It' s true and it almost rhymes.

Personally, I find him far too plain to be worthy of such admiration.

Personally, I believe Ed Norton, Chow Yun Fat and Donnie Yuen need some serious high level recognition. And John Cleese, because he' s a genius.

Now that I have this out of my system, I' m off to bed.

Ahthangyew.

Most strenously disagree.

Tom Hanks is easily one of the finest actors ever. Simply because he' s not over-the-top all the time doesn' t mean he' s " plain." Did you see Road to Perdition? It' s just another part that he plays perfectly...I have yet to see him in a role that wasn' t 100% convincing. That says a lot.

I' m not taking anything away from Edward Norton though. He' s one of the most under-appreciated actors out there, and is one of my personal favorites.

Chow Yun Fat? Umm....not really in the same category. Decent acting skills for a martial arts star, but you can' t really put him up there with someone like Hanks. That' s like putting Stallone in the same category as Paul Newman.

I' m backing Fathoms on this,

As much as i love Edward Norton (and my friend, do I!!!!), Tom Hanks has been in so many great films that are not only varied and great but as an actor he' s been so versatile... he' s definitely one of the best comtemporary actors out there.

I' ve seen pretty much all of their films (both Tom and Ed' s), and while Ed' s a superb at edgy, strong male leads (he' s best in Primal Fear, Fight Club and American History X, the 25th Hour); you only have to look at " Everybody says i love you" or even his directorial debut " Keeping the Faith" , that while they are great to watch the first time round - are by no means classic comedies...

Hanks delivers great performances in dramas and can even be great in the brutal/heartless roles (as seen in Road to Perdition). But compared to Ed (who unless you' re perving at him in comedies, like me) - Hanks' portfolio in film comedies inc. Big, Forrest Gump, Dragnet, Toy Story, all the stuff he does with Nora Ephron, etc, etc - you can watch over and over again...

Now THAT' s a great actor for you!

I agree with Fathoms and Jennifer K- Hanks is awesome. Fantastic performances in Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Road to Perdition. Total dedication to his role in Cast Away, those physical changes had to be brutal. And he has also done a great job in his comedy roles, specifically Big and Turner & Hooch (ok, so Joe vs. the Volcano was pretty bad, but everybody does their share of bad movies). But my all-time favorite performance by Tom Hanks is his role as Jimmy Dugan in A League of Their Own.

" Did anyone ever tell you you look like a penis with a little hat on?"
" You' re outta here Dugan!"
" No, no, no you misunderstood!"

That part always cracks me up.

All three of you have made sterling cases that throw my ' hanks is wank' belief in the pooper. I can' t believe I forgot all those films.

All though, to say Chow Yun Fat could be likened to Sly Stallone if compared to Hanks is unfair. Hanks has achieved much, as has Chow, although both in different paths on the acting chain (which may have been the point you were making, but I am unclear on this) - and CHow can act, unlike that musclebound retard. I' m talking about Stallone of course.

I would also like to comment that Jen' s reply was brilliantly written. Me' tinks you is wasted in PR maddam. The film industry is calling you...

...now if only you could remember to blag your ass into some frickin industry parties and get some connections innit!

Meanwhile... I' m going to post some noooz.

It' s not a question of what Chow Yun Fat has achieved vs. what Hanks has achieved. IMO, it' s a question of overall acting ability...and I' m sorry, but those two just aren' t in the same league. I' m not demeaning Yun Fat' s ability (VERY few actors are in the same league as Hanks), because I think he' s quite good for a action star. It may not be fair to pair him with Stallone, but I also don' t think it would be fair to compare him directly to Hanks. They' re just not in the same place on the " acting ability meter."

It' s kinda like a " favourite film" or a " favourite actor" debate, whereby it' s the actor within their individual roles and their repertoire as a whole.

There' s a lot of things that i think Hanks is great at that Chow will never do and vice versa.

His performance is The Killer is stellar though and definitely something i can watch over and over again.

Though, i think Hanks is a lot more watchable just due to the variety of films he' s been in and on top of that, the ensemble cast he' s involved with.... he' s a much more versatile actor.

And yes - A League of Our Own - gotta love Hanks in that, what a superb film! And where that kid gets knocked out by the baseball glove... pure class!

" HA HA HA!!! GOT him!"

Heh.....loved that scene.

A League of Their Own is awesome.

Another classic Hanks film is BIG. That bit where he' s looks for job ads and he waggles his tongue of ice-cream and cherry and it slops on the paper.

Yeah, I agree with Fathoms, stole the words outa my mouth.

I own Big. What a great movie; I' ve probably watched it 50 times since I was a kid.

There were so many parts that cracked me up...

Gagging on the buluga at the party was pretty damn funny, and that scene with him and his boss on the super-big piano in the toy store is CLASSIC.

Now I want to watch it again.

I watched Catch me if you can extras on the dvd last night and it looked like it was a lot of fun to film.

I watched Catch me if you can extras on the dvd last night and it looked like it was a lot of fun to film.

Is it out already? I might get it as soon as I get some extra cash

Whoa...we' re gonna have to fight now Fathoms! Saying Fat isnt' in the same category as Hanks is blasphomy! Pure blasphomy!

Well...hehe...I may be exagerating, but I believe Chow Yun Fat to be a great actor. I wouldn' t say he' s quite as good as Hanks, but he' s in the same ballpark.

As for Norton, he is definitely in the same league as Hanks, he just hasn' t been given the opportunities that Hanks has. As was already stated, he is an under-appreciated actor, and as such, doesn' get the type of roles Hanks is offered. In my opinion, his performanes in American History X, Primal Fear and 25th Hour are all comperable, if not superior to Hanks' best acting.