More Talented: Joaquin or Leo

For me, it's not even close. Joaquin Phoenix is, in my estimation, the best actor of his generation and has been for a very long time, and stakes a very strong claim for being the best American actor working. He is much more naturally gifted, more mercurial (which lends his performances to have a unique quality that I don't really feel DiCaprio, or most actors really, are capable of). Yes, he's made his bread-and-butter playing tortured oddballs, but I think he just finds those roles more interesting than straight, flat, typical protagonist-types, and it's clear no one is better at it than Joaquin. I'd argue his run this decade has been the strongest of any actor in a long, long time, and Joker is a fine capper of a decade that started with him as a late-night punchline.

Now with that said, DiCaprio has marginally improved his standing as an actor with me. After a wonky start to the 2010s with Shutter Island (where he tries but is still miscast), he cashed in on his movie-star wattage to great effect in Inception, played a depraved monster in Django and really showed his willingness to take risks for the first time since the mid-'90s, and then he perfected the marriage of his movie-star persona and his ambition as an actor to hysterical comic effect in The Wolf of Wall Street. By the time The Revenant rolled around, DiCaprio could actually play those intense parts he tried and failed so hard at (for me) in the 2000s, and his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood turn was a goofy palate-cleanser. DiCaprio's career is always going to be the envy of any actor, and I think as he's finally reached middle-age and his looks have caught up with him, I find him far more exciting now than I ever did before.

But yeah, give me Phoenix all day.

Damn...you really gonna keep doing Sean Penn dirty like that? 

Guess he's been replaced.

He's like Dustin Hoffman to me, he doesn't sustain at that very highest level and PSH and Phoenix came after anyway ........ but I rank Penn higher from '85-'08 than any of the 80s class leading men (Spacey, Washington, Hanks, Cage) - so that's like Hoffman who in '67-88 can stand with anyone.

Thanks for checking on that......

I went with Joaquin because he has the best performance between them by far imo (The Master) but it's gotten much closer over the years and I wouldn't be surprised if Leo changes my mind with another role that stretches his abilities.

Leo has done consistently good to great work for a lot of his career but he's hit a new stride in the 2010s where his performances have a more confident, looser feel to them, something I think has shone through as he has embraced a penchant for comedy I never would have guessed he had in him - for real, he's probably the most gifted physical comedian in Hollywood right now and his instincts are next-level good.

Joaquin went from being a dependable and sometimes great supporting man in big productions or a lead in smaller movies to the rock star actor of the moment, reinventing himself as one of the more audacious talents out there, constantly seeking a new challenge.

Both of them are excellent at developing chemistry with other actors, knowing where and when to be generous as fits the character (prime recent examples I'd give being Her for Joaquin and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for Leo). This aspect of acting is especially important to me, as it is one thing to show off talent for the camera but to do it while also giving your scene partner something to work with is usually more important for elevating a film and these two have mastered it.

In terms of using their voice as an instrument, Leo is more showy and has mastered the big outbursts (The Wolf of Wall Street) but I find Joaquin a bit more expressive in his quieter moments right now. Stuff like him talking to his boss early on in Joker or his conversations with Samantha in Her depend on the tiniest inflections and he knows how to get the best of that. In terms of other vocal elements, the accent work is about a wash as both have shown themselves to be adept to doing them even if it isn't always their strongest suit, though I will note Leo has the most impressive accent work with Blood Diamond.

I mentioned physical comedy earlier as a feather in Leo's cap, and Joaquin's penchant for physical transformation is one of his own. Both actors do a great job of using their physicality in developing their characters, especially in recent years, and neither have an issue with physically demanding scene work.

With romantic chemistry, Leo is much more skilled there, probably because he's also done it more. Joaquin fits better with character types that are more isolated and therefore has the considerable edge there; fitting how the time he had the most romantic chemistry was with a disembodied voice in Her - though I also quite like his dynamic with Amy Adams in that same film and he of course had good chemistry with Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line.

As far as emotional depth goes, both are very good but I'll give it to Joaquin here, who has mastered the kind of microexpressions that can communicate a tremendous amount of pain or joy in the most specific ways (again, The Master being a prime example). Leo has always had a good amount of emotional depth as can be seen early on with stuff like The Basketball Diaries and he's of course still capable of it (his character on set in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) but I find he shines brightest when playing more shallow characters and the emotions are more immature (his childish outbursts and single-mindedness in The Wolf of Wall Street).

I think that appear as the only lead in several big budget flicks is not for every actor.
So I guess because of that Leo is the more talented one.

Maybe if in a near future, Phoenix could proove being the main lead in several big budget flicks, Phoenix could surpase Di Caprio.-
I want Di Caprio in supporting roles in indie films.-

Oh boy, that's too hard!!!

I think I'll choose Leo but maybe in a couple of hours I'll change my vote

I can’t believe how close the votes are. DiCaprio is trash.

What surprises me most about the replies is that apparently folks don't appreciate DiCaprio's pre-2010s output...Based on that I'd say he's being way underrated on here.

Catch Me If You Can, The Aviator, The Departed, Blood Diamond, Revolutionary Road - I think his 2000s performances are also incredibly damn strong. Gilbert Grape, of course, before that. I'd even mention Titanic which is a perfect star-making turn.

Phoenix and it isn't close. But, as a non-fan, DiCaprio surprised me this year. I'd say Once Upon a Time... is easily his best performance to date.