That's hardly an argument. Which part has he played where he hasn't been in utter control of the happenings and the movie? Being a great actor doesn't involve solely dominating the screen, I'd like him to play a part where he shows off other aspects of his enormous talent.
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If you're interested in my opinion of who's been better for the past 25 years I'd say:
1) De Niro
2) Pacino
3) Seymour Hoffman
Ok. What has De Niro done in the last 25 years to warrant this? As great of an actor as he is, truth be told, his best work was the first 10 years of his career
Pacino. Scent of A woman and Any Given Sunday are probably his two greatest roles in that time span, but I can't see how they compare to My left Foot, In the name of the Father, Last of the Mohicans, Gangs of New York, The Boxer, There will be blood, and Lincoln
Hoffman has been relegated to supporting roles during that time span as well.
I'm not talking about greatest actors of al time, because to me that comes down to two people. Pacino and Meryl Streep.
I'm talking of the last 25 years.
And at this point in his career, what other aspects of his talent do you wnat him to utilize?
This guy has not played the same type of role twice in the last quarter century. If anything, that alone speaks to his amazing talent.
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Phoenix has a huge screen presence in The Master.
He's the whole movie in The Master. I can't recall a single scene in that movie, save for Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the bedroom at the hotel in New York, where Phoenix wasn't in it.