And Brando won for On the Waterfront, and Hoffman for Kramer vs. Kramer. But the quiz doesn't have to be about all the films which the actors won Oscars for.
He does well in all of his movies. He should have won for Malcolm X.
When, at the end of the movie, they flashed photos of the real Malcolm, it took me a few seconds to recognize him. That's how powerful Denzel's portrayal of him was.
I love Malcolm X and thought it should have won Best Picture that year (wasn't even nominated, sadly) but I always felt the Academy got it right with Pacino. It was his 8th nomination and he'd still never won. Denzel already had one. Moreover, while Pacino's problem is that he's been giving some version of his Scent of a Woman performance ever since. But it was pretty great the first time.
It's not about an actor's total body of work (at least, it shouldn't be). It's about who had the best performance that year. Cage was really good in Leaving Las Vegas. He's been really good in a few films (Adaptation comes to mind), but those performances are overshadowed by his many ridiculous and terrible performances. His problems are that he will be in anything and he has no subtlety. That's usually killer for an actor, but in the right role, it can work as an advantage.
Although I personally would have given Best Actor of 1995 to Sean Penn for Dead Man Walking, I admit it's pretty hard to argue with Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. A career high for sure.
The last good movie he's been in was a movie called Joe, released back in 2014 and has an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Everything else after that is either meh or complete crap.
I feel the same way about Sandra Bullock. That we can use "academy award winner" before her name makes my skin crawl. She can't act her way out of a ripped paper bag.
It's fashionable to trash Cage, but he does variety and you've got to respect that. Most actors simply get typecast, end of story. Personally, I think that's genuinely sad.
That said, the guy's pretty massive financial issues must have played a role in his selection of roles of late. Wherever and whatever the money comes from. A lot of that is bound to be a steaming heap of you-know-what. A bit like Willis collecting for his retirement just before revealing his brain damage and killing the career. And to think that Stallone was whining the guy was greedy and lazy, not even bothering to learn his lines, while in fact he couldn't...
I don't know what went wrong with Cage, but at one time he was a very good actor. Now he's making straight to video crap like Left Behind. Unbelievable.
This seems as good a place as any to drop my favorite Oscars trivia question. There are six actors who have won both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor: Denzel, Kevin Spacey, De Niro, Jack Nicholson, Gene Hackman, Jack Lemmon.
I'm just happy to see one of my two favorites of all time, "To Kill a Mockingbird", receive a mention. Maybe my other favorite, "Gentlemen's Agreement", will make the best picture category.
Or, stay in the game long enough and they "have to" give you one (as one of the older actors commented on his Oscar from "not one of his better movies").
When, at the end of the movie, they flashed photos of the real Malcolm, it took me a few seconds to recognize him. That's how powerful Denzel's portrayal of him was.
That said, the guy's pretty massive financial issues must have played a role in his selection of roles of late. Wherever and whatever the money comes from. A lot of that is bound to be a steaming heap of you-know-what. A bit like Willis collecting for his retirement just before revealing his brain damage and killing the career. And to think that Stallone was whining the guy was greedy and lazy, not even bothering to learn his lines, while in fact he couldn't...
There might be one more...
But how did Denzel not win for Remember the Titans
I'm here all week, folks.
Javier Bardem for Before Night Falls
Russell Crowe for Gladiator
Tom Hanks for Cast Away
Ed Harris for Pollock
Geoffrey Rush for Quills