And the Winner Is…

The boys and I were talking in the office the other day about male film actors (regrettably there are no “girls” in our office, a situation that needs some serious looking into). The subject was: name the greatest male movie actor of this generation. An interesting question to consider. The person who introduced this topic offered Tom Hanks as a strong contender, citing his back-to-back Oscar wins for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, and a near miss for his work in Apollo 13. Not a bad choice. I countered that, yes, Tom Hanks is very good, but it was the quality of the roles he got that gave him the boost he needed. In other words, I felt there were other actors out there equally capable of acing those roles — and perhaps bettering Tom Hanks’ efforts. I was challenged to give an example and I did so with very little deliberation, but I will save my choice for later.

Then we started defining our terms. I thought “greatest” and “of this generation” were a bit vague. What, in a film actor, denotes greatness? That’s not as easy to pin down as it first appears. I think a great actor can be judged great only after looking at his body of work, the range of roles undertaken (and the strong likelihood that no one could have outperformed him in any of them), consistent top billing, the probability that he will continue his winning ways and become even more accomplished, and if he possesses a God-given, indefinable something — “duende,” let’s say — that makes him special, that sets him apart. Admittedly, my personal characterization of greatness may still be rather vague, but I think it’s a good working definition.

The actor who immediately leaps to my mind is Marlon Brando. In his prime, Brando could own any role, no matter how far flung, and he was never afraid to try anything. We all know his excellent work in A Street Named Desire, On the Waterfront, The Godfather, and Apocalypse Now, but how about the foppish Englishman Fletcher Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty, or the singing role of Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, or the Okinawan Sakini in The Teahouse of the August Moon? He pulled them all off brilliantly (and by the way, it’s true: Brando really could sing). There, ladies and gentlemen, was a great movie actor. Not of this generation, of course, but Marlon Brando stands as a terrific benchmark.

And yet, as I mentioned, I wasn’t satisfied with “of this generation.” Far better, it seems to me, to put it as “still relevant,” because “of this generation” might ignore the magnificence of Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro, Gene Hackman, or Dustin Hoffman, who are, I submit, still relevant, but getting on in years, so possibly not “of this generation.” And what do I mean by “still relevant”? Hmm. I think I mainly mean an actor who can recommend a movie to you by the sheer force of his presence. For instance, if Jack Nicholson is in a movie, I’m automatically interested in seeing it, and only the most scathing reviews of a hundred critics can stop me. However, it must be quickly pointed out that “still relevant” can never be the only yardstick to go by, because then we would have the likes of Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, et al., as contenders for greatness, when they are, in my humble opinion, merely wonderful at playing the same captivating character over and over again. They are very successful movie stars, but probably not great film actors.

So who do we consider? How about Brad Pitt? It’s hard to imagine anybody better than him in Fight Club and I loved him in Seven Years in Tibet. Johnny Depp? Absolutely right up there. He approaches the Brando mold, I think. He’s marvelous at “affected” characters, like Edward Scissorhands, Captain Jack Sparrow, Raoul Duke/Hunter S. Thompson, James Barrie, Ed Wood, Constable Ichabod Crane, and so on. Then, of course, there’s Jack Nicholson, who has shown he can still bring on the heat in About Schmidt and As Good As It Gets. Naturally, there are a host of others: Daniel Day Lewis, Denzel Washington, Ewan Mcgregor, Morgan Freeman, Adrien Brody, Samuel L. Jackson, and on and on and on.

I’m going to cut to the chase and offer up my dark horse candidate as the greatest male film actor around today. My choice will surprise and astound you, but I stand by it. Like Tom Hanks, he started out as a comedic actor (and still does comedy surpassingly well), but has proven exceedingly capable of handling serious roles with equal aplomb. Indeed, there are movies he’s done that would have had no chance of achieving the same success with any other actor. I think he can take on any role offered him and perform each brilliantly, and I predict that in the coming years we will see more and more of this. And I believe he could have taken the Tom Hanks Oscar-winning roles of Forrest Gump and Andy Beckett and gone to greater heights with them. Are you ready? Are you at the edge of your seats? Can you stand the anticipation? Drum roll please…

Jim Carrey.

That’s right, Jim Carrey. I know, I know: Ace Ventura? Dumb and Dumber? Greatness? It may be a bit difficult to build a case for him, but let me try. First, I believe a good Exhibit A is The Cable Guy, an intelligent, dark comedy that would not have worked — in fact, would have absolutely tanked at the box office — if anyone other than Jim Carrey played the part of The Cable Guy (we never know his real name). I think the same is true of The Mask. I can’t think of a single actor who could approach him playing the role of hapless, sweet Stanley Ipkiss or his outrageous alter-ego. As Fletcher Reede in Liar, Liar, he is untouchable, and the same applies as Bruce Nolan in Bruce Almighty. He also excels in the straight roles: consider The Majestic and, especially, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And I predict that as he gets older and the comedic roles might become less appealing, he will finally get the role that will earn him an Academy Award. To sum up, he’s got range, earns consistent top billing, takes on roles no other actor could touch, has duende in abundance and relevance coming out of his ears. He’s got “it,” folks. Take it to the bank.

So I’m right, aren’t I? It’s Jim Carrey without any doubt? Or who else? Hmm? Hmm?