I'm running with the idea talked about in another post to give us the chance to talk about our idiosyncratic likes, dislikes, or indifference to certain actors and actresses. Because there are SO many and I think we should approach this systematically, I decided to take the list of Academy Award Nominees for Best Actor (not supporting actor--at this point anyway) from the 1980s to the present. That was still WAY, WAY long a list, so I narrowed it down to thirty of them who have had multiple noms in this time frame (the numbers in the parentheses indicate the number of times nominated). I also listed them in alphabetical order by first name (which is how I sorted them in Excel). After this way of culling them down, I also chose a few (listed after this first group) who I thought might be actors that would be polarizing to some of us. I'm sure I left out people who some of you may want to talk about. I have kept my full list, though, so I will do a "catch all" for the rest of these some time in the future.
I don't know the best way to have everyone respond (at least in your first, most formal take), but I don't think you necessarily have to talk about every person on the list. Maybe a good plan would be to first list only those of these who are your HUGE YES guys and maybe give a line or two why you are so crazy about them. Then give your huge NO guys and perhaps reasons why. Then list your "EH" people. Sound okay? If not, go with however you want to format your responses, please!
My plan will be to put up a new group once per week, so plan on Best Actress nominees next week.
Now, let er rip!
Multiple Nominations for Best Actor:Albert Finney (3)
Anthony Hopkins (4)
Ben Kingsley (2)
Clint Eastwood (2)
Daniel Day-Lewis (4)
Denzel Washington (3)
Dustin Hoffman (4)
Geoffrey Rush (2)
George Clooney (2)
Jack Lemmon (2)
Jack Nicholson (5)
Jeff Bridges (2)
Johnny Depp (3)
Leonardo DiCaprio (2)
Michael Caine (2)
Morgan Freeman (3)
Nick Nolte (2)
Nicolas Cage (2)
Paul Newman (5)
Peter O'Toole (4)
Robert De Niro (3)
Robert Duvall (4)
Robin Williams (3)
Russell Crowe (3)
Sean Penn (5)
Tom Cruise (2)
Tom Hanks (5)
Warren Beatty (3)
Will Smith (3)
William Hurt (4)
Single-time noms who may generate some commentary:Al Pacino
Bill Murray
Billy Bob Thornton
Brad Pitt
Edward Norton
Gene Hackman
Harrison Ford
Heath Ledger
John Travolta
Kevin Costner
Matt Damon
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Richard Dreyfuss
Robert Downey, Jr.
Tom Wilkinson
Woody Harrelson
