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Post by pupdurcs on May 13, 2019 1:26:26 GMT
Some recent discussions on Russell Crowe got me thinking of this. Technically Crowe is a Kiwi, but he was mostly raised an Aussie and considers himself one, so that's it. Having said that, I consider Mel Gibson to be more of an American who lived in Australia for a portion of his youth.
Anyway, I tend to think of Australia as the breeding ground for some of the finest actresses around (Kidman, Blanchett, Davis, Collette etc). There have been many excellent Australian actors, but I do think the women rightly seem the dominant force.
With the men who are alive, it's hard to look beyond Crowe and Geoffrey Rush in terms of accomplishment/recognition (and they clearly contend for the overall title as well). I'd also say Hugh Jackman has a case, though he's often been underrated. Guy Pearce has had some moments, but his ambition seemed to fade quite early. Similar could be said of Eric Bana.You have some very talented character actors like Ben Menhdleson and Hugo Weaving as well who draw less attention.
If we talk about the dead, Errol Flynn, Peter Finch and Heath Ledger are certainly names to talk about as well (thouth Ledger' s career feels too incomplete to seriously challenge, despite the clear potential to be the very best)
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 2:04:24 GMT
He is Kiwi, but has worked extensively in Australian film - Sam Neill.
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Post by pupdurcs on May 13, 2019 2:14:40 GMT
He is Kiwi, but has worked extensively in Australian film - Sam Neill. Don't think Neil has ever identified as Australian like Crowe. Neil is a very staunch New Zealander, and I gotta respect that. |
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Post by pacinoyes on May 13, 2019 3:24:16 GMT
I think Crowe and Rush are as good choices as any and are different enough to make arguments for both - but Rush is my pick and is arguably a GOAT level actor even across all media (see him in that thread) - a Triple Crown winner - and the only other male to have won 3 leading Oscar/Tony/Emmy's for 3 different roles besides Pacino.
Think about that - that is an amazing statistic and yes its not about awards but that is really staggering when you think that no one else ever has done it - because he doesn't work on NY stage much at all and is not a Hollywood guy (nor in looks) and hasn't done much TV either - he's a complete outsider of special achievement.
Weaving has been as great on screen as much as them both too even maybe - although he has a mixed background (UK?) I think.....he has some work I love like The Interview is a fascinating performance I'm quite fond of. Crowe had a bigger career of distinguished work that peaked early but had some triumphs in both Australian (Proof, Romper Stomper) and Hollywood work (The Insider, Gladiator)...... he played in the big leagues more than the others and from his 20s-30s early 90s-early 00s was something to see mostly - he hit a wall imo but before he did was doing some fabulous stuff.......Pearce is like him but more small time career though in a personal all time fave film of mine (Memento)
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Post by stephen on May 13, 2019 3:25:13 GMT
Five-time Academy Award-winner Kirk Lazarus.
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Post by fiosnasiob on May 13, 2019 13:19:45 GMT
That giant and ugly emu who faked to be my friend to finally steal my cap and run away with it in Brisbane is the greatest actor that country has ever product ! Russell Crow(e) is a close second and the third, whoever he is, is not in that league.
A bunch of talented actors who are often more worthy than what Hollywood has to offers to them, David Wenham (The Boys, Gettin' Square, Answered by Fire) is one of them. Although obviously typecast, David Gulpilil (Charlie's Country, The Tracker, Walkabout) deserve a mention, he's an important figure in Australian cinema.
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Post by pacinoyes on May 13, 2019 13:47:54 GMT
The strange case of Geoffrey Rush continues btw with appeals and revelations - this was covered in the scandals thread but lingers - how odd that his career basically "ends" if he does stop with a Lear - I know he has a 2019 film but nothing else on tap - and let's face it no Australian is going to challenge him onstage - what Bryan Brown is going to tackle a competitive Lear  - it's like the death of the theater industry there at least in a way - the most important and prolific stage actor in Australia .............stops and walks away (?).....under such circumstances...........
“In the last seven days they have engaged in a campaign against, with respect, the court, but with the effect of attacking the vindication my client achieved a month ago,” Ms Chrysanthou said.www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/witness-x-in-geoffrey-rush-case-revealed/news-story/7b7a7e46fc2aeb1adda9e9f53b01ad13 |
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2019 14:05:06 GMT
He is Kiwi, but has worked extensively in Australian film - Sam Neill. Don't think Neil has ever identified as Australian like Crowe. Neil is a very staunch New Zealander, and I gotta respect that. Fair. I suppose my choice would then have to be Hugh Jackman. An off-consensus opinion, I know, but I really don't care for either Crowe or Rush. |
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Post by jakesully on May 13, 2019 15:26:47 GMT
Ledger had 2 Oscar noms in his 20s which is impressive as hell . I just know he would have certainly had put together a stacked/impressive filmography by now if he didn't die so tragically . Oh what could have been.  |
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Post by TerryMontana on May 13, 2019 16:12:16 GMT
Peter Finch was not born in Australia but I think he was Australian (not sure though). If that's the case, then he's my number 1 by far. And Rush would be my number 2 by far  |
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Post by fiosnasiob on May 13, 2019 16:30:25 GMT
Ledger had 2 Oscar noms in his 20s which is impressive as hell . I just know he would have certainly had put together a stacked/impressive filmography by now if he didn't die so tragically . Oh what could have been. It's even more impressive when you look at the quality and impact of the performances, these 2 performances are important and widely considered among the finest of their decades. No doubt that Ledger would have been a strong contender for thread's title, well, he isn't that far anyway. A tremendous loss. |
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Post by therealcomicman117 on May 13, 2019 16:59:31 GMT
Ledger had 2 Oscar noms in his 20s which is impressive as hell . I just know he would have certainly had put together a stacked/impressive filmography by now if he didn't die so tragically . Oh what could have been. I know. I was reminded of A Knight's Tale a few days ago because of Retro News Network, and I remembered how much I missed Heath. I mean just as he was breaking away from his younger "pretty boy persona" with Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight, he passes away, largely entirely accidentally because of a overdose of pills. I honestly think had he lived, he would have been had at least four Oscar nominations, he was just really getting started. |
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Post by fiosnasiob on May 13, 2019 17:12:58 GMT
This topic reminds me of something, about 10 years ago on one of the French movies forum I tend to go, we had a grandma in her 60's who was a fan of Anthony LaPaglia. I said a fan but it was more than that, on a daily basis, she was displaying a level of fanboyism that's nowhere to be seen on here, only rivaled by the craziest teens girls fans of Justin Bieber, it was so funny. She did that for years and suddendly stopped and no news of her since then  So yeah, Anthony LaPaglia, another fine Australian actor with award worthy screen works (especially in Lantana), a tony, an emmy, etc... |
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Post by pupdurcs on May 13, 2019 18:22:15 GMT
Don't think Neil has ever identified as Australian like Crowe. Neil is a very staunch New Zealander, and I gotta respect that. Fair. I suppose my choice would then have to be Hugh Jackman. An off-consensus opinion, I know, but I really don't care for either Crowe or Rush. Jackman isn't a bad shout. As I said, he's sometimes underrated, despite being liked by mostly everyone. Spending a huge chunk of your career playing one character in a mostly disrespected genre can do that. But his work as Wolverine is up there with the best of the genre (particularly in Logan), and he's done strong work across a number of films (The Prestige, Les Misrables, The Fountain ect). His range is superb. And he's a Tony winner. He's someone I can easily see being a triple crown winner (he's got enough industry juice to win an Oscar, and an Emmy would be the easiest leg for him). He might not be a GOAT contender (I'd argue no male Australian is) but if we are limiting it strictly to male Aussies, I don't think he's far off Crowe or Rush for eventual stature. |
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Post by pupdurcs on May 13, 2019 18:36:01 GMT
This topic reminds me of something, about 10 years ago on one of the French movies forum I tend to go, we had a grandma in her 60's who was a fan of Anthony LaPaglia. I said a fan but it was more than that, on a daily basis, she was displaying a level of fanboyism that's nowhere to be seen on here, only rivaled by the craziest teens girls fans of Justin Bieber, it was so funny. She did that for years and suddendly stopped and no news of her since then So yeah, Anthony LaPaglia, another fine Australian actor with award worthy screen works (especially in Lantana), a tony, an emmy, etc... LaPaglia is interesting. Despite his Tony and Emmy (He's never getting near an Oscar unfortunately), and a huge amount of acting credits on film and TV, he never achieved the levels maybe his ability merited. He kind of abandoned his Australian identity (and accent) to make it in America. I get the feeling his "people" told him he could be the next Pacino/DeNiro and to downplay his Aussiness and come off more Italian-American. As a result, despite his talent, I think he was sort of lumped in with the likes of Andy Garcia and Ray Liotta as poor man's versions of DeNiro and Pacino. |
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Post by pupdurcs on May 14, 2019 16:16:26 GMT
Ledger had 2 Oscar noms in his 20s which is impressive as hell . I just know he would have certainly had put together a stacked/impressive filmography by now if he didn't die so tragically . Oh what could have been. I don't have much evidence to suggest he would, but my intuition leads me to believe Ledger would have eventually tried to challenge himself on stage, like his friend Jake Gyllenhaal |
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Post by jakesully on May 14, 2019 18:04:18 GMT
Ledger had 2 Oscar noms in his 20s which is impressive as hell . I just know he would have certainly had put together a stacked/impressive filmography by now if he didn't die so tragically . Oh what could have been. I don't have much evidence to suggest he would, but my intuition leads me to believe Ledger would have eventually tried to challenge himself on stage, like his friend Jake Gyllenhaal I watched the I Am Heath Ledger documentary and all his friends and peers said he was very interested in directing films (he had dabbled in directing some music videos thru out his 20s) . |
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Post by eyebrowmorroco on May 16, 2019 13:02:27 GMT
Rod Taylor - his outrageous performance in TWZ alone gets him the gong. Among the top three performances of the series - along with Jack Klugman, A Passage for Trumpet; and Maxine Stuart, Eye of the Beholder.
HM.
Jack Thompson
Garry McDonald
Dennis Coard
William McInnes
Tony Martin
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- it's like the death of the theater industry there at least in a way - the most important and prolific stage actor in Australia .............stops and walks away (?).....under such circumstances...........
