Another consideration you must take when saying "ever" is nationality. Actors from different parts of the world have different styles and were trained differently. You really can't compare an American whose signature was naturalism with someone classically-trained like Olivier. The Europeans tended to be of the classically-trained style. Many of the American greats were literally in the right place at the right time. For instance, I would say Spencer Tracey was one of the greatest American actors ever--if not the best--but making him compete with an Olivier is like apples and oranges because their backgrounds and training (or lack thereof) were so different.
You can't see Tracey doing Hamlet, let alone topping Olivier, but you can't see Olivier equalling Tracey as Drummond (Inherit the Wind), either.
So many variables involved in this arena, but it's definitely fun!
Greatest Actor Ever
in General Discussions
Posted
Another consideration you must take when saying "ever" is nationality. Actors from different parts of the world have different styles and were trained differently. You really can't compare an American whose signature was naturalism with someone classically-trained like Olivier. The Europeans tended to be of the classically-trained style. Many of the American greats were literally in the right place at the right time. For instance, I would say Spencer Tracey was one of the greatest American actors ever--if not the best--but making him compete with an Olivier is like apples and oranges because their backgrounds and training (or lack thereof) were so different.
You can't see Tracey doing Hamlet, let alone topping Olivier, but you can't see Olivier equalling Tracey as Drummond (Inherit the Wind), either.
So many variables involved in this arena, but it's definitely fun!