Ya know, it occured to me that although Jack Nicholson is a great actor, I don't think I've seen him play anything other than "Jack" in very many movies. About Schmidt was surprising to me. As Good As It Gets might be another role where he played a pretty vulnerable character.
I am trying to think of actors who are versitile. In your minds, what living actors break the mold of typecasting for you? Phil Hoffman seems like a guy who could fit into a huge assortment of roles. PTA movies alone definetly show his versitility.
He goes from..
a pathetic loser in Boogie Nights to
a nurse caught in the middle of TJ Mackey and Earl Partridge in Magnolia to
a nasty dickhead mattress salesman in PDL.
Ok. I'm done. So, give me some guys/gals that fit this mold.
I think most of PTA's actors (who were in more than one of his movies) are very versatile. John C. Reilly can play that dorky, cuddly guy (The Good Girl, Magnolia), but he can also play the serious roles (The Hours, Gangs of New York)... he is extremely versatile. I think that is why he and Hoffman have been consistently working for many years in a lot of great roles. Each one is a director's actor... they can play almost any part.
Nick
not to start any shit, but although i believe psh is capable of anything, he is frequently offered (outside of ptas films), very similar roles of losers, nerds, outcasts, etc. as with buscemi, he will make the parts he can get as interesting as possible, i wouldnt cite either for the pinnacle of versatility.
John Turturro is, in my humble opinion, the most versatile actor working today.
Agreed. Let's not forget Gary Oldman. That guy is incredible.
Johnny Depp.
Norton
I will strongly second Turturro, Oldman, and Depp.
I think Harvey Keitel is fairly versatile, as is Bob DeNiro.
Quote from: SoNowThenas is Bob DeNiro.
Not in the past ten years or so, though.
Well, he's done some pretty different roles.
Ronin, Meet The Parents, City By The Sea, Analyze This, Bulwinkle *shudder*...
Quote from: SoNowThenWell, he's done some pretty different roles.
Ronin, Meet The Parents, City By The Sea, Analyze This, Bulwinkle *shudder*...
Robin Williams recently too.
My Favorites:
Brando. From Guys and Dolls to Julius Ceasar. He's done a lot.
Daniel Day-Lewis
Christian Bale
Brad Pitt . He makes great role choices as well. He's usually overlooked because of his popularity, but he's done a great range of roles.
Jeff Bridges
Gary Oldman. The ultimate in versatility.
Guy Pearce
DeNiro's old choices were great. In the last 5 years he's sucked ass though.
Quote from: jonasMy Favorites:
Brando. From Guys and Dolls to Julius Ceasar. He's done a lot.
Daniel Day-Lewis
Christian Bale
Brad Pitt . He makes great role choices as well. He's usually overlooked because of his popularity, but he's done a great range of roles.
Jeff Bridges
Gary Oldman. The ultimate in versatility.
Guy Pearce
DeNiro's old choices were great. In the last 5 years he's sucked ass though.
Heat was good. What year did Heat come out? Also,
Meet the Parents was hilarious.
JACKIE motherfucking BROWN!!!!
Brilliant. He was absolutely brilliant.
Quote from: halo_on
Heat was good. What year did Heat come out? Also, Meet the Parents was hilarious.
Heat was 1995. Meet the Parents was good, that's about the only good choice he's had lately. I hope he gets his head out of his ass and starts picking good roles again.
SoNowThen wrote:
JACKIE motherfucking BROWN!!!!
Brilliant. He was absolutely brilliant.
Though I don't think Tarantino wrote a particularly great role for an actor like DeNiro, I liked him as Louis in 'Jackie Brown'. It was weird but amusing seeing him as this stoner/crook who goes loony under pressure.....
"Don't say another word, okay. Keep your mouth shut"
"Yeah bu-"
"I mean it, don't say one fuckin' word, okay"
"Okay Louis"
BANG.....BANG.
I agree with pretty much everybody in thier choices, don't know about you but Robert Carlyle (http://us.imdb.com/Name?Carlyle,%20Robert) has done very different roles.
Trainspotting - Played a real asshole.
Full Monty - Kind of a nice guy
Angela's Ashes - Alcoholic father and abusive husband
World is not enough - Bond villian
The Beach - One crazy MF
Never saw the Hitler TV movie.
Quote from: FernandoI agree with pretty much everybody in thier choices, don't know about you but Robert Carlyle (http://us.imdb.com/Name?Carlyle,%20Robert) has done very different roles.
Trainspotting - Played a real asshole.
Full Monty - Kind of a nice guy
Angela's Ashes - Alcoholic father and abusive husband
World is not enough - Bond villian
The Beach - One crazy MF
Never saw the Hitler TV movie.
I remember seeing the preview for some dramatic looking movie (I just looked it up: Go Now) where he is in love and founds out he is terminally ill and it looked all emotional. I think it was before Trainspotting, but when I saw the preview it changed my outlook on the guy...
aw
Quote from: halo_onHeat was good. What year did Heat come out? Also, Meet the Parents was hilarious.
With Heat, (and others like Goodfellas, Goodfellas, and Ronin) I think he more evolved into the modern day Humphrey Bogart. It really wasn't an evolution of his acting abilities at all.
Meet the Parents was De Niro going comedy and more or less brought down to making facial reactions to comedic situations. Nothing really great and Nicholson was even better in that department with As Good As It Gets.
Quote from: SoNowThenJACKIE motherfucking BROWN!!!!
Brilliant. He was absolutely brilliant
He dressed the part well and did what was required of him, but really, what was that role other than him smoking up and mumbling lines? It was a waste of time for De Niro.
billy crudup.....unnderated as a motherphucker.......
big fish hopefully will ....rocket him....
Sean Penn!
and John Turturro, of course
oh! Gary Oldman too
Susan Sarandon
John Hurt
Holly Hunter
Julianne Moore
Daniel Day Lewis
and more...
Quote from: Vile5Sean Penn!
and John Turturro, of course
oh! Gary Oldman too
Susan Sarandon
John Hurt
Holly Hunter
Julianne Moore
Daniel Day Lewis
and more...
i strongly disagree with julianne moore's versatility. while she is an outstanding actress, she usually plays the same type of role of a frazzled housewife or jaded maternal figure. daniel day lewis is a good choice as he has been a native american-bred action hero, a high society gentleman, a rough irish victim of palsy, and a turn of the century new york gang leader/butcher.
holly hunter is one of the funniest actresses alive but she's also very skilled and compelling in dramatic roles, so i agree with that. i think her performance in broadcast news is one of my favorite of any actor- male or female- ever.
Quote from: pookiethecati strongly disagree with julianne moore's versatility. while she is an outstanding actress, she usually plays the same type of role of a frazzled housewife or jaded maternal figure
did you watched Boogie Nights or Magnolia?? what about her "sweetly evil" Mrs. Laura Cheveley in An Ideal Husband? :(
no need to get frowny. julianne moore is an awesome actress. no question about it. but i wouldn't categorize her as the epitome of versatile considering that yes in both boogie nights and magnolia as well as many of her other performances, she plays a maternal/wifey figure on the verge of a breakdown. versatility is defined as capable of moving freely in all directions or variable or inconstant; changeable or Having varied uses or serving many functions. no doubt in my mind julianne could do all of the above. but has she yet? that said, i haven't seen an ideal husband.
well she was kinda different in big lebowski
I totally think Julianne is quite versatile. Although some of her best performances are in the dramatic genre, I find them all to be so specific and filled with nuance making each one quite unique.
Anyway, I too agree with Phil Hoffman as probably *the* most versatile actor out there. He can do anything!
yeah i dunno. i think this topic was flawed from the beginning because the word versatile can mean a lot of different stuff. i just meant versatile in terms of choosing a variety of different roles. but i mean, if you're talking versatile in terms of being a great actress. then yeah, i agree with what you're saying.
I'd have to agree with the assessment of PSH as one of today's most versitile actors. I've seen him in roles ranging from Patch Adams to Owning Mahoney. Tonight, I saw him in Cold Mountain as an eccentric preacher and he was a bright spot in the film as usual. One person I haven't seen listed who I think is pretty versitile is Billy Bob Thorton. He has been in so many films and has been a wide array of characters.
the word is versatile.
Philip Seymour Hoffman wins.
Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, Happiness, Flawless, Magnolia, The Talented Mr Ripley, Almost Famous, PDL, even Red Dragon... they're all completely different roles, and each character is unmistakable.
Love Liza MUST be included here. Even Owning Mahowny.
Think how different PSH's perf in Boogie Nights is from Punch Drunk Love. Scotty is sweet and insecure, the Mattress Man is an overbearing bully.
Another Hoffman, Dustin, is versatile -- from The Graduate to Midnight Cowboy, or from yuppies (Kramer vs. Kramer, All The President's Men) to a sociopath (Straight Time), from austistic (Rain Man) to imperious (Tootsie), from bombastic (Lenny) to timorous (Straw Dogs).
Don't forget Ishtar.... :wink: