who is the better actor?

[mrsmaalox]

Well obviously DDL is a greater "artist". Unfortunately any of his films past "My Beautiful Laundrette" or "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" are just too hard for me to sit thru. And as far as Tommy Lee Jones goes, well let's just say, I'd watch "Men in Black", "Blue Sky" or even "Coal Miner's Daughter" any time over "Last of the Mohicans" or "Gangs of New York". It must have something to do with a short attention span!

[peewee's lovechild]

Daniel Day Lewis is grossly over-the-top in every single performance. It can work in films that are suitably "epic" (Gangs of New York, There Will be Blood, etc.), but can be painful to watch in others.

Tommy Lee Jones has had his share of over-the-top performances (including Dwight McCluskey in Natural Born Killers, which was a performance/film that I actually liked) and has been in some absolutely craptastic films, but is much more capable of being subtle and believable.

You seriously can not believe this.

Lewis can act circles around Jones any day of the week.

It's not even close.

Lewis = Lawerence Olivier (sp)
Jones = Don Knots

[peewee's lovechild]

Well obviously DDL is a greater "artist". Unfortunately any of his films past "My Beautiful Laundrette" or "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" are just too hard for me to sit thru. And as far as Tommy Lee Jones goes, well let's just say, I'd watch "Men in Black", "Blue Sky" or even "Coal Miner's Daughter" any time over "Last of the Mohicans" or "Gangs of New York". It must have something to do with a short attention span!

It has more to do with you wanting to be baby fed. Most people can't appreciate movies like Gangs or Mohicans because they are constantly being bombarded by visual imagery.

Having to see "acting" for what it is can be too much for some people.

[mrsmaalox]

It has more to do with you wanting to be baby fed. Most people can't appreciate movies like Gangs or Mohicans because they are constantly being bombarded by visual imagery.

Having to see "acting" for what it is can be too much for some people.

I don't agree. I don't need to be baby-fed anything. I need something to "attract" me and if at that moment I don't feel the attraction, it's not my thing. I think if you read my first sentence and see the 2 DDL movies I do like, I am quite capable of seeing "acting" for what it is.

[Opinionater]

I have, actually, I just obviously have a different view of his skill/mannerisms as an actor than you do.

That's kind of the beauty of personal opinion.

IMHO, this entire thread is a matter of opinion. Personally I enjoy Tommy Lee Jones's movies better and I may be wrong but I think Tommy's movies have been more successful and can name far more Tommy Lee Jones movies than I can of, uh....oh yeah, Dan Day lewis.

[Heath Ledger]

I think i would have more credibility than anyoneont this topic it's clearly Tommy Lee Jones.

[marini martini]

IMHO, this entire thread is a matter of opinion. Personally I enjoy Tommy Lee Jones's movies better and I may be wrong but I think Tommy's movies have been more successful and can name far more Tommy Lee Jones movies than I can of, uh....oh yeah, Dan Day lewis.

Me Too

[CuckingFunt]

You seriously can not believe this.

Lewis can act circles around Jones any day of the week.

It's not even close.

Lewis = Lawerence Olivier (sp)
Jones = Don Knots

They're two completely different styles of acting, and I happen to prefer Jones' style. That's not to say that I don't appreciate Daniel Day Lewis' talent, I do (in fact, in a very crowded and well deserving Oscar category this year, it's Lewis that I'm pulling for), but I don't think that it's inherently better than Tommy Lee Jones'.

Ultimately, however, their method/technique is so vastly different that their skill is really almost impossible to compare. Taking the age difference out of the equation, Tommy Lee Jones could never have played any of Lewis' roles as good as Lewis did, and Daniel Day Lewis could never have played any of Jones' roles as good as Jones did.

And, yes, I seriously CAN believe this.

[DoubtingThomas]

They're two completely different styles of acting, and I happen to prefer Jones' style. That's not to say that I don't appreciate Daniel Day Lewis' talent, I do (in fact, in a very crowded and well deserving Oscar category this year, it's Lewis that I'm pulling for), but I don't think that it's inherently better than Tommy Lee Jones'.

Ultimately, however, their method/technique is so vastly different that their skill is really almost impossible to compare. Taking the age difference out of the equation, Tommy Lee Jones could never have played any of Lewis' roles as good as Lewis did, and Daniel Day Lewis could never have played any of Jones' roles as good as Jones did.

And, yes, I seriously CAN believe this.

And so can I.

[Twisted_Dawg]

Daniel Day Lewis is grossly over-the-top in every single performance. It can work in films that are suitably "epic" (Gangs of New York, There Will be Blood, etc.), but can be painful to watch in others.

Tommy Lee Jones has had his share of over-the-top performances (including Dwight McCluskey in Natural Born Killers, which was a performance/film that I actually liked) and has been in some absolutely craptastic films, but is much more capable of being subtle and believable.

...Craptastic?? I like that!

[L.I.T]

DDL has a tendency to take on characters that are written to play larger than life; so I agree that his performances can be over-the-top. But he makes those characters come alive and be believable; as opposed to caricatures of a type.

Tommy Lee Jones excels at laconic characters; much like Gary Cooper and Clint Eastwood.

DDL, though, for me creates characters. When I think of Gangs of New York, I think "Damn that Bill the Butcher was a ing bas ", not man DDL really was a bas . But, with TLJ's movies I tend to go: "Man, Tommy Lee Jones was pretty good in The Fugitive". DDL wins because I think of his characters and not the actor.

Oh, and Exhibit A in over-the-top, playing the same character constantly, histrionics is Sean Penn.

[JoeChalupa]

Sean Penn is damn good actor.

[mrsmaalox]

Sean Penn is damn good actor.

Decent director too.

[703 Spurz]

Daniel Day Lewis wins

Doesn't this weed usually just play police officers?