D'Onofrio and Meloni consistently knock my socks off. Meloni did things on OZ that will stick with me for years, To take a character that awful and invest him with humanity...it was a real accomplishment.

And big, big kudos for the Braugher recognition. He was the king, the main attraction on the best show in US Network TV history: Homicide: Life on the Street.

Anyone who has seen the episode where D'Onofrio played the commuter pushed under a subway, where he and Braugher play off of each other for a full hour, knows how transcendently great those two are.

Dennis Franz

I can't believe I forgot:

Michael F'n Chilklis from the Shield.

He doesn't even need any dialogue - you can see everything he's going through in his face and eyes.

Alan Kalter, a.k.a Big Red.

Getting into the "best actor ever" debate would be tough... you'd have to go back to Daniel J. Travanti on Hill Street Blues, Anothony Edwards on ER, Ed Flanders on St. Elsewhere... wow, too many tough choices. Think I'll stick to today's TV, just to make the argument easier.

I don't think it's fair to include Michael Chiklis from The Shield or Chris Meloni from Oz since they're not really network stars. Great actors, but unfortunately, they're out of the box.

Actually, the Ray Romano post from earlier might just be my 2nd choice. He has really mastered comic timing, which is not an easy skill to master. Too often we dismiss comedic actors, but Ray Romano is on a show full of talented actors and he still shines.

I was hoping Dennis Farina would continue w/ that role since he was so perfect in Out of Sight, but I do like Robert Forster, too. He was excellent the few times he was on Fastlane this past season.

I included Meloni because of his status on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. He did more intense work on OZ, but he's still excellent week in and week out on NBC.

Although he's currently languishing in the aptly titled CBS show Hack (I think he lost a bet), I would have to say Andre Braugher.

Dennis Franz, John Spencer, Vincent D'Onofrio, or Sam Waterston

Dennis Franz, and he's been the best for a long time. Jimmy Smits was no slouch, either, if we're going to get into "all-time" talks.

I almost threw out a vote for C. Montgomery Burns, but didn't want to get flamed.

There's NOTHING he won't do.

I think that was one of the best episodes of any show on TV. D'Onofrio and Braugher were excellent.

Vincent D'Onofrio

How come everyone here is only talking about dramas? Am I the only one that watches comedies?

Well here's my greatest actor from network (FOX) television:

Wilmer Valderrama a.k.a. Fes



He always seems to make me laugh, no matter what .