Ray brought up Timothée Chalamet on Inside The Screen and I had to stop the whole show. Because I have three great male actors in my top three for this new era of acting, and I knew exactly where Timothée goes. Number three. I love him, I love his chops, but he's number three. This is a ranking so we're counting down.
3. Timothée Chalamet
Dune, Wonka, Marty Supreme
He's a great actor. He's not the best actor.
Dune is big work, it's heavy, but the way those movies are directed it's not really showing us his chops like that. Ray made the point that he doesn't have the volume either. Wonka in 2023, Dune: Part Two in 2024, Marty Supreme last year, which Ray said was really good. And honestly he's 30 and Pattinson is 40, so there's a ten year gap and there's still room for him to grow. I'd also say Zendaya has better range than him. We gotta tap into Zendaya.
Where he lands: Number three, and he's got time to climb.
2. Michael B. Jordan
Sinners, Black Panther, Creed, Fruitvale Station
Name a Black actor in his generation putting out more work than him. I'll wait.
Ray said he doesn't drop at crazy volume and that's fair. But look at the collection. Sinners was crazy. Black Panther was crazy. Every Creed movie is fire. And Fruitvale Station is the one Ray said should be a textbook for Black little boys, and he's right. That was when I didn't even know who Ryan Coogler was yet. Look at them now. I also slept on Without Remorse, the Rainbow Six movie he did with Amazon, and I shouldn't have.
Where he lands: Number two for sure. Ray and I agreed on that.
1. Robert Pattinson
The Batman, The Drama, Mickey 17, The Odyssey
He's the one and he's the top one. I don't care what nobody says.
His range is crazy. We grew up with him as the Twilight guy, and Ray remembered him from Goblet of Fire before that. Pulling yourself out from under a role that big and doing the work he's done for two decades is crazy. I watched The Drama with him and Zendaya late, on a streaming service, and it was crazy. Then Mickey 17, which I fell asleep on about ten times before I finally got through it. And the volume this year is ridiculous. The Drama and The Odyssey already came out, Primetime where he plays Chris Hansen came out in September, and Dune: Part Three lands December 18, per CinemaBlend. Your competition is in every movie you're in, bro.
And I love him as Batman. There was a lot of noise before that movie came out and once it dropped he got his flowers. The Batman: Part II is set for 2028.
Where he lands: Number one. Volume and range.
The bottom line
The thing about watching movies late is I get to have my own opinion about them, not the hype's opinion. And when you line them up it's Pattinson, then Michael B., then Timothée. They're kind of different weight classes, like Ray said, but this is my card.
Who's your top three right now? Come fight me in the CXM Discord.
Your call
Did I get this ranking right?
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