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Message
re: Is Tom Hanks the GOAT?
Posted on 4/1/14 at 9:39 pm to alajones
Posted on 4/1/14 at 9:39 pm to alajones
quote:quote:
If it's like GOAT actor, master class of acting, uh no. Not even in the ballpark. Top 100 or so, maybe.
you're out of your mind. It wasn't just enough to disagree?
Jim said it well:
quote:
Is the competition open only to men? I think Meryl Streep is better than Hanks, and I love Hanks.
Hanks' best quality is his likeability. His Hanksness shine through in every role. He certainly can deliver quality characters, but you don't see him go too far outside of himself.
To me, he's about on par with Paul Newman, maybe better by a nose, but not much.
Lots of other actors are a little better at providing riveting unique performances where the actor disappears and the character emerges, but they may not have that star quality.
John Torturro is one of many who most readily comes to mind. Of course, he's not a leading man type, but his performances are amazing, movie after movie. The Coens really know how to use this guy!
I think that of the leading man type actors, I still wouldn't put Hanks above Brando or even Hoffman. As great as Hanks is, has he performed a role better than Brando in On the Water Front, or A Streetcar Named Desire, or The Godfather? Or better than Hoffman in The Graduate, Tootsie, or Midnight Cowboy?
I'm not. And I view it like this, in tiers.
There are probably about 5-10 actors who are just out of this world good; I'm talking your Brando's, Mifune's, Daniel Day-Lewis, Kinski, Streep etc. I'd take those guys and girls over Hanks, and there aren't that many at this tier.
Then, there is a large group of actor's actors and method actors. Nicholson, Hoffman, and Seymour-Hoffman, O'Toole, Olivier, Fonda, Hepburn, Stewart, Hopkins, etc. That's a big group, probably another 30-60 actors. This also includes your great side-man. There's a reason John Tuturro (mentioned above) is great. Still, in terms of
quote:
GOAT actor, master class of acting,
all better than Hanks. He's in the third group another 40-100 total of really really good actors who don't stray too far from the center. They are the Hollywood's, they get by on their likability mostly and rarely go outside of that. Hanks, Cruise, Grant, Eastwood, Depp, Crowe, DiCaprio, Costner, Denzel, Bogart etc.
So when you think of:
5-10 untouchables
30-60 actor's actors
40-100 Hollywood's
Hanks is somewhere near the top of the Hollywood group, comfortably within the Top 100 most likely. That's just a rough estimate purely in terms of skill. He's certainly one of the most successful actors to ever walk the planet, but it isn't strictly BECAUSE of his acting ability, merely his ability to be likable to an audience in any and every role.
Make more sense?
This post was edited on 4/1/14 at 10:06 pm
1
Posted on 4/1/14 at 9:42 pm to alajones
quote:
So you could see Kevin Bacon or Colin Firth talking to a volleyball for an hour and a half?
And you can see Tom Hanks thinking about molesting a little girl? No you can't. He can't do it, it's not part of his wheelhouse because his charisma is based on likability. He's never taken a role that really puts him there, and that's probably a smart move, no one would ever by it. That's why his range is limited (arbitrary or not).
On the other hand, Bacon turned in a career performance in that very scenario. Now I wouldn't say Bacon is a better actor, I'd probably put them on the same tier. But there are things that Hanks can't do either. He just isn't equipped for it.
(And The Woodsman might be better than anything Hanks has done FWIW.)
Posted on 4/1/14 at 9:42 pm to LSUTigers1986
No.
Posted on 4/1/14 at 9:46 pm to wartiger2004
quote:
he has made some stinkers.
Volunteers
Bonfire of the Vanities
The Man with One Red Shoe
Joe vs the Volcano
Dragnet
Punchline
Nothing in Common
Every Time We Say Goodbye
Turner & Hooch
Larry Crowne
Money Pit
Ladykillers
Posted on 4/1/14 at 9:50 pm to Freauxzen
All I read was blah blah blah, I hate Tom Hanks.
Let's talk about Brando and DDL. You could see them playing in Philadelphia, but how about Apollo 13, Splash, Dottie Didn't Drop It, or any number of roles that maybe played more off of on screen charisma than character immersion? Is that a trait of a "great" actor (make no mistake, I'm not calling him the GOAT, I'd go top twenty.)?
Let's talk about Brando and DDL. You could see them playing in Philadelphia, but how about Apollo 13, Splash, Dottie Didn't Drop It, or any number of roles that maybe played more off of on screen charisma than character immersion? Is that a trait of a "great" actor (make no mistake, I'm not calling him the GOAT, I'd go top twenty.)?
Posted on 4/1/14 at 9:51 pm to League Champs
Nothing in Common doesn't belong on that list.
And I am one of the few that thought Ladykiller's was really funny.
And I am one of the few that thought Ladykiller's was really funny.
Posted on 4/1/14 at 9:58 pm to alajones
quote:
Nothing in Common doesn't belong on that list.
Rotten tomatoes
quote:
43% of users liked it
Posted on 4/1/14 at 10:06 pm to tigerfan in bamaland
quote:
Daniel Day Lewis
The go-to answer for mindless lemmings.
Is he a great actor? Sure.
Let's take a look at his relevant films from the past 15 years:
Lincoln- blew arse
There will be Blood-
Gangs of New York- kicked arse, his best role and it's not even close imo.
Last of the Mohicans- awesome movie, but his acting wasn't really a major factor.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being- never seen it
The Crucible- never seen it
My Left Foot- never seen it, heard good things.
Picking quality over quantity is respectable, but the roles he's been nominated for would have received critical praise no matter who played the characters, with the exception of Bill the Butcher, which he didn't even win anything for.
Posted on 4/1/14 at 10:09 pm to League Champs
quote:
he has made some stinkers.quote:
Turner & Hooch
who doesn't like Turner and Hooch?
This post was edited on 4/1/14 at 10:12 pm
Posted on 4/1/14 at 10:10 pm to ManBearTiger
He was amazing in The Crucible. But let's give credit to Arthur Miller as well and Tennessee Williams for one of Brando's signature moments.
Posted on 4/1/14 at 10:28 pm to alajones
quote:
All I read was blah blah blah, I hate Tom Hanks.
Come on, that was a pretty good explanation. Like I said, if we're talking "Hollywood" actors, he's tops. If we're talking like range and pure skill, he's solidly above average, but that's about as far as I would go. quote:
Let's talk about Brando and DDL. You could see them playing in Philadelphia, but how about Apollo 13, Splash, Dottie Didn't Drop It, or any number of roles that maybe played more off of on screen charisma than character immersion?
See here:
quote:quote:
So you could see Kevin Bacon or Colin Firth talking to a volleyball for an hour and a half?
And you can see Tom Hanks thinking about molesting a little girl? No you can't. He can't do it, it's not part of his wheelhouse because his charisma is based on likability. He's never taken a role that really puts him there, and that's probably a smart move, no one would ever by it. That's why his range is limited (arbitrary or not).
On the other hand, Bacon turned in a career performance in that very scenario. Now I wouldn't say Bacon is a better actor, I'd probably put them on the same tier. But there are things that Hanks can't do either. He just isn't equipped for it.
(And The Woodsman might be better than anything Hanks has done FWIW.)
quote:
Is that a trait of a "great" actor (make no mistake, I'm not calling him the GOAT, I'd go top twenty.)?
This is a better argument and there's a place for it to be made. I don't think it matters. I think portrayal, the ability to become someone else, is more important, and I find those characters, and those actors, far ore interesting. To each his own on that one.
I had this same debate not long ago with a friend and I said something to the effect of this:
I feel like all of Tom Hanks' roles are in the same family. That Josh is a younger, less grizzled Jimmy Dugan. That Jimmy is a cousin to Carl Henratty and Chuck Noland. And on and on. When I look at someone like Brando, his roles aren't from the same planet, much less the same family.
Is there something to be said for that? Maybe, there's a discussion to be had that being able to keep a recognizable core amongst so many roles. I'd be hard pressed to understand how, as I frame that more as an inability to portray different personas.
Posted on 4/1/14 at 10:30 pm to ManBearTiger
quote:
Lincoln- blew arse
Say what you want about Lincoln the movie, DDL's performance in that movie was awesome.
quote:
There will be Blood
As with Lincoln, say what you want about the film but you can't deny his performance was amazing.
quote:
Gangs of New York
One of Martin Scorsese's weaker movies, a 6.5/10 from me, but no one can deny how awesome DDL was in that movie. He should have won the Oscar.
Posted on 4/1/14 at 10:33 pm to Freauxzen
quote:
Like I said, if we're talking "Hollywood" actors, he's tops. If we're talking like range and pure skill, he's solidly above average, but that's about as far as I would go.
This is exactly my opinion on Tom Hanks. For years he was my favorite actor, not because of his abilities, but because of his likability. I'd still put him up there on my list but I don't have a current #1 right now.
Posted on 4/1/14 at 10:35 pm to LSUTigers1986
Tom Hanks is my favorite actor. The Burbs FTW
Posted on 4/1/14 at 10:40 pm to RollTide1987
I think it is impossible to name a GOAT actor. I saw F Murray Abraham play the best MacBeth ever live on stage but let's not act like he has been a constant invitee to the Oscars. Why do I bring that up, not sure.
Posted on 4/1/14 at 10:47 pm to League Champs
quote:
quote:
he has made some stinkers.
Volunteers
Bonfire of the Vanities
The Man with One Red Shoe
Joe vs the Volcano
Dragnet
Punchline
Nothing in Common
Every Time We Say Goodbye
Turner & Hooch
Larry Crowne
Money Pit
Ladykillers
Shut yer mouth. Joe v. the Volcano is gold.
Posted on 4/1/14 at 11:06 pm to alajones
quote:
I saw F Murray Abraham play the best MacBeth ever live on stage but let's not act like he has been a constant invitee to the Oscars. Why do I bring that up, not sure.
Classic case of serious acting chops, but either a lack of confidence to follow through or a terrible agent/ability to choose roles. When he turns it on, he's an excellent actor.
Posted on 4/1/14 at 11:10 pm to alajones
It's a good point. If we're talking Actors, of course he's not the GOAT. If we're talking movie stars,hell, he has to be near the top. I wouldn't say GOAT, though. Has Hanks ever done Broadway?
Posted on 4/1/14 at 11:12 pm to Freauxzen
He definitely never did anything approaching Amadeus again.
Guess we need to start an F. Murray Abraham thread.
Guess we need to start an F. Murray Abraham thread.
Posted on 4/1/14 at 11:17 pm to JuiceTerry
Stage acting is a totally different animal. I noticed when I was a teenager that movies before the 60's or so were essentially plays done in front of a camera. Timing was much more important back then just like in plays. Now, I'd say body language and chemistry play much bigger to movie audiences.
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