We've done this topic before but it's been a while.   My favorite actor is Jack Nicholson.  I always liked him.  After watching The Shining I realized he was my favorite.  He played a man slowly going mad to perfection. 
    I often wonder what A Few Good Men would have been like with someone else playing the role of Col. Jessup.  It probably would have been a watchable but very forgettable little bit of nothing.  Nicholson was brilliant in that role and amped up the power a thousand times.  "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!"
     My favorite actress is Emmy Rossum.  Most of you who know of her do so through her role as Fiona Gallagher in Shameless.  For those not familiar with the show, she plays a Chicago ghetto girl in a White trash family.  In one of the later seasons, maybe season nine, her world falls apart and Fiona succumbs to her alcoholism.  She becomes a very mean, belligerent, and often violent drunk and Emmy plays the role to perfection.   
    The first time I saw her was in a movie I watched with my late wife Marie.  It was yet another version of Phantom of the Opera made in 2004.  Emmy Rossum played the lead character. Though a Chick Flick, it was very well done and I enjoyed it.  I few weeks afterward I was blown away when I read that she was only seventeen when she played that role.  Amazing!
   Anyway, those are my favorites.  Who are yours?

My favorite living actor is Gary Oldman. I also love Vigo Mortensen not just for his Aragorn role but for several others. Truth is, even though hes a great actor, I probably just like him so much for the man as opposed to the actor.

Favorite dead actor is Heath Ledger. Gone far too soon.

I like actors who can disappear into the role. Essentially the opposite of George Clooney. No one that Ive seen does that better than Gary Oldman.

Chriatian Bale is also very good. Love him or hate him, the guy takes his craft seriously.

As for actresses Cate Blanchett is quite good. I like to pretend she was never in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Cash Grab. But its fine we all make mistakes. Julia Roberts was a favorite of mine as well though admittedly with very little range compared to some.

Ok, heres a controversial one...Mel Gibson. The guy is frankly a genius and Im not afraid to say it. He just becomes a monster when drinking. But again many a good person has struggled with that. Talent-wise as an actor and director he is just amazing.

Patrick Stewart is one of the best as is Ian McKellen. I dont know there are too many come to think of it.

I'm going to go obscure. Joe Gilgun. He played Woody in This is England (one of my favourite films) and the subsequent series. He also played Rudy in Misfits (a fantastic TV series that did kind of lose it but was still quality). Why do I like him? He managed to play silly jokey characters that could then turn and have those emotional moments that rip your heart out. He plays the clown perfectly and then can also have that depth that elevates the character far past a clown. He's a genius.

Tilda Swinton is one of the greatest living actors. She could play anyone and absolutely nail it.

Morphy wrote on Apr 7^th, 2021 at 5:43pm:

Ok, heres a controversial one...Mel Gibson. The guy is frankly a genius and Im not afraid to say it. He just becomes a monster when drinking. But again many a good person has struggled with that. Talent-wise as an actor and director he is just amazing.

In real life Mel Gibson is an ass.  But there is no denying that he puts together an Action movie as well as anyone alive. 

Rat Man wrote on Apr 8^th, 2021 at 8:51am:

Morphy wrote on Apr 7th, 2021 at 5:43pm: Ok, heres a controversial one...Mel Gibson. The guy is frankly a genius and Im not afraid to say it. He just becomes a monster when drinking. But again many a good person has struggled with that. Talent-wise as an actor and director he is just amazing. In real life Mel Gibson is an ass.  But there is no denying that he puts together an Action movie as well as anyone alive.

Yes, and if we didnt seperate the actors work from their personal life I suspect I would not be able to watch a single movie. Most of them are insufferable. But the guy is a flat out genius when it comes to his craft.