Not to mention studying film as my side hustle.

Great actors were NOT shoe-ins for only great movies in the 1940s by a long shot. Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart were in a large number of films that ranged from forgettable to turd. The studio system made it even more likely that you'd have an uneven resume.

I also don't use the term "great" loosely. Obviously the overwhelming majority of actors who get consistent work are great actors. Frank Grillo is a great actor, technically speaking, but no one would describe him as one of the greats. I'm not discussing Liotta's technical ability. In the right role, any actor can give a great performance, including Keanu Reeves and Channing Tatum.

Greatness is determined by resume. And actually, yes, sports athletes' legacies are tainted if they don't have rings. There are tiers of legacies-- All-Stars, followed by champion role players, followed by MVPs, followed by champion stars. Dawson won't be ranked above Mantle, DiMaggio, and Mays ever in the court of public opinion. Kirby Puckett and Bernie Williams elevated their status on the best CFs of all-time list tremendously with titles. People love a star with titles on his resume.

And Liotta hasn't even sniffed the playoffs in twenty years. Narc is the only thing close.

BTW, I'm arguing against a guy who I love seeing in movies. He's obviously technically great. But he's no DeNiro, Pacino, Brando, Nicholson, etc.-- THOSE are the greats, the people with multiple GREAT films under their belts.

I don't describe many actors under the age of 60 as "great" actors today. If you call Liotta great, you're putting him with DiCaprio, Day-Lewis, and the like. And he's just not there.

>Just because everyone thinks of the name Ryne Sandburg first
>doesn't mean he's not a hall of famer.
>
>You can't base a cat's acting talent on the movies he's in.
>Those are two separate things.
>It's not the 1940s, where a great actor will be a shoe-in for
>only great movie.
>Martin Balsam is a great actor.
>Joseph Cotton is a great actor.
>If the two of them were making movies today, they'd have the
>same resume as Ray Liotta.
>The fact that Liotta doesn't outshine his cast in most of his
>movies is a positive trait, it means he's willing to put the
>good of the movie ahead of himself. It's called doing it the
>right way.
>I don't rush to see his movies either - who's up for DUMBO
>DROP? - but I do that he's gonna deliver.
>Cats are forgetting the basics here.
>
>
>
>"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which
>has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams

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