monline

I'll make a vague attempt to write a list of my favourites. Of course the list'll change (expand) over time.
Let's see ...

The absolute best ones whom I admire for their outstanding acting:

Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, Paul Newman, Robin Williams, Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, Marlon Brando, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Edward Norton, Sally Field, Hugo Weaving, Jodie Foster, Joaquin Phoenix, Alan Rickman, Ashley Judd, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Pfeifer, Holly Hunter, Helena Bonham Carter, Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, John Lithgow, John Malkovich, Max von Sydow, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, Hilary Swank, Damian Lewis, Peter Stormare.

And a few people whom I simply like. Some of them are very good actors/actresses too, but imho not as "universal" as the ones above. And some of them are simply awfully good in a specific character.

Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck, Kevin Spacey, Harrison Ford, Robert Duvall, Danny DeVito, Ed Harris, James Earl Jones, Clint Eastwood, Anthony Hopkins, Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, Sean Connery, Mel Gibson, Brian Cox, Don Cheadle, Tommy Lee Jones, John Rhys-Davies, Oliver Reed, Tim Robbins, William H. Macy, Bruce Willis, Jon Voight, Al Pacino, William Hurt, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Ian Holm, Jeff Bridges, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, F. Murray Abraham, Peter Falk, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jessica Lange, Dustin Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Ian McKellen, Gérard Depardieu, Jeremy Irons, Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Djimon Hounsou, Leonardo DiCaprio.