Who do you think is the most talented actor/actress that you've seen?

[bumblebeewine]

For me, it's Pamela Rabe. So underrated but so immensely brilliant. Also think Jessica Lange is amazing.

Who do you think is the most talented actor/actress you've ever watched?

@WinniePig yes Cracker! Exceptional! Good reminder!

@scruffymac I don't think Daniel Day-Lewis has played Bobby Sands unless I am mistaken.

I can't believe people are saying Juliette Stevenson. She was in an old Marple we were watching yesterday. She plays the same part in everything. Awful.

Was also bowled over by Suranne Jones in Stage production of A Few Good Men. She acted Rob Lowe off the stage!

I remember being blown away by a scene she did in Corrie when Adam was a boy. I can't remember what the scene was but it was quite dramatic and very believable. I'll watch anything she's in.

And female actors, Meryl Steep, Helen Mirren, Gillian Anderson, Ruth Negga and Holly Hunter to name but a few.

Thinking about this some more, I wonder if the best-acted film I’ve seen was Doubt. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Viola Davis were all brilliant. Amy Adams was very good too, but she didn’t have such a complex role.

You are right, once again I've confused him with Michael Fassbender 😂

Robert Hardy as Siegfried Farnon

Yes! He used to annoy the hell out of me when he was making poor James do all the hard work. Another very believable one.

At the risk of sounding like a dick, have you ever seen him on the stage? I think he absolutely has that.
Not seen him on stage, nor would I pay money to do so as I've seen enough of him on TV to decide that he's overrated. And I also thoroughly disliked his 'Hamlet'.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one: Just goes to prove what I said about acting being highly subjective!

@Scruffymac

You are right, once again I've confused him with Michael Fassbender 😂

Michael Fassbender was everywhere a couple of years ago. A lot of talk about how he was the new Daniel Day Lewis and the like. But he seems to have faded from view in the past few years. I guess he had a string of flops and the 'shine' kind of wore off him, as it does very quickly in Hollywood. Same with his wife Alicia Vikander. She was to be the next big thing but we've not heard much of her since her Oscar win.

@bumblebeewine

For me, it's Pamela Rabe. So underrated but so immensely brilliant. Also think Jessica Lange is amazing.

Who do you think is the most talented actor/actress you've ever watched?

Pamela Rabe is f#cking terrifying! She's a genius.

Phil Davis is always a treat too.

@Elderflower14

Agatha Christie met JH when she was a lot younger and told that she hoped one day that JH would play Miss Marple... I think Margaret Rutherford overdid it...

JH played a maid in one of the B&W Rutherford Marples.

I loved her in the Carry On Film when they put her knickers up the flagpole!! 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

I do think Leonardo DiCaprio is a good actor.

Brad Pitt, although very watchable, to me always plays Brad Pitt. Like Jonny Depp is very good at what he does, but he's always Jonny Depp.

@kevinbacone I first saw Peter Mullan in a brilliant drama called This Little Life... A couples baby born early.. He played the paediatrician... I was a sobbing mess at the end.... 😔 😔 😔

Have you seen Brad Pitt in Kaliforinia and Too Young To Die? Very different roles for him and I think he plays them well.

I agree @TimeTruthandHearts some actors seem to add bits to themselves, and are fairly charismatic, so that shines through, if you like them. Other actors seem like quicksilver, they morph and really do seem to become a different person for a while - amazing to watch.

I think Meryl Streep is like this - for me anyway - I know she’s really good as in technical - very good at the little habits and subtleties - but for me she is always Meryl Streep and quite a strong forcefulness about her as a person that is always there.

Daniel Day Lewis really does seem to be different people though, it’s remarkable.

Op I've only just read your first post and it made me laugh because I purely opened this thread to say Jessica Lange! She's sensational in American Horror Story. As is Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett.

Jessica Lange and Viola Davis are amazing.

I saw Noma Dumezweni in a play just before she got cast as Hermione in HP and the Cursed Child. She was astonishing.

Oh! Forgot Brian Cranston!!!

A lot of the actors mentioned are 50+, so I’m going to mention a few young actors.

Aidan Gallagher in Umbrella Academy. Truly talented child actors are rare, and you can genuinely believe he’s a 50 year old man trapped in the body of a 13 year old boy.

Noah Schnapp (Will in Stranger Things) is the most underrated in the cast IMO. His performances have been wonderful, but he tends to get overlooked compared to the rest of the cast.

Florence Pugh is brilliant in everything she has been in.

Julie Walters. Hands down.

'A lot of people on this thread have mentioned David Tennant, but I don't rate him at all'

I think hes well over rated as well. Hes pretty, and seems like a LOVELY bloke, but I dont think hes that great an actor. Never seen him on stage, so I take that point

'Thinking about this some more, I wonder if the best-acted film I’ve seen was Doubt'

Really stunning film. Was on the edge of my seat throughout. Phillip Seymour Hoffman really was one of those actors that elevated anything he was in. And Meryl gets all the plaudits but she deserves every one. Ditto Viola Davis. A fabulous film, well worth seeking out if you haven't seen it

@Elderflower14 thanks, I'll seek that one out. He's an amazing actor. Doesn't really need to speak, his expression says it all.