5 Best Living Actors?

[Disco Hippie]

With the exception of Cage, no arguments with anyone previously mentioned.   I'd add two additional names that warrant consideration in top 5:

Robert Downey Jr.
Sean Penn

[MU82]

Not seeing mention of these greats:
Morgan Freeman
Anthony Hopkins
Samuel L Jackson
Micheal Caine
Kevin Bacon

I like all those guys ... but I don't think they're as great as those I named.

Others:

Sally Field, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Leo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Christian Bale, Joaquin Phoenix, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Russell Crowe, Jody Foster, Julie Andrews, Glenn Close, Halle Berry, Ralph Fiennes, Travolta ... so many others.

Many of the above had one or more incredible star turns but they aren't Streep and Nicholson or De Niro.

Gladiator is one of my all-time faves. Crowe and especially Phoenix were absolutely amazing, and both have done some other very good work beyond that. Where does either (or both) of them rank?

And, of course, Nikki Cage.

[Lighthouse 84]

Any list without Bobby Redford isn't much of a list either...

[jficke13]

It's an absolute dang shame that Chadwick Boseman was disqualified from contention.

[Billy Hoyle]

Before I lock in my answer, are we talking best based on body of work, or based on currently, as several on your list are way past their prime.

Edit: I would put Christian Bale in there if we are talking about recent/current instead of Kingsley.  Also, while going down this rabbit hole, I didn't realize Jami Gertz was a billionaire.

damn, she's really moved on from her phone sex days.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Who ya got?

I think I'd go with:

5)  Kingsley
4)  Pacino
3) Hackman
2) Nicholson
1) D-D-L

Took me a while to figure out DDL.  Only ne I could come up with was Dom Deluise....😂

[Herman Cain]

Christy Canyon
Candy Samples
Chloe Vevrier
John Holmes
Peter North

[MuggsyB]

Took me a while to figure out DDL.  Only ne I could come up with was Dom Deluise....😂

Lol Ziggy.  You are forgiven as long as you drink someone else's milkshake.

[JWags85]

Not seeing mention of these greats:
Morgan Freeman
Anthony Hopkins
Samuel L Jackson
Micheal Caine
Kevin Bacon

I love Samuel L as much as the rest, but he's someone who isn't really diverse.  He does a few things really well and he's certainly endearing and a major portion of modern movie history, but putting him alongside the Michael Caines and Hopkins of the world seems kind of ridiculous. Like putting Vince Carter in the same breath as MJ, Lebron, and Kareem.

Gladiator is one of my all-time faves. Crowe and especially Phoenix were absolutely amazing, and both have done some other very good work beyond that. Where does either (or both) of them rank?

Russell Crowe is an odd one.  He had a run from like 99-02 that was amazing.  The Insider, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind...but the rest of his career has kind of been hit or miss.  Given his weight gains and all the stories about his excess in his personal life, inconsistency doesn't seem surprising.
(speaking of Gladiator and excess, the story of Oliver Reed's untimely death during filming is ALL TIME)

As for younger guys, I'll toss in Tom Hardy.  He's my personal favorite and someone who is remarkably consistent.  Unfortunately Capone was a disaster, which is rare, cause his last decade since 2010 has been UNREAL. Inception, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, lead in Mad Max, Bane in Dark Knight Rises, Legend, Dunkirk, and the Revenent.  Starring roles in all those he didn't have the lead. Plus Venom, for all the criticisms, is worth watching for his performance alone.

That's not even mentioning his TV work on Taboo, which was his personal brainchild and was fantastic, and absolutely STEALING every scene from an incredible cast as Alfie in Peaky Blinders

[Lighthouse 84]

Christy Canyon
Candy Samples
Chloe Vevrier
John Holmes
Peter North

I thought the list had to include living actors??

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

As for younger guys, I'll toss in Tom Hardy.  He's my personal favorite and someone who is remarkably consistent.  Unfortunately Capone was a disaster, which is rare, cause his last decade since 2010 has been UNREAL. Inception, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, lead in Mad Max, Bane in Dark Knight Rises, Legend, Dunkirk, and the Revenent.  Starring roles in all those he didn't have the lead. Plus Venom, for all the criticisms, is worth watching for his performance alone.

That's not even mentioning his TV work on Taboo, which was his personal brainchild and was fantastic, and absolutely STEALING every scene from an incredible cast as Alfie in Peaky Blinders

Great call. He's one of the few actors that I will go see something just because he's in it

[MU82]

As for younger guys, I'll toss in Tom Hardy.  He's my personal favorite and someone who is remarkably consistent.  Unfortunately Capone was a disaster, which is rare, cause his last decade since 2010 has been UNREAL. Inception, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, lead in Mad Max, Bane in Dark Knight Rises, Legend, Dunkirk, and the Revenent.  Starring roles in all those he didn't have the lead. Plus Venom, for all the criticisms, is worth watching for his performance alone.

That's not even mentioning his TV work on Taboo, which was his personal brainchild and was fantastic, and absolutely STEALING every scene from an incredible cast as Alfie in Peaky Blinders

Nice call. Hell of an actor.

[PGsHeroes32]

Leo's consistency is tough to top. The guy is almost always excellent.

And I don't see him going the cash grab don't care route that DeNiro and Pacino went late.

[JWags85]

Leo's consistency is tough to top. The guy is almost always excellent.

And I don't see him going the cash grab don't care route that DeNiro and Pacino went late.

I think it's too early to tell.  When Pacino and DeNiro were Leo's age, they were still not yet to some of their most acclaimed and iconic roles.  Leo probably won't get divorced like them, so that will help, but it's not like the man doesn't like spending money on fancy stuff.  Will be interesting when he can't sit back and pick tasty Scorsese roles to pad his resume and bank account every other year or so.

[Hards Alumni]

Great call. He's one of the few actors that I will go see something just because he's in it

Same, and you can add Cillian Murphy to that list as well.

[CTWarrior]

1.  Robert Duvall
2.  Daniel Day Lewis
3.  Robert Deniro
4.  Tom Hanks
5.  Christian Bale

Honorable mentions:  Brendan Gleason, Morgan Freeman, Mark Rylance, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey

[PGsHeroes32]

I think it's too early to tell.  When Pacino and DeNiro were Leo's age, they were still not yet to some of their most acclaimed and iconic roles.  Leo probably won't get divorced like them, so that will help, but it's not like the man doesn't like spending money on fancy stuff.  Will be interesting when he can't sit back and pick tasty Scorsese roles to pad his resume and bank account every other year or so.

It's unlikely. Everyone tries to get him on board their projects he doesn't need Scorsese, its just an asset since he became Martins new DeNiro.

Adam Mckay worked with Leo for months rewriting the main role in Don't Look Up just so that Leo would sign on.

And it's unlikely he will ever do anything close to War on Grandpa or any of that trash. This is a guy who won't even sign on with Marvel for money that would last 50 lifetimes.

[JWags85]

It's unlikely. Everyone tries to get him on board their projects he doesn't need Scorsese, its just an asset since he became Martins new DeNiro.

Adam Mckay worked with Leo for months rewriting the main role in Don't Look Up just so that Leo would sign on.

And it's unlikely he will ever do anything close to War on Grandpa or any of that trash. This is a guy who won't even sign on with Marvel for money that would last 50 lifetimes.

Sure, but again, at Leo's age, DeNiro had just made Midnight Run and would be making Cape Fear, Goodfellas, and Awakenings and directing A Bronx Tale in the next 2-3 years.  Nobody would have predicted he had Dirty Grandpa in his future.

[The Sultan]

So the questions are, did the quintessential "DeNiro roles" just dry up for him as he got older?  Has the movie industry changed to the point that those type of movies just aren't made as often?  Does he really care about his legacy as an actor, or does he just want to stay busy and collect paychecks?

[PGsHeroes32]

Sure, but again, at Leo's age, DeNiro had just made Midnight Run and would be making Cape Fear, Goodfellas, and Awakenings and directing A Bronx Tale in the next 2-3 years.  Nobody would have predicted he had Dirty Grandpa in his future.

Definitely.

But more so to the point is I think Leo is being underlooked simply because of his age. He started much earlier. He has the resume with no signs of slowing down. And all we have to go off right now with him, is he turns down basically anything that isn't at least somewhat Oscar bait.

And even more my point wasnt really a Leo vs DeNiro both are legends and will forever be legends.

But we got people signing off on Tom Hardy. I loooooove Hardy and he is fantastic as an actor. Liked him more in Revenant than I did Leo.

But body of work? Leo has him beat pretty good with more diversity to his roles.

A topic like this is going to have a pretty wide range of opinions and criteria. You got the older legends winding down their careers and more of the current day stars.

[cheebs09]

Yea, I guess the question is are we discussing Top 5 actor resumes? Or if we were going to shoot a movie tomorrow, who would we classify as Top 5 actors?

I'm not nearly well-versed in this to have much of an opinion. Matt Damon seems like someone who he had a diverse career that is usually pretty good.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

But we got people signing off on Tom Hardy. I loooooove Hardy and he is fantastic as an actor. Liked him more in Revenant than I did Leo.

But body of work? Leo has him beat pretty good with more diversity to his roles.

As one of the people who signed off on Hardy, he's not close to my top 5. I'm just recognizing a young guy who has the potential to get there. Hasn't earned it yet.

[JWags85]

As one of the people who signed off on Hardy, he's not close to my top 5. I'm just recognizing a young guy who has the potential to get there. Hasn't earned it yet.

Agreed.  I think Hardy is someone who isnt quite there, but somehow remains quite underrated.  Of note, DiCaprio was a child actor and on the radar and getting leading roles already in his early 20s.  Hardy had a longer, more traditional route and didn't really break into starring roles into his early 30s, besides being a bit younger.

But we'll see.  Hardy has shown a tendency to stick to roles that interest him, not necessarily Oscar bait, but certainly not run of the mill stuff.  I don't expect him to ever be truly prolific.

[buckchuckler]

And, of course, Nikki Cage.

Duh!  How could I miss that one.  Well done sir.

[MuggsyB]

Hoffman and Spacey have a lot of strong performances over their careers.  Of course they seemingly have major probs off screen. 

As far as Leo D he's very good at what he does but he always gets the best parts.  And that's to his credit. At the same time I see D-D-L and Nicholson at a completely different level.  Here's a name I'll throw out there:  Jeff Bridges?