Name & explanation for choice. 1 sentence or 1 paragraph, up to you.

1. Johnny Depp: I was always aware of Depp's work, primarily cause of the impact certain moments of Edward Scissorhands had on me. The music especially (hail Danny Elfman lol). As well as having seen Donnie Brasco, Gilbert Grape etc. But my moment of realisation on just how good Depp is, was when I saw Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates 1. I couldn't believe how cooly done and sharply performed the character was. As if he was perpetually drunk, seeming unable to get his lines out. But of course he wasn't, t'was all pure talent. I then went in Depp mode, gathering a collection of many of his best. Seems my enjoyment of the musical creative process is only slightly higher than my enjoyment of movies and of certain actors abilities to craft and create intruiging, hilarious and brilliant characters. Depp is one of the best at that to me.

2. Harrison Ford: Harrison is a mans man living in an increasingly dandy mans world. He always has been so. You look at his roles and they are all fairly similar in numerous ways. All no nonsense guys with a good heart deep down types. He does them brilliantly, numerous of his films would go a long way to getting him near my top 10 or even top 5. But with Indy Jones he nailed it. I adore those movies, the spirit in which they were made. Indiana Jones is the man. Not only courageous, tough and exceptionally brave, but highly intelligent and really rather wise. Something I believe all men (and women) should strive to be. The way Harrison and Sir Sean played off eachother in The last Crusade was just brilliant and for all of the above, Harrison hits number 2.

cont.

3. Al Pacino: Not sure where to begin. He is really quite excellent every time I see him. I also find him to be absolutely hilarious when he wants to be, especially his role as Lefty in Donnie Brasco. Everyone knows Al Pacino, most would nominate him as one of their most highly rated actors of all time. The guy is one of the finest and most gifted character actors that has ever lived. He went rather brilliantly from the Don of a whole mafia family in The Godfather trilogy, to a fairly low ranking member of a small gang in Donnie Brasco. He was just too good at both. Perhaps not quite as versatile as others, but I imagine he could do anything if he tried.

4. Christian Bale: I always sort of overlooked Christian Bale. He's a bit of a chameleon, oddly similar to Alfred Molina (another very fine actor) in that sense. Bale has been in a good number of films and shines in the lot. But it was his performances in American Psycho and Batman Begins which made me wake up to him. And to see how dedicated he is, go and watch The Machinist. Borderline anorexia to play one role. Then to beef back up for Batman Begins. I can't comprehend how it was possible without severe workout agony day after day until he was back in shape. I believe he was actually still in terrible shape when he went in for the Batman role, so massive kudos to him indeed.

5. Robert De Niro: A tougher choice than I would have liked. And on another day it might have been someone else. But how can you not include Bobby in a top actors list ?. Similar to Pacino in the sense that they have both hung around a similar genre for a major part of their careers. Though to the best of my knowledge De Niro is the one who has made the jump into comedy quite a few times. With pretty high rates of success. Though in the case of Analyze This/That, still playing the familiar gangster type role. De Niro was also absolutely show stopping and show stealing in The Godfather Part 2 of course.

Honorary Mentions: Dustin Hoffman, Geoffrey Rush, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Connery, Christopher Lee and Ian Holm.

umm, lets see, tough choice, so many good ones out there. I will just throw in my first thoughs right now. No specific order here:
Michael Caine, Paul Newman, Cary Grant, Robert Mitchum, Jimmy Stewart.

umm, lets see, tough choice, so many good ones out there. I will just throw in my first thoughs right now. No specific order here:
Michael Caine, Paul Newman, Cary Grant, Robert Mitchum, Jimmy Stewart.

Great list Tony. The Old Gaurd really eh. The Classics. You know, for the longest time I had no idea Cary Grant was an Englishman. I kind of threw him into that group of classic American actors from that time. Thats down to my age I'd imagine.

I think the first film I saw Cary Grant in was Gunga Din. My Dad made me watch it with him. One of the funniest films I have ever seen though to be honest. Funnily enough his characters name in Gunga Din was Archibald... which was his real name in life of course. Archibald Alexander Leach. No wonder he changed it to Cary Grant for the stage :lol:

I don't watch alot of movies but when these guys star in them I always watch! :D

Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas cage, Sean Penn, Tom Hanks & Jim Carrey

LOL! Yeah, GREAT movie. I´ve always loved classic british actors-actress. Even on TV serials. I don´t know if you are aware or not of "Upstairs-Downstairs" or " I, Claudious". Man, GREAT stuff, GREAT actors. Early pre-1948 Hitchcock movies were also a gem to watch. I can´t remember any names right now, but damn, real good actors in them.

Back when acting was acting and actors acted :lol:. They're funny to watch now in a way because it does seem very over the top and overly dramatic, but they are the real movie stars because they were so much larger than life and so full of that X Factor and star quality. The pampered overhyped morons of today who seem to be big 1 year and lost in time the next are nothing in comparison. Obviously theres alot of GREAT worthy actors these days who have been around a good while now and who deserve to be named among the old classic folks, the ones in my top 5 for instance. And the ones in yours like Caine and Newman etc. Though Newman was around quite a while ago wasn't he come to think of it. So was Caine I guess.

How about arguably the most gifted actor of them all ?... Marlon Brando. I kinda throw all these amazing actors from past to present into the same "Acting Gods" category lol. But certainly the Golden Age of Hollywood has the brightest stars. Maybe because the average joe wasn't as cynical back then and genuinely thought these people were better than everyone else ?.

Sorry im ranting, movies and actors are great fun to talk about :lol:

1. Robert De Niro. Sheer perfection from 1973 to 1995. He really worked at his craft and was absolutely committed to each role. And he never took an easy role during that time, and often choosing a co-starring role rather than the main just to push himself harder. I don't see him as typecast as it goes. He has proven he can act in just about any genre and do it well. Even when he doesn't push himself (ie "The Fan") De Niro still manages to dominate the screen and, if any other actor had put in that performance it would probably be hailed as fantastic. De Niro however get measured by his own yardstick.

2. Brando. As Danny says, probably the most gifted actor. Brando literally redefined acting when he made the leap from stage to film. He brought method acting to the fore and in the space of a few films ie The Men, Streetcar, leading up to On the Waterfront (which is truly magnificent) he was captivating. Whilst the films are dated Brando is vibrant and raw. Unfortunately whilst Brando was able and willing to push boundaries the film makers and studios were not so dynamic. End result he got bored and played some less than brilliant roles. One Eyed Jacks, his directorial debut, was a fine return to form. After that the moments of brilliance are few and far between (Godfather, Last Tango etc.) Brando was lazy and never really gave his ability the devotion and dedication it deserved.

3. Pacino. He went off the rails a bit after scarface (I detest the film BTW :)) but has really come back stronger with Carlitos Way. The guy is the most facially expressive actor without resorting to facial gymnastics (a la Jim Carrey) and has been very good to brilliant (Donnie Brasco) in most films he done since.

4 Harvey Keitel - Lived in the shadow of De Niro for a while (Mean Streets and Taxi Driver) but has always had the ability to be brilliant. Of course he has done some real stinkers but when he is good he is fantastic. Bad Lieutenant, Mean Streets, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs etc are great.

5. Gene Hackman/Jack Nicholson - a tie. These two have done so many good films they just cannot be discounted. Nicholsons Chinatown, 5 Easy Pieces, One Flew Over, Prizzis Honor, The Last Detail, Easy Rider etc, and Hackmans French Connection(s), Unforgiven, Mississippi Burning, No Way Out, The Conversation etc are all fine examples of first rate actors.

Honourable mentions.

Sean Penn - really becoming a fine actor. Come a long way from Shanghai Surprise :) Chris Penn too was a fantastic actor when pushed - His performance in the Funeral was amazing, and the song he sang in the film was captivating.

Benicio Del Toro - I have been really impressed by this guy in Traffic, Usual Suspects, The Funeral, The Pledge and 23 Grams.

Johnny Depp - never trades on his looks (looking forward to Sweeney Todd) and really pushes himself.

Kevin Spacey - Seemed to dominate the 90s and has gone a bit quiet ever since save for his Lex Luthor role in Superman Returns. But the Usual Suspects, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, KPAX, Se7en etc are brilliant.

I don't watch alot of movies but when these guys star in them I always watch! :D

Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas cage, Sean Penn, Tom Hanks & Jim Carrey

Seems like you'd have to watch a lot of movies if you're gonna keep up with everything samuel l jackson is in, seems like he's in every damn movie to me :p

Lots of great actors mentioned in this thread. One not mentioned that I like is Michael Madsen. Great in tarantinos movies reservoir dogs and kill bill. Maybe not so great in free willy tho :notme:

Seems like you'd have to watch a lot of movies if you're gonna keep up with everything samuel l jackson is in, seems like he's in every damn movie to me :p

Lots of great actors mentioned in this thread. One not mentioned that I like is Michael Madsen. Great in tarantinos movies reservoir dogs and kill bill. Maybe not so great in free willy tho :notme:

Stop watching Family Guy Per for fooks sake :lol: :thumb:

Madsen is great at what he does, but he can only act one way. He is the least versatile actor I can think of. Even less so than Jim Carrey. And that is saying something.

Porty, you mentioned a good few I was just thinking of last night. Nicholson, Hackman, Spacey etc. These guys are worthy of super A List movie star status. What a volume of work they all have. Magnificent actors indeed.

I went for my favourite actors rather than the 5 I think are technically the greatest. Should I have gone for technique then Harrison would have been replaced by Brando or perhaps Hackman/Nicholson/Hoffman etc.

My list would then have been more like..

1. Brando
2. De Niro
3. Pacino
4. Depp
5. Bale

Bale is stupidly underrated. The guy is BRILLIANT.

Aye - Bale is very impressive. I forgot him - he would be in my top 10 for sure.

What about Anthony Hopkins, Robert Duvall, Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood ???

Charles Laughton , Robert Newton , Clint Eastwood , Oliver Hardy and :headscratch: Malcolm McDowell .