Silly Season 2: Screenwriter’s favourite male actors
Donald Clarke
Now, first things first. Once again, it is important to stress the word “favourite”. An attempt to objectively assess the “greatest” actors of all time would — despite the impossibility of the task — yield 10 very different personalities. When attempting such a list, one would, for example, feel some sort of compulsion to cover all the bases. We’d better have somebody from the silent era. What about the French? That sort of thing. In constructing this preposterous chart I have merely tried to list the actors that I most enjoy looking at. Please feel free to contribute your own lists.
The Screenwriter top 10 reveals a bias towards a particular class of urbane character actor. No apologies are issued. Cinema would be a great deal poorer without well-spoken types such as Robert Donat and Alistair Sim. There is also a inclination towards older performers. Indeed, sad to relate, only of of these people seems to be still above ground (and he’s 82). Oh well. This place has always been a haven for old fogies. Turn that music down! Is that a man or a woman? You’re not going out of the house dressed like that, young lady.
A private man from a middle-class Scottish background, Sim somehow managed to combine a certain unearthly moroseness with a surprising degree of warmth. He is the greatest comic actor Britain has ever produced. Only occasionally the lead, he enhanced such classic films as The Belles of St Trinians, An Inspector Calls and Scrooge (the best ever version of A Christmas Carol). The clip here is from one of my very favourite films: The Happiest Days of Your Life. When I get round to doing (thanks Irish Times Stylebook) female actors, Margaret Rutherford will, with dulling inevitability, figure near the top.
2. GEORGE SANDERS (1906-1972)
Offering an interesting contrast to Sim, George Sanders, one of those Englishman who became absorbed by America, made a virtue of almost never giving into warmth. The lugubrious performer is, without question, the most beguiling of all cinema cads. The story goes that his suicide note — keeping in character to the end — spoke of his terminal boredom with life. He’s great in Rebecca, Roberto Rossellini’s Journey to Italy and — as a beastly children’s author — the superb The Ghost and Mrs Muir. The clip shows him in full flow during All About Eve. I don’t know who the blonde lady on the lower stair is.
3. CARY GRANT (1904-1986)
A return to the obvious. You might argue that Grant, born in Bristol, always played some version of the same character. So what. Getting that right requires true genius. Here’s a great bit from Bringing Up Baby. “Gay all of a sudden?” Hmm?
4. PETER LORRE (1904-1964)
One of those great European actors whose sheer foreignness enlivened Hollywood during its golden period.Here’s a superb clip from the original German version of Fritz Lang’s M. As you are almost certainly aware, he is playing a murderer of children. Chilling.
5. ROBERT DONAT (1905-1958)
What an incredibly sweet presence Donat had. Apparently that slightly raspy voice resulted from serious asthma. He was smashing in The 39 Steps, The Winslow Boy and Goodbye Mr Chips. If you haven’t seen that last film then look away now. If you have, treasure the saddest of all endings above.
6. KLAUS KINSKI (1926-1991)
Always mad, always charismatic, always great. We could be clever and pick something that wasn’t by Herzog, but then we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the great monkey scene from Aguirre: Wrath of God. Poor monkey.
7. SPENCER TRACY (1900-1967)
Tracy could be warm and avuncular, but there was always a hint of simmering discontent beneath the tweedy exterior. Here’s a good bit from — the slightly clunky, but compelling — Inherit the Wind.
8. JACK LEMMON (1925-2001)
One of the great sad men of cinema. Deserves his place for The Apartment alone. See above.
9. ERNEST THESIGER (1879-1961)
Not that well known a personality, but an absolute master of the art of applied camp. Check out The Man in the White Suit, The Old Dark House and, of course, Bride of Frankenstein. Have a potato!
10. MAX VON SYDOW (1929- )
He’s 82 now, but hasn’t Max Von Sydow always been old. He’s great in The Exorcist and Hannah and Her Sisters, but the most entrancing Von Sydow is the one who mutters his way through those great Bergman dramas. The Virgin Spring might be the best of the lot.
Screenwriter sez (re 2. George Sanders) “I don’t know who the blonde lady on teh lower step is”
Lol…Yeah right….Mrailyn Mnoroe (note my spelling as dyslexic as Screenwriter’s definite article)
Busy looking through all the clips………later
I know choices are subjective – but couldn’t you find some space for Robert Mitchum?
Can’t think of favourites right now but here’s a list of ten actors that in my opinion (and in stark contrast with the ten Screenwriter has favouritized) have become so convinced of their own acting prowess and indispensability that over-acting in recent performances on the big screen has projected them into the realms of Cinéma Ricicule – if there is such a thing:
Al Pacino
Daniel Day Lewis
Anthony Hopkins
Johnny Depp
Tom Hanks
Morgan Freeman
Will Smith
Kevin Spacey
Harrison Ford
Samuel L Jackson
Only saw The Virgin Spring there a few weeks ago – Max Von Sydow tearing down a tree is just wonderful.
George Sanders and Spencer Tracy are the only two on that list who would definitely be in my top 10. After that I’d have to put John Gielgud, Donald Sutherland, The Gambon, Bruno Ganz and maybe Daniel Day Lewis in there. Could probably come up with a few more.
I’ve seen Mark Rylance in Jerusalem, and never expect to see a performance that good again in my life, but as a stage performance I guess it just doesn’t count here.
Ernest Thesiger is a fun choice, given how few of his films are still remembered. Might add Kinski to my list actually. Hmmm…
A top class list of actors there Screenwriter. When they turn up on screen it’s always a bonus to the film they are appearing in.
Some of my own favourites include
Rutger Hauer
Bruce Campbell
Takeshi Kitano
Harvey Keitel
Dennis Hopper
Bill Murray
Donald Pleasence
Harry Dean Stanton
Mario Brega
But what about the women?
Not many American actors there, I notice. Jack Lemmon would be the only from that list that would make it into mine. My tother faves (off the top of my head) would include
Gene Hackman
Dustin Hoffman
Alec Baldwin
Kirk Douglas
Bruce Willis (no kidding)
Jack Nicholson
Denzel Washington
Warren Beatty (what a presence)
Humphry Bogart
Of course, these kinds of lists change all the time, so mine (like yours, I imagine) would look different next week or last week.
Tony Hopkins is my hands down favourite; a view I’ve held ever since I saw Remains of the Day – not a brilliant film but the one that contains my favourite all time performance.
after that I’ll say (in no particular order):
2. Jack Lemmon
3. Michael Caine
4. Christopher Lee
5. Steve Buscemi
6. Rutger Hauer
7. Denzel Washinton
8. Richard Burton
9. Daniel Day Lewis
10. Richard Harris
Awful really. We’re so bombarded with stuff about paedo this that and the other these days that it’s almost impossible to re-watch even “Goodbye Mr Chips” without cringing or squirming – especially when a doddery old teacher invites a vulnerable young boy into his rooms for tea & cake…as in clip 5 at above. Crikey, I hope it’s not just me…
+ am I the only person that cannot, I repeat cannot, abide George Clooney – on my ten worst list along with Jim Carrrrrrrey (psycho), Robin Williams (bats), Pierce Brosnan (phoney), Richard Gere (not sexy), Michael Cain (toad eyes), Nicholas Cage (arrgh), Eddie Murphy (not funny) and aye me hearties, not — Johnny Depp……….oh and in a special category of his own Adam Sandler (sicko).
Guy pierce is cool enough though for mainstream…and Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg and Jeremy Renner and Sam Worthington (maybe) – I do like the Aussies (Mel and Russell even) and I love Bruce Willis (no kidding) and Harvey Keitel + Dennis Hopper always good baddies. interesting, I’d imagine, the male actors that appeal to males and the male actors that appeal to females and vice versa
@8”am I the only person that cannot, I repeat cannot, abide George Clooney”
No.
Very limited range, like Leo DiCaprio.
I’ve decided to hijack this blog and augment the theme.
Who are the top 10 most promising male actors? As in actors who have wowed with a film or two, or those who have been on the go a while but who make you feel they’ve only scratched the surface. A few to start off with: Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Idris Elba, Dominic Cooper, Kodi Smit-McPhee.
slightly off topic but just looked at filmography (wiki) for Ernest Thesiger mentioned above. So impressive.
I shamefully left out Jimmy Stewart. The man could fill his characters with so much emotion without letting it bubble over until the exact right moment. A genius of a man.
Donald, I see you and the IT are still going for the outrageously patronising “male actor” “female actor” thing.
I expect to see resignations demanded if I find the word “lioness” in the paper instead of “female lion”.
II have my actors catagorized too. My favorite old timers are: Gregory Peck, David Niven, Anthony Quinn (all Guns of Navarone), and William Holden.
Now: Daniel Day Lewis, Hugh Jackman, Kevin Spacey (excellent villian), Johnny Depp, Mark Wahlberg. Harrison Ford, the vastly underrated Cary Elwes (he of the Princess Bride), Colin Firth, and Guy Pierce. I agree about George Clooney and Leo Di Caprio, Styrofoam cups have more range than those two.
One of my favorie character actors is Steve Buscemi, most know him from Fargo. He makes me laugh everytime he is on screen. I also like Rutgar Hauer, as Blade Runner is one of my favorite films from back in the time before special affects were computer generated.
@ 10 Enda Mc Hijacker
How about Hunter whatshisname from The Tree of whatsit
Vincent Price
Peter O’Toole
Vincent Cassel
Max Shreck
Klaus Kinski
Jack Lemmon
Bill Murray
Gene Hackman
Charlton Heston (in Wayne’s World 2)
Rob Schneider
Dammit! Left out William ‘You’re madness Diane’ Holden. That’s me up to 9 now. Who to be my last…?
I am not liking Forest Whitaker in that “Criminal Minds” spin off………..
@14 Loretta: I’m finally heading to see the Tree of whatsit tomorrow. So I can justly judge Hunter whatshisname then.
@16 David: 10. Steve Guttenberg. No need to thank me.
@13 Jennifer: I’ve just finished season one of Boardwalk Empire featuring Mr Buscemi on top form. I highly reccomend it if you’re a fellow fan.
Robert Ryan should be mentioned – always dependable. The same could be said for Richard Boone and Edmond O’Brien. I love Robert Duvall and George C. Scott too. Surprised nobody picked Cool Hand Luke…
Well if we’re going all “Noir” and back to black & white and almost the beginning of cinema, then Max Schreck (mentioned @ 15 PM above) would have to be on top of a favourites’ list.
@ 13 Jenny O – good choices on the “old timers”………and some of the new. Steve Buscemi’s in a category all of his own — great actor.
@ 19 Noel — “Surprised nobody picked Cool Hand Luke…”
……………..or The Sundance Kid
I note that most of my own personal favorites would probably do well in an international critics “best of” list which, for better and worse, are often much less buffish than picking out great performances from bad films. So it’s a nice distinction to highlight some actors who might happily play to type more readily than your typical multi-award winner. How better to highlight Screenwriter’s connoiseurship than giving the lordly and beautifully spoken Alastair Sim the top place?
As for my own favorites, in the world of Hollywood everymen, I might have gone for James Stewart over Grant. I find he matches Jack Lemmon for slightly manic disillusion in his two great Hitchcock performances. The incomparable Jean Gabin was an incredible presence in a host of pre-nouvelle vague French films and the spiritual forebear of other favorites, Marlon Brando and the more reticent Marcello Mastroianni. Speaking of reticence (said the voluble man…), Chishu Ryu featured in some great films by Ozu and could almost be classified as a silent actor for all he says in them. But Ozu is all about still centres and cameras lingering in vacated rooms, and Ryu somehow embodies all that. For a single performance meriting an appearence, Gene Hackman in “The Conversation” might be my choice. And, having not seen a lot of the supposed trash he’s featured in, I’m pretty much unclouded in my appreciation for Gerard Depardieu. And, I’ll admit, that includes “The Green Card”.
Terrific list Donald. With the exception of Ernest Thesiger (never heard of him), I would be happy to share your top ten. So what follows is the rest of my top twenty, in no particular order, and based on spending my formative years as a fan of English cinema:
Peter O’Toole
Alec Guinness
Terry-Thomas
Christopher Lee
Jack Hawkins
James Robertson Justice
Rex Harrison
Denis Price
Charles Laughton
Peter Cushing
Ok, Jeremy Irons and I’m done.
In no particular order, complete list is…
Spencer Tracy
Jeremy Irons
Jimmy Stewart
William Holden
Bruno Ganz
Donald Sutherland
John Gielgud
Michael ‘The Gambon’ Gambon
George Sanders
Daniel Day Lewis
That’s all there is. There isn’t any more.
Yes, indeed, I reckon Screenwriter’s list does reflect a certain nostalgia for the old je ne sais quoi – cerebral dialogue, civilized mores, personal charm, sensitivity, etc. – in cinema generally, and male actors in particular. Perhaps some statistically-minded commentator could analyse the results of the post + the comments to see which actor comes out on top – some are mentioned quite a lot…
Poor old Arnie doesn’t get a look in…or Sly..! And me Granny loved the pair of them..!!
A pleasantly idiosyncratic list Mr. Clarke, refreshingly bereft of the obvious candidates and a spur to contemplation, (never mind Mr. Thesiger, I would never in a million years have considered Robert Donat – that choice alone is the mark of a magpie eye). The list led me to ponder how certain character actors in supporting roles have enlivened many’s the dull effort. It is an indication of my age and eccentricity, (and many other more disreputable traits too), I suppose, that I become gripped by an unseemly giddiness when I see such names as Norman Bird or James Cossins appearing on a cast-list, (as was the case when I watched ‘A Dandy in Aspic’ recently).
In any case, here’s a hastily-compiled list of ten gentlemen who’ve entertained me with striking portrayals of second-fiddle oddballs and sleazebags through the years;
1.Geoffrey Bayldon
2.Tony Beckley
3.Michael Gothard
4.Michael Gough
5.Freddie Jones
6.Ronald Lacey
7.Patrick Magee
8.Murray Melvin
9.Aubrey Morris
10.Philip Stone
@25 Camp and hysteria. Donald likes camp and hysteria in his actors.
I have been reading alot of your posts, and thinking about my favorite movies. I think I have ommitted some names off my list: One quality I love in an actor is range. Actors that can play any part. Here are some more actors I love.
Alan Rickman: From Die Hard Villian, to Serverous Snape I love him and would watch him cross the street.
Hugh Grant: my quilty secret
Viggo Mortenson: Does not work alot, but is a quality actor
Kevin Klein
Clint Eastwood: makes great movies on both side of the camera
Dustin Hoffman
Gene Hackman: My favorite of his film roles is of the blind man in Young Frankenstine
Paul Newman
Ed Harris
David Thawlis
Jet Li- I know he makes martial arts movies, but I like his cool demeanor. When he smiles you do not know if he is genuinely amused or an ass kicking is about the begin.
Wallace Shawn: Played Vecini in the Prince Bride “Inconcievable”
Bill Nihy: He was the best part of Love Actually
William Holden
Ernest Borgnine
Jean Gabin
Alec Guinness
Dennis Price
The boy in “The 400 Blows”
Gene Hackman
Michael Gambon
Anthony Sher
Stephen Rhea
@Nam Citsale
11. Ronald Fraser ?
John Hurt deserves a mention…yes/no……….he was brilliant in “The Hit” (1984) dir. Stephen Frears (I love that film)…music by Eric Clapton……….and lots of other early stuff……….”Midnight Express” (1978) dir. Alan Parker……….”The Elephant Man” (1980) dir. David Lynch………. “Nineteen Eighty-Four” (1984) dir. Michael Radford…
@30, Mr. Fraser would certainly be a contender, ballsaggert. I fear though that if I extended the list much further the absence of discernment and presence of an obsessive compulsion on my part would become apparent. I would allow the likes of Bernard Bresslaw and Arthur Mullard to eventually lumber into the litany and then where would we be? Adrift in a cosy anarchic fantasy populated by buck-toothed vicars and winking spivs, that’s where. A tempting prospect, but certainly not where we should be, given the recent conflagrations across the water.
A lot of good choices up above, but I’d like to mention Stanley Tucci, as one of the best character actors around at the moment. I saw him in a couple of things recently – as Frank Nitti in The Road To Perdition, he gave the film a jolt of energy (which it sadly lacked otherwise). And in Captain America, he was very funny without playing for laughs, which I thought caught the tone of the film exactly.
Incidentally… suppose one were inspired by the above lists to track down some of the films mentioned from the 30s and 40s, etc. What’s the best way to go about it? I’m guessing a lot of these movies aren’t readily available on DVD. Itunes has a few (I got The 39 Steps there recently), but it’s hard to tell how many, and it’s hellish to search. Are there any decent alternatives to Itunes for downloading movies out there? (legal or.. otherwise?)
I’ve often remarked that I’d be perfectly happy if my five desert island DVDs were Dustin Hoffman movies:
All The President’s Men (probably my favourite film of all time), The Graduate, Marathon Man, Midnight Cowboy and – no, really – Straw Dogs.
A woman I worked with years ago once remarked that her “ideal man” was CC Baxter in The Apartment, which I thought was a superb statement and an excellent choice.