Most "Unfair" Complaint About An Actor/Actress You Like?

"Daniel Day-Lewis can't do comedy." "Daniel Day-Lewis didn't have enough flops to prove how daring he was as an actor." "Daniel Day-Lewis didn't do a sci-fi or a horror movie or a fun movie for the family."

First off:

1. Daniel Day-Lewis can do comedy. In fact, he's done it many times. Pretty much every performance he ever gave had some levity in it, and indeed the last few performances of his career have proven his skill set in this regard. Just because he doesn't make spoofs or Happy Madison-level fare doesn't mean he only does dark and dreary dramas.

2. I feel like those who say that an actor needs multiple flops in their career to ensure the level of risk they're taking are just trying to shore up defenses for "their guy." I don't think an actor needs to have a failure on their docket in order to cement them as a great, and consistency is far from a bad thing because it shows that they know what works and can hone their craft accordingly. It's nice when an actor can venture out and try something new with no idea if it works or not, but I'm not gonna penalize someone for not having Razzie-nominated fare in their canon or a dozen direct-to-DVD crime flicks sandwiched between Oscar nominations. Besides, it's not like DDL's filmography is spotless; Eversmile, New Jersey is rank trash and while I still think everyone is way too hard on Nine, it's still a misfire.

3. An actor not having a genre covered is, again, not a weakness. It just means that it has never appealed to them. That's like bashing Bruce Springsteen for not writing an R&B album. Would I like it if Day-Lewis tackled different genres? Sure, but even within the vague-as-fuck confines of "drama," every single one of his entries is wildly different than the other. He's done biopics, he's done courtroom dramas, he's done adaptations of Pulitzer-winning plays, he's done historical sweeping epics, he's done character studies, he's gone big, he's gone small. There's enough verisimilitude within his filmography that you can't deny. Do I wish he'd have more films in his catalogue, and do I wish I'd seen him tackle other genres? Yeah, but again, that's not worth penalizing because it's entirely his decision, and if he didn't feel the material was worth his time, why would I want to see that? Selectivity is not a sin, but a virtue.

The "Gosling just stares blankly" stuff. Yeah, if you've only seen the movies where that's part of his approach. And even in many of those "blank" performances, he's harnessing an intense stillness. Not so much in an Only God Forgives, but he's immensely expressive in something like First Man, despite the dismissals of the peanut gallery.