaning’ and ‘Doubt’ made me love her.
Meryl Streep – Someone said old school Meryl Streep above, heck yes. If you leave aside some stupid chick flicks like ‘The devil wears Prada’ she is one hell of a phenomenal actress. My eyes were wet when I watched ‘The bridges of Madison County’. Also, I cannot believe how beautiful she looked in ‘Kramer vs Kramer’ and ‘The Deer Hunter’. I just realized Amy and Meryl have acted together in two movies together, how nice.
Matt Damon – There are so many good movies to his credit, including his most overlooked cameo in ‘Courage under fire’ where he lost a lot of weight. ‘Good Will Hunting’, ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’, ‘Bourne trilogy’.
Tom Hanks – It is sad that Hanks was featured in few less than ordinary movies in recent years. But his cameo in ‘Extremely loud and Incredibly Close’ is praiseworthy. ‘Forrest Gump’, ‘Philadelphia’, ‘Sleepless in Seattle’, ‘Green Mile’ – need I say more?
Morgan Freeman – His baritone voice gives me Goosebumps. ‘Shawshank Redemption’, ‘Driving Miss Daisy’, ‘Million dollar baby’, ‘Unforgiven’ – there are so many good movies to his credit.
Ryan Gosling – Still got lots to prove but ‘Half Nelson’ made me believe he is an acting phenom.
Hillary Swank – She acts so effortlessly yet never does many movies. Loved her in ‘Boys don’t cry’ and loved her more in that movie with Eastwood.
Honorable mentions : Pacino, Di Nero, Bob Duvall, Kevin Costner, Anthony Hopkins, Dustin Hoffman, Clint Eastwood. Jack Nicholson
I never liked Christian Bale no matter how good an actor he is. There is something about that guy that puts me off – his temper maybe? Also, Brad Pitt is just a piece of meat, with good repartees, chiseled abs and fitted tees. He could qualify for a model, not an actor. Also, I recently spoke to this woman from Nepal, she mentioned her favorite actor was Antonnio Banderras – seriously?????
I have been a Bollywood buff – of course. I am old school. So here goes the list:
Amitabh Bachchan (minus his gig in last 20 years) – Silsila, Shakti, Bemisal, Jurmana, Sholay. No one, I mean no one could act like Big B in seventies. He clearly owned that decade.
Sanjeev Kumar (he died – so sad) – Mausam, Angoor, Aandhi, Sholay, so many good movies.
Aamir Khan – No matter what anyone says, I fail to acknowledge that he is alike the other two or three Khans. He is not made for mainstream cinema. I was HIGHLY DISSAPPOINTED with ‘3 Idiots’. He is the type of actor that gives life to mundane movies like ‘ Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahin’ with his acting prowess. Eagerly Awaiting ‘Talaash’. I have watched 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar' countless times and will watch it again tonight.
Abhay Deol – I was a little disappointed that he chose to act in that mainstream movie ‘ZNMD’, a type of movie that gives false hope to every teenybopper in India to take a trip to Spain – nothing else. But to his credit are some good movies like ‘Road movie’, ‘Dev D’, ‘Manorama Six feet under’ and ‘Oye Lucky Lucky Oye’.
Waheeda Rahman – Her exemplary dance moves, great piece of acting and that extremely vulnerable yet pretty face is unmatched in Bollywood even now. ‘Guide’, ‘Khamoshi’, ‘Kaagaz ke Phool’ and ‘Sahab Biwi or Ghulam’ are some her her noteworthy movies.
Nutan – For some reason, my mother looks like her, but that is not the only reason I admire Nutan, she was one heck of an actress. ‘Tere Ghar ke Saamne’, ‘Bandini’, ‘Sujata’ are some great movies Hindi film industry has ever seen.
Gul Panag – My eyes were watered when I watched ‘Dor’. I have NEVER seen such a good piece of acting by an Indian actress in this century so far. Also, her role opposite that dude in that movie about homosexuality is praiseworthy.
Ajay Devgan – I know you are laughing. But given right roles, this bad looking actor can turn tables. His roles in ‘Company’ and ‘Omkara’ were unmatched. He acts well when he speaks less.
Vidya Balan – So many good movies to her credit. I sincerely wish she doesn’t buy into the spotlight and glamour of mainstream movies.
Honorable mentions: Irfaan Khan, Deven Verma, Faarooq Sheik…can’t think of anyone else.
I never liked Shahrukh or Hrithik Roshan. Of course not, why am I even mentioning them. I used to like Sanjay Dutt back in 80s when he acted in movies like ‘Naam’, ‘Imaandaar’ and ‘Kabza’, but he lost his mind when started growing hair.
Kollywood – Are you kidding me? I watched LOOT for ten minutes and shut my computer down. I know, I know, good effort and all that sh*t, but it is my personal choice to not like that crap and I sure hell won’t.
Last edited: 11-Jun-12 07:59 AM
