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Leonardo DiCaprio - The Greatest Actor of Our Generation

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The Chef

Member
Shutter Island shouldn't be on that list and your omission of J. Edgar is very telling.

Do tell how can Shutter Island NOT be on that list?
Please explain to me how his role in that movie isnt incredible?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F1-sTyGvwA&feature=plcp
shutter-island-o.gif

This scene is masterful.

Along with this scene:


How anyone can say he was anything other than incredible in that movie...I just dont even..
 
Agreed with Catch Me if You Can. I could watch that shit everyday for the rest of my life. His natural charisma is captivating.
 

yogloo

Member
Dicaprio is too charming for his own good. He can't disappear into his roles. Maybe it has something to do with his unique face.
 

Ricky_R

Member
Leo is in my "watch everything that he's in" list so he's darn good in my book. I didn't, nor plan to, watch J. Edgar though.

Btw... While he was brilliant in Catch me and Aviator, there was something about his performance in The Departed that really grabbed me. He just played the vulnerable / scared, but confident young man so well. I felt his pressure and fear while trying to fit in and act normal, every single time. I think his role in The Departed is a bit underrated.
 
Ami was right - Leo is competent at certain kinds of roles (think Revolutionary Road), but he's an incredibly limited actor in that he's pretty much just "Leo" in anything that he's in. Compared to a great actor of a previous generation, like Daniel Day-Lewis or Robert de Niro, or even better actors of HIS generation like Christian Bale and Michael Fassbender, he has little ability to really sink into a role and distinguish himself. What Scorsese saw in the guy I have no idea, but then, he's not exactly pumping out stuff like Goodfellas anymore, either.
 
Ami was right - Leo is competent at certain kinds of roles (think Revolutionary Road), but he's an incredibly limited actor in that he's pretty much just "Leo" in anything that he's in. Compared to a great actor of a previous generation, like Daniel Day-Lewis or Robert de Niro, or even better actors of HIS generation like Christian Bale and Michael Fassbender, he has little ability to really sink into a role and distinguish himself. What Scorsese saw in the guy I have no idea, but then, he's not exactly pumping out stuff like Goodfellas anymore, either.

Guaranteed Boxoffice success.
 

Raonak

Banned
Yeah, one of the few actors that would get me interested in a movie if he starred in it. along with christan bale.
 

overcast

Member
45916.jpg

Not bad, Leo! Not bad.
Terrific actor. He was great in Eastern Promises.

I really like Dicaprio, but he's not the greatest actor of the generation. That goes to DDL. My current personal favorites are Bale and Fassbender. Plenty of other great actors. I love Cranston, but mainly because of BB.
 

Fry

Member
Terrific actor. He was great in Eastern Promises.

I really like Dicaprio, but he's not the greatest actor of the generation. That goes to DDL. My current personal favorites are Bale and Fassbender. Plenty of other great actors. I love Cranston, but mainly because of BB.

We share similar opinions here, though Bale has been my favorite for a while. I hope Nolan keeps including him in his movies after they quit the Batman franchise, I'm sure he'll be considered one of the best of his generation in a few years.
 
Similar with me. I hope Nolan keeps including Bale in his movies after they quit the Batman franchise, I'm sure he'll be considered one of the best of his generation in a few years.

Eh Nolan doesn't really get great performances out of people in his films (with the exception of Ledger of course).

It would be cool to see him continue working with Bale, but the man is fine right now judging by the other directors hiring him.
 

Onemic

Member
Wut?

Titanic is the movie that made him.

Because of the box office sales. I hated him in that movie. In fact those two movies are what made me hate Dicaprio as an actor in general until his movies that he came out with later.
 

The Chef

Member
We share similar opinions here, though Bale has been my favorite for a while. I hope Nolan keeps including him in his movies after they quit the Batman franchise, I'm sure he'll be considered one of the best of his generation in a few years.

You've really got me thinking about Bale. Now that dude can act. And he is absolutely this generation.
This is an actor who has total devotion to the art:
christian-bale-batman-begins.jpg


If someone made a thread "Christian Bale - The Greatest Actor of Our Generation" that would also be acceptable to me :p
 

zoukka

Member
Leo is like Bruce Willis. He always acts himself.

This thread is absurd and probably exists thanks to Inception.
 

AlexSmash

Member
yep. true.

only thanks to scorsese though

but i dont know if im just tricked by that many good films he acted in, now matter how great he acted, scorsese spielberg etc did their part too.
 

GQman2121

Banned
Shutter Island is a terrible film. Revolutionary Road was very good though. That's his best recent performance.

He's typically involved in good pictures that are being produced by people who are at the top of their game. I don't know if that makes him a better actor or not though.

I've really come to like James McAvoy myself.
 

Emwitus

Member
Nope. The guy from the gladiator is actually better. What's his name again?

220px-RussellCroweOct05.jpg



Oh, yeah, this guy leagues better than dicaprio. Gaf must be tripping. Academy award nominee three times in a row. loved him in a beautiful mind, cinderella man, gladiator, master and commander, the insider and a few other movies. Two of them almost made me cry. lol

220px-Denzel_Washington_cropped.jpg


Love denzel too.
 
I publicly liked him way before it was "socially acceptable" to like him.

Why isn't Catch Me If You Can on blu-ray yet... ugh.

Uh what? Were you a kid when Titanic and only girls liked him? Because I don't remember a time like that. I remember him being a girls crush around the Titanic era and then later a mans crush around The Departed era.
 

Cat Party

Member
If we are talking about the greatest actor of "our generation," Leo is pushing it already. Daniel Day Lewis is definitely too old. I'm sure there are GAFers who weren't even born when Mohicans came out. I put Denzel in this category as well.

Now, I do agree that Leo belongs in this discussion, but I have to say Will Smith strikes me as the guy who defines "our generation" as an actor (even though he is a fair bit older than Leo). Ignore the forgettable films (Wild Wild West, Hancock, etc.), and yeah, he's played pretty much the same cop character in about 1/3 of his projects, but I love his versatility and his presence in his other movies.
 

Bigfoot

Member
A better title for this thread would have been: Leo - The greatest actor of HIS generation.

I could get behind that. A lot of the actors listed like Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp get be considered greater than Leo but they aren't in his generation.

I consider a "generation" meaning born plus or minus 5 years of the person in question.
 

Petrichor

Member
He's pretty good but there are better actors in television, let alone film.His romeo+juliet co-star, Claire Danes for example:

all-the-colours-of-the-terror-spectrum-carrie-claire-danes-was-off-her-meds-in-homeland-1x111.jpg
 

Angry Fork

Member
Catch me if you can is severely underrated. I fucking love that film so much, partly because I relate to it but it's just classic Spielberg imo. Everything is done well, Dicpario is fantastic and the score is amazing too.

Leo's best so far has been Aviator and it's a shame he didn't win best oscar for it.

However ever since Blood Diamond Leo has felt very 'samey' in every movie he's been in. He's very good and can act naturally but he seems to have Will Smith syndrome now where you no longer see a character being played but just see Will Smith in a movie. Leo just kind of acts like a normal person for every character. It's similar to how Drnzel Washington, Robert Deniro and Al Pacino both have their 'shtick' that people get tired of and they do the same thing every role. Hopefully Quentin will get something different/unique out of him like Brad Pitt in Inglorious Basterds.
 

Window

Member
I honestly think the Scorsese and Leo collaboration should not have lasted 4 (soon to be 5) films. Should have stopped after Gangs (my favourite of their 4 films together). Maybe one more film would have been fine. I'm no good at judging or identifying specifics of what constitutes good acting so I can only say what I think of a film he's been in or how it made me feel. Based on that I'm not sure if would call him the best but certainly good.
 
Man you guys remember the 'my name' speech at he end of The Crucible? holy shit Daniel Day Lewis' performance was out of this world, I wish I could find it on YouTube.
 
Uh what? Were you a kid when Titanic and only girls liked him? Because I don't remember a time like that. I remember him being a girls crush around the Titanic era and then later a mans crush around The Departed era.

I meant acceptable for guys, which was not the case in Titanic days. Yeah girls were always crazy about him.
 

The Chef

Member
This thread is absurd and probably exists thanks to Inception.

Did you even glance at the OP?
Think before you speak.

Now, I do agree that Leo belongs in this discussion, but I have to say Will Smith strikes me as the guy who defines "our generation" as an actor (even though he is a fair bit older than Leo). Ignore the forgettable films (Wild Wild West, Hancock, etc.), and yeah, he's played pretty much the same cop character in about 1/3 of his projects, but I love his versatility and his presence in his other movies.

Now this is a great choice as well. Will Smith in I Am Legend was really impressive. And again, kudos for picking our generation.

A better title for this thread would have been: Leo - The greatest actor of HIS generation.

I could get behind that. A lot of the actors listed like Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp get be considered greater than Leo but they aren't in his generation.

I consider a "generation" meaning born plus or minus 5 years of the person in question.

Thats a good point.

Man you guys remember the 'my name' speech at he end of The Crucible? holy shit Daniel Day Lewis' performance was out of this world, I wish I could find it on YouTube.

Not what your referring to but daaaaamn this scene is awesome. DDL is unreal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdhxL9r9hkg
 
Like Leo, Will Smith has a limited number of things that he can do/convey, though he also mugs for the camera even more. Acting and star power are NOT the same things, though the latter can influence the former. Leo ain't no Charlton Heston, though.

Edit: Basically, I'm saying that Leo is a somewhat mediocre actor with a few good performances but no range.
 
I like DiCaprio, but he's not a great actor. He's good, but he's also one of those actors that basically plays himself or the same character in every movie. I feel like lately he's just been playing super serious roles in an attempt to get an Oscar, which will inevitably happen. I just don't think his acting career has been particularly interesting as a result of that.

Truly great actors are actors like Daniel Day Lewis and Marlon Brando. They're so convincing that I usually forget that they're acting. DiCaprio is a joke in comparison.

And maybe it's just me, but Leo hasn't aged well at all. I can't quite put my finger on it, but he looks fucking weird now. Like his eyes, mouth, and nose are too small for his face and haven't aged since he was in his twenties. He used to be particularly handsome, where as now I'd actually say he's gotten kind-of ugly.
I was about to post more or less the exact same thing. Agree 100%. Also his teenager voice kills any attempt at being a badass, which is basically every movie.

He's good but doesnt have range (or is unwilling to use it, the young Leo actually seems much more versatile and unpredictable)
 

Xun

Member
Great actor.

His performance as someone who suffers with OCD in The Aviator was very accurately done.
 
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