who is the most versatile actor today?

lol, Death Becomes Her is interesting. Bruce Willis is good in 12 Monkeys. Though he does kind of play the same part but with more vulnerability maybe?

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Because 'versatile' in this day and age is a byword for 'character actor'?

As actors, particularly those who've been accustomed to leading roles, age they have to diversify to maintain a steady workload. 60 year old boxers/loner survival specialists aside, that is...

...And even Sly built a reputation back up by being damn good with character, supporting parts in Cop Land and Shade.

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Hah, so glad to see that someone else other than me has a sick affection for Keanu.

But really? You don't like Matt Damon?

I don't think versatile is a byword for character actors today--look at Dustin Hoffman and DeNiro, both of whom are still stars. And wasn't Stalone's name above the title in Cop Land? Seems to me he got as much or more screen time as any other actor in that film, but it's been a long time since I saw it and it wasn't that memorable to begin with.

Besides, back in the studio system days when people made a career of character actors they often played essentially the same characters--Frank McHugh was always Frank McHugh; Gabby Hayes was forever Gabby Hayes, Marjorie Main was always Marjorie Main, and they always got Jack Elam for a Jack Elam part. Even sometime stars like Donald Crisp and Thomas Mitchell were essentially playing the same basic Englishman and Irishman. Thomas Gomez had more variety in his roles but he was nearly always the overweight, sweaty, worried guy. Al Jenkins may have been in westerns, crime shows or playing a working man, but he was always a tough guy who made smart remarks. There are few people in flims today that I would classify as true character actors as in the "old days" when the studio would place them in the "background" around the stars in film after film after film.

Are you saying that Hoffman and De Niro are character actors? Or versatile today?

Sorry, Stallone was part of an ensemble cast in Cop Land, you're quite right. Playing against type as well as he did he still demonstrated a greater versatility than a hundred Nicholas Cages, but does that mean he's a better actor?

Which is why I prefaced my post with "in this day and age".

robin williams

For me Robert De Niro and Russel Crowe....

yeah many said keanu, i guess he's on top of the list too

uhm, Will Smith and Robin Williams.

I don't know if you guys are all on crack or if you have only seen one movie in your life (which probably stars Keanu). But easyly without question the MOST versitile actor today (possible in the history of film making) is.... drum role please....Will Ferral, yeah you all can start hitting your heads on your key boards and giving yourself lashings for thinking these other "wanna-bes" could even begin to compare to that of Mr. Ferral.

I.E.
Old Skool/Stranger then fiction

As if I need to explain to paralell between the two.

I still think Nicholas Cage is one of the versatile actor of today!!

Three or four dramatic roles amidst a whole career of crazed comedy acting isn't that versatile.

Same with Will Ferrell. Or vice versa with De Niro.

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ummm.... if you are going to extol the virtues of an actor to that extent, you might want to start by spelling his name right...

..although I also don't know where his versatility comes in. Doesn't he pretty much always play the same type of role? I could be really wrong, but what other types of roles does he play other than the comedic weird guy that he does?

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I agree, he's a cookie cutter SNL alumn. They all, for the most part, just continue to play the same roles as they did on the show.

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There's too much blood in my caffeine system!!

I read your message as suggesting versatile is synonymous for character actor, and simply cited Hoffman and De Niro as two versatile actors who are still leading men, starring in their own films, although have taken co-starring roles in which they seem almost to be supporting players--Hoffman in Wag the Dog, De Niro in Analyze This and Meet the Inlaws or whatever that silly film was prior to Meet the Fokkers in which they both appeared to be supporting players.

On occasions, Stallone has proven a better actor than Cage, who has done nothing the caliber of Stallone's original Rocky. To me, Cage's best role was in Peggy Sue Got Married.


Yes, you did. I was citing those "goldie oldies" as examples of good character actors from the past who were perhaps not allowed to be more versatile, having been plugged into virtually the same roles time after time after time.

I think Williams is one of th least versatile actors ever; he always seems like he's doing a variation of Mork, his big TV role.

Will Smith, however, is so versatile that he doesn't even seem black. What I mean is that every role he's ever played could have been played by a white guy--he's not limited to just black roles as some black actors are. Ossie Davis was as good an actor as it's possible to be, but you were always were conscious that you were watching a black actor playing a black role. Even Poitier and Harry Belafonte were always perceived as black. The only two black actors I've ever seen where one completely forgets their ethnic background while they are on screen are Smith and Bill Cosby.

Here's another very versatile actor for you: John Turtorio!

Men of Respect, Miller's Crossing, Cradle Will Rock, O Brother Where Art Thou, Do the Right Thing, Barton Fink, Quiz Show, The Big Lebowski--a different character in every one.

Clive Owen


Toni Collette

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If you say Clive Owen I'll say Roger Moore. There's no perceptible difference between The Oak and The Walking Eyebrow apart from a few decades and the fact that Owen seems to have an agent capable of magical powers.



That's just about the best suggestion in this thread.

He's a great character actor, it's true.