Methinks Ben Shapiro needs to stop having 3 martini lunches before writing his articles. The only names on that list that make sense are Clooney and DeCaprio. Clooney is just not that great an actor, and DeCaprio is wildly inconsistent.
As for the rest:
Dustin Hoffman - yes, I would agree his best days are behind him. Doesn’t make him overrated, though. Ratzo Rizzo, Tootsie, the counterfeiter in Papillon - these were all brilliant performances. It’s akin to saying Pacino is overrated because he did Cruisin’ after The Godfather and Serpico.
Tracy and Hepburn - Little Benny needs to learn the concept of “movie star”. Some old school actors were known for their ability to disappear into a role, etc. Others were known as movie stars. They played themselves in whatever part they had, but that’s what made them so good. Tracy and Hepburn were no different than Glenn Ford, Jimmy Stewart, or John Wayne in that respect. Go back to film class on this one, Benny.
Bill Murray - oh, WHATEVER. Murray has consistently been excellent in his roles - including the admittedly dry remake of Razor’s Edge. He deserved an Oscar nom for Groundhog Day and was very, very good in Lost in Translation.
Hanks and Streep - Get real. Hanks *has* become rather pretentious in recent years, but he’s still a top notch actor. Streep is nearly unmatched as a dramatic actress. Not liking a performance is not the same thing as a bad performance, Benny.
Nicholson - I would agree that Jack has been mailing it in for years. Does that make him overrated, or just lazy? His work in Chinatown, Five Easy Pieces, etc. was outstanding. More recent stuff, not so much. I’ll call this one a draw with Ben.
Where’s Nicholas Cage, btw? That guy is the single most inconsistent actor I’ve ever seen!
Funny - I never saw Groundhog Day until recently. It is a piece of culture and references are made to it often, so when I saw it on some channel I watched it. Wow. I agree, his acting was very good in that unusual piece of film.
BTW, since I’m here, my list on the most underrated/under-appreciated actors/actresses:
Fred MacMurray - Remembered mostly for light comedy and good guy roles, but did so much more. Watch The Egg and I or a couple episodes of My 3 Sons, and then watch MacMurray in Double Indemnity, The Apartment, or The Caine Mutiny.
Harvey Keitel - Sort of the poor man’s DeNiro. Not the best looking guy, but a very gifted actor. Smoke, Blue Collar, Reservoir Dogs...
Aaron Eckhardt - Anyone who can pull off the sympathetic boyfriend he played in Erin Brockovich and the monster he played in In the Company of Men has serious acting range.
Humphrey Bogart - Yeah, I know Bogey is already considered one of the greats. I still say he was underrated, because he rarely got a chance to do something outside of his “leading man” character. When he did, as in The Caine Mutiny and In a Lonely Place, we got to see just how versatile Bogey really was.
Harry Dean Stanton - Great in everything he’s ever done. Doesn’t matter if it’s Alien, Paris Texas, or Pretty in Pink, he’s always top notch.