Skip to main content

Denzel Washington > Tom Hanks and I'm sorry.

I was looped into (OK honesty time I looped myself in) to a debate on Facebook about which actor is the best of our time: Tom Hanks or Denzel Washington. 



Initially my thought was: no contest. It's Denzel. I don't understand why we're having a debate. 


But then the Tom Hanks stans went so hard I had to step back and think about whether or not I was trippin' 

But I can assure you I am not. Here are my arguments.

1.
Denzel Washington played Malcolm X. Today (May 19th, the date this debate began) is Malcolm's birthday, so triple points for Denzel. 



2.
Denzel is sexy as hell. 

I mean, can I just...

Tom, you're a sweetheart but I'm sorry, Denzel's got you on hotness.


3. 
Tom and Denzel both have two Oscars. But Denzel was only the second African American actor to win an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role (second to Mr. Sidney Poitier). So if we're talking best of our time, that's a heavy stat. 


4. 
We saw Apollo 13 in science class, but we watched Remember the Titans in every class.

EV-ER-RY CLASS. 


5.
Training Day

Yes, that's it's own point. 


6. 
Denzel has been partnered with the BEST leading ladies. Whitney Houston, Paula Patton, Julia Roberts, Angela Bassett, Eva Mendes... Sorry, Meg Ryan, but no. 

Yes, Tom worked with Halle but that movie was horrible and you know it. 

7. 
American Gangster

Jay Z was moved to create an entire album because Denzel is so amazing. Name someone who made an entire album because of Tom Hanks. I'll wait. 


8. 
None of the characters in Orange is the New Black have Tom Hanks hanging on their walls. 

These women are INCARCERATED! They only want the best to stare at every day forever!


9.
No one is asking Tom Hanks to appear on the greatest show on television today




So, sorry Tom. I love you. You're incredible. You brought us Woody, Chuck Noland (but really, Wilson), Scott Turner and Andrew Beckett. But you also brought us the Da Vinci Code, and that's hard to come back from. 



Denzel is the once and future king. The best damn actor of our time. END OF DISCUSSION.


*

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Cold War Kids iHeart Radio Album Release Party - My Quick Opinions

I've seen the Cold War Kids twice now, and my favorite thing about seeing them is they love to let people see them for free in Los Angeles. A free show is always the right idea. This time I got to see them at the iHeart Radio stage in Burbank, California. It's a very cool space, and the staff is super nice. Part of this iHeart Radio streaming party was a line of questioning from iHeart Radio personality. It was cool to hear lead singer Nathan Willett talk about his love for Los Angeles and desire to use their new album, LA Divine,  to set the record straight about the city's perception. He told Billboard the album is "the best version of what [they've] always done," and I agree. There's nothing particularly outstanding about the new album. There's no new, adventurous sound. The freshest thing about LA Divine is the effect the tumultuous year that was 2016 had on the lyrics. For example, Nathan told an amazing story about an art piece in New ...

Mrs. without the "r."

Of course I'm a feminist. Not that that needs explaining, but I absolutely believe in equal treatment and opportunities for both sexes.  But being a feminist doesn't mean I burn bras every Tuesday night. I still adhere to a number of not-so-feminist-friendly traditions. For example, I hate taking the trash out. That's a "man's" job. I take the trash out when I must, but if I can ask Jersey Mike to do it , well that's just 10 times better. Typically, for me, a man's job is any job I don't want to do.  Maybe that's not quite a tradition (more me leaning on societal norms to feed my laziness). But there's one tradition that, growing up, I always thought I'd be fine:  Taking my husband's last name.  My mother kept her maiden name when she married my father. She was born a Shute and felt that shouldn't have to change just because she found a cool guy to spend her life with. Growing up it wasn't confusing for me u...

Nothing Will Replace Gossip Girl, But Riverdale Is Close or Teen Shows I've Watched Lately

Each day I live and breathe, I'm inching closer to a time when I will no longer understand and will therefore lose the capacity to truly love a teen drama. But I'm not there yet, and I'm (still) searching for something to fill the void Gossip Girl  left when it was revealed that Lonely Boy was the one putting the words in Kristin Bell's mouth. Gossip Girl first aired after an episode of America's Next Top Model.  I remember this because my mother and I used to watch ANTM together in the days before girls started auditioning just so they could meet Tyra. But neither of us could leave the room once Gossip Girl's  pilot began. We were both hooked immediately, and it would be a show we enjoyed together even after I left home for another city hours away, and then another state halfway across the country. GG was corny at times, and it had its pitfalls (how did Chuck Bass start Season 1 by trying to rape little Jenny and end it by kicking off what would become ...