Movies: Best Actor Tournament - Nominations CLOSED

[Trap Jesus]

Recently we completed a tournament with Jack Nicholson coming out on top as the best actor but of course a lot of huge actors were left out with the seeding system being determined by actors that were in the highest grossing movies. I want to run another tournament with Nicholson as the 1 seed and then HFers nominations fill in the rest. Undecided how I'll seed them yet. There's no real limit to how many there can be, but I'm thinking 32/64 would probably be reasonable for how many actors were already included in the last one.

How this will work is that you can nominate anyone you want, and then another HFer has to confirm that selection, or another HFer has to have them on their list, and they'll be entered in.

Actors that are off limits from the last tournament are listed under the spoilers below. If you want to include a name like Meryl Streep, should just be able to do a Control+F search for it to see she lost in the last tournament.

Spoiler

8 Jack Nicholson

3 Robert De Niro

1 Johnny Depp

3 Denzel Washington

3 Liam Neeson

3 Robin Williams

6 Dustin Hoffman

7 Anthony Hopkins

1 Robert Downey Jr

1 Tom Hanks

10 Paul Newman

13 Michael Caine

3 Brad Pitt

6 Idris Elba

7 Bill Murray

8 Robert Redford

10 Colin Farrell

12 Patrick Stewart

13 Emma Stone

15 Willem Dafoe

2 Leonardo DiCaprio

2 Matt Damon

3 Ian McKellen

4 Morgan Freeman

6 Michelle Pfeiffer

8 Al Pacino

8 Cate Blanchett

8 Kurt Russell

8 Ralph Fiennes

8 Russell Crowe

9 Ben Kingsley

9 John Goodman

1 Bradley Cooper

1 Chris Hemsworth

10 Ben Mendelsohn

10 Charlize Theron

10 Danny DeVito

10 Emma Thompson

10 Michael Keaton

11 Forest Whitaker

12 Billy Crystal

12 Colin Firth

13 Helena Bonham Carter

13 Jodie Foster

13 Susan Sarandon

14 Emily Blunt

2 Don Cheadle

2 Josh Brolin

3 Benedict Cumberbatch

3 Cameron Diaz

3 Hugh Jackman

4 Ewan McGregor

4 Paul Bettany

4 Will Ferrell

5 Christian Bale

5 Keanu Reeves

5 Meryl Streep

5 Natalie Portman

6 Channing Tatum

6 Lupita Nyong'o

7 Brie Larson

7 Keira Knightley

9 Matthew McConaughey

9 Viggo Mortensen

1 Chris Pratt

1 Eddie Murphy

1 Harrison Ford

1 Mark Ruffalo

1 Samuel L. Jackson

1 Scarlett Johansson

1 Tom Cruise

1 Zoe Saldana

10 Geoffrey Rush

10 Vince Vaughn

11 Drew Barrymore

11 Jason Bateman

11 Kate Winslet

11 Michael B. Jordan

12 Daniel Kaluuya

12 Jake Gyllenhaal

12 Melissa McCarthy

13 Antonio Banderas

13 John C. Reilly

13 John Leguizamo

14 Chiwetel Ejiofor

14 Denis Leary

15 Margot Robbie

15 Richard Dreyfuss

15 Sigourney Weaver

16 Mads Mikkelsen

16 Ryan Gosling

16 Tilda Swinton

2 Adam Sandler

2 Bruce Willis

2 Emma Watson

2 Jennifer Lawrence

2 Jeremy Renner

2 Jim Carrey

2 Nicolas Cage

2 Steve Carell

3 Elizabeth Olsen

3 Sandra Bullock

3 Sebastian Stan

3 Tom Holland

4 Adam Driver

4 Ben Affleck

4 Owen Wilson

4 Tom Hiddleston

5 George Clooney

5 Jack Black

5 Mel Gibson

5 Mike Myers

5 Ryan Reynolds

5 Sylvester Stallone

6 Clint Eastwood

6 Kevin Costner

6 Kristen Stewart

6 Michael Douglas

6 Paul Rudd

6 Seth Rogen

7 Jude Law

7 Nicole Kidman

7 Tommy Lee Jones

8 Jamie Foxx

9 Angelina Jolie

9 Anne Hathaway

9 Kristen Bell

9 Oscar Isaac

1 Chris Evans

1 Vin Diesel

1 Will Smith

10 Angela Bassett

10 Anthony Daniels

10 Gerard Butler

10 Henry Cavill

10 Jackie Chan

10 Jeff Bridges

10 Sam Worthington

11 Beyoncé Knowles

11 Demi Moore

11 Gal Gadot

11 Ice Cube

11 Jennifer Lopez

11 Kevin Kline

11 Kristen Wiig

11 Michael J. Fox

11 Michael Peña

11 Rachel McAdams

11 Zach Galifianakis

12 Elijah Wood

12 Holly Hunter

12 John Cusack

12 Justin Long

12 Karl Urban

12 Meg Ryan

12 Michelle Rodriguez

12 Will Arnett

12 Zac Efron

12 Zendaya

13 Bill Hader

13 Catherine Zeta-Jones

13 Diane Keaton

13 Ed Helms

13 Jada Pinkett Smith

13 Michael Fassbender

13 Sacha Baron Cohen

13 Tyler Perry

14 Alec Baldwin

14 Benicio del Toro

14 Bette Midler

14 Craig T. Nelson

14 David Spade

14 Elizabeth Banks

14 Ellen DeGeneres

14 Idina Menzel

14 Kate Beckinsale

14 Pierce Brosnan

14 Sarah Vowell

14 Terry Notary

14 Wesley Snipes

15 Aaron Taylor-Johnson

15 Amanda Seyfried

15 Anna Kendrick

15 Glenn Close

15 Hayden Christensen

15 James Franco

15 Martin Lawrence

15 Matthew Broderick

15 Megan Fox

15 Nick Jonas

15 Rachel Weisz

15 Ray Romano

16 Albert Brooks

16 Barbra Streisand

16 Bryce Dallas Howard

16 Dan Aykroyd

16 Donald Glover

16 Goldie Hawn

16 Jay Baruchel

16 Jesse Eisenberg

16 Jessica Alba

16 John Cho

16 Laurence Fishburne

16 Queen Latifah

16 Renée Zellweger

2 Ben Stiller

2 Chadwick Boseman

2 Dwayne Johnson

2 Karen Gillan

3 Daniel Radcliffe

3 Dave Bautista

3 Gwyneth Paltrow

4 Danai Gurira

4 John Travolta

4 Julia Roberts

4 Kevin Hart

4 Letitia Wright

4 Mark Hamill

4 Mark Wahlberg

4 Rupert Grint

5 Daisy Ridley

5 John Boyega

5 Josh Gad

5 Pom Klementieff

5 Shia LaBeouf

5 Tim Allen

6 Arnold Schwarzenegger

6 Benedict Wong

6 Carrie Fisher

6 Martin Freeman

6 Orlando Bloom

7 Anthony Mackie

7 Chris Pine

7 Jon Favreau

7 Keegan-Michael Key

7 Reese Witherspoon

7 Simon Pegg

7 Steve Martin

7 Taylor Lautner

7 Tobey Maguire

8 Andy Serkis

8 Dennis Quaid

8 Jason Statham

8 Jennifer Aniston

8 Kevin James

8 Paul Walker

8 Richard Gere

8 Robert Pattinson

9 Alan Tudyk

9 Amy Adams

9 Chris Rock

9 Daniel Craig

9 Evangeline Lilly

9 James McAvoy

9 Jonah Hill

9 Woody Harrelson

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Actors that have been approved:

Jack Nicholson
Joaquin Phoenix
Daniel Day Lewis
James Stewart
Marlon Brando
Gary Oldman
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Peter Sellers
Christopher Walken
Mickey Rourke
Ingrid Bergman
Kathy Bates
Steve Buscemi
Charlie Chaplin
Harvey Keitel
Joe Pesci
Donald Sutherland
Christopher Plummer
Alec Guinness
Laurence Olivier
Cary Grant
Humphrey Bogart
Clark Gable
Katharine Hepburn
Judi Dench
Julianne Moore
Audrey Hepburn
Frances McDormand
Marion Cotillard
Juliette Binoche
Song Kang-ho
Christoph Waltz
Vincent Gallo
Gena Rowlands
Bruce Campbell
Gene Hackman
Robert Duvall
Isabelle Huppert
Sissy Spacek
Laura Dern
Toshiro Mifune
Tony Leung
Ben Foster
Ellen Burnstyn
Michelle Williams
Tom Hardy
Sean Connery
Javier Bardem
Sean Penn
Sydney Poitier
Peter O’Toole
Gregory Peck
George C. Scott
Paul Giamatti
Henry Fonda
Helen Mirren
Casey Affleck
Sam Rockwell
Gong Li
James Dean
John Wayne
Warren Beatty
Max Von Sydow
Maggie Cheung

Click to read more...

 

[kihei]

If the Brandos and Stewarts are in play, that opens up a lot of territory and becomes a "greatest ever" competition---Grant, Gable, Bogart and on and on. An alternative that I like is new candidates have to have made at least one movie in the 21st century. Regardless of what you choose, I will participate one way or the other, but my suggested proviso would seem more in keeping with the idea and intent of the original poll.

Second possibility: a much smaller poll maybe 8 or 16 actors who didn't qualify for the first poll with a final playoff against Jack Nicholson in the end. I mean, you have listed the four leading candidates already, and it might be hard to find competitive rivals.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Peter Sellers is the greatest actor of all time, so should be included.

I've also wished for

Vincent Gallo
Christopher Walken
Gena Rowlands

and well Mickey Rourke for all-time nostalgia (still think he could have been among the very best), and Bruce Campbell for the nerds.

 

[Don'tcry4mejanhrdina]

Joaquin Phoenix
Daniel Day Lewis
James Stewart
Marlon Brando
Gary Oldman
Philip Seymour Hoffman

I second all of those pics, also good with Grant, Bogart and Gable.

I'd add:
Henry Fonda
Gregory Peck
John Goodman
Ingrid Bergman
Kathy Bates
Steve Buscemi
Charlie Chaplin


I'll leave foreign stars off, even if it pains me to leave Tony Leung Chui-Wai off as I think he's one of the best actors of our generation, maybe the best going now with Day-Lewis retired and Hoffman passing away.

 

[Jumptheshark]

No love for Harvey Keitel?

 

[Mimsy]

There are second tier actors who aren't going to unseat the greats, but who can still be effective spoilers, especially in the early rounds.

--Steve Buscemi has already been listed. I second the vote.
--Joe Pesci
--maybe Paul Giamatti?! (not committed to this pick)
--Christopher Plummer (not suggesting he's second tier)
--Alec Guinness

Laurence Olivier was mentioned previously. Even if legendary actors are excluded from the final cut, I think he deserves a seeding. Growing up, I remember Olivier always being the standard by which other actors were measured.

 

[Mescaleroman]

I'll second Christopher Plummer and
Sir Alec Guinness and nominate
Sidney Sir Poitier and Donald Sutherland.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Donald Sutherland.

Peter Sellers
Christopher Walken
Mickey Rourke

Ingrid Bergman
Kathy Bates
Charlie Chaplin

Harvey Keitel?

--Joe Pesci
Laurence Olivier

I second all of these ones, I'll keep a list in the OP

John Goodman was actually already in the original tournament

 

[Trap Jesus]

If the Brandos and Stewarts are in play, that opens up a lot of territory and becomes a "greatest ever" competition---Grant, Gable, Bogart and on and on. An alternative that I like is new candidates have to have made at least one movie in the 21st century. Regardless of what you choose, I will participate one way or the other, but my suggested proviso would seem more in keeping with the idea and intent of the original poll.

Second possibility: a much smaller poll maybe 8 or 16 actors who didn't qualify for the first poll with a final playoff against Jack Nicholson in the end. I mean, you have listed the four leading candidates already, and it might be hard to find competitive rivals.

I think I'll just gauge what the interest is, we already have people including a lot of legendary actors as is. I'm good with whatever as well though, the 21st century thing is more in line with my tastes but I think we have so many that know about older films here that it works better to open it up further. For the original bracket I just wanted it to be actors people have heard of, but of course with the way inflation works there was a big recency bias. Personally I think it'd be interesting to see how these older actors do against the DDL's and Phoenix's of the world.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Both tourneys seem like real sausage fests (not that this is surprising), so figure I'll throw out a bunch of well known female names if anyone wants to second them (apologies if any of them were in the first tourney):

Katharine Hepburn
Judi Dench
Michelle Williams
Julianne Moore
Bette Davis
Ellen Burstyn
Audrey Hepburn
Helen Mirren
Geraldine Page
Kate Winslet
Vanessa Redgrave
Frances McDormand
Tilda Swinton
Marion Cotillard
Jessica Lange

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

--maybe Paul Giamatti?! (not committed to this pick)

I'm a big Giamatti fan, but with the names already listed, can't help but think it'd just be a waste of poll-time.

Personally I think it'd be interesting to see how these older actors do against the DDL's and Phoenix's of the world.

Depends on who's voting, haha

 

[Chili]

Greta Garbo
Jean Arthur
Jean Harlow
Carole Lombard
Loretta Young
Katherine Ross
Maureen O'Hara
Anne Bancroft
Faye Dunaway
Marlene Dietrich

 

[Trap Jesus]

Both tourneys seem like real sausage fests (not that this is surprising), so figure I'll throw out a bunch of well known female names if anyone wants to second them (apologies if any of them were in the first tourney):

Katharine Hepburn
Judi Dench
Julianne Moore
Audrey Hepburn
Frances McDormand
Marion Cotillard

I approve these ones. Winslet and Swinton were actually in the original tournament.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

I second all of these ones, I'll keep a list in the OP

John Goodman was actually already in the original tournament

So you're saying you don't approve of Vincent Gallo and Bruce Campbell?

 

[Trap Jesus]

So you're saying you don't approve of Vincent Gallo and Bruce Campbell?

Haha I love Campbell but not sure if he belongs in this company. I'm trying to stick just to the ones I have a real resonance for and think they could do well.

 

[Mimsy]

Robert Duvall?

Not sure how many actors are still needed, or how much throwing out random names helps. I didn't spend time on a list, and anything I'd come up with is already here. I'd suggest Julia Roberts for the women if more are needed. I'm not a big fan of hers beyond Pretty Woman, but she was a big thing for awhile.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Peter Sellers is the greatest actor of all time, so should be included.

I've also wished for

Vincent Gallo
Christopher Walken
Gena Rowlands

and well Mickey Rourke for all-time nostalgia (still think he could have been among the very best), and Bruce Campbell for the nerds.

I strongly support all of this.

 

[CHfan1]

Christoph Waltz and maybe Alan Rickman

 

[kihei]

If we are going big, should be an international cohort:

Marcelo Mastroianni
Gerard Depardeau
Yves Montand
Toshiro Mifune
Tony Leung
Andy Lau
Alain Delon
Jean Paul Belmondo
Irffan Khan
Bruno Ganz
Max von Sydov
Liv Ullman
Maximilian Schell
Ricardo Duran
Catherine Deneuve
Isabelle Huppert
Juliette Binoche
Simone Signoret
Song Kang-ho
Chow Yun-fat

 

[Trap Jesus]

Juliette Binoche
Song Kang-ho

Christoph Waltz

I second these ones

 

[Trap Jesus]

I also wonder if we get enough if I could divide it into certain eras or categories or something. Like "International Division" and stuff like that. Or if that's even a good idea.

 

[Zeppo]

Gene Hackman
Robert Duvall
Sissy Spacek
Laura Dern
Isabelle Huppert
Gong Li

 

[Mimsy]

Gene Hackman
Robert Duvall
Sissy Spacek
Laura Dern
Isabelle Huppert
Gong Li

Hell yes to Gene Hackman. Forgot about him.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Sissy Spacek
Laura Dern

Second these and will add these ones already mentioned:

Robert Duvall
Isabelle Huppert

 

[Trap Jesus]

Let's see if this one gets any love: Ben Foster