Number One should be Tom Cruise. I have never seen him play anything except Tom Cruise. He’s exactly the same in every movie. He’s about a versatile as a beach ball, and about as entertaining.
I disagree with putting Jack Nicholson and Hoffman on the list. Nicholson was delightfully disgusting in Witches of Eastwick and Hoffman was the first actor to actually prove to me that acting was a craft in Rainman. He was absolutely brilliant in that role.
Rainman was the exception to the rule. I have to agree with Shapiro on Nicholson as well. One dimensional acting.
You’re spot on in naming Cruise. There are quite a number of them to place on a list. For instance, I did not list Keanu Reeves, but he’s on everyone’s list.
And now, Cruise is filming One Shot, playing Jack Reached. This is quite probably the worst casting ever. Readers of the novels know Jack is six foot five, a full foot taller than Peewee Cruise. What a disaster.