re: Is Tom Hanks considered one of the best actors of all time?

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overrated film actors, great stage actors

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James Cagney is a bad example. If there's one actor from old Hollywood who was way ahead of their time and had an acting style that would fit in well today, it was James Cagney. When I watch him on screen, I see another Brando, De Niro, Pacino. He was like a current-day actor the way he delivered his lines, the inflections in his voice, his mannerisms, the facial expressions, the intensity that he displayed on screen. His characters were legitimately frightening on-screen which is pretty rare for characters from those times. Cagney was also by far the most versatile actor from his era. I agree with you that a lot of actors from those days wouldn't make it today but Cagney would definitely still be successful in this era.

..I'd personally love to see Hanks as an "ax wielding maniac" at least once in his career.

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You rate him over Raines and Burton? Give me a fricking break.

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Over Burton easily - Raines I'll give it a push.
Both could pull off comedy and drama.

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You must not be familiar with Nicholson's early work. You're right about him not showing a lot of range in recent years but his characters in Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces were completely different from his usual roles. He also gave a legendary performance in Chinatown so you're off about OFOTCN being his only great performance. I'm not saying Nicholson is as great as De Niro. He certainly isn't but you're not giving him enough credit if you think he's on the same level as Tom Hanks. Nicholson's a far better actor than Hanks could ever dream of being.

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I was going to say the exact same thing. Nicholson is low tier of modern great actors, but he has more great performances than other celebrated stars like Hanks.

He has slipped in recent years admittedly.

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You think in Philadelphia, Cast away, Big, and Forrest Gump he played the same character?

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Of course not. They all had different names. They were all within the realm of the same larger persona despite their different situations. I never said they were the same character.

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DeNiro? Really? He plays the exact same character in every movie he's ever been in.

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Like Nicholson, in modern times, there's no argument against that. But Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, GF2, etc.

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Brando is a great movie star as well. People go to a movie to see him in it. I would use your exact description of Tom Hanks for Brando.

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It's not an insult against Hank. Brando is one of the very very few who's skill transcends his fame.

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How can you say those are completely different "lose yourself" roles, but Cast Away, Big, Philidelphia, and Forrest Gump are merely adaptations of the same persona?

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Cast Away was really just a more mature Josh Baskins lost on an island. He wasn't a different character. It's very clear if you watch both films.

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Philidelphia

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Is Hank's best performance I won't debate that this one film is outside of his comfort zone, but it's one of three.

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Forrest Gump

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Is an up and down performance, and a bit of a caricature. Hoffman's performance was better, more nuanced. It was slightly outside of his comfort, I'l give you that, but there's still a lot of Hanks in there.

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I didnt think of it that way.

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Yeah but coming back with Brando was kind of a reaction against the Hanks comments.

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Brando is a great movie star

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Brando is a great actor, that's not even up for debate.

Only movie I ever liked that he made was Lady Killers .Am I deranged ?

1 Robert De Niro
Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Godfather II and Goodfellas
2 Al Pacino
Scent of a Woman ,Godfather, Scarface and The Devil's Advocate
3 Marlon Brando
A Streetcar Named Desire, The Godfather and Apocalypse Now
4 James Stewart
Harvey, It’s a Wonderful Life, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rear Window, and How the West was Won
5 Henry Fonda
Once Upon a Time in the West, The Grapes of Wrath, Mister Roberts, Cheyenne Social Club, and 12 Angry Men.
6 Jack Nicholson
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Five Easy Pieces, Carnal Knowledge, and Chinatown
7 Daniel Day-Lewis
Lincoln, Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood
8 Johnny Depp
Edward Scissorhands, Pirates, Ed Wood and Donnie Brasco
9 Anthony Hopkins
Silence of the Lambs, Remains of the Day and The Elephant Man
10 Paul Newman
The Sting, The Hustler, Butch Cassidy, Cool Hand Luke, and Hud
11 Michael Caine
Alfie, Sleuth, Miss Congeniality, The Italian Job, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and The Dark Knight
12 Sean Connery
Highlander, Bond, Hunt for Red October, and Indiana Jones
13 Dustin Hoffman
Rain Man, Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, Papillon and Tootsie
14 Cary Grant
Operation Petticoat, To Catch a Thief, His Girl Friday, Arsenic and Old Lace and North by Northwest
15 Clint Eastwood
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the Man With No Name, Dirty Harry and Unforgiven.
16 Gregory Peck
To Kill a Mockingbird, MacArthur, The Omen, Roman Holiday and Gentlemen's Agreement
17 Gene Hackman
Hoosiers, No Way Out, The French Connection, Bonnie and Clyde, and The Conversation
18 Peter Sellers
Dr. Strangelove. Pink Panther, and Being There
19 Tom Hanks
Big, Splash, Philadelphia and Forrest Gump