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solomonsprayer -> RE: Who Is Most Talented Actor & Actress in Hollywood? (9/1/2008 8:28:11 AM)
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Hmm, Morgan Freeman is fantastic, but I don't feel he has had his range necessarily tested.
He always seems to play the benevolent, good-hearted, and wise old man type. He feels like the same character over and over a lot of times.
The only time I recall him being evil was in "Wanted." But I thought that movie was terrible and his character not well done. I'm nto saying he couldn't show good range, but that he hasn't been tested.
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That leads me to the point that I think the most talented actors and actresses should have good skills that enable them to morph into a character so naturally that they are unrecognizable as themselves, but instead as the character. But even better than that is to do and prove it many times and across a broad range of characters (good, evil, middle of the road, funny, serious, intelligent, etc.)...
Using that definition, I think Morgan Freeman has been around quite a lot and played in various types of movies, but his characters themselves seem to be mostly the same within those different movies. And even within those movies, he sometimes seems to just be Morgan Freeman or the same guy from other movies...I don't see him as having his ranged tested, nor having to try wildly different and/or difficult roles outisde of what he has always done/been - the kind-hearted, wise, benevolent old guy. I would love to see him play, for example, a borderline good/bad character who has to confront serious moral dilemmas and has a bunch of intense scenes.....Hmmmm...I guess he did that in "Seven." ...Ok, he's good. But just more recently it seems like he's over-used in movies and mostly in the same or highly similar capacity, so that I can no longer distinguish him between a current role and that of another.... [8|][sm=aside.gif][sm=icon_smile_faint.gif]
People who I think fit my super criteria would be:
#1: Russell Crow (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man, The Insider, 3:10 to Yuma)
-----Awesome range...from uber man's man to nerdy, crazy professor to emotionally sensitive and warm-hearted boxer down-on-his-luck, to border-line businessman, to evil, cunning, yet likeable/funny town bully/villain. [sm=thumbsup.gif]
Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic, The Aviator, Blood Diamond, The Departed, Catch Me If You Can, The Beach)
-----His films always seem epic to me, but nevertheless awesome characters you become immersed in. [sm=purplelaugh.gif]
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight, Brokeback Mountain, Casanova, A Knight's Tale, The Patriot)
-----Doesn't his Joker performance automatically make him one of most talented? [sm=biggrin.gif]
.......For women, I've always respected Jodie Foster, Scarleet Johansson, Thora Birch, Charlize Theron, Julia Roberts,.....I'm not familiar with Meryl Streep that others mentioned, but now I'm curious enough to check out her work. [;)]
(One very underrated element of acting that is often overlooked is that of comedy...it really is a hard to do it well ...and I'm not a good judge of it so my ratings probably give more weight to serious type actors. [:)] ....also I'm not that familiar with the older generation of actors - like guys over 45.)
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