Actors who have lost their way (or found it)

[Zati]

Robert De Niro: I've always been a huge fan of De Niro's, but he hasn't really given an outstanding performance in a while. He was all right as the gay pirate in Stardust, but that's been it for me. He just hasn't really wowed me as of late, I miss his intensity. Maybe, he needs to consider working with Scorsese again.

Yeah, Robert Downey Jr. is an extremely talented man. He has really made a great comeback from Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes. Like you, I hope he'll pick a more serious and dramatic role in his future projects to come, which show us just how great of an actor he is, and can be.

I would like to mention his buddy Val Kilmer, too. Very talented as well, but needs to pick better films. He was good with Cage in the Bad Lieutenant, though.

I completely agree with you on Nick Cage. I know he's kind of broke right now, so he's been doing a lot of movies that he might not usually do. The Bad Lieutenant was the last movie that I thought he was awesome in.

Morgan Freeman was fantastic as Nelson Mandela in Invictus. He gave a brilliant performance, and really immersed himself in the role. Also, you should definitely see Million Dollar Baby, if you haven't yet!

I hope Michael Douglas stays strong. He's battling cancer right now, and my condolences go out to him and his family. It was nice to see him back and reprising his role as Gordon Gekko, for which he won an Oscar for.

"Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much."

I would also like to give an honorable shout out to his father Kirk Douglas, one of the finest actors ever, who's still here with us now, 93 years old!

On top of my head, my favourite contemporary actors (like the past 10 years or so) are:
Al Pacino
Daniel-Day Lewis
James Caviezel
Robert De Niro
Johnny Depp
Leonardo DiCaprio
Denzel Washington
Sean Penn
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Kevin Spacey
Tom Hanks
Natalie Portman
Nicole Kidman
Kate Winslet
Naomi Watts
Meryl Streep
Helen Mirren
Jack Nicholson
Sean Connery (my idol)
Clint Eastwood (another one of my idols)

I have many more favourites, who are Hollywood greats, like Bogart, Grant, Stewart, among many others, but I'm just going to keep my list to contemporary actors.