My favorite actor and easily the best actor on the planet right now is Denzel Washington, point blank, but there is no way you can sit there and tell me logically that Will Smith is that far behind. HIs number speak for themselves. Now i will give you that Denzel does not have those huge blockbuster Will Smith does but lets be real, he has only had ONE movies where the budget was over 100 million ( American Gangster ) so its not like a huge let down or even surprise when these movies don’t get the type of numbers Will Smith might have.

I was not always a Will Smith fan, I use to think he was dull, boring and could only play one type of roll, the big action film guy. But after you saw Pursuit of Happiness he changed my mind.

He is up there and will be staying up there for as long as HE wants. So please don’t compare Russell Crowe to him lol, what the hell has Russell Crowe done since Gladiator??

Top 5
1. Denzel Washington
2. Will Smith
3. Heath Ledger ( The new Jokers just made him better)
4. Leanardo Dicaprio ( where the hell is he at on this list, has anyone ever heard of a little movie named Titanic, The Departed, Blood Diamond )
5. Johnny Depp ( ummmmm did we forget about all the Pirates of the Caribbean and Blow those alone are classics)

I took notice of him in Iron man and as a result I will watch The upcoming Soloist and Sherlock Holmes movies.

Each time a WIll Smith movie comes out, he actually goes overseas and basically advertises the movie – much like a musician. This was discussed in a Time issue (which I can’t find sadly). Over time this technique greatly improves his movie incomes, as more people hear of him first hand and want to see him.

For my money, Denzel is the best actor working today, and he’s also an extremely bankable movie star. He could be as big as Smith, if he was truly interested in selling out.

It’s true that his films rarely cross the 100 million dollar mark. But a lot of that is down to his integrity as an actor. For a start, Denzel has only ever made one film with a budget over 100 million bucks (American Gangster). So by design, Washington doesn’t make films that are “supposed” to be blockbusters. He specialises in intelligent, adult thrillers and dramas. He almost never makes films that rely on CGI or special effects, which Smith does with regularity (in fact, Denzel turned down the lead in Smith’s I,ROBOT, a CGI driven blockbuster in favor of THE MANCHURIAN CANIDATE, a serious, character driven political thriller). Washington has had plenty of opportunities to make the kind of guaranteed summer blockbusters that Smith makes, but he turns them down for the most part. You won’t see Denzel in HANCOCK or MEN IN BLACK 2.

Because Denzel cultivates a more adult audience, instead of trying to grab every available demographic the way Smith does, it’s difficult for him to get those sort of ridiculous Box Office numbers that Smith often records. I think Denzel prefers to straddle the line between being a respected serious actor and a box office draw, and it reflects in his film choices.

If you look at Denzel’s opening weekend consistency, he’s easily one of the most bankable stars alive. Denzel pretty much guarantees a 20 million+ opening weekend for any commercial studio film. His films won’t neccesarily make 100 million domestic, but they rarely have huge budgets in the first place, so the studios make a profit.

Denzel is also pretty bankable overseas. His last three wide release films made more overseas than they did in America. On average, his films now make around 200 million dollars (including domestic and international totals).

The truth is, if Denzel started working with 100 million dollar + budgets, special effects, PG rated films, he’d be close to Will Smith’s box officed level. But I doubt he’d be as respected as an actor. Smith makes films to please everybody. Denzel makes films to please grown-ups. Therin lies the difference.

Robert Downey Jr.????? Except for Iron Man his movies have al basically flopped in the last 10 years. He’s had 1 hit movie.

I’ve noticed that every trailer for a WIll Smith movie looked good; I wanted to see that movie after watching its trailer. Sadly, this is not the case for many excellent movies.

If you think this article is “attacking” Will Smith, then you’re as stupid as shit:

“Will Smith is a solid actor. Yes he gets damn annoying when he plays what seems to be the exact same guy in many films… but when he’s called upon to be something more, or to play someone outside his regular range, he nails it (Pursuit of Happyness, Ali).”

Yup, sure sounds like I’m attacking him.