Are males better actors?

[Rammsteinmad]

Inspired by the 'Actors you hate' thread. I was thinking through actors I like, and I could easily list loads of amazing actors, but none of 'em are female.

I dunno what it is, but I can't seem to think of any actress who has specifically impressed me somehow. It's like they all play the same role in every film.

For example, I could watch any film, like Pulp Fiction, and think 'Wow, Samuel L. Jackson was amazing in this film', but then I couldn't give two shits about Urma Thurman.

Does anyone else feel this way?

[Lock Jaw]

Off the top of my head, Ellen Burstyn was fantastic in Requiem for a Dream.

[Gertner]

Males are better everything.

[Sixx]

Males are usually better at playing male characters, they don't however quite pull it off as good as females when it comes to playing female characters.

[Jeritron]

Well, cinema in general is more male driven. The directors, writers, and producers are mostly male.
They express themselves in a way that identifies with them.

Also, as males we identify more with certain movies, and usually with the male characters. Even in a movie with female characters, there are usually multiple male characters and only one female.

There are some great actresses though, and overtime I've enjoyed a number of female characters. It's not often that a movie will go out and make that female character mean something in a movie made for males, by males.

-I've enjoyed Uma Thurman immensely in Tarantino's movies. Particularly Kill Bill. As a matter of fact, he has a lot of female characters I find interesting and well acted.

-Jamie Lee Curtis was great in True Lies and Halloween.

-Sigourney Weaver is amazing in Alien and Aliens. She's also great in Ghostbusters, and a perfect comic foil for Murray.

-Sarah Connor. That's the third strong and interesting female character in a Cameron movie on this list. It's a trait of his.

-Princess Leia is intelligent, spunky and kicks all kinds of ass in a movie series I love that's pretty male dominated.
Marion Ravenwood in Raiders too

-Clarice in Silence of the Lambs.

- Some others are Rosemary in Rosemary's Baby. Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
Diane Keaton in Godfather and Annie Hall. Grace Kelly in Rear Window. I think Mrs. Brody is great in Jaws.

I think Frances McDormand is amazing in almost everything she's in. Tilda Swinton is great in just about everything I see her in. She was a great villain in Michael Clayton.

I could keep going.

[Jeritron]

I also think Hollywood, and society in general, places more stock in a woman's look than her acting abilities. Certainly more so than they do for males.
Men are more praised for personalities and talents if they shine, and the looks matter less.

Lots of male actors get famous for their acting ability, and their appearance is less of a concern.
Female actresses seem to be accepted and paid based on how hot they are. I'm sure there are thousands of great actresses who never make the cut, while Jessica Alba gets the role.

[McLegend]

No one realize this, but Meryl Streep is the best actor ever.

[Jeritron]

She's incredible

[thedamndest]

15 Oscar nominations and only two wins? Well, you'll finish honing your craft someday, kid.

[Jeritron]

It also has to do with the stories that movies focus on. Soldiers, cops, criminals, politicians, and most of the professions depicted in movies are male dominated in real life.

The movies that are made about women are considered chick flicks. It's the women characters breaking the mold that become memorable

[Sixx]

And males can pee while standing.

Bah, males can even pee their name in the snow.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Have to agree with Jeritron in this thread. I get the same sensation that Rammsteinmad gets, but I do believe it is because a lot of the best characters written are male, because a lot of the writers are male -- as are the directors and such.

[Pete Cash]

Cate Blanchett can match anyone as an actor. I think I love her a little bit.