The under-appreciated comic skills of great film actors

    They have been widely recognized as great male actors in great dramatic films and yet under-appreciated for their great comic skills. Here are six, listed in alpha order:

Gene Hackman: Superman (1978) and The Birdcage (1996)

He was born on January 30, 1930, in San Bernardino, California. He dropped out of high school to join the Marines, and then studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse Theatre. Hackman’s breakout film was Bonnie and Clyde. … He has since retired from acting.Apr 2, 2014

 

 

Jack Nicholson: Batman (1989) and Mars Attacks! (1991)

Peter O’Toole: The Ruling Class (1972) and My Favorite Year (1982)

Born on August 2, 1932, in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland, legendary actor Peter Seamus O’Toole grew up in Leeds, England. There, his father, Patrick, often worked as a bookmaker. … In his early teens, O’Toole left school and ended up working for the Yorkshire Evening Post

 

 

 Al Pacino: Dick Tracy (1990) and Frankie and Johnny (1991)Alfredo James Pacino was born April 25, 1940) is an Italian American actor and filmmaker. Pacino has had a career spanning over five decades, during which time he has received numerous accolades and honors both competitive and honorary, among them an Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awardds, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute, the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, and theNational Medal   of Arts. He is also one of few performers to have won a competitive Oscar, an Emmy, and  a Tony Award for acting, dubbed the “Triple Crown of Acting.”

 

George C. Scott: Dr. Strangelove (1964) and The Flim-Flam Man (1967)

He was born on October 18, 1927, in Wise, Virginia. He earned his first Academy Award nomination in 1959 for his supporting role in Anatomy of a Murder. … Scott is best known for his film portrayal of General George S. Patton. He worked until his death in 1999.Apr 2, 2014

Rod SteigerNo Way to Treat a Lady (1968) and W.C. Fields and Me (1976)

Rodney Stephen Steiger (April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as “one of Hollywood’s most charismatic and dynamic stars”, he is closely associated with the art of method acting, embodying the characters he played, which at times led to clashes with directors and co-stars. He starred as Marlon Brando‘s mobster brother Charley in On the Waterfront (1954), the title character Sol Nazerman in The Pawnbroker (1964), and as police chief Bill Gillespie opposite Sidney Poitier in the film In the Heat of the Night (1967) which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Credit: Superb WikiBios.

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