Your Favorite Male Actors...and Why?

I have one, and only one, and was the one actor who made me want to get into acting.

Robin Williams, because we had so much in common.

 

On a lighter note:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Jean Claude Van Damme
Steven Seagal

 

Not actors.They are action hero's. They may be paid up in the Screen Actors Guiild,
but no serious Film critic is ever gonna suggest either one for an Academy Award.
It's kinda like saying a UFC contender is a Prize fighting Boxer.
Bruce Lee was good and tough.But he was No Boxer,let alone any actor.
Nor was Kareem Abdul Jabbar.Or O.J.Simpson.
If you must have an action hero as actor ... try Rutger Hauer

 

It depends on what your definition of "is" is. See my signature:

 

Some consider " B " movie females ... not actual actress.
Because they are used in cheesecake roles.I could make the
case that Johnny Weissmuller wasn't an actor { The most popular Tarzan }
where Buster Crabbe { Another original Tarzan } was an actor.
Being an actor means studying acting and reading for parts and auditioning.
Not some Stunt man extra who decides to get into acting.Even though some good actors
did just that.

 

One of my favorites...Clint Eastwood all the way from 'Rawhide' to the Italian westerns to Dirty Harry to Bronco Billy....Very versatile and now... a director/producer..

 

Gee I dunno ... Of course I know.I lied.Versailty and Eastwood go together like a
cup of hot chocolate and a .45 Magnum. Like riding a horse and wearing
khaki pants and a Hawaiian shirt.Oh ! and having some bikini clad babe
behind. He's just not one given to dialogue.Whenever he did talk in most
movies it was dry and rehearsed and hardly ever spontaneous.
Plus his facial expressions { countenance } are so choreographed as to seem
cartoonish.He has literally No acting chops.He's more a macho-type stunt man
given a role.I can't see him carrying a Broadway role.He was made for the
easy takes on camera.But I do like his macho roles,more so because Doris
Day once commented she likes watching his movies.Good for her,good enough
for me.Probably had more to do with living close as neighbors.
When I was in my 20's I couldn't stomach Eastwood.I thought he was a
pencil neck skinny prick.I coulda knocked him down off his feet, like in
nothing flat.I was a wrestler in high school.

 

Well...All that being said, I like all his movies. No he's not an 'actor's actor' so what? He's in movies, he plays roles...He's an actor and one of my favorites. Every actor has 'that thing' they do that separates them from other actors.

 

Tom Hanks because of his versatility as an actor.

Robert Downey Jr. A great comeback story!

Bradley Cooper, good looks and makes some damn good movies.

Seth Rogen is an excellent screenwriter and has taken part in some of the fumiest movies as of late.

Keanu Reeves, underrated but an actor from my generation that just resonates with me.

That is a good start.

 

My point being ... then.Don't make the case as to Clint Eastwoods VERSATILITY !
He is not now nor ever's been a Versatile Actor.In fact,most character actors have
to display versatility.From played the heavy to maybe a buddy-buddy sidekick
good guy.The list of Non-leading men who are great actors based on being
very good character actors is very long.I like Acting.I really don't care much at all
for action movies because that to me is not acting.My favorite Film genre is and
always had been Drama.Which takes keen awareness to one's dialogue as well
facial expressions and ability to move other cast members with the power of
Dramatics.Not some Gun or fake stunts carrying a scene.Virtually Clint Eastwood's
entire career is enhanced and dominated by fakish theatrics.

 

Tom Hardy, &Jack O'Connell of the folks still alive and regularly working.

 

Have you seen Bronco Billy?

 

Williams was far more diverse than just Comedic genius.
A favorite of mine that was rarely ever shown or critiqued was ... :
- Seize the Day - { 1986 }. It was a very good drama.Williams played the
character { a frenzied desperate person in need of funds and moral support }.
Plus his many roles as a therapist or Teachers aid like :
- Good Will Hunting -
- Dead Poets Society -
- The Fischer King - and
one that is also rarely shown ... :
- One Hour Photo - { 2002 } where in real life he might have suffered that
sort of Depression.
Somehow Robin Williams { the very perky funnyman } was suffering inside.
I'm reminded of the Great Black Vaudevillain who the New York Times called
" one of the greatest comedians of the world. " He often did Minstrel pantomime.
W.C.Fields,who was friends with Williams described Bert as " the funniest man I ever
saw and the saddest man I ever knew ".

 

Just bits and pieces.The title is stupid.I don't like those type movies.
One reason is my father.He had no concept whatever about good from
bad movies.He liked Burt Reynolds movies,Because they were macho and
dopey.I never could sit down and watch a movie with my old man.He had
no ability to understand powerful drama.Or a good novel.As a Family unit
we did all enjoy going to the movie theatre to watch - It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World -.

 

First of all I am going to git on My Film Critic High horse.
Because I know,appreciate and even Love Good Film.
Therefore when I mention a favorite Actor { a favorite .... NOT The Actor }
I am and have for many years given this much thought.
I am going to say,or list tonight ... Fredric March.
He possessed practically all the right stuff when it came to acting.I think
believability was his strongest suit.I doubt he's ever had a weak showing.
From his 30's blockbuster - A Star is Born - and even before - Les Miserables -
to - The Best Years of Our Lives - he just kept getting better with age.Like
Fine Wine. One of my favorites is a little known gem - Middle of the Night - { 1959}
which I doubt you'll see much of,even on TCM. Or another favorite from the
50's ... - Man on a Tightrope - {1953 } followed up by - Executive Suite - {1954}.
Then there's - The Desperate Hours - { 1955 }.
But he wasn't done as most actors past middle age facing their swan song
years.There's the classic - Inherit the Wind - { 1960 } and another classic
- Seven Days in May - { 1964 } who brilliantly played our President about as
sternly and credibily as anyone ever in Hollywood.Not finished yet,he
starred with Paul Newman in - Hombre - { 1967 } in one of his only slightly bad guy roles.
Then right *back to being slightly off center,as the carefree mayor in the
Jim Brown vehicle - ... tick ... tick ... tick ... - { 1970 }.
Then ending with the introspective ... - The Iceman Cometh - { 1973 }
alongside a crew of intense fellow actors like Lee Marvin and Robert Ryan.
I've never seen this movie in it's entirety.Directed by the Great John Frankenheimer.
But then I needn't.It'd be like insisting Ted Williams at his 50 th year high school
reunion need show his fellow classmates his batting stance,just to make sure.

* As if from one of his earliest and breezy days in acting.

 

Yeah I agree, it took me a while to actually watch the movie but...I liked it. It is more of a drama with a comic twist. I still haven't watched the one with the monkey that he made. My dad took me to see Porgy and Bess....Great flick. But he also liked boxing, baseball, and even horse racing which we would always watch and listen to (on the radio) (we used to go to the stadium too). I like Burt Reynolds as a personality but his movies are not my favorite. I did not like Mad Mad Mad World....slapstick mostly.

 

Burts still hangin' tough.He was shown in a segment of some Car makeover
show - Fast N Loud - from 2013.They needed to promote a Firebird Trans Am
they were remodeling.I remember reading where Burt was kinda in the dumps.
Due to his having to need a cane and what Loni Anderson did to him.
She basically spent all his money.Was a Shopping-a-holic.The crew of - Fact n Loud -
paid him a visit at his Florida residence.He acted like he was living all alone.
Like he met them in his gated driveway and the place seemed kinda ordinary.
Not what you'd expect from a major star.I see where he's involved in movie
projects.That's nice to know.I have a DVD of his performce in an :
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents - { Escape to Sonoita } 1960.
His early roles weren't too bad.Somewhere along the line he started
being a parody of himself.As if faking acting.Then that became his schtick.
I think appearing on Johnny Carson helped to solidify that image.
He no longer cared about being taken seriously as an actor.So he just
went with it.Gave audiences what they craved.Being Macho and Dopey.

 

Tom Hanks and Morgan Freeman. If either one of those guys are in a movie we know to plan on good acting.

 

YES...I remember when he would appear on Johnny Carson as a sort of odd-ball character. At first I thought he was just a miserable person but soon I realized that was just a 'schtick'. I thought maybe he was trying to project a 'bad boy' image that is so popular with the Hollywood crowd.

 

I thought he had married the popular 50's TV star Dinah Shore,but I guess not.
She was 20 years his senior.Reynolds also married to - Laugh-In - perky hippie
chick Judy Carne.Who had a really sexy bod.Then of course Inger Stevens who
was said had the sexiest body in a negligee.Then blond bombshell Loni Anderson.
The guy knew what truned a fellar on.But his acting certainly was not anything other
than juvenile.Like I said ... I think he made a decision to parody himself.It's called
self-deprecating humor.But he was No W.C.Fields who mastered that " schtick ".
Reynolds didn't have the acting chops to be a serious leading man.He had to
surround himself with goofballs like Dom DeLuise and Jerry Reid.Jackie Gleason
is another story.Gleason Starred in 2 very serious movies :
- Requiem For a Heavyweight - { 1962 } a must see B & W drama.
- Gigot - { same year } as french Parisian mute janitor.
There's a reason why Reynolds was sort of relegated into submission
halfway thru - Deliverance - { 1972 }.His character was going nowhere.
All he had was his dopey way of acting and talking macho.Like watch the
movie ... kiddies and see how a real man acts out in jerkwater county.

 

Marlon Brando...great actor. Did you see him in Apocalypse Now?
Ok course I agree with this
"Denzel Washington - Poised, sophisticated and a hunk."

 

I feel that way about John Travolta. He is my all time Fave.

Chris Hemsworth....lorda mercy!
Robin Williams
Yul Brenner
Jimmy Stewart

- - - Updated - - -

Gran Torino!!!

 

Sebastian Stan the Winter soldier... because he's soooo hot ....

 

Brando made only a couple bad movies.One was - Last Tango in Paris - {1972 }
and also - Burn - { 1969 }
Plus - The Missouri Breaks - { 1976 }
However - The Ugly American - { 1963 } is quite good as well
- Reflections in a Golden Eye - { 1967 } w/ Liz Taylor
Not too good was - Moituri - { 1965 }
Plus Brando had nice diversity and range.
The Comedy - The Teahouse of the August Moon - { 1956 } is splendid.
And If a copy can be located { it can't } a real hoot of a bawdy comedy ...
- Bedtime Story - { 1964 } w/ David Niven
- One-Eyed Jacks - { 1961 } w/ Waterfront co-actor Karl Malden is a classic.
and - Appaloosa - { 1966 } w/ gifted John Saxon who was never better is very good.
I never even saw much of - Superman -.
Brando was a finicky actor.He was a true skirt-chaser.Had a sidekick
who he cavorted around with during his 50's career.Name was Carlo.
Considered little nerd Wally Cox { who he dormed with as an up and coming actor }
as a close friend.
Of course there was also Brando's love of Tahiti. Probably because he was treated
as if some Island god.
Brando was not a Booxer since he Mom was an alcoholic.Also his
Sister { Jocelyn }. But Brando made up for lack of drink by being a
Gourmand.He loves to eat.Used as excuse that when he gets older he'll
naturally lose weight.