Tom Hanks: greatest movie star of his generation?

[Tom R]

A generation is generally classed as 30 years.

[cochcaer]

I'd go with Denzel Washington.

 

Hanks is a fairly average actor but his wholesome image makes him box-office and the studios will throw money at him. Same with Tom Cruise til he went nuts.

[Brownie]

I voted yes.

 

He's played some fantastic characters and usually they are stand out performances.

 

Off the top of my head:

 

'Big'

'Philadelphia'

'Road To Perdition'

'Green Mile'

'Castaway'

'Saving Private Ryan'

'Forest Gump'

'Apollo 13'

'Catch Me If You Can'

 

 

I think he's class. There are some great actors around (I particularly love Denzel and Pacino) but I wouldn't argue that Hanks is the greatest movie star ofhis generation.

[Antynwa]

Samuel Jackson

 

Ennnd of ;)

[Jose Jones]

I voted yes.

 

He's played some fantastic characters and usually they are stand out performances.

 

Off the top of my head:

 

'Big'

'Philadelphia'

'Road To Perdition'

'Green Mile'

'Castaway'

'Saving Private Ryan'

'Forest Gump'

'Apollo 13'

'Catch Me If You Can'

 

 

I think he's class. There are some great actors around (I particularly love Denzel and Pacino) but I wouldn't argue that Hanks is the greatest movie star ofhis generation.

 

Bit of a tangent here, but has there ever been a film so completely ruined by it's soundtrack as much as Road to Perdition. It's a pretty good film, Hanks is good against type, Craig is good, it's got Paul Newman in it, (Jude Law is pretty rubbish though) decent tale, but every fucking scene has an overpowering dramatic score on it. It's like "Here is a momentous scene, very loud swelling classical music!". Every goddamn scene. Really put me off. Was it just me?

[Gav]

Sean Penn,Johnny depp,Paul Bettany,Ralph Feines,Bill Murray,Denzel Washington,Morgan Freeman,Willem Dafoe ,Tom (spit) Cruise all kick his arse.

Hanks agents,Richard Luvux must be a fucking magician to get him so many choice roles

[ticklemeclemo]

Glory

Training Day

The Hurricane

Malcolm X

Glory

Remember the Titans

Man on Fire

Crimson Tide

Cry Freedom

Heart Condition :thumbup:

 

Denzel all the way, by far the greatest actor of his generation, Hanks and Cruise have made some iconic movies but are not nearly the same actors as Denzel. The nearest in terms of acting ability, would indeed be Depp, who is also ace

[Stu Monty]

The poll says actor. Off the top of my head I came up with Sean Penn and Ben Kingsley from the same generation. So that's a pretty conclusive no then.

[Red Mist]

No, it's Ralph Macchio, of Karate Kid fame. Legend.

[memyselfandpie]

Do yourself a favour and lose the 'star' part and change it to 'actor' and then we might get somewhere with credibility.

 

No doubt Hanks is a 'star' of his generation but what does that mean? A market?

 

Sean Penn is definitely a better actor, KEVIN SPACEY is definitely a better actor, Tom Cruise is, Johnny Depp, yes.. (Does this have to span the whole 20 years or so by the way?)

 

I highly rate Ed Norton, Brad Pitt and a fair few others, who I think will win Oscars in the future (For those of you thinking it...I know!) But they havent done enough for long enough yet.

 

I'd say Penn or Spacey...maybe.

 

Let me think.

[RedKnight]

I don't think the Cruiser is a better actor than Hanks. How can anyone not like Hanks? He's a total leg.

[Remmie]

Pretty pointless debate though isn't it? I'm more interested in single performances in films. What's so great aboot being versamatile? I could never stop watching Samuel Jackson and Joe Pesci in their typecast roles. Only girls want to watch the same actor in every film.

[Jose Jones]

Pretty pointless debate though isn't it? I'm more interested in single performances in films. What's so great aboot being versamatile? I could never stop watching Samuel Jackson and Joe Pesci in their typecast roles. Only girls want to watch the same actor in every film.

 

I guess that goes to show how good an actor someone is? If they can play different roles and make them believable. Rather than just playing a slightly tweaked version of their own character. Which wouldn't really be acting.

 

I take your point though that most of the time the best way to cast films is to get people who can act that part, rather than a star and shoe-horn them into it.

[Zippy]

As has been said greatest star and actor are two different things so I will give an answer for both.

 

Greatest star: Tom Cruise ( he is also very underrated as an actor - Born on the fourth of July, Magnolia, Collateral etc)

 

Greatest actor (when he actually does some acting) Daniel-Day Lewis.

[Anny Road]

You forgot the Money Pit. Great Film.

[Red Dawn]

Dont forget Hanks in "The Man with One red shoe".

 

Hanks films are good but he never blows me away. Denzel, Cruise and Depp have done that many times over with the films listed above.

[Paul]

If we're throwing actors into the mix, my vote is split equally between the three leads in one of my all-time favourite films, State of Grace; Ed Harris, Sean Penn and Gary Oldman are all fantastic in it.

[Salou]

Was just on Friday Night with Ross, seemed like a class guy, quite down to earth by the seems of that interview. Have seen most of his films and loved them all. It's the first interview I've actually watched of him and he came across really well.

[Mendoza]

Certainly not the greatest actor of his generation but a really nice fella. The fact he could still do the Big song word for word over 20 years later has also put him up in my estimation.

[George Costanza]

Dragnet is ace

 

 

Amen brother.

 

Persoanlly i'm not that arsed about 'acting ability'. I go & watch a film to enjoy it not to deconstruct every fucking aspect of it.

 

As far as i;m concerned, I think Hanks is a brillaint actor. I thought he was amazing in Forrest Gump and philadelphia but equally as good in totally different roles such as the burbs, big, money pit & dragnet.

 

From all the films i've ever seen i don't think i've come across an actor who has played as many different styles and done as well as Hanks.

[Flying Pig]

Denzel followed closely by Hanks, for me.

 

I agree that there are possible 'better' actor of recent years but I watch Pacino and Nicholson movies and I don't enjoy them as much. So in a way its the emotions they generates, whether happy or sad, which is important.

[Funkasy]

i actually used about 10min of my life to make this picture, so im some sort of a action freak when it comes to movies, so i really don't care about the touching sentimental scenes

 

 

These are all better then TH (6) (joke)

[Tocky Mo]

Hanks? No. 2 Oscars - each for playing 'afflicted' people. One with AIDS and one who was mentally challenged. Philadelphia is widely derided by gay men for its sensational treatment of the subject - AND he eats Chinese food out of those wax containers at his desk after hours. This is a minus 75 on the Tocky Mo Cliche-o-meter. True movie stars are rare, Pacino, De Niro, Duvall, Eastwood, Ed Harris, Ed Norton, Depp, Later Bruce Willis, Damon, Neeson but not Gibson in any way or form.

[hamstrung]

[Nunavut Patrick]

 

Should have had an Oscar.

 

Who didn't cry when Wilson floated away on the Pacific Ocean....