Christian Bale vs. Leonardo DiCaprio

[dark_b]

Of course on a superhero board everyone is going to say Bale, but its far and away DiCaprio. Bale's quality of work in his best picture, hasn't been able to touch DiCaprio's worst.

not after Terminator Salvation

 

[Sentinel X]

^When someone says bales best doesn't touch dicaprio at his WORST...then commences to talk about how people on this board are BIASED. Well...it doesn't make much sense to me.

 

[Laderlappen]

I do believe Matt have a good point. Bale is more popular by comicbookfans because he made Batman. Of course everybody is not like that, but enough to make it noticable.

 

[redfirebird2008]

I do believe Matt have a good point. Bale is more popular by comicbookfans because he made Batman. Of course everybody is not like that, but enough to make it noticable.

His point about Bale's best being worse than DiCaprio's worst shows his own bias though. He undermines his own credibility with that kind of statement.

 

[GEO]

I'll go with Bale, despite the awful Terminator movie and Batman voice. American Psycho, The Machinist, Rescue Dawn, and The Prestige seal it for me.

I agree with everything you said.

Titanic was the most important thing that happened to Leonardo DiCaprio. It cemented him as a star and romantic lead, but also made him determined to shake that image. He's been determined to play the tough guy quite a bit to toughen up his image. I don't think it worked in Gangs of New York, but it did in The Departed. And Blood Diamond. He'll never be a natural at it, while I can easily imagine Christian Bale in place of DiCaprio in Gangs of New York, but it's now part of his range. Stuff like What's Eating Gilbert Grape and Catch Me If You Can are where he's been able to use his boyish nature to good use. He's in an interesting place in his career. Obviously, Scorsese is a mentor, but he has a lot of options. More crime thrillers, romance, straight drama, action, and perhaps a comedy or two.

Leo is a good actor, but I don't buy him in the tough guy role. It didn't work for me in Departed & especially in Blood diamond either. His being a tough guy actually takes me out of his movies. But I appreciate the effort he puts in it. And it does look like he puts work in it, not natural to me.

Leo does seem to be an elitist. It's hard for a good actor to not look even better if you're doing great movies with Martin scorseses of the world. He doesn't seem to act for fun, but mainly to prove himself with the roles he chooses. Nothing wrong with that, I'm just saying.

Bale is a box office draw for me, Leo is not.

 

[redfirebird2008]

Bale is a box office draw for me, Leo is not.

Neither of them are box office draws for me. Christopher Nolan is a box office draw for me. Martin Scorsese is a box office draw for me. Paul Thomas Anderson is a box office draw for me. In other words, high quality directors are a draw for me but actors are not. It just so happens that Bale picks interesting projects with good directors when he isn't embarrassing himself with the Batman voice or in the Terminator franchise. DiCaprio seems to always work with good directors, even if the projects themselves aren't necessarily that great (Body of Lies for instance).

 

[Art_of_Crime]

while I find both guys to be personally detestable, and both have some pretty bad movies under their belt, I can watch Bale movies and enjoy them, and DiCaprio just pisses me off, and I can't get past him.

 

[Laderlappen]

His point about Bale's best being worse than DiCaprio's worst shows his own bias though. He undermines his own credibility with that kind of statement.

Oh yeah that is ridiculous. You are right that he is biased and loses his credibility when he says that. I still believe its true.

 

[dark_b]

Neither of them are box office draws for me. Christopher Nolan is a box office draw for me. Martin Scorsese is a box office draw for me. Paul Thomas Anderson is a box office draw for me. In other words, high quality directors are a draw for me but actors are not. It just so happens that Bale picks interesting projects with good directors when he isn't embarrassing himself with the Batman voice or in the Terminator franchise. DiCaprio seems to always work with good directors, even if the projects themselves aren't necessarily that great (Body of Lies for instance).

Nolan is a box office draw????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

[matrix_ghost]

Of course on a superhero board everyone is going to say Bale, but its far and away DiCaprio. Bale's quality of work in his best picture, hasn't been able to touch DiCaprio's worst.

wait wtf
I dunno if you're being sarcastic or you posted this to simply piss off (bat) fans but you can't possibly be serious about that comment.

Are you honestly going to tell me that Bale performance in American Psycho , Machinist , Rescue Dawn , The Prestige , Empire Of The Sun , Public Enemies , 3:10 To Yuma , Harsh Times is worse then Di Caprio in Titanic , The beach or Gangs Of new York .
Dude

Edit :
Christ typed the wrong word

 

[Art_of_Crime]

wait wtf
I dunno if you're being sarcastic or you posted this to simply piss off (bat) fans but you can't possibly be serious about that comment.

Are you honestly going to tell me that Bale performance in American Psycho , Machinist , Rescue Dawn , The Prestige , Empire Of The Sun , Public Enemies , 3:10 To Yuma , Harsh Times is better then Di Caprio in Titanic , The beach or Gangs Of new York .
Dude

I think he is, and I agree with him. by the by, its best not to use Titanic in a debate on the pro side. Kind of makes the rest of your argument laughable.

 

[Nightmare]

I love them both, there should be a poll.

 

[Laderlappen]

He gets way too much hate for his performance in Titanic its ridiculous.

 

[matrix_ghost]

Nolan is a box office draw????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

To him yes. And after TDK i think alot of people would want to check out Nolan's movies. He raises a valid point on how people are always interested to check out directors movies. For example who wouldn't want to check a movie by Scorcese , by spielberg...

 

[Art_of_Crime]

He gets way too much hate for his performance in Titanic its ridiculous.

it is one of the cheesiest and silliest performances.

nauseating

 

[matrix_ghost]

I think he is, and I agree with him. by the by, its best not to use Titanic in a debate on the pro side. Kind of makes the rest of your argument laughable.

How so ?

He gets way too much hate for his performance in Titanic its ridiculous.

I'll admit that Leo's hate for his performance is because it's a chick movie . He does give an okay performance in it .

 

[Drz]

Dicaprio wins. I love them both tho! Dicaprio is just cuter and a better actor for my perspective.

 

[Art_of_Crime]

How so ?

That movie made a ton of money... yes
but honestly it is not a very good movie. The acting could have been done over the phone. The script was hammy and predictable, even for your standard issue romantic toaster waffle movie.

 

[redfirebird2008]

Nolan is a box office draw????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Read what I wrote. Nolan is a box office draw FOR ME. I listed three directors that I am willing to spend money at the box office when I see them attached to a project. Their involvement doesn't guarantee that I will see the movie in the theater but it draws my attention. I might go, I might not.

 

[matrix_ghost]

That movie made a ton of money... yes
but honestly it is not a very good movie. The acting could have been done over the phone. The script was hammy and predictable, even for your standard issue romantic toaster waffle movie.

Just saw my error there
Seriously i should've said bale's performance in the movies i listed was worse then Leo's performance in Titanic etc.

 

[Brian Braddock]

The guys are two totally different actors with different strengths and weaknesses; as such a direct comparison isnt easy.

Ok, let's take Bale's signature role - Patrick Bateman from American Pshyco [one of my favourite all-time movie performances, in that I think it's virtually perfect). Let's remember that Bale was already cast as Bateman, only for the producers to ask him to step aside when DiCaprio expressed an interest in the role. When Leo eventually passed, they went back to Bale [who had still been keeping up him physical regimen as he knew, Hollywood being Hollywod, that there was a chance this would happen].

Try to imagine that Leo had ended up filming AS instead of Bale. How different would it have been to the way Bale played it? I honestly dont think it would have been as good. The whole point of Bateman is that he has this facade of the good looking, fit, virile, successful businessman [Sure, I think that Leo could have got this bit right]but underneath the surface lurkes a sinister, violent, pshycopathic, machistic, sociopath [this is the part I dont think DiCaprio could have nailed].

Equally, there are roles of DiCaprio's which I dont think Bale would have been able to pull off as well - I cant quite imagine Bale playing Frank Abagnale Jnr as well as DiCaprio. DiCaprio's charm was there in spades for all to see, capitalising on his good looks with aplomb and giving his character a mischievious innocence that I dont think Bale would have been able to bring to the table.

I said before that Bale's more of a character actor whereas DiCaprio's more of a leading man. DiCaprio's strength is that he exudes genuine charm and warmth, something that helps him a great deal in achieving chemisty with his female co-stars, whereas Bale on the other hand, is very cold and literally has virtually no chemistry for the most part with them [one of his biggest criticisms]. He's better at playing tortured or angst ridden characters.

I dont necessarilly think one is the better actor per se, I just think they are very different - they have different strong suits and are best utilised accordingly.

One thing I'd like to see Bale in is a comedy. He showed true comedic flair in AS, and I think it'd be a good departure from his normal roles if he lightened up a bit and made something that will make us laugh.

 

[Project862006]

Leo for me bale can only really play the dark characters and i agree he is'nt very likable while leo is

 

[Laderlappen]

That movie made a ton of money... yes
but honestly it is not a very good movie. The acting could have been done over the phone. The script was hammy and predictable, even for your standard issue romantic toaster waffle movie.

That is your opinion. I understand peoples arguments against it and I agree to some degree, but the rest is as good as it could be. Its one of my favorites. Unfortunetly the Oscars, the box-office, and much more makes people think of it as a bad film. And since you think its laughable to call Titanic good but not The Beach, makes me think its very likely that there is something besides the quality of the film that makes you look down on it so much.

 

[Crook]

Leo likes to think he's some big serious actor like Denzel washupington (yes I spelled it that way on purpose). He always acts in serious, gritty movies with Scorcese, thinking it'll get him more awards. Clearly an actor who does what he does for fame not for fun or because he loves it.

That is one huge pile of bullcrap you just spewed. Scorsese is the one that chose Leo to be his Post-DeNiro golden boy, and you'd be an idiot to pass that opportunity up. They both obviously work well together, as at least half of Leo's roles with Marty deserved an Oscar nomination.

I think Bale is better. He's been way more versatile.

I'd like to test this one out on paper. I'm far more confident if we were to compare the character-types both have played in their careers, Leo would dominate that chart through variety.

There's only one type I have not seen (or think) Leo can pull off, and that's the dark/brooding/evil class. Incidentally, the one type that Bale performs best in. They're both talented individuals, that's undeniable. Here I think it's best to look at who has the bigger weakness in terms of range. And ultimately I think Bale draws the short end of the stick by far.

 

[redfirebird2008]

it is one of the cheesiest and silliest performances.

nauseating

Blame Cameron. He wrote the script, not DiCaprio. I felt DiCaprio did a good job given the mediocre writing.

And ultimately I think Bale draws the short end of the stick by far.

I disagree. 3:10 To Yuma is a perfect example. He wasn't brooding or dark. He did a good job playing an honest character. And I also don't consider American Psycho to be a brooding role either. That role actually has a lot of range to it, assuming one has the right sense of humor while viewing it.