Who's on your personal Mount Rushmore of acting? (Pick FOUR)

[KevShmev]

This came up in a conversation in real life (what's that? ) recently, so I thought it'd be a fun topic here.  Basically, you pick the four actors or actresses who would be on your own personal Mount Rushmore.  They do not have to be just all film actors; they can be from TV, film, etc.  You can even list which films or TV shows were key in your picking each one.

My picks:

Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, The Green Mile, A League of Their Own, Cast Away, Philadelphia, Big, Saving Private Ryan, Road to Perdition, Apollo 13, etc.)
Robert De Niro (Goodfellas, The Godfather II, Raging Bull, Heat, The Untouchables, Sleepers, Jackie Brown, Casino, Cape Fear, etc.)
James Gandolfini (The Sopranos)

[King Postwhore]

Guy Pearce -  (L.A. Confidential,  Memento, The Proposition) Love his different types of roles.
Alan Rickman -- (Die Hard, Dogma)  He makes you cheer for the bad guys.
Daniel Day-Lewis  -- Gangs Of New York, My Left Foot, Lincoln)  The man cam morph.
Robert Duvall -- (Mash, Network, Open Range, Apocalypse Now)  The man can straight out act!

[Zantera]

This would be really hard for me to pick. While I watch all kind of movies, I've found that many of my favorite actors are not necessarily "good" actors. A childhood hero of mine is Arnold Schwarzenegger. I've seen all of his movies, most of them so many times that I can recount his lines, and he is easily one of my favorites. But he's not an "amazing" actor in the traditional sense, so I like him for other reasons. On the other hand, someone like Tom Hanks is a guy I admire for his talents, and I acknowledge that he is an amazing actor, but I wouldn't rank him very high personally, because he's not really a favorite of mine, and the kind of movies he is most known for, is not the kind of movies I love the most.

I think my current 4 favorites would be something like this:

Hugh Jackman (The Prestige, The Fountain, X-Men & sequels, Prisoners)
Kevin Spacey (House of Cards, Usual Suspects, American Beauty, Seven)
Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, The Godfather Part II, Heat)
Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Place Beyond the Pines, Only God Forgives, Blue Valentine)

And I had to leave out a few I really love, such as Tom Hardy, Christian Bale and Arnold. There's many others as well.

[Phoenix87x]

1. Al Pacino
2. Robert De niro
3. Daniel day lewis
4.       Juries out on the 4th one. Got to think about it.

[hefdaddy42]

Wow, I don't know.  I would guess that De Niro and Pacino would be in there, but the other two would be a crapshoot.

[bout to crash]

Um, without thinking too hard about it I'll say Edward Norton, Gael Garcia Bernal, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Natalie Portman.

[TheSilentHam]

Cary Grant
James Stewart
Robert Duvall
Ben Kingsley
(And I want to squeeze Gene Hackman in there somewhere)

Thinking about it more, I would have to replace Kingsley with Katharine Hepburn

[Mister Gold]

Robert Carlyle
Marion Cotillard
Idris Elba
Matthew McConaughey

This would have been impossible for me to do if I let myself pick from any actors ever, so I limited myself to contemporary actors. These four are absolutely incredible talents.

Also, Leonardo DiCaprio once again just missed being included in this group.

[Zydar]

1. Al Pacino
2. Robert De Niro
3. Tom Hanks
4. Clint Eastwood

[Outcrier]

Tatsuya Nakadai (The Human Condition trilogy)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
James Gandolfini (The Sopranos)
Daniel Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood)

[KevShmev]

I hated leaving Pacino off, but I gave De Niro the slight nod over him since Pacino went downhill way sooner than De Niro did.  Granted, I could have put Pacino in off of the strength of the first two Godfather films (his performance in II might be the best ever), but it was a judgment call.  Cranston, Hanks and Gandolfini were all no-brainers, so none of them were being taken off.

[The Dark Master]

So I noticed that when I made my list, all my choices were British.  Hmmmm, I wonder what that says about the quality of English acting schools.... 




Anthony Hopkins - He was a cannibal, a vampire hunter, a president, a werewolf, and the Allfather Odin himself, this man has probably the most commanding presence on screen.  Hell even when he's in bad movies, he's still awesome.  Anthony Hopkins could just read the phonebook and I would be spellbound.


Gary Oldman - Another guy who could nail just about any role given to him, Oldman played Beethoven, Dracula, Commissioner Gordon, a Russian terrorist and exceptionally bizarre business mogul Zorg in the Fifth Element, and who knows what else.  Seriously, this man is a fucking chameleon. 


David Warner - Probably the most under-rated actor of all time, this guy made a name a Dillenger/Sark in the original Tron, but went on to play countless characters in Star Trek (at least 3 throughout the course of the franchise), Titanic,  Dr. Who and has lent his voice to many an animated character, most famously Ra's al-Ghul in the animated and video game versions of Batman.  Sorry, Liam Nesson, but when I think of Ra's, it's David Warner's voice that pops into my head.



Polly Walker - Another British actor relatively unknown to the average American, Polly Walker has attained her notoriety mostly for her work on television shows, although she has appeared in the occasional mainstream American film like Patriot Games.   However, what really put this exceptionally talented (and curvy) woman on my radar was her portrayal of Octavian Caesar's mother Attia on HBO's Rome.  If you haven't seen this show, or her role in it in particular, you have no idea of the lofty heights television acting and storytelling can reach these days.

[Neon]

Not really in any particular order-
Colin Firth, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton

For the women,
Angelina Jolie, Keira Knightley, Kate Winslet, Helena Bonham Carter

[senecadawg2]

3 are relatively easy...

Russell Crowe (Gladiator, Master and Commander, Beautiful Mind, 3:10 to Yuma, Cinderella Man)
Kevin Spacey (Primarily for American Beauty and House of Cards)
James Gandolfiini (for my favorite television performance of all time)

and the 4th is practically impossible
Jack Nicholson, Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman, Robin Williams, Tom Hanks, Sir Ian McKellen, Robert De Niro, oh man I have no idea.

[gmillerdrake]

Gene Hackman.
Denzel Washington
Clint Eastwood
Christian Bale

[TempusVox]

Jimmy Stewart
Jack Lemmon
Tom Hanks
Henry Fonda

[The King in Crimson]

For the men:
Micheal Fassbender
Daniel Day Lewis
Ryan Gosling's Abs
Phillip Seymour Hoffman

For the women:
Jennifer Connelly
Cate Blanchett
Kate Winslet
Jennifer Lawrence

[Scorpion]

Kevin Spacey (Primarily for American Beauty and House of Cards)

I really really really can't decide on four, but good call on Kevin Spacey. I love practically everything of his that I have seen, though my favourite is and remains K-PAX. Man, I have to rewatch that movie.

[KevShmev]

Spacey is another I hated leaving off. 

Fight Club fan, eh, Kath?

[El Barto]

Gregory Peck
Jack Lemmon
Martin Sheen
Teri Garr

[EdenHazard]

[bout to crash]

 

[hefdaddy42]

Not sure how Cranston could be considered a "no-brainer" when talking about greatest actors ever.  Maybe my memory is funny, but before Breaking Bad, I don't remember him EVER being talked about in such glowing fashion.  So for me, his star burning bright is just too recent to talk about like that.

Same for McConaghey (wow, did I butcher that spelling).

[snapple]

Marlon Brando
Christoph Waltz
Paul Giamati

room for one more

[KevShmev]

Not sure how Cranston could be considered a "no-brainer" when talking about greatest actors ever.  Maybe my memory is funny, but before Breaking Bad, I don't remember him EVER being talked about in such glowing fashion.  So for me, his star burning bright is just too recent to talk about like that.

 

I didn't say each person's own personal Mount Rushmore had to necessarily be the greatest actors ever; it could just be your own personal favorites.

Besides, just like Pacino gets into that kind of conversation on the strength of the first two Godfathers alone, Cranston gets into the conversation on the strength of Breaking Bad.

[Tick]

Wow, I don't know.  I would guess that De Niro and Pacino would be in there, but the other two would be a crapshoot.

This for me as well. So many good one from Robert Redford, to Paul Newman, to Jack Nicolson, to a million others.....

[hefdaddy42]

I didn't say each person's own personal Mount Rushmore had to necessarily be the greatest actors ever; it could just be your own personal favorites.

OK.

Besides, just like Pacino gets into that kind of conversation on the strength of the first two Godfathers alone, Cranston gets into the conversation on the strength of Breaking Bad.

  I think that Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Author! Author!, Scarface, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Scent of a Woman would like to have a word with you, not to mention a host of other great performances.

[KevShmev]

Right, but what I am saying is, if Pacino didn't have all of those other performances, and someone wanted to put him on theirs, simply because of Godfather I and II, I'd totally understand why.

[hefdaddy42]

Right, but what I am saying is, if Pacino didn't have all of those other performances, and someone wanted to put him on theirs, simply because of Godfather I and II, I'd totally understand why.

OK, buddy.

[Tick]

I didn't say each person's own personal Mount Rushmore had to necessarily be the greatest actors ever; it could just be your own personal favorites.

OK.

Besides, just like Pacino gets into that kind of conversation on the strength of the first two Godfathers alone, Cranston gets into the conversation on the strength of Breaking Bad.

  I think that Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Author! Author!, Scarface, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Scent of a Woman would like to have a word with you, not to mention a host of other great performances.

and you can't forget to mention, "And Justice For All" Brilliant film!!!

[jingle.boy]

Kinda surprised I'm the first to mention James Spader.

I'll also throw a nod to Pacino, Spacey, and Robin Williams - that guy can do every and anything.

[Cool Chris]

Not sure how Cranston could be considered a "no-brainer" when talking about greatest actors ever.  Maybe my memory is funny, but before Breaking Bad, I don't remember him EVER being talked about in such glowing fashion.

Nice to see David Warner listed. He might be underappreciated, but a stellar career nonetheless.

My personal, not absolute/best ever, list.

William Holden
Steve McQueen
Robert DeNiro
Harrison Ford

[Tick]

 and Robin Williams - that guy can do every and anything.

Besides make a sitcom that doesn't suck!

[hefdaddy42]

I didn't say each person's own personal Mount Rushmore had to necessarily be the greatest actors ever; it could just be your own personal favorites.

OK.

Besides, just like Pacino gets into that kind of conversation on the strength of the first two Godfathers alone, Cranston gets into the conversation on the strength of Breaking Bad.

  I think that Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Author! Author!, Scarface, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Scent of a Woman would like to have a word with you, not to mention a host of other great performances.

and you can't forget to mention, "And Justice For All" Brilliant film!!!

Yeah, I remembered that one too after I typed all of that lol

[El Barto]

Steve McQueen

I considered Steve McQueen.


I was looking at this as favorite actor, rather than best actor. A big part of what makes one my favorite is how they handle themselves off camera. Aside from staring in some of my very favorite films, the folks on my list are highly regarded as just swell individuals. Along with McQueen, I also considered Ustinov and David Niven.

I recall reading somewhere that part of McQueen's hospitality rider was something like 200 pairs of socks and underwear, along with lots of miscellaneous sporting equipment, balls, bats, gloves and such. He'd then quietly drop these off at a local orphanage in whatever town he was filming in.