Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

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  • ezekiel55
    Th*s F*c* C*sh*s Ch*cks
    • Nov 2003
    • 2156

    #31
    Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

    Originally posted by Timmay
    I guess it depends on what exactly you mean by our generation (like what years these pertain to); but I'd have to disagree and say that that would be Morgan Freeman.
    While I respect Denzel and Morgan, I have to go with Daniel Day Lewis...imo, the greatest actor of our generation.

    Comment

    • Alliball
      MVP
      • Aug 2004
      • 2368

      #32
      Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

      Originally posted by zekey55
      While I respect Denzel and Morgan, I have to go with Daniel Day Lewis...imo, the greatest actor of our generation.
      I was just about to say Daniel Day Lewis.

      If we're throwing around the, "Not even close," phrase he fits it better than Washington.

      Comment

      • SportsTop
        The Few. The Proud.
        • Jul 2003
        • 6716

        #33
        Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

        Originally posted by zekey55
        While I respect Denzel and Morgan, I have to go with Daniel Day Lewis...imo, the greatest actor of our generation.
        Agreed 100%.
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        • DubTrey1
          MVP
          • Mar 2008
          • 1023

          #34
          Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

          Denzel - easy.
          Truly Blessed -

          Comment

          • MC Fatigue
            Banned
            • Feb 2006
            • 4150

            #35
            Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

            Originally posted by zekey55
            While I respect Denzel and Morgan, I have to go with Daniel Day Lewis...imo, the greatest actor of our generation.
            You might be right, I couldn't say - I've been bored by every movie I've seen with him in it; so I've generally avoided movies with him; plus he's only been in 3 movies in the last 10 years.
            Last edited by MC Fatigue; 12-02-2008, 02:09 PM.

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            • CMH
              Making you famous
              • Oct 2002
              • 26203

              #36
              Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

              Originally posted by BTB
              Wow maybe I'm in the minority but I see Will Smith as a far more versatile actor (Ali, I am Legend, Pursuit of Happyness, none of these are anything like his Bad Boys character), whereas Denzel to me plays a very similar role in all his big movies.
              Agreed.

              Denzel is an amazing talent. He is the best at his roles. No one could play his characters like him. But, the characters he plays are all the same people. Denzel was the same guy in Training Day that he was in Hurricane and American Gangster.

              Will Smith is far more versatile. He has an ability to play several types of characters, though he may not be the best at any particular role.

              I think the question is actually unfair because we're talking about two different types of actors. Where I see Will Smith as a capable method actor with great versatility, I see Denzel as the strongest typecast actor in the industry.

              If I had to choose, I will go with Smith because I favor his craft of versatility over Denzel's craft of stability.

              edit: That being said, it depends on the film. I've thought of film ideas and characters in my head that I know Denzel would absolutely destroy. I just think that he's limited. What puts him over the top is his uncanny talent within his limitations.
              Last edited by CMH; 12-02-2008, 03:05 PM.
              "It may well be that we spectators, who are not divinely gifted as athletes, are the only ones able to truly see, articulate and animate the experience of the gift we are denied. And that those who receive and act out the gift of athletic genius must, perforce, be blind and dumb about it -- and not because blindness and dumbness are the price of the gift, but because they are its essence." - David Foster Wallace

              "You'll not find more penny-wise/pound-foolish behavior than in Major League Baseball." - Rob Neyer

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              • Trevytrev11
                MVP
                • Nov 2006
                • 3259

                #37
                Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

                Originally posted by YankeePride
                Agreed.
                Denzel is an amazing talent. He is the best at his roles. No one could play his characters like him. But, the characters he plays are all the same people. Denzel was the same guy in Training Day that he was in Hurricane and American Gangster.
                Kind of my thoughts. Denzel nails that stern, seriouse, hard-nosed, cocky a-hole character very well, but he plays that character almost all of the time.

                American Gangster, Deja Vu, Inside Man, Man on Fire, Out of Time, John Q, Training Day, Remember the Titans, The Hurricane, He Got Game, The Bone Collector. (These are the ones I have seen that have been made in the last 10 years)

                While many of these movies are very different, the character he plays isn't too diverse, IMO. The speech patterns, personalities are kind of all what you expect of a Denzel character. I just don't see a lot of variety in the character that he plays. It's not a knock at him, I enjoy his movies very much for the most part, but I know what I'm going to get.
                Last edited by Trevytrev11; 12-02-2008, 03:26 PM.

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                • CMH
                  Making you famous
                  • Oct 2002
                  • 26203

                  #38
                  Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

                  Originally posted by aholbert32
                  Really? Training Day and Malcolm X were nothing like any role his ever played.
                  Malcolm X might be Denzel's greatest role. He's only true example of some form of versatility.

                  However, what I see in Malcolm X, I see a little bit in every character he plays.

                  Strong notable leaders with no fear and amazing speaking skills.

                  I don't think I've ever seen Denzel play the role of a black man capable of understanding his faults. He always plays the type of guy that fights for his beliefs and is incredibly stubborn in accepting other possibilities.
                  "It may well be that we spectators, who are not divinely gifted as athletes, are the only ones able to truly see, articulate and animate the experience of the gift we are denied. And that those who receive and act out the gift of athletic genius must, perforce, be blind and dumb about it -- and not because blindness and dumbness are the price of the gift, but because they are its essence." - David Foster Wallace

                  "You'll not find more penny-wise/pound-foolish behavior than in Major League Baseball." - Rob Neyer

                  Comment

                  • stewaat

                    #39
                    Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

                    Man what a great thread

                    Denzel gets my vote, he's incredible.

                    The Hurricane is one of my favorite movies

                    Everyone I watch it with is like "Why are you making me watch this?"

                    F those people. His character in that movie is perfect...I might have to watch it soon.

                    Comment

                    • Bornindamecca
                      Books Nelson Simnation
                      • Jul 2007
                      • 10919

                      #40
                      Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

                      I think Will has the same chops that Denzel had with equivalent experience, but Denzel's experience certainly gives him the edge.
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                      • NoleFan
                        Hall Of Fame
                        • Aug 2002
                        • 12855

                        #41
                        Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

                        I'm gonna go with Denzel but Will Smith is a D@mn good actor.

                        My question to you now is, who was better...Will Smith as Ali or Denzel
                        Washington as Malcolm X?


                        My vote is for Denzel Washington as Malcolm X as I absolutely LOVE that movie.
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                        • aholbert32
                          (aka Alberto)
                          • Jul 2002
                          • 33106

                          #42
                          Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

                          Originally posted by NoleFan
                          I'm gonna go with Denzel but Will Smith is a D@mn good actor.

                          My question to you now is, who was better...Will Smith as Ali or Denzel
                          Washington as Malcolm X?


                          My vote is for Denzel Washington as Malcolm X as I absolutely LOVE that movie.
                          Thats not even a contest. Denzel. Denzel should have won an Oscar for Malcolm.

                          Comment

                          • bigfnjoe96
                            Hall Of Fame
                            • Feb 2004
                            • 11410

                            #43
                            Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

                            Denzel Washington hands-down

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                            • SpacemanSpiff
                              MVP
                              • Mar 2005
                              • 1279

                              #44
                              Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

                              Originally posted by YankeePride
                              Agreed.

                              Denzel is an amazing talent. He is the best at his roles. No one could play his characters like him. But, the characters he plays are all the same people. Denzel was the same guy in Training Day that he was in Hurricane and American Gangster.

                              Will Smith is far more versatile. He has an ability to play several types of characters, though he may not be the best at any particular role.

                              I think the question is actually unfair because we're talking about two different types of actors. Where I see Will Smith as a capable method actor with great versatility, I see Denzel as the strongest typecast actor in the industry.

                              If I had to choose, I will go with Smith because I favor his craft of versatility over Denzel's craft of stability.

                              edit: That being said, it depends on the film. I've thought of film ideas and characters in my head that I know Denzel would absolutely destroy. I just think that he's limited. What puts him over the top is his uncanny talent within his limitations.
                              Originally posted by Trevytrev11
                              Kind of my thoughts. Denzel nails that stern, seriouse, hard-nosed, cocky a-hole character very well, but he plays that character almost all of the time.

                              American Gangster, Deja Vu, Inside Man, Man on Fire, Out of Time, John Q, Training Day, Remember the Titans, The Hurricane, He Got Game, The Bone Collector. (These are the ones I have seen that have been made in the last 10 years)

                              While many of these movies are very different, the character he plays isn't too diverse, IMO. The speech patterns, personalities are kind of all what you expect of a Denzel character. I just don't see a lot of variety in the character that he plays. It's not a knock at him, I enjoy his movies very much for the most part, but I know what I'm going to get.
                              Originally posted by YankeePride
                              Malcolm X might be Denzel's greatest role. He's only true example of some form of versatility.

                              However, what I see in Malcolm X, I see a little bit in every character he plays.

                              Strong notable leaders with no fear and amazing speaking skills.

                              I don't think I've ever seen Denzel play the role of a black man capable of understanding his faults. He always plays the type of guy that fights for his beliefs and is incredibly stubborn in accepting other possibilities.
                              That basically sums up what I think too. Denzel is great at being Denzel in just about every movie. He's got great charisma and he's got great screen presence but he's not as versatile as people think he is. He plays the same type of character in every movie, stubborn and charismatic. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, you can make a living being really good at one thing.

                              Will gets a lot of critical flack for doing a lot of popcorn flicks and he was a serial overactor early in his career (MIB, Wild Wild West, etc.) but he really has gotten better throughout his career. Pursuit of Happyness was a great role that he did really well, he really committed himself to making Ali as good as it could be, and even in I Am Legend, there wasn't a lot of acting to be done but he did the movie alright even if i didn't agree with how it ended. The scenes where he's chasing the dog around in the dark building and when he has to put his dog down because she's infected really impressed me in a role where he could've just coasted through and it would've stood on the action alone.

                              With all that said, I regard Denzel as a better actor because he's got his one type of character down perfectly. However, Will does a lot of things and he's probably a more versatile type of actor.
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                              • rockchisler
                                All Star
                                • Oct 2002
                                • 8290

                                #45
                                Re: Better Actor In Your Opinion: Will Smith or Denzel Washington?

                                Originally posted by Secondbase22
                                That basically sums up what I think too. Denzel is great at being Denzel in just about every movie. He's got great charisma and he's got great screen presence but he's not as versatile as people think he is. He plays the same type of character in every movie, stubborn and charismatic. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, you can make a living being really good at one thing.

                                Will gets a lot of critical flack for doing a lot of popcorn flicks and he was a serial overactor early in his career (MIB, Wild Wild West, etc.) but he really has gotten better throughout his career. Pursuit of Happyness was a great role that he did really well, he really committed himself to making Ali as good as it could be, and even in I Am Legend, there wasn't a lot of acting to be done but he did the movie alright even if i didn't agree with how it ended. The scenes where he's chasing the dog around in the dark building and when he has to put his dog down because she's infected really impressed me in a role where he could've just coasted through and it would've stood on the action alone.

                                With all that said, I regard Denzel as a better actor because he's got his one type of character down perfectly. However, Will does a lot of things and he's probably a more versatile type of actor.
                                Truer words never spoke, Denzel nials his role down when does them , I think Will smith is more versatile. Not bad for a former rapper to be THE highest paid actor in hollywood.
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