Poll Suggestion: Face-off: Tom Hanks vs Daniel Day-Lewis vs Denzel Washington

Rodrigo.
Yeah I too think that Gary Oldman should win the award and out of these three I too would have chosen DDL .

Thnx Dibyayan
I'll try.

Yeah Hanks can surprise.

I think Tom Hanks has been relegated to too many roles that don't allow him to display the full range of his talent, he seems to always be the respectable guy with leadership skills and put in critical situations, but he's a bit like Sidney Poitier in his "suit and tie" era, even within a range that seems limited, he excels.

DDL is a living landmark but I only wish he could loosen up a bit and embrace some more lighthearted roles. At least Hanks proved to be capable of handling comedy, hell that's the Hanks I grew up, the sidekick in "Dragnet", the donkey laugh in "The Money Pit", the central neighbor from "the Burbs" for me he was that funny guy with the curly hair. DDL was 'serious' from the start but it takes also a lot of bravura from an actor to downplay his "serious" image and just have fun. Meryl Streep did it, didn't she?

I'm more critical of Washington, seems like today he's nominated for any role where he's got a colorful performance. He became a sort of Oscar darling à la Streep so I'm not sure his awards streak of nominations is a comment on his acting talent rather than his popularity among his peers... though his performance as Malcolm X should have earned him the Oscar (and I say that as a Pacino fan).

So I think Hanks might be past his prime (he got the AFI Lifetime Achievement after all), he doesn't get enough credit today, Washington gets too much credit. And while DDL's true worth is recognized, I think he should expand his talent to other territories, in fact, I just wish I could see him being funny (not sure Washington had many comedy roles too).

Anyway, Hanks gets my vote.

Daniel Day-Lewis get my vote, but I love all three. I think they all had power and ability to steer their careers differently. Maybe, even becoming more legendary than they are as a result. I can think of couple early Denzel comedies, no comedies by Daniel Day-Lewis and more than few dramatic indies for Hanks. I don't think any of them was driven by the paycheck, but i can't say they had many passion projects or took a really big risk either. I wouldn't mind seeing a list of projects they passed on in hindsight. I am hoping the Hanks really channels Fred Rogers in Untitled Mr. Rogers/Tom Hanks Project. They all were born about two years apart, so as with any G.O.AT. discussion, I think it is fair to compare them to each other.

Thank you, Urbane for the idea.
I updated the question.