The Ten Best Actors of All Time Relay Race

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:

 My Filmviews

  The Focused Filmographer

   Front Room Cinema

    I Love That Film

     Flix Chatter

      All Eyes on Screen

       Time Well Spent

        The Warning Sign

         movieandsongs365

          And So it Begins...

            cinematic corner. 

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