Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The Ten Best Actors of All Time Relay Race

By s. Wednesday, April 25, 2012 ,
Nostra from My Filmviews started a blogathon in which the 10 best actors of all time were listed at random, then passed to a new blogger. From there, the new blogger must remove one actor, before adding an actor to the list. Alex from And So it Begins... named me as another participant, so now I must chose. Here is a little more details about the blogathon:
"So what’s the idea behind the relay? I’ve created a list of what I think are the best actors. At the end of the post I, just like in a real relay race, hand over the baton to another blogger who will write his own post. This blogger will have to remove one actor (that is an obligation) and add his own choice and describe why he/she did this. At the end the blogger chooses another blogger to do the same. The idea is to make this a long race, so that enough bloggers get a chance to remove and add an actor. We will end up with a list (not ranked in order) which represents a common agreement of the best actors.

It will also mean that those who follow this relay race will get to know new blogs as well!"
Progression of the list since March 13:
     Flix Chatter
       Time Well Spent
        The Warning Sign
         movieandsongs365
          And So it Begins...
Here are the actors who have been selected:
Robert De Niro

Daniel Day-Lewis

Charlie Chaplin

Gary Oldman

Marlon Brando

Gregory Peck

Paul Newman

Anthony Hopkins

Max von Sydow
My addition:
Ralph Fiennes
There are many great actors out there but for me Fiennes's performance in "Schindler's List" is one of the most amazing ones I've ever seen. He plays a despicable man, a monster, yet he never loses the heart of his character - allowing him to look weak and at times painfully human, until the cruel fate that made him the man he is reminds him in his mind what he is and what he must do. A man so corrupted by demented ideas and a horrifying reality that his soul has been destroyed and the shreds of it come second, after the orders he must carry out.

Fiennes's work is always stellar - from "Wuthering Heights", "Quiz Show", "Strange Days", "The English Patient" to "The End of the Affair", "Spider" and "Red Dragon" Fiennes always creates diverse and memorable performances. Then there is his beautiful work in "The Constant Gardener" and absolute dynamite of a performance in "In Bruges". He also played Voldemort in "Harry Potter" series - a performance that has moments of brilliance ("Goblet of Fire") but often feels a little bit over the top. Sure, there are worse moments - like "Clash of the Titans" and its sequel, but Fiennes is one of those actors who can play a despicable monster or the most gentle of men, never making it a one dimensional character.

Who I Removed: 
Christian Bale
While Bale is a fine actor who delivered one of my favorite performances in "American Psycho", he still needs to prove himself in order to be among the likes of De Niro and Hopkins. I loved his work in this one, in "The New World" and in "The Prestige" but at the very best he only has that one outstanding performance in his resume, at least for me.

I do not like gimmickry for the sake of acclaim and Bale does this too often - "The Machinist", "Rescue Dawn", "Fighter"...the fact the actor is abusing his body for the part shouldn't be something you think about when you watch him work, you should focus on his performance not the spectacle that surrounds it. Then there are times when he is just bland like in "Velvet Goldmine" or "Laurel Canyon".

He is very talented and I'm sure all it takes for him to shine are better scripts that will allow him to do so.

It is my turn to pass it to another blogger and I do so to Andy Buckle at Andy Buckle's Film Emporium

23 comments:

  1. Ooh nice choice. Love Fiennes!

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    1. He's great, I really need to finally see Coriolanus.

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  2. Ralph Fiennes ought to have won the oscar for Schindler's List, that was indeed among the finest acting jobs of the 90s!

    American Psycho is Bale's best performance for me too, though The Machinist and The Fighter were impressive also(but mostly for the weight loss issue).
    I can understand the age reasoning (like Leo). Perhaps this list will finally only be old dudes left ( :

    Look forward to Andy Buckle's contribution!

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    1. Well the older ones have more movies, so it's easier for them to score more great performances :) In all fairness though, I prefer Dicaprio to Bale - his work in Revolutionary Road, What's Eating Gilbert Grape and The Aviator is wonderful.

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  3. Love the addition! This is such an awesome meme! Choosing who to remove is getting harder and harder I imagine!

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    1. Yeah it was pretty hard, since I love Bale in AP.

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  4. Great switch, and I figured that'd be the one. Nothing against Bale at all, but he's the rookie up there. Fiennes, Schindler's List... there's no arguing that.

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    1. Thanks! Yeah he needs a little bit more movies, I mean this last year he was in one film almost nobody saw and from what I heard he wasn't great in it.

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  5. Oh boy, I'm kinda sad to see Bale go, but I know what you mean about the 'gimmicky' aspect about his weight, Sati. In fact, I was kind of distracted by his look as I was watching The Fighter, which at times took me a way from the story. I do think he's a GREAT actor, but so is Fiennes. I mean, his chilling performance in Schindler's List is just WOW, and add to that all his outstanding performances in "The Constant Gardener" and "The English Patient". I REALLY need to see him as Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights" soon!

    Ok, I'm off to see Andy's list! This is getting VERY interesting :D

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    1. Oh, you'll love Wuthering Heights - it's really a great film and he delivers one of his best performances there.

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  6. I love that you put Fiennes in there! He is an amazing actor - and I think you know just how I feel about Schindler's List.

    I really hope no-one invites me to this relay, because it would be too hard to choose!

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    1. It's really horrible to do - not so much who to remove but who to chose on the list. I imagine I would have less trouble with actresses.

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  7. Great switch. I would definitely say Fiennes is better than Bale and therefore deserved of a place on this list! I hope he stays on for awhile too! I could even see Fiennes as Batman!

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    1. Fiennes could play anyone :) Unfortunetly I see he is now out as another blogger removed him.

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  8. Ahhh! I was waiting for this to happen! Guess it was only a matter of time. I really enjoy watching him in films. Yes, it might be a bit "gimmicky" of him to go to such extremes for his craft. But to me, it's just the amount of passion he has for what he's doing and what he's personally willing to do for the roles he's playing.

    Still, I don't frown on your substitution. Fascinating to see how this list has evolved.

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    1. Yeah I was checking out to see previous entries and it's really interesting to see who people chose and replace, really great idea for bloggers to make hard choices :)

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  9. Interesting addition, shame to see Bale go!

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    1. Who knows, maybe someone will add him again :)

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  10. Awesome selection with Fiennes! His performance in Schindler's List is easily one of the all-time greats. Too bad about Bale, but you do have a good point about his roles in The Machinist and The Fighter.

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    1. Thanks! Yep, his work in SL should be on every list of greatest performances!

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  11. Whaaaa?? You replace Bale with Fiennes? No way. haha.

    Well, that's okay. Aside from those on the original list, Bale had the longest run!

    But...Fiennes? I mean, he's great and all, but...the general public know him for little more than Harry Potter. and even fewer in the general public know his name. At least they all know who Bale is! ha.

    ok, I'm done pouting! :D

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    1. I seriously doubt that people know Bale when they don't know Fiennes. Unless we are talking about Nolan fanboys, then I'm sure you are right.

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    2. ha. I'm not sure. But it was fun writing about it! :)

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