How do current male actors match up with John Wayne, Gary Cooper and Bill Holden?
I love old movies, and the Duke’s my favorite, as are William Holden and Coop. (and Randolph Scott). The leading men today are, in my opinion, not as strong. I think part of it is because they don’t have as clear a moral stance. The Duke, Gary Cooper or even Bill Holden, Cary Grant or others knew what was right and what was wrong. Even when a guy like Wayne played a conflicted character like in The Searchers or Red River, in the end, it worked out right. Not so today, guys like Dicaprio play cheaters and killers and that’s ok. The closest we have today to the greats of back then are, in my not so humble opinon, Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis. But conflicted is nearly every character today. Hanks has played a lot of strong moral types, but he’s had to cut corners. But he’s the closest. Ford’s pretty good, I think. I admit to thinking Willis is pretty fantastic, but of the three, he’s cheated and lied the most in his roles and has been the furthest away from the old-time ideal
