Quality actors

Is it just my imagination, or are there more quality actors now than there were in the 80's and 90's?

I'm a big movie buff. I sit here all day programming, farting around on the C.c forums and watching movies.

My favorite movie-making periods are the 60's and 70's (Which I believe had even higher quality actors than now), and the last 10 - 15 years.

Some current quality actors:

Matt Damon

Mark Wahlberg

Brad Pitt

Geroge Clooney (and also one of the few quality actors in the 80's and 90's)

Christian Bale

Robert Downey Jr. (he was a bad actor in the 80's. But like John Travolta, he got better when he got older.)

Matthew McConaughey

There are more, but I think these are good examples already.

John Travolta is a good actor??!! Matthew is pretty much unbearable. Robert is overrated. Christian Bale is probably the best of the bunch you have mentioned, though the rest are very watchable;) Of course, this is my tiny opinion:)

 Now that I think of it, all these actors are from the 90s, aren't they?

What do you mean Travolta got better?  How could you forget Saturday Night Fever?

I think the writing has improved greatly more than the acting.  Except for the 50s.  Are they even acting or being melodramatic?

The best actor that I have ever met was an 11 year old who started to cry when I had an attack on the kingside (he shouldn't have played g6).

Tastes in actors is like tastes in food; just because one doesn't like it, doesn't mean it is not good.

The actors I listed, with the possible exception of George Clooney have taken on a range of roles that challenge their talents. This is my main criteria for liking an actor.

Take Brad Pitt for example. During the early 90's he was doing 2 dimensional characthers that did not vary much from one to the other. I didn't consider him a very strong actor at that time.  However, in the last 15 years or so, he has really expanded his roles and shown that he can do a lot more.

Matthew Mc. is another actor who has worked to take on challenging roles.

You are correct that all of those actors were acting in the 90's. However, I was talking about the percentage of quality actors. During the 90's and, especially, the 80's, there were so many lame actors doing the same roles over and over. But, when the smoke cleared, it was actors like the above who remained and still were getting the best roles in movies.

Yes, I think these guys are quality actors too. But I wasn't trying to put together a complete list of quality actors. I just wanted to list a few to give some ideas.

Not sure I've seen Fiennes in anything.

You might be right about the quality of writing and directing. During the 80's there was a lot of 'formula' film making. By this, I mean they made films specifically to target a demographic. Not to tell real stories and make films for the sake of making film.

I forgot about SNF. It's funny because after Welcom Back Kotter, he did a few movies like that. And they all were pretty much the same character. Then he disappeared and reemerged with a different style of acting. He's made some real stinkers. But you can blame Scientology for that. Most of the bad ones were based on Scientology philosophies.

If they keep up with their art then it is really cool to watch them get better and better. Some actors get worse, of course. Since you're speaking about male actors, just look at Robert De Niro and Liam Neeson. What the hell have they done lately? They're spoiling their legacy, in my view. They were much better when they were younger. It's really nice to see how actors mature in their craft, and give us some special performances later in life:)

But honestly, John Travolta?!

Yes, It is great to see actors grow and improve their craft.

One actor that comes to mind is Robin Williams. It is incredible that he grew from NA-NOO NA-NOO to something like Awakenings.

James Carray, another comedian turned actor with some real acting ability. (Minus the crawling out the rhino butt hole stuff. )

Liam Neeson is a strange one. I never knew who he was until Star Wars. Now I keep finding older movies that he is in. I was surprised when I saw him in a Dirty Harry movie along with James Carrey. I really like Neeson but he seems to pretty much play the same roles over and over. Have you seen The Grey? That might be his best recent movie.

If you look on IMDB, you will se De Niro is still quite active and is working on several project now. One recent movie I saw listed was Killing Season. It also had John Travolta. Not the best example of either of their acting skills.

If you try to compare John Travolta or James Carrey to actors like De Niro, Clooney or Pitt, sure, they don't look that great. However, if you look at the fact that they do try to challenge themselves and are able to do fairly diverse roles well, then it is easier to appreciate their acting.

Okay, John Travolta is not a good actor. Everyone else you named, if we have differences, it's understandably subjective. But to even hint at John Travolta being a good actor, I believe is actually considered a crime in most countries. Because of Travolta-dealers like you, cinema-admirers like me have watched "Saturday Night Fever", which is clearly one of the most ridiculous films ever made. I'm quite sure that he, and that film, was more of an inspiration for today's torture porn movement than The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 

That's funny, trysts. John Travolta was not good in Pulp Fiction though?

As for Matt Damon, it seems like most of his movies are excellent. He is making a new Bourne movie (he was not in the last one). I also loved Good Will Hunting and The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Brad Pitt was good in Seven. Remember the very disturbing scene where he received a package and his wife's head was in it? He did a great job with his reaction I thought.

I liked the acting in Sideways.

I'm starting to think you are in dinal about your possible attraction to JT. 

Hey! The actors of the last 40 years have been woeful. 

Bring back Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart,  Kirk Douglas and Clark Gable. 

Because Franky my dear if you asked me about actors like John Travlota I couldn't give a damn. 

Olivia Newton John would tell John Travolta to shape up and become a full time pilot to spare the world from his acting. But that said, Olivia wouldn't be in a position to give acting or career advice either. 

Can't believe Tom Hanks didn't come to my mind in all of this. 

Playing dumb is no stretch for him. It's not acting. Watch him in a drama. It gets unintentionally hilarious

Philip Seymour Hoffman is my favorite actor of the last 15-20 years.

I vote Harrison Ford as being the worst actor of the last 50 years. It's a crime againt the craft of acting that he wasn't left in carbonite forever in Star Wars. 

He was one of the best. I was quite sad when he died. I don't remember seeing a movie he was in that I didn't like. Even Boogie Nights. (Perhaps JT should have played that role.)

Wasn't he great in Boogie Nights?

I vote Brooke Shields as a quality actor. She was the only highlight in Blue Lagoon. At least she provided two things to try to stare at. 

I thought we were talking about acting? It's not like I say "I don't like war", and then you say, "Oh, you must like war!". Makes no sense