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So, this isn't just limited to movies, it can include TV.

This spawns from a recent conversation about Al Pacino. He's just fucking great. He gives amazing understated work in stuff like Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Cruising, And Justice For All, Godfather 1/2, I could go on and on. But I think I like his crazy shit in Scarface and Scent of a Woman (oscar-winnning) more. That makes me feel bad since I think the earlier performances are objectively better, but I'm more entertained by the latter(s).


SO what are some actors / actresses and performances that you adore and captivate you?

I find that Brian Cranston is fantastic in everything. From Malcom in the Middle, to Breaking Bad, to movies like Drive, he is very skilled at portraying interesting, nuanced characters.

Baerdog said:

I find that Brian Cranston is fantastic in everything. From Malcom in the Middle, to Breaking Bad, to movies like Drive, he is very skilled at portraying interesting, nuanced characters.

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That was going to be my second post. He is extremely funny in Malcolm in the Middle (maybe robbed of best actor comedy a couple times???) and there's a good reason he won the Best Actor Emmy for every single fucking year Breaking Bad has been eligible

I generally can't look away from Gary Oldman's villains. I didn't particularly care for Book of Eli, but it was pretty nice to see Oldman being evil again after ten years or so of goodies Commissioner Gordon and Sirius Black.

Ah yes, Gary Oldman is great. He's got a knack for really transforming himself for the role.

I've got two more: Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Seeing both of them act opposite of each other in Doubt was amazing. Individually, I'd probably say that her role in Adaptation is my favorite for Streep and his role in Capote is my favorite for Hoffman.

Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Giancarlo Esposita, hell pretty much the whole cast of Breaking Bad have all put in fantastic performances as have all the winners over on Madmen. The scene in last week's Madmen where Don and Joan have a drink after test driving the jag was awesome as was the scene with Peggy and Don this most recent episode. Lots of great performances there.

I must add Pete Postletwhaite. From the absolutely depsicable Obidiah Hakeswil in the Sharpe's Rifles series, to his quiet Kobayashi in The Usual Suspects or the conductor Danny in Brassed off, whatever he did was done perfectly. And he was a very modest guy along with this.

Also, everything Alan Rickman.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Emmet_Walsh

M. Emmet Walsh. Not only is he a great actor, but he has only been in one bad film out of the 200+ that he has been in...

Daniel Day-Lewis. Most notably in Gangs of New York.

Kyle Secor is probably the best reason to watch Drop Zone.
John Wood did an amazing job in Ladyhawke.
Hugo Weaving pulled a Vincent Price in V for Vendetta.
Julius Carry burned any possibility of shame to the ground, then pissed on the ashes in The Last Dragon.
Armand Assante sunk his teeth deep into The Road to El Dorado.

--Patrick

Helena Bonham Carter - Every batshit crazy role she's ever played.
Monica Bellucci - Again, I can't think of a single movie I didn't like her in.
Liam Neeson - For his role in The Gray more than any of his other phenomenal works. (I'm not sure how much of that was acting though.)