Viggo Mortensen

[Melvil]

I formerly knew him only for playing Aragorn in that little fairy story, The Lord of The Rings...

Well, my view of him has certainly changed after seeing both 'A History of Violence' and 'Eastern Promises'. He can do Psycho Man very well!!! I'm scared.

Any other actors/actresses you've had a certain view of and then seen a new film of theirs and had that opinion totally changed?

 

[Valiant]

Hey is very hot! I loved him in Vasnishing Point.

 

[Cathryn]

A history of violence is excellent. You're right, he's so much better than he was in LOTR and he was good in that!!

 

[SamNichols]

Cronenberg seems to love him these days; a fine actor who does the brooding silent type very well.

As for actors who manage to shake off stereotypes and change your opinion of them: Mark Wahlberg has a capacity to surprise (although for every I Heart Huckabees, Departed or Boogie Nights there is an Italian Job). Not bad for a rubbish early 90s pop star.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

It's the whole point of being an actor, surely? We seem to have more "types" (eg Hugh Grant, who always seems to play exactly the same character in every film he's in) these days than actors. (Anthony Hopkins springs to mind - did a great job of both Hannibal Lecter in "Silence of the Lambs" and Burt Munroe in "The World's Fastest Indian" - both completely different characters, but utterly convincing.)

 

[SamNichols]

anthony hopkins is quite often bound by type; there are few actors who genuinely make a line out of playing 'characters' these days as opposed to lead actors. A few who buck that trend are Johnny Depp, Leonardo Di Caprio, Christian Bale and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The supposed 'leads' in films tend to have the film written with their talent in mind, so it's not a great amount of originality required on the part of the actor as the film is directed and written to their strengths (hence why borlando bland can easily get work). It's a flaw that is to be found especially within the Hollywood system, particularly within major studios. Occasionally a film will come out that really plays against the type, but that's the exception rather than the rule: its worth remembering that mainstream cinema is attempting to make an easily digestible product which will make a good deal of money, hence the apparent lack of originality a lot of the time.

 

[Andy in Sig]

I think the most consistently brilliant actor around at the moment is Robert Carlyle. It seems he can turn his hand to anything.

 

[NickM]

I think that a good actor is one of whom you never think "Oooh, that's good acting" while watching him/her.

Not many of them about, are there? Not in English language films, anyway.

For example, Daniel Day-Lewis was fine in Last of the Mohicans, but the ludicrously over-hyped There will be Blood seemed to be little more than a blatant "Let's get Daniel an Oscar" campaign.

 

[buggi]

what i would really like to see is Quinten Tarantino in the lead role of a love story. now that would be weird!

 

[SamNichols]

What I would like to see is someone repeatedly punching Quentin Tarantino in the face, but we don't always get what we wish for.

 

[buggi]

What I would like to see is someone repeatedly punching Quentin Tarantino in the face, but we don't always get what we wish for.

hasn't that already happened? i thought that was why he looked so ugly!

 

[got-to-get-fit]

Kevin Bacon ......From footloose
to one of the best method actors around.