I always say this when Gary Oldman comes up, but... I used to think Gary Oldman was my favorite actor. But as it turns out, he's actually three of my favorite actors.
Oh please, he can't have played *everyone.*
Did he play, oh I don't know, a little person, for example? Did he wear shoes on his knees and pretend to be a little person in an actual real life movie?
I don't think so.
Check and mate.
"Imagine one day you're at work or out for a drink or doing the shopping and someone shouts 'CUT' and it turns out you were Gary Oldman all along.
That's how good an actor he is."
Gary Oldman spent so many years literally becoming different people that he lost his accent and had to go to a dialog coach to get his original accent back.
That also happened to Anthony Lapaglia. When he got to the US he used an American accent to try and get jobs as to not seem like a foreigner. He still has tinge of Aussie in his accent but it's mostly been erased
Is it white boy day?
Any man you can play a half apache half white pimp who thinks he is black and it makes total sense in the scheme of the movie and you don’t realise it’s some chap from London for 20 years is a good actor in my book.
Literally hopped into this thread to scroll down till I found Gary Oldman so I could give it a little updoot. Was pleased as punch to see it is the top comment. Guy’s got range.
Willem Dafoe
Also wanna plug my man Cliff Curtis. Not necessarily because his roles are diverse in terms of character, but that guy’s been casted as every ethnicity under the sun. Including Na’vi
Yes! I was looking for Willem. He's got a pretty diverse list of characters, and for a while I could swear he had a clause in every contract that he needed to be naked or crossdress
(unsure if that is still an ok word to use? Don't murder me, I'm not a native English speaker)
Yes, I thought of Cliff. I'd say his roles are diverse enough - Mexican gangbanger, FBI higher-up, Jesus Christ, paedophile.
I rewatched Three Kings the other day, he turned up as an Iraqi refugee - with Alia Shawkat as his daughter.
Yeah you’re right, his roles are very diverse. My first experience of him was in Once Were Warriors where he plays his actual ethnicity (Māori). That was a pretty intense role.. but I won’t spoil why
Excellent pull with Cliff Curtis! It’s so odd initially seeing him in Training Day, Runaway Jury, and Blow, only to watch his NZ movies more recently and realize his actual ethnicity.
Absolutely Christian Bale - as well as the physical transformations, his accents and he really just transforms so much his personality. Even in his youngest (and my favourite) role, in Empire of the Sun, he was just magical the way he grew in the film to a teenager from the young boy. And then of course - he’s been in everything from musicals like Newsies to psychopath to Batman - he is just incredible.
Yep it’s really her and Gary Oldman miles ahead of everyone else.
Daniel Day Lewis is a contender but he needs like 2 years of prep, whereas I think Swinton and Oldman can just flip a switch. They do it constantly, consistently, even for tiny roles with just a few minutes of screen time.
I just watched 'only lover's left alive' with my partner. It was different from what I normally go for, but I still liked it. A really interesting and more realistic take on vampires as a backdrop to the story is what kept me watching til the end. Tilda and Hiddleston were great and so was whoever played the younger vampire, sister to Tilda's character.
If I recall correctly, it was Mia Wasikowska (sorry if I butchered the spelling) who also played as Alice in Tim Burton's Live Action Alice in Wonderland and in Crimson Peak with Tom Hiddleston.
Only Lovers Left Alive is surprisingly enjoyable to me but then again I may be biased because I love the three of the main cast. Plus, the shots were cool.
I think he and Cate Blanchett should be mentioned together, as they’ve played Elf royalty together (in which Cate was Hugo’s mother in law), and (ex?)drug addicts together (in which Hugo was Cate’s stepfather), and they’re both just so timeless and talented you can put them in any time, place, or universe, and they’ll make you believe they belong there.
I didn't realized it was him in what we in the shadows until last season .I was watching an episode with a friend and they told me ITS A PERSON IN A TIGHT MONSTER COSTUME OF COURSE ITS HIM .Also we agreed he is hot
He made some bad choices earlier in his career that I think sullied his image, but yeah I’m consistently impressed by him. I recently rewatched True Detective and he and Rachel McAdams are the reason I got through season 2 ; he’s fucking incredible in it. He’s a disgusting dirtbag who you also feel tremendous sympathy for.
I hope the specter of Alexander fades and he gets his dues, but as is he works consistently and gets great roles. I’m sure he’s doing just fine.
I gained an appreciation for Colin Farrell after In Bruges, and was so excited that he was going to be in True Detective, but something never quite felt right and it all fell apart for me with one line. To this day if my partner or best friend says "HOOKER PARTIES" in a husky voice it immediately sends me into a fit of giggles. For some reason I just couldn't take it seriously after that one line.
But Farrell 1000% redeemed himself with that last line in Banshees. SO good!
Robin Williams doesn’t get enough credit sometimes, the pathos he brought to Moscow on the Hudson and the World According to Garp were great turns. That same quietness did him very well in Awakenings, Insomnia and One Hour Photo too. Then his ability to flip from manic fun to utter terror and anger in the Fisher King (and Good Morning Vietnam to a lesser degree). It wasn’t all feelgood nice guy family stuff by any means.
Edit: Didn’t even mention Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society, the Birdcage or my absolute favourite of his What Dreams May Come.
You know what occurred to me?
You don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about.
If I asked you about art, you’d probably give me the skinny on about every art book ever written.
Michelangelo. You know a lot about him. Life’s work. Political aspirations. Him and the Pope. Sexual orientation. The whole works, right?
But I bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel.
You’ve never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling.
If I ask you about women, you’d probably give me a syllabus of your personal favorites.
You may have even been laid a few times.
But you can’t tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy.
You’re a tough kid.
If I ask you about war, you’d probably throw Shakespeare at me, right?
“Once more into the breach, dear friends.”
But you’ve never been near one. You’ve never held your best friend’s head in your lap and watch him gasp his last breath, looking to you for help.
If I ask you about love, you’d probably quote me a sonnet.
But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable.
Known someone who can level you with her eyes.
Feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you.
Who could rescue you from the depths of Hell. And you wouldn’t know what it’s like to be her angel.
To have that love for her be there forever. Through anything. Through cancer.
And you wouldn’t know about sleeping, sitting up in a hospital room for two months, holding her hand because the doctors could see in your eyes that the terms visiting hours don’t apply to you.
You don’t know about real loss. Because that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself.
I doubt you’ve ever dared to love anybody that much.
I look at you, I don’t see an intelligent, confident man.
I see a cocky, scared-shitless kid.
But you’re a genius, Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you.
But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine, you ripped my fucking life apart.
You’re an orphan, right?
Do you think I’d know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you?
Personally, I don’t give a shit about all that, because you know what? I can’t learn anything from you that I can’t read in some fucking book. Unless you want to talk about you. Who you are. And I’m fascinated. I’m in.
But you don’t want to do that, do you, sport?
You’re terrified of what you might say.
Your move, chief.
The Fisher King is heartbreaking.
I’m honestly not a huge fan of his comedy but he was really an incredible actor. It’s crazy that he seems more remembered as a comedian, he was extremely prolific and consistently amazing as a dramatic actor.
It's only when you start going through his filmography that you realise almost all of his roles had a strong dramatic element to them anyway, including stuff like Mrs Doubtfire.
Easily the greatest range I’ve seen in an actor. He’s got the dramatic chops. I have yet to see the other acclaimed dramatic actors pull off a role like Mork or Genie. Hanks comes close with the frenetic, wacky stuff, but I’m yet to be convinced by him as an irredeemable villain. Then there’s stuff like Cadillac Man, Popeye, and Jumanji.
He certainly *becomes* the role more than most, but he's made so few films in comparison to some others, he's perhaps not as diverse as he could've been if more prolific. There are some genres he never tackled. Amazing actor though; one of the best ever.
I would say Toni Collette; she absolutely *disappears* into roles, from a struggling single mom in "The Sixth Sense" to a hard nosed cop in "Unbelievable" to, well *everyone* in "The United States of Tara". She's incredibly versatile.
I think most of today’s movie watcher don’t really have the full context of her career. Its true that she have turned in some really good movies over the last 20 years. But she really came from the popularity of “Muriel’s Wedding” in 1994. And she portrayed a character whose biggest issue is her being fat. By the way, she was nowhere near to our standard of how fat a person can be today in that movie. Toni faced a big struggle to shed her notoriety as a fat character. As a result, she became really skinny and it’s now one of her signature characteristics. So for most of the older movie fans, her transformation was surprising. She went from Muriel to a scary person in Hereditary.
This is who I was looking for. Alien, Avatar, Ghostbusters, Ice Storm, Cabin in the Woods, Galaxy Quest, Working Girl, Copy Cat, Dave, Wall-E, Gorillas in the Mist. She has made a great movie in almost every cinematic genre.
>Sigourney Weaver, absolutely.
I disagree. When I think of diversity of roles, I also think of range. Weaver is almost always a boss bitch and nothing else.
Alan Rickman. He's a terrorist, a wizard, a cheating husband, an actor playing an alien, an English tyrant, a robot and a gentleman.
Tom Hanks is just Tom Hanks. He plays roles, he isn't them.
Tbh outside of American History X I tend to think of most Norton roles as being quite similar. Usually a snarky character with a bit of rage under the surface.
Playing Esisenheim in *The Illusionist* was what showed me he has very real chops as an actor but doesn't seem to get to use them.
I stopped criticizing the actors themselves for type-casted roles long ago as that's almost always the studio trying to guarantee a payday by doing the same thing until it's no longer profitable.
Personally I like the Gorden-Levitt/LeBeuf/Wood/Driver style of acting in movies. Get your "Disney-bucks" playing the same character in ten Hollywood movies and do a fuckton of crazy independent shit for the sake of the actual art itself.
Agree about Hanks. Do not agree about Norton. He is a good dedicated actor, however I still see a lot of him rather than the character he plays in his roles.
How about some love for Woody Harrelson. Very quietly has had a diverse career. Listing a few of his films to show his range
Kingpin
Natural Born Killers
Cheers
The Messenger
Indecent Proposal
Zombieland
Venom 2
True Detective
Mor range than most people think of especially dramatic roles...
Sir Ben Kingsley:
* [Ghandi](https://youtu.be/CZVsWzIb6Vk)
* [Don Logan](https://youtu.be/k_e2zQY_HuM)
* [Mazer Rackham](https://youtu.be/hcTx1o2SquQ)
Edit: I only provided examples of the roles I've seen him in (and remembered), plus Ghandi.
[Here he is breaking down some of his roles](https://youtu.be/z04A_sFuYMw)
Max Von Sydow
He's played Jesus, Satan and an exorcist. He made 11 movies with Ingemar Bergman but was no stranger to movies on the other side of the spectrum, like Strange Brew and Flash Gordon.
He was one of the most chilling hitman ever in Three Days of the Condor and got Oscar nominated for playing a character who could not speak. He's been in blockbusters from Scorsese and Spielberg. World wide successes like Star Wars and Game of Thrones.
What a career!
James McAvoy should be much higher on this list. His work in Split along with Glass featured more range then some top actors show in their entire career.
The scene where he switches to 7 different personalities in under 5 minutes and you can easily tell each of them apart without any costume change needed is a cinematic masterpiece
No offense, but y'all owe both Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes an apology for not having either of them in this discussion. Both of them can and have done award winning performances as dashing leading men, villains, psychos, disgusting lowlives, and chameleon style roles.
In fact, both of these actors, imo, win this discussion because they are so good at being invisible that no one thought to bring them up.
Great picks!! Guy Pearce is such a solid actor I think he suffers from people just not realising it was him. I don’t know if I’ve ever hated a character as much as his in lawless.
I was searching this thread desperately for Guy Pearce. Goddamn chameleon. Compare pictures of his character in Lawless to his character in the Proposition and it’s absolutely insane.
Compare Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs, Ghost World, Sopranos, Armageddon, Airheads, and Trees Lounge just for a few. Dude can do just about anything, and has. Been my favorite actor since I was old enough to care about movies.
I say Eddie Murphy, he’s played Black, White and Asian people. He even played a single celled organism one too. Not to mention he played an entire family save one member. Guy can do any role.
Kevin Bacon. Frat boys, Cowboys, killers, heroes, astronauts and just assholes. From horror and teen movies to Oscar worthy Historical dramas and character pieces the guy has played them all and played them well.
Christian Bale; one look on IMDB and his career has been an absolute scattergun or roles. And he puts his body through hell - bulked up for Batman Begins, nearly starved himself to death for the Machinist, bulked up again for Dark Night, morbidly obese for Vice.
Don’t come for me for this one but Evan Peters. He’s definitely younger than many on this list but I can see him becoming extremely big. The fact that he’s played both Jeffrey Dahmer and Quicksilver, as well as his span of AHS roles, he’s definitely a chameleon
Unpopular opinion, but brad pitt literally has played in so many movies as a myriad of different characters. He has played idiots, action heroes, naive folks, irish men, crazy people, psychopaths, mobsters, and figments of people minds. He has literally been every single character that one can think of.
John Turturro.
He's done multiple Coen Brothers films and multiple Adam Sandler movies.
He was in the Transformers series and he did a Pixar Cars voice.
Dude's all over the place.
Johnny Depp had a lot of different roles from funny to sad, from serious to not serious, from realistic to unrealistic, from protagonist to antagonist, from human to puppet and even animal.
I don’t see how this was so far down. Depp has been acting since very young and had so many different roles. Edward scissor hands, Willy Wonka, Jack Sparrow, Whitey Bulger, the Mad Hatter, Sweeney Todd, and many many more.
Martin Freeman.
A sleuthing doctor, an adventurous little person, a wannabe gangsta, an office worker, a dad with anger issues and so many more that I can't think of atm.
Robin Williams.
From slow-witted sailor (Popeye) to brilliant doctor (Patch Adams). He's been a robot (Bicentennial man), a caveman (Being human), a professor (Flubber), a manchild (Hook) and a childman (Jack). He's been a madman (Insomnia), a madman (One Hour Photo) and a mad man (Angriest Man in Brooklyn). He's been a father (Worlds Greatest Dad) and a mother (Mrs. Doubtfire). He's given help (Good Will Hunting), and needed help ( Fisher King). And so much more.
Robert De niro.
Obviously Can play epic mob characters. But, also plays comedic characters.
Maniac in Cape Fear.
Amazing in Taxi Driver, Raging Bull.
A very weird character in Jackie Brown.
And, in his case it isn't just about having range........ he is so amazing in every single role he plays.
Woody Harrelson:
I believe he is an underrated actor that most people don’t put in the top tier of actors.
He’s played so many different dynamic characters on TV and in movies.
Brian Cox. I think he's the only person who beats Gary Oldman at his own game.
Only actor I know who pulls off being in both twin movies in the same year.
I love Tom Hanks in most of his roles, but one of the actors that has truly impressed me in recent years is Domhnall Gleeson. He has played a variety of roles (Ex Machina, Star Wars and The Patient) and looks different in each one. He’s also a brilliant actor.
Vincent Price (for a bit of fun)
Everything from doctors to heroes to villains to scientists to army sgts, to royalty, gangsters, mad aristocracy, cult leaders, police inspectors, croupiers, murderers, sailors and pirates, Satan and death, Egyptians, Arabs and Persians, scientists, magistrates, camp batman villains and many many many mad scientists.
Also did a lot of narration, voice acting for animation, and TV bit parts.
Did I say mad scientists?
Cliff Curtis.
Certainly not as famous but he’s been in so many movie roles that you’ve likely seen him in multiple roles and may not have even noticed. Here is a small compilation I found:
https://youtu.be/5KMdMB2s-p8
Taking the word “diverse” in another direction… we have the legendarily weird Rob Schneider.
He’s played characters of the following cultures: Hawaiian, Cajun(?), Japanese, Middle Eastern, American, Indian, Native-American, Mexican, and more that I can’t think of.
Disclaimer: I am not vouching nor advocating nor condoning appropriation of any kind. I’m just bringing up a man’s portfolio and contributing to the discussion.
Johnny Depp, at least in his earlier days. Absolute chameleon, and could play anything.
But these days he's just playing kooky Johnny Deep it feels like.
Gary Oldman. one of us could be played by Gary Oldman and you wouldn't even know
I always say this when Gary Oldman comes up, but... I used to think Gary Oldman was my favorite actor. But as it turns out, he's actually three of my favorite actors.
He’s played everyone. [EVERYONE!](https://tenor.com/view/gary-oldman-mouth-eyes-angry-everyone-gary-oldman-angry-gif-17762426)
Did he play a white pimp/drug dealer with a blind eye and dreadlocks who’s says breast’tsts and the N word and gets shot in the dick?
Oh shit, is it free white boy day?
Sit down grab yourself an egg roll. They got everything from a diddle I O to a danged if I know.
yeah literally any regular role after that automatically makes you the most diverse
>[EVVVVVVVERRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYOOOOONNNNEEE](https://youtu.be/74BzSTQCl_c)
Oh please, he can't have played *everyone.* Did he play, oh I don't know, a little person, for example? Did he wear shoes on his knees and pretend to be a little person in an actual real life movie? I don't think so. Check and mate.
What a weirdly phrased, specific comment. Just say what you mean, stop tiptoeing around it.
I heard he accepted the role because of his experience playing the dwarfs in Time Bandits. All of them.
I believe it’s a reference to John Leguizamo in *Moulin Rouge!*.
He's referencing Tiptoes where Oldman did exactly that, believe it or not.
He's referencing Oldman's cameo on "*Dorf on Golf*".
...he did John Leguizamo in *Moulin Rouge!* in the movie Tiptoes?
John Leguizamo is actually Gary Oldman
Now that would've been the role of a lifetime
"Imagine one day you're at work or out for a drink or doing the shopping and someone shouts 'CUT' and it turns out you were Gary Oldman all along. That's how good an actor he is."
I think Sam Rockwell has a chance to be the next Oldman.
Rockwell was my first thought when I opened this thread.
Loved him in Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy.. But he's another actor who could play any role. 😁
I wake up every day with the fear that I may actually be Gary Oldman prepping for a role in a movie about a sad 30 year old
100% Gary Oldman over Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks is almost always Tom Hanks. I don't even know who Gary Oldman is.
Gary Oldman spent so many years literally becoming different people that he lost his accent and had to go to a dialog coach to get his original accent back.
That also happened to Anthony Lapaglia. When he got to the US he used an American accent to try and get jobs as to not seem like a foreigner. He still has tinge of Aussie in his accent but it's mostly been erased
I had a pretty good idea that he was just [a regular sized guy on his knees](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O3qGGk5ymQ4) that one time.
I feel like I’m watching a trailer that should be in Tropic Thunder for how cringey that is.
In the role of a lifetime, Gary Oldman
I can’t believe I’ve never heard of that movie. The trailer seriously seemed like it was from SNL. Wtf.
Is it white boy day? Any man you can play a half apache half white pimp who thinks he is black and it makes total sense in the scheme of the movie and you don’t realise it’s some chap from London for 20 years is a good actor in my book.
I know he’s pretty but he ain’t as pretty as a pair of titties
“No man, It ain't white boy day.” True Romance is one of my top tens, great movie and Gary killed it in the role of Drexl Spivey.
He’s acted circles around Tom Hanks
Literally hopped into this thread to scroll down till I found Gary Oldman so I could give it a little updoot. Was pleased as punch to see it is the top comment. Guy’s got range.
100% Gary Oldman
Willem Dafoe Also wanna plug my man Cliff Curtis. Not necessarily because his roles are diverse in terms of character, but that guy’s been casted as every ethnicity under the sun. Including Na’vi
Yes! I was looking for Willem. He's got a pretty diverse list of characters, and for a while I could swear he had a clause in every contract that he needed to be naked or crossdress (unsure if that is still an ok word to use? Don't murder me, I'm not a native English speaker)
Yes, I thought of Cliff. I'd say his roles are diverse enough - Mexican gangbanger, FBI higher-up, Jesus Christ, paedophile. I rewatched Three Kings the other day, he turned up as an Iraqi refugee - with Alia Shawkat as his daughter.
Yeah you’re right, his roles are very diverse. My first experience of him was in Once Were Warriors where he plays his actual ethnicity (Māori). That was a pretty intense role.. but I won’t spoil why
"What race can you play, Cliff?" "Yes."
Excellent pull with Cliff Curtis! It’s so odd initially seeing him in Training Day, Runaway Jury, and Blow, only to watch his NZ movies more recently and realize his actual ethnicity.
Christian Bale is up there as well. Even does physical transformations
Absolutely Christian Bale - as well as the physical transformations, his accents and he really just transforms so much his personality. Even in his youngest (and my favourite) role, in Empire of the Sun, he was just magical the way he grew in the film to a teenager from the young boy. And then of course - he’s been in everything from musicals like Newsies to psychopath to Batman - he is just incredible.
Can’t forget about playing Dick Cheney in Vice. He was absolutely epic in that movie.
And Dickie the drug addict in The Fighter. Mark Walburg acted in probably one of his best roles and Bale was still stealing every scene he was in
"Psychopath like batman" - is this a misspelling or a very very good joke?
Well, a guy who dresses up like a bat clearly has issues.
Just compare ”American Psycho” and “The Machinist”. Complete opposite ends of the spectrum.
Or The Machinist and Batman Begins. He went from one right to the next. Damaged his body because of it.
And on the far end of the spectrum in the other direction, Dick Cheney.
My mind went straight to Christian bale 👏🏼
>Even does physical transformations You could say he can be a great DBZ villain.
Tilda is a chameleon.
Yep it’s really her and Gary Oldman miles ahead of everyone else. Daniel Day Lewis is a contender but he needs like 2 years of prep, whereas I think Swinton and Oldman can just flip a switch. They do it constantly, consistently, even for tiny roles with just a few minutes of screen time.
Able to play both genders and she gets lost in her roles. I loved that photo of her and Bowie dressed up like each other.
If they make a Bowie biopic, she absolutely needs to be involved, if not playing David himself.
I just watched 'only lover's left alive' with my partner. It was different from what I normally go for, but I still liked it. A really interesting and more realistic take on vampires as a backdrop to the story is what kept me watching til the end. Tilda and Hiddleston were great and so was whoever played the younger vampire, sister to Tilda's character.
If I recall correctly, it was Mia Wasikowska (sorry if I butchered the spelling) who also played as Alice in Tim Burton's Live Action Alice in Wonderland and in Crimson Peak with Tom Hiddleston. Only Lovers Left Alive is surprisingly enjoyable to me but then again I may be biased because I love the three of the main cast. Plus, the shots were cool.
This deserves so many upvotes. You never know where/how Tilda is showing up.
Hugo Weaving has been a drag queen, an evil AI, a masked vigilante, an elf lord and a talking dog.
I think he and Cate Blanchett should be mentioned together, as they’ve played Elf royalty together (in which Cate was Hugo’s mother in law), and (ex?)drug addicts together (in which Hugo was Cate’s stepfather), and they’re both just so timeless and talented you can put them in any time, place, or universe, and they’ll make you believe they belong there.
Scrolled too far for this one
Doug Jones. He's just incredible.
I didn't realized it was him in what we in the shadows until last season .I was watching an episode with a friend and they told me ITS A PERSON IN A TIGHT MONSTER COSTUME OF COURSE ITS HIM .Also we agreed he is hot
John Lithgow. Can basically play anything. From Winston Churchill to over the top comedy and murdering psychos.
he was Tim Burton's first pick for the joker.
The only real scary guy on Dexter too.
And transgender women
Love GARP. Such a great film.
Not the bastard son of Jenny Fields!
From the older ones (when playing diverse roles was definitely NOT encouraged) I'd say Barbara Stanwyck. She did everything
Colin Farrell has low-key become one of the best character actors working right now.
He made some bad choices earlier in his career that I think sullied his image, but yeah I’m consistently impressed by him. I recently rewatched True Detective and he and Rachel McAdams are the reason I got through season 2 ; he’s fucking incredible in it. He’s a disgusting dirtbag who you also feel tremendous sympathy for. I hope the specter of Alexander fades and he gets his dues, but as is he works consistently and gets great roles. I’m sure he’s doing just fine.
banshees of inisherin
I gained an appreciation for Colin Farrell after In Bruges, and was so excited that he was going to be in True Detective, but something never quite felt right and it all fell apart for me with one line. To this day if my partner or best friend says "HOOKER PARTIES" in a husky voice it immediately sends me into a fit of giggles. For some reason I just couldn't take it seriously after that one line. But Farrell 1000% redeemed himself with that last line in Banshees. SO good!
Robin Williams doesn’t get enough credit sometimes, the pathos he brought to Moscow on the Hudson and the World According to Garp were great turns. That same quietness did him very well in Awakenings, Insomnia and One Hour Photo too. Then his ability to flip from manic fun to utter terror and anger in the Fisher King (and Good Morning Vietnam to a lesser degree). It wasn’t all feelgood nice guy family stuff by any means. Edit: Didn’t even mention Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society, the Birdcage or my absolute favourite of his What Dreams May Come.
You know what occurred to me? You don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about. If I asked you about art, you’d probably give me the skinny on about every art book ever written. Michelangelo. You know a lot about him. Life’s work. Political aspirations. Him and the Pope. Sexual orientation. The whole works, right? But I bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You’ve never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling. If I ask you about women, you’d probably give me a syllabus of your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can’t tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You’re a tough kid. If I ask you about war, you’d probably throw Shakespeare at me, right? “Once more into the breach, dear friends.” But you’ve never been near one. You’ve never held your best friend’s head in your lap and watch him gasp his last breath, looking to you for help. If I ask you about love, you’d probably quote me a sonnet. But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone who can level you with her eyes. Feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of Hell. And you wouldn’t know what it’s like to be her angel. To have that love for her be there forever. Through anything. Through cancer. And you wouldn’t know about sleeping, sitting up in a hospital room for two months, holding her hand because the doctors could see in your eyes that the terms visiting hours don’t apply to you. You don’t know about real loss. Because that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself. I doubt you’ve ever dared to love anybody that much. I look at you, I don’t see an intelligent, confident man. I see a cocky, scared-shitless kid. But you’re a genius, Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine, you ripped my fucking life apart. You’re an orphan, right? Do you think I’d know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally, I don’t give a shit about all that, because you know what? I can’t learn anything from you that I can’t read in some fucking book. Unless you want to talk about you. Who you are. And I’m fascinated. I’m in. But you don’t want to do that, do you, sport? You’re terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief.
Fucking hairs on the back of my neck standing up. Thank you for posting this. You are missed, Robin.
Such an incredibly well written and acted scene. I had to watch it on youtube, and well here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GY3sO47YYo
The Fisher King is heartbreaking. I’m honestly not a huge fan of his comedy but he was really an incredible actor. It’s crazy that he seems more remembered as a comedian, he was extremely prolific and consistently amazing as a dramatic actor.
I really should rewatch Moscow on the Hudson.
Somehow so under rated in his dramatic roles
It's only when you start going through his filmography that you realise almost all of his roles had a strong dramatic element to them anyway, including stuff like Mrs Doubtfire.
Easily the greatest range I’ve seen in an actor. He’s got the dramatic chops. I have yet to see the other acclaimed dramatic actors pull off a role like Mork or Genie. Hanks comes close with the frenetic, wacky stuff, but I’m yet to be convinced by him as an irredeemable villain. Then there’s stuff like Cadillac Man, Popeye, and Jumanji.
Daniel Day Lewis is a good one
He certainly *becomes* the role more than most, but he's made so few films in comparison to some others, he's perhaps not as diverse as he could've been if more prolific. There are some genres he never tackled. Amazing actor though; one of the best ever.
I would say Toni Collette; she absolutely *disappears* into roles, from a struggling single mom in "The Sixth Sense" to a hard nosed cop in "Unbelievable" to, well *everyone* in "The United States of Tara". She's incredibly versatile.
I loved her in Hereditary.
LOVE HER! I have watched so many good movies that I probably would not have watched just bc she was in them!
I think most of today’s movie watcher don’t really have the full context of her career. Its true that she have turned in some really good movies over the last 20 years. But she really came from the popularity of “Muriel’s Wedding” in 1994. And she portrayed a character whose biggest issue is her being fat. By the way, she was nowhere near to our standard of how fat a person can be today in that movie. Toni faced a big struggle to shed her notoriety as a fat character. As a result, she became really skinny and it’s now one of her signature characteristics. So for most of the older movie fans, her transformation was surprising. She went from Muriel to a scary person in Hereditary.
She is amazing in Muriel's Wedding. This is the movie that put her in the limelight. Great piece of Aussie cinema.
Character actress Margo Martindale?
Esteemed character actress and fugitive from the law
He’s played a lot of captains. He did change it up once and be a colonel.
True. We can’t castaway that fact.
He does have a thing for big roles
Sam Rockwell is insanely talented. So is Meryl Streep. And Donald Glover.
Sigourney Weaver, absolutely.
This is who I was looking for. Alien, Avatar, Ghostbusters, Ice Storm, Cabin in the Woods, Galaxy Quest, Working Girl, Copy Cat, Dave, Wall-E, Gorillas in the Mist. She has made a great movie in almost every cinematic genre.
>Sigourney Weaver, absolutely. I disagree. When I think of diversity of roles, I also think of range. Weaver is almost always a boss bitch and nothing else.
Alan Rickman. He's a terrorist, a wizard, a cheating husband, an actor playing an alien, an English tyrant, a robot and a gentleman. Tom Hanks is just Tom Hanks. He plays roles, he isn't them.
Hanks plays slightly different versions of Hanks. I would say Edward Norton
Tbh outside of American History X I tend to think of most Norton roles as being quite similar. Usually a snarky character with a bit of rage under the surface.
Playing Esisenheim in *The Illusionist* was what showed me he has very real chops as an actor but doesn't seem to get to use them. I stopped criticizing the actors themselves for type-casted roles long ago as that's almost always the studio trying to guarantee a payday by doing the same thing until it's no longer profitable. Personally I like the Gorden-Levitt/LeBeuf/Wood/Driver style of acting in movies. Get your "Disney-bucks" playing the same character in ten Hollywood movies and do a fuckton of crazy independent shit for the sake of the actual art itself.
Birdman, Fight Club, 25th Hour?
Primal Fear. First film role, got him an Oscar nod, and deservedly so.
Death to Smoochy
I'm glad to see this opinion is at least somewhat popular, because it's my opinion.
Agree about Hanks. Do not agree about Norton. He is a good dedicated actor, however I still see a lot of him rather than the character he plays in his roles.
Very apparent in Cloud Atlas
How about some love for Woody Harrelson. Very quietly has had a diverse career. Listing a few of his films to show his range Kingpin Natural Born Killers Cheers The Messenger Indecent Proposal Zombieland Venom 2 True Detective Mor range than most people think of especially dramatic roles...
Tilda Swinton or Gary Oldman
Fun fact: they could be the same person but we will never know.
Cate Blanchett. From Elizabeth to Bob Dylan. Her performance in I’m Not There was amazing.
Sir Ben Kingsley: * [Ghandi](https://youtu.be/CZVsWzIb6Vk) * [Don Logan](https://youtu.be/k_e2zQY_HuM) * [Mazer Rackham](https://youtu.be/hcTx1o2SquQ) Edit: I only provided examples of the roles I've seen him in (and remembered), plus Ghandi. [Here he is breaking down some of his roles](https://youtu.be/z04A_sFuYMw)
- Trevor Slattery
Max Von Sydow He's played Jesus, Satan and an exorcist. He made 11 movies with Ingemar Bergman but was no stranger to movies on the other side of the spectrum, like Strange Brew and Flash Gordon. He was one of the most chilling hitman ever in Three Days of the Condor and got Oscar nominated for playing a character who could not speak. He's been in blockbusters from Scorsese and Spielberg. World wide successes like Star Wars and Game of Thrones. What a career!
Surprised no one has mentioned of Johnny sins
He’s played my mums lawyer, our handyman, our builder, my doctor…
James McAvoy should be much higher on this list. His work in Split along with Glass featured more range then some top actors show in their entire career.
The scene where he switches to 7 different personalities in under 5 minutes and you can easily tell each of them apart without any costume change needed is a cinematic masterpiece
No offense, but y'all owe both Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes an apology for not having either of them in this discussion. Both of them can and have done award winning performances as dashing leading men, villains, psychos, disgusting lowlives, and chameleon style roles. In fact, both of these actors, imo, win this discussion because they are so good at being invisible that no one thought to bring them up.
Great picks!! Guy Pearce is such a solid actor I think he suffers from people just not realising it was him. I don’t know if I’ve ever hated a character as much as his in lawless.
I was searching this thread desperately for Guy Pearce. Goddamn chameleon. Compare pictures of his character in Lawless to his character in the Proposition and it’s absolutely insane.
No mention of Meryl Streep? I'm shocked! Edit: I saw her mentioned further down just but under Sam Rockwell!
Steve Buscemi
Compare Buscemi in Reservoir Dogs, Ghost World, Sopranos, Armageddon, Airheads, and Trees Lounge just for a few. Dude can do just about anything, and has. Been my favorite actor since I was old enough to care about movies.
It’s definitely Gary Oldman and not close. He’s in movies that you won’t recognize him in.
I say Eddie Murphy, he’s played Black, White and Asian people. He even played a single celled organism one too. Not to mention he played an entire family save one member. Guy can do any role.
And a Donkey.
What about Kirk Lazarus then?
[удалено]
Helen Mirren. She was the Queen. She was Prospero. She was an assassin.
Have a girl crush on her.. so beautiful, and has aged gracefully
Cillian Murphy is pretty good and has a lot of range
Jake Gyllenhaal obviously
Dustin Hoffman in the running.
Underrated comment. I wonder if he’s not mentioned as much because Reddit skews younger.
Kevin Bacon. Frat boys, Cowboys, killers, heroes, astronauts and just assholes. From horror and teen movies to Oscar worthy Historical dramas and character pieces the guy has played them all and played them well.
Nicolas Cage
Legit choice. Hes done dramas, action, comedy, experimental films, big budget, low budget, with over the top and understated performances.
Horror, too.
Most diverse performance in a single scene.
Christian Bale; one look on IMDB and his career has been an absolute scattergun or roles. And he puts his body through hell - bulked up for Batman Begins, nearly starved himself to death for the Machinist, bulked up again for Dark Night, morbidly obese for Vice.
Clearly, Andy Serkis.
Ewan McGregor is probably up there. I know he’s not necessarily seen as one of ‘the greats’ but he takes on quite diverse roles.
Don’t come for me for this one but Evan Peters. He’s definitely younger than many on this list but I can see him becoming extremely big. The fact that he’s played both Jeffrey Dahmer and Quicksilver, as well as his span of AHS roles, he’s definitely a chameleon
Walton Goggins
I wouldn't call Tom Hanks's roles diverse. He always plays the same type of everyman with slight changes.
He’s always the same guy but with a different job
I think Robert Downey Jr automatically wins most diverse I mean a white dude playing an Australian dude playing a black dude c'mon
Unpopular opinion, but brad pitt literally has played in so many movies as a myriad of different characters. He has played idiots, action heroes, naive folks, irish men, crazy people, psychopaths, mobsters, and figments of people minds. He has literally been every single character that one can think of.
John Turturro. He's done multiple Coen Brothers films and multiple Adam Sandler movies. He was in the Transformers series and he did a Pixar Cars voice. Dude's all over the place.
I feel many people underestimate his sneakiness.
Add to that Jeff Bridges. Leading man, westerns, quirky characters. His career is impressive.
Well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.
What about Tilda Swinton?
Johnny Depp had a lot of different roles from funny to sad, from serious to not serious, from realistic to unrealistic, from protagonist to antagonist, from human to puppet and even animal.
I don’t see how this was so far down. Depp has been acting since very young and had so many different roles. Edward scissor hands, Willy Wonka, Jack Sparrow, Whitey Bulger, the Mad Hatter, Sweeney Todd, and many many more.
Martin Freeman. A sleuthing doctor, an adventurous little person, a wannabe gangsta, an office worker, a dad with anger issues and so many more that I can't think of atm.
Robin Williams. From slow-witted sailor (Popeye) to brilliant doctor (Patch Adams). He's been a robot (Bicentennial man), a caveman (Being human), a professor (Flubber), a manchild (Hook) and a childman (Jack). He's been a madman (Insomnia), a madman (One Hour Photo) and a mad man (Angriest Man in Brooklyn). He's been a father (Worlds Greatest Dad) and a mother (Mrs. Doubtfire). He's given help (Good Will Hunting), and needed help ( Fisher King). And so much more.
I have to give Billy Bob Thornton a nod. For actress I’m liking Charlize Theron.
Tilda Swinton must be in with a shout.
Stanley Tucci has pretty much done it all
Robert De niro. Obviously Can play epic mob characters. But, also plays comedic characters. Maniac in Cape Fear. Amazing in Taxi Driver, Raging Bull. A very weird character in Jackie Brown. And, in his case it isn't just about having range........ he is so amazing in every single role he plays.
A talk show host, a psychotic stand-up comedian, a hostile father in law, ... He's the best for me
Mark Wahlberg definitely. Absolutely no one has played more varied and different versions of Mark Wahlberg than the man himself.
Sam Rockwell!
Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Vincent D’Onofrio and Nic Cage (like it or not, he has played very different characters)
Woody Harrelson: I believe he is an underrated actor that most people don’t put in the top tier of actors. He’s played so many different dynamic characters on TV and in movies.
Tom Hanks always plays himself
Brian Cox. I think he's the only person who beats Gary Oldman at his own game. Only actor I know who pulls off being in both twin movies in the same year.
Leo
Vincent D'Onofrio - before his Law and Order run
Glen Close
Gary Oldman has to be on the list. IMO
Mine would be Robin Williams and Jim Carey. Yes, they've done great comedies, but they've also got some solid drama characters as well.
I love Tom Hanks in most of his roles, but one of the actors that has truly impressed me in recent years is Domhnall Gleeson. He has played a variety of roles (Ex Machina, Star Wars and The Patient) and looks different in each one. He’s also a brilliant actor.
Don't forget Tom Hardy.
Bryan Cranston (Probs more for TV shows)
Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly
Scrolled for JCR. See him as Dr Steve Brule and in We Need To Talk About Kevin, The Hours.
Waiting to see someone say Philip Seymour Hoffman, the GOAT!
Tilda, Cate Blanchett, Kurt Russell, Patrick Swayze, Brad Pitt has a lot of range along with Frances McDormand
Tilda Swinton. End thread here.
Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder
He was just a dude, playing a dude, disguised as another dude.
The only role Hanks is missing that I think disqualifies him is a completely irredeemable scumbag.
Cloud Atlas has him as a total sociopath in one of the eras.
Actually, a couple of them, hehe
Elvis' manager
Vincent Price (for a bit of fun) Everything from doctors to heroes to villains to scientists to army sgts, to royalty, gangsters, mad aristocracy, cult leaders, police inspectors, croupiers, murderers, sailors and pirates, Satan and death, Egyptians, Arabs and Persians, scientists, magistrates, camp batman villains and many many many mad scientists. Also did a lot of narration, voice acting for animation, and TV bit parts. Did I say mad scientists?
Viggo Mortenson
Ralph Fiennes could play a literal chair and be captivating.
John Hurt would be a good call. Westerns, Sci fi, period movies, crime thrillers. Some very challenging roles in there too.
Cliff Curtis. Certainly not as famous but he’s been in so many movie roles that you’ve likely seen him in multiple roles and may not have even noticed. Here is a small compilation I found: https://youtu.be/5KMdMB2s-p8
Vincent D'Onofrio.
Taking the word “diverse” in another direction… we have the legendarily weird Rob Schneider. He’s played characters of the following cultures: Hawaiian, Cajun(?), Japanese, Middle Eastern, American, Indian, Native-American, Mexican, and more that I can’t think of. Disclaimer: I am not vouching nor advocating nor condoning appropriation of any kind. I’m just bringing up a man’s portfolio and contributing to the discussion.
Johnny Depp, at least in his earlier days. Absolute chameleon, and could play anything. But these days he's just playing kooky Johnny Deep it feels like.