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RSS FeedWho is the better actor, Robert De Niro or Al Pacino?
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| De Niro | 61% | 489 votes | Total: 802 votes | |
| Pacino | 39% | 313 votes |
De Niro
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Add to FavoritesProbably one of the toughest questions I have come across, both are very good at what they do. I would even stretch it to as far as two of the best that cinema has ever seen, and this debate of who is better has gone on for some time and no doubt it will continue to go on. But, for me Robert De Niro is better, I take offence at anyone saying he was in the right place at the right time, because it makes it seem as if De Niro isn't that great of an actor and got lucky.
One of the first things that make me believe that De Niro is the better of the two actors is that his determination to make his character work is beyond any other actor I have seen. With acting it isn't just about a natural ability, its also about how far an actor is willing to go to perfect that role. An actor doesn't just audition for a role, and through their acting ability is able to make that character believable they need to work at it. That's where De Niro can perfect his character, the determination that he has to make his character work he wants it to be perfect and more often than not succeeds.
An example of De Niro's determination is when he played the role of Travis Bickle in the film Taxi Driver. To fully understand the theme of the film, and to fully depict how he should act to make his character believable he would drive a Taxi at all hours of the night and would distance himself from the cast to get the feeling of loneliness. De Niro would be able to assess what the characters traits should be and would portray those very well. De Niro is such a good character actor because of his philosophy that you have to earn the right to play the character rather than just get it. That philosophy I believe is enough drive for De Niro to be able to perfect the character he is playing.
For me as a movie fan, an important part of what makes a good film is the characters, if the characters lack dynamic traits then what is the point of watching the film? De Niro has been able to create such dynamic characters that make you interested, even his most despicable characters, it still makes you want to take notice of him. De Niro's characters are really his legacy, not to say Pacino hasn't been able to create dynamic characters. But they have lacked what De Niro's characters have, Pacino has been able to make dynamic characters, but there isn't one Pacino movie I have seen where I thought there isn't anyone else that could have done the role as good as him. Whilst with De Niro, I really don't think anybody else could have done some roles as good as De Niro an example would be Taxi Driver I think of all the actors around that time and no one suits better than De Niro.
A lot of the time people credit Al Pacino for his role as Scarface which I admit was great, he did very well with it. But, I do believe that performance is over rated, the scenes where Pacino looked uneasy and in a rage someone of them scenes were just so over the top. I can understand why Pacino has been accused of over acting a lot of the time, he just took it too far with that, but I believe when De Niro has acted being such a hate filled character he has been able to not go over the top but also has been able to scare you.
The example I am thinking of is Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, I believe if it was any other actor portraying Jake LaMotta it would have seemed like just another boxer with anger issues. But it being Robert De Niro and again implicating that determination to perfect a character, his fits of rage were timed perfectly. We were supposed to see LaMotta as an unreasonable psychopath basically and what I believed Pacino's Tony Montana failed to do was have the mannerisms of a hate filled person, it takes a lot more than raising your voice to come across that way. De Niro was able to master the mannerisms, the way he would shoot a glance at his wife when she said something out of line. Even the way De Niro asked a question to his on screen brother Joey, his facial expressions were truly terrifying.
Pacino is a fine actor and his early work was fantastic particularly Dog Day Afternoon, but what prevents Pacino from being better than De Niro is the fact that he is so inconsistent his performances over the years seemed to get worse and worse. Sure, De Niro had some flops and some real bad films, but the thing with De Niro's films he was able to make us care about his character, it was just a shame that some of his other films lacked in other departments.
Learn more about this author, Stephen Kerr-Robinson.
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Pacino
Robert De Niro must have been in the right places, at the right times, because it appears he had more opportunities to move ahead to super stardom! And I agree that he is a superb actor, but it is still a wonder as to what puts certain stars ahead of others.
Al Pacino is not only a superb actor; he is a soulful actor that takes you along with him as you are swept away in the character he portrays. There is no other actor that can overshadow his impeccable performances. He has what they call "screen dominance" and it is evident in everything he does. That, to me, is a sign of a great actor.
His professional acting career spans over four decades and his interest in acting goes back to his school days when he found refuge on the stage in school plays.
It is clear to see that he strives for perfection on the screen. He hones his characters into works of art. It has been said that he will study and recite his lines repeatedly, and, not until he is satisfied, can the scene be shot. Perhaps his need to get it right the first time' comes from a modest childhood and later, struggling with bouts of depression from those meager beginnings, scraping together enough money for bus fare to get to an audition, has made him the actor he is. His determination for a better life never ceased as he studied acting. He made it into the prestigious Actors Studio in 1966 under the teachings of renowned Lee Strasberg, creator of "method acting". This led to his debut in theatre roles.
When Pacino found himself in his first feature film, his role wasn't far from the dark parts he portrayed in theatre. Nevertheless, his talent rapidly gained respect among the acting community. His shining moment came in the portrayal of Michael Corleone, in what has become one of the classics of our time, The Godfather. This was one of the most sought-after roles at that time. Rising stars such as Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, and Ryan O'Neal had posed interest, but the closest contender was none other than Robert De Niro. After much debate, Director Francis Ford Coppola insisted on the lesser-known face of Al Pacino. This film changed his life forever! It earned Al Pacino an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. It was such a success, that The Godfather II was made soon after.
Al Pacino had set his bar high, always looking for those significant roles that he could pour his soul into. As we have seen, he did just that, in some of the most critically acclaimed films of our time, like Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon. His brave choices were being noticed, not only in the movie industry, but also among his growing fan base. The film, Bobby Deerfield came along in 1977, with little box office buzz, but he moved forward in 1979 with And Justice for All, where he received another Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
It seems only natural that some roles an actor considers for himself might not be winners. And, to my dismay, in 1980, a film named Cruising, which was followed by Author! Author! in 1982, were just that; not winners and not his best work. The next year however, Pacino was cast in the legendary Scarface, which was so violent for that time, but still ever popular.
After riding high on the success of Scarface, Pacino's next film in 1985 named Revolution, took a dive with endless script changes, set blunders and bad weather, which put Al Pacino in the hospital with pneumonia. Once the film was made, the reviews he received kept him from good roles and off the big screen for the next four years.
But life moved on and Pacino returned to the stage for a while and after that, he directed a film called Local Stigmatic in 1989, however I have read that it was not publicly released.
After enduring this pause, in what had taken off as an illustrious career in years past, he accepted a role in Sea of Love made in 1989. They say this was his come back role, featuring a distinguished Al Pacino with the powerful dark eyes and gravelly voice that we have come to know and love today.
The Godfather sequel had done so well, that in 1990, he was back in The Godfather: Part III.
About this time, as actors often do, Pacino decided to test his comedic chops in Dick Tracy, which earned him yet another Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In 1992, he was nominated for his role in Glengarry Glen Ross, and this led him down a more untraveled path of romantic film characters. He was a believable leading man, cast with Michelle Pfeiffer in Frankie and Johnny.
The coup de gras came in 1992, when he finally won his well deserved Academy Award for an amazing and charismatic performance in Scent of a Woman, still one of my personal favorites!
There is a long list of films that followed; Carlito's Way, Heat (in which he starred with De Niro), Looking for Richard, City Hall, Donnie Brasco, The Devil's Advocate, The Insider, and Any Given Sunday.
Every actor strives to find his own technique, wanting to leave that lasting impression to a viewer. Al Pacino proves in each and every film, that he is a consummate actor with a very individual formula for success. He delivers a line with his incomparable intensity that we have grown to love. He truly is a legendary actor and regardless of how popularity has somehow placed De Niro in the forefront, it cannot be denied that Al Pacino is, if not more, an accomplished, soulful and flawless actor of our time. I give a standing ovation to Al Pacino!
Learn more about this author, Carole Hill.
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