- there are entertaining actors who are fine showmen, who give a big fuck-off performance, like rock stars: Depp, Crowe, Bean etc.
- there are intelligent actors, who lend grace and style to the performance, and enhance the dialogue in particular: Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Spacey seem to be top
- there are subtle actors, who convey by physical means nuances that are not readily expressed in words. And I think that Sean Penn is the finest example of this I have seen in a modern actor. Certainly the two performances I have seen this last week were exemplary, without hitting you over the head with charisma