ADN

Ever notice how some of the big name actors get lots of hoopla and critical acclaim for their 'big' roles, while lots of their earlier and lesser known (and in my opinion, BETTER roles) get lost by the wayside? Here are a few I can think of off the top of my head....

Harrison Ford - best known as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, my favorite role is still the Rick Deckard character in BLADE RUNNER

Kurt Russell - Jack Burton, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. Nuff said.

Brad Pitt - tie on this one. Forget all his pretty boy roles - Gypsy bare knuckle brawler Mickey in SNATCH, or the stoned roommate on the couch in TRUE ROMANCE? Tough call...

Bill Paxton - forever immortalized as Hudson in ALIENS. Game over man!

Nicholas Cage - 'Hi' in RAISING ARIZONA... This film also contains the best ever roles of John Goodman and William Forsythe as well...

Mel Gibson - He will always be the ROAD WARRIOR to me.

Arnold Swcharzenegger - Despite the greatness of Terminator, Predator, etc... CONAN THE BARBARIAN is still his defining role to me.

Last but definitely not least... Clint Eastwood got huge props for Unforgiven, but seriously, could that character ever have touched his character in THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY? I doubt it.

Please add your own, and I will add more as I think of them....

harrison ford- witness is his best aCTING role

kurt russel - Escape from new york was his best and fefining role. he also made the most convincing elvis EVER

bradd pitt - johnny suede was his first sign to me he was a person who could define cinema for a generation, which i believe he will do.

bill paxton - his role in stripes was AWESOME. he built the char Chet out of it, and that is still who he will always be to me.

Nicholas Cage - Raising Arizona, Vampire's kiss, Matchstick men, and lord of War best demonstrate his better acting diversity.

mel gibson - i prefer riggs from lethal weapon to any other role he has attempted. mad max was never my thing.

arnold schwarzenegger - "Handsome Stranger" in The villan is/was/will always be my favorite role for him. its too silly to not be. its loony tunes simplicity was ingrained at an early age.

clint eastwood - play misty for me was great - and Any Which way but loose is what i always remember.

I love when you see someone really stretch...

Robin Williams for example... the comedic roles are easy to think of... but when he can spin it in to a dramatic role at the same time (Good Morning, Vietnam), it is pure magic. Dead Poets Society, Awakenings, Good Will Hunting.... he is truly a comedian with more than a grasp of good dramatic acting.... However, this in no way diminishes his role as a funnyman ala Birdcage....

Other comedians with notable turns in a more dramatic role:
Bill Murray - Lost in Translation
Adam Sandler - Punch Drunk Love
Steve Martin - Shopgirl (which was adapted from a novel that he himself wrote)
Tom Hanks (yes, I said Tom Hanks) - Philadelphia / Forest Gump / Apollo 13 (After making audiences laugh for more than a decade, Mr. Hanks came out of nowhere to win two Oscars — and get snubbed for a third)
Will Ferrel - Stranger Than Fiction - Yes, I know... it is supposed to be a comedy/drama... but he plays the role so very subdued in comparison to his typical turn that there is a clear glimpse of potential there....

hey - mazes and monsters was tom Hank's first serious role. and one of his best! *snicker*

well ferrell is and always will be "Bob Oblong" to me. I love that cartoon! first live action movie i could stand to see him in is Anchorman - over at luvbugin's house while travelling cross-country!

btw - Steve Martin was a writer in hollywood before he was an actor. on the smothers brothers show, i believe. wow. i am old....

The first book I read by Steve was "cruel shoes"...

I kinda think of it just the opposite, especially when you have comedians...I mean, to me, you can say what you want, but Eddie Murphy does shit nobody else in film can do...I don't know why people knock him for films like The Klumps and Norbit...Shit man, even I sleep sometimes when he puts out the kiddie films...But I thought that Meet Dave was a good job at acting...Maybe some people just get too caught up in the story or whatever, but dude can act...

Richard Pryor had some great films...I loved his role in The Mack and Which Way Is Up...

I don't know much about his earlier roles, but DeNiro is one helluva actor...He can do comedy, dramas...Probably doesn't get as much props for some of that stuff as he does movies like Casino...

It's hard for me to think of any actresses...I know it sounds sexist, but a good pair of cans can go a long way with me...I have no idea who some of the great actresses of our time are, but I know the pretty ones get all the credit...