Who are my favorite actors? That's a practically unanswerable question, but on the strength of multiple performances I will nominate Natalie Wood and Burt Lancaster.
Wood was astonishingly gorgeous, one of the most beautiful women that has ever walked the earth. She began as a child star and kept professional momentum as an adult. She had the gift (that Meryl Streep also has) of being able to speak volumes with the slightest expression. Like Streep, Wood was fearlessly willing to play different roles, not all of which were happy. Unlike Streep, Wood walked the scary line between supremely talented and emotionally troubled that we sometimes see in Hollywood. Born Наталья, she is my wife's doppelganger. Watch this six-minute short narrated by Robert Redford.
As for Burt Lancaster, there is such a strength and credibility in his performances -- even at the end of his career, Field of Dreams -- that I never tire of seeing them. I remember my Mom's referring to him as commie-pinko. Under the circumstances I took that as high praise. Watch this six-minute short narrated by the late John Frankenheimer.
The two of them never worked together.
