Is Christian Bale the best actor in Hollywood?

He's a method actor. And you're correct, he's very good. I think it's because his intense personality pushes him to push the limits in so many different ways.

But you can't take away from character actors, they really make the movies set in certain genres believable. Like De Niro and Pacino. And I realize those are the two most obvious but you get what I mean. Not necessarily Statham, unless you're talking about movies where they're simply trying to lure in money from teenage girls and dudes who wish they were him.

Bale is okay, but IMO, not even close to the best. Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Tom Hanks, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are the superior actors.

Ummm...ever heard of Keanu Reeves? Watch Speed and the Matrix movies and tell me I'm wrong.

The best actor, and it's not even close, is Daniel Day Lewis.

UsedToBeKnowItAll wrote:

The best actor, and it's not even close, is Daniel Day Lewis.

Dammit, forgot about him. He would round out my top 5. Someone above suggested Keanu Reeves. Really?

UsedToBeKnowItAll: The best actor, and it's not even close, is Daniel Day Lewis.

Spot on. Daniel Day Lewis is going to receive the Academy Award for Best Actor this next March for his upcoming film "Lincoln". The win will make it 3 Best Actor Oscars for him. He is by far the best actor out there today. Meryl Streep is his mirror image in the female category.

Im the kind of guy who likes to laugh so I prefer funny actors. Ive never really seen christian bale do any thing funny so id say i like will ferrell better. Just my opinion tho.

Seymour Hoffman, as stated above.

Menace wrote:

The best actor, and it's not even close, is Daniel Day Lewis.

I find Daniel Day Lewis to be entertaining, but also an overacting ham. So while he is fun to watch, I find his performances make the movies he is in unrealistic.

Gene Hackman is my all-time favorite, but recently announced his retirement.

Seymour Hoffman is great, but doesn't his looks limit the range of roles he can play.

Christian Bale is really good, but for the time being Michael Caine remains my favorite.

comedy wrote:

Im the kind of guy who likes to laugh so I prefer funny actors. Ive never really seen christian bale do any thing funny so id say i like will ferrell better. Just my opinion tho.

American Psycho is hilarious.

A lot of people don't understand that kind of comedy. But if you do, it is hilarious.

I would say Johnny Deep is the best actor in Hollywood. If you wanna judge it by who can just be totally different person from role to role. I mean the guy played Edward Scissorhands. Playing a guy with scissors for hands is beyond hard. He played Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing. Willy Wonka. There are too many to list and they are all vastly different from each other.

Melo Anthony wrote:

Ummm...ever heard of Keanu Reeves? Watch Speed and the Matrix movies and tell me I'm wrong.

He also employs method acting. Before every single take he stares at a plank of wood and tries to imagine he is a part of it

Christian Bale is not the best actor but he is the MOST actor. He acts the most, as in overacts. He needs to "chill."

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Aghast wrote:

Philip Seymour Hoffman

A lot of you have said PSH. What movies or roles do you think he was most impressive in. I haven't seen many of his movies.

Bale is pretty damn good. I almost forgot his role in Laurel Canyon - which was sort of neutral, less intense performance that didn't see him in aink into the depths of insanity.

I like mention an actor named David Morse who was in the Green Mile, Contact, Dancer in the Dark, and The Hurt Locker. He's not a leading man type but is so convincing in his supporting roles, look him up.

I also like Julian Sands. He can play creepy, a jerk, an effeminate, sinister, a weakling, just about anything but funny. He was the lead in those Warlock movies, Boxing Helena, and Leaving Las Vegas.

UsedToBeKnowItAll wrote:

Aghast wrote:

Philip Seymour Hoffman

A lot of you have said PSH. What movies or roles do you think he was most impressive in. I haven't seen many of his movies.

PSH is my favorite. I first noticed him in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights." It was a fairly small part, but he just nailed it. He's been terrific in a number of Anderson's other films -- "Hard Eight" (very small role), "Magnolia" (perhaps my favorite film), and "Punch-Drunk Love." Other excellent PSH performances: "Happiness," "Owning Mahowny," "Love Liza," "Along Came Polly," "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Flawless," "Almost Famous," "Charlie Wilson's War." Of course, he won the Academy Awary for "Capote," but that's probably not at the top of my list.

It's hard to pick his most impressive performances. I might single out his performance in "Love Liza." But I don't know. To me, almost any film with Philip Seymour Hoffman is worth watching.

On another note:

I was wondering if anyone else thought that Mitt Romney seemed eerily similar to Patrick Bateman as played by Christian Bale in "American Psycho." I discovered that a lot of other people thought the same thing. There's even a web site about it:

http://www.mittromneyispatrickbateman.com/