Actors That Make the Difference 

Gene Hackman and Al Pacino are great actors. Both have been amazingly good in so many roles over the years.

But Hackman has something that Pacino doesn’t have. Some ability – some something – to make every movie he stars in work.

Ask yourself: Have you ever seen a Gene Hackman movie that didn’t work? From The French Connection to The Conversation to Hoosiers to Mississippi Burning to The Unforgiven to Enemy of the State to The Replacements to Crimson Tide to The Firm to The Royal Tenenbaums to The Birdcage to Young Frankenstein to Uncommon Valor to Bonnie and Clyde?

Al Pacino was fantastic in The Godfather (I and II and III), Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Donnie Brasco, and Once Upon a Time in America. And all those movies were fantastic, too. He was good in Sea of Love and sort of good in Scarface and even Frankie and Johnny. He overdid it a bit in Scent of a Woman. But then there were all the others: Cruising, Author! Author!, The Local Stigmatic, Dick Tracy, Two Bits, City Hall, Chinese Coffee, S1m0ne, etc.

Maybe Hackman is simply better at picking movies. But I think there’s more at play. I believe he has a kind of thespian charisma that is so strong it makes bad scripts sound good and brings out the best in the actors he plays against.

Anthony Hopkins is another actor that comes to mind when I think of that sort of charisma. He was amazing in the “Hannibal” movies. His performance was key to making The Remains of the Day so successful. Likewise with Meet JoeBlack and, most recently, The Father. But I’m not sure about his movies that I haven’t seen – like The Edge, The Rite, or Fracture. Did they work? Did he make them work?

I thought I’d waste some of my time today (and some of yours when you read this) contemplating which of the several dozen “really good actors” I’ve listed below have that magic ability to make the movies they star in work. Check it out. Tell me what you think.

MALE ACTORS 

I think these actors have it: 

Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr., Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, and Humphrey Bogart

And maybe these… 

Sean Penn, Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Kevin Spacey, Will Smith, Lawrence Olivier, Leonardo DiCaprio, Morgan Freeman, Christian Bale, Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Pitt, Sean Connery, Don Cheadle, and Mel Gibson

But probably not these…

Al Pacino, Liam Neeson, Robin Williams, Hugh Jackman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Johnny Depp, Peter O’Toole, Henry Fonda, Bruce Willis, Michael Caine, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, and Nicholas Cage

FEMALE ACTORS 

I think these actresses have it:

Frances McDormand, Audrey Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn, Diane Keaton, Bette Davis, Jennifer Lawrence, Ingrid Bergman, and Maggie Smith

And maybe these… 

Helen Mirren, Faye Dunaway, Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth Taylor, Meryl Streep, Marilyn Monroe, Judi Dench, Jodie Foster, Glenn Close, Emma Stone, Scarlett Johansson, Jane Fonda, Charlize Theron, Vivien Leigh, Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, Barbara Stanwyck, and Olivia de Havilland

But probably not these… 

Hillary Swank, Penelope Cruz, Ellen Burstyn, Susan Sarandon, Sandra Bulllock, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Pfeiffer, Reese Witherspoon, Shirley MacLaine, Sally Field, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Kate Winslet, Julianne Moore, Amy Adams, Viola Davis, and Sigourney Weaver

BUT WAIT. THERE’S MORE! 

Then there are the character actors that cannot save the movies they have a role in, but bring to life every scene they are in. Like…

Tom Waits, Peter Lorre, Eli Wallach, Thelma Ritter, Martin Balsam, Quentin Tarantino, J.K. Simmons, Steve Buscemi, Charles Coburn, Harry Dean Stanton, Vincent Schiavelli, Tilda Swinton, Walton Goggins, Judy Greer, and Chris Cooper

What do you think? Who did I miss? Where am I wrong?

When I was 17, I registered as a conscientious objector. There were two options: (1) I won’t go under any circumstances, or (2) I’ll go, but I won’t carry a gun. I took the second option. I was drafted and had an appointment with my draft board to defend myself. I was told I would not succeed, that I’d go to prison instead. I was okay with that. When the day came to defend myself, I somehow missed the appointment. I got a call from my draft board saying I was going to jail. I heard nothing more from them after that.

The invasion of Ukraine has me thinking again about the morality and practicality of war. I wish I had the clarity of mind I had when I was younger. Defending one’s home and homeland certainly feels justifiable. Invading other countries? No. But what if, as in the case of Ukraine, the invader believes that it is a form of self-defense?

I don’t know. But my general sentiment about war is cynical. I do like what Tolstoy had to say on the subject. He believed that the upper class uses war to dominate the working class:

“They stir up their own people [against some] foreign government, and then pretend that for the well-being, or the defense, of their people they must declare war: which again brings profit only to generals, officers, officials, merchants, and, in general, to the rich. In reality war is an inevitable result of the existence of armies; and armies are only needed by Governments to dominate their own working classes.”