Best Actor in the Buffyverse

[The Ferg]

I'm just naming the main actors in the poll.

I think the winner is obviously Alyson Hannigan with Marsters, Green, Trachtenburg, and Denisof as close seconds.

[littlewilly]

i chose Sarah but Hannigan and Marsters were very close too.

[The Ferg]

SMG is great, but to me, she just doesn't measure up to the 5 I mentioned.

[Bangelxx]

SMG is great! She's my fave actress. I also voted Alyson Hannigan and David Boreanaz. Angel/Angelus was amazing!

[Joyce Summers]

I voted Kristine Sutherland. I've seen her in so many different things, including a few bits and pieces of her on stage, and she's just excellent. She's a fabulously talented actress- and there's certain things in her style that I notice and just think are really neat, and she adds a lot of great touches and expressions. But sadly she's very underrated- and hey, Joss Whedon agrees with me- He's said a few times that she's one of the most brilliant yet underrated actress in the business. ;)

Close seconds were Amy Acker and Tony Head as both also have that ability to become their roles in an amazingly believable way.

[Lyri]

Without question, James Marsters. He's a fabulously talented actor, and he goes through so much as Spike that he can share all of that talent. I mean, come on, an American actor, playing an English character, doing a BAD American accent? Pure quality.

I've seen him in quite a few things, and one of my favoriet performances by him has got to be Simon, in Amber Benson's movie 'Chance'. Anyone who wants to se James Marsters in a dress and acting as a woman so needs to see this movie!

[Bluebird]

Alexis Denisof is very underrated in general. He has such a wide range and the change in Wesley over the years was very well done. No matter how good the writing was, it takes a class actor to make that kind of transition in character.

He was particularly good in 'Shells', when Illyria says 'Because I look like her?', the look on his face when he replies really tugs at the heartstrings.

[The Ferg]

YEah, Denisof is great.

(Crap, I forgot Tom Lenk. He would be another one on my tops)

[alexa]

Now that you make me think about it it has to be Alexis for sure, he can do anything convincingly. Highly underrated actor.
James, Sarah and Ally don't fall too far behind though.

[Jess]

Alexis Denisof is very underrated in general. He has such a wide range and the change in Wesley over the years was very well done. No matter how good the writing was, it takes a class actor to make that kind of transition in character.

He was particularly good in 'Shells', when Illyria says 'Because I look like her?', the look on his face when he replies really tugs at the heartstrings.

Well I must agree with pretty much everything said here. Alexis is my choice.^^

[nerd4hire]

I can't believe I'm the only one who voted for Amy Acker. ::huh1::

[Tranquillity]

I voted for SMG in the last one of these i voted in so i voted for James this time. But hell, they're all quality.

[Buffy obsessed fan]

Aly or Amber. Not because they play my favourite characters, their acting skills are what made them my favourite characters. They're both really talented. :)

[Cangel]

I voted other. If you ask me, Julie Benz is a very talented actress.

[The Ferg]

Huh, I was even thinking about putting her down... (*DAMN!!*)

[LorneyTunes]

To be honest I love Amy Acker, but Alexis is the better actor especially through all the character development he has come through, from wesley wyndham- price to rogue demon hunter to scary cut throat man who sleeps with lilah!!

[palabravampiress]

I haven't voted yet. In a similar thread, I think I was able to narrow my favorite actors down to James Marsters, Alexis Denisof, and Amy Acker, but unable to choose between the three of them. Their characters all underwent huge transformations that showed off a lot of range. They always seemed to make me believe whatever the character was doing, be it something hilarious or something heartbreaking or something really sort of creepifying.

[The Kinslayer]

Nice to see you, LorneyTunes. Absolutely love the username. Actually thought of using it myself. Why not go to Check In - Buffy-Boards (http://www.buffy-boards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=32) and introduce yourself? And while your at it, why not go to The Sorting Tome - Page 35 - Buffy-Boards (http://www.buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?p=517532#post517532) and find yourself a dorm.

Maybe I should say something about the topic? I have a really hard time to tell who´s the best actor/actress. I think a lot of them are doing a great job. So I´ll skip that one. But I do love Amys performance. Everything from the shy, insecure person in Pylea to Illyria.

[Crazy Flakes]

I voted for Amy Acker. She's a brilliant actress. Fred and Illyria were as different as characters can get, and she played them both without missing a beat. Also, when most people play their characters for the first time, they're not really sure how to act them out, but Amy seemed to know her character from the very beginning. That's the mark of some great acting. I can't wait to see her in Dollhouse!

Honorable mentions go to Alexis, Alyson, and James. Alexis was just brilliant. His transformation from the dorky, stuffy Watcher in the beginning of Buffy to the badass, depressed Wesley at the end of Angel was incredible. He's definitely underrated; probably because he wasn't THE main character, and he hasn't really taken on any super-prominent roles since Angel. Even though Alyson had the occasional episode where her acting was a little bit off, her acting in the other episodes more than made up for it. She WAS Willow, from beginning to end. And, even though we were used to the lovable, dorky, innocent Willow from seasons 1-5, she still managed to creep you out as Evil Willow. But the best part about her acting is her ability to make you feel bad for her. When Willow's sad, you're sad. James? Well, he's got a flawless British accent (as does Alexis, but he lived in England for a while) and his performance as Spike was always spot-on.

[The Kinslayer]

he hasn't really taken on any super-prominent roles since Angel.
I guess it can have something to do with his illness. But I´m not sure, I have no idea that Bell's Palsy means.

As ashamed I am to admit it I didn´t recognized him then he appearred on HIMYM. I just thought "Hmm, he seems familiar. There have I seen him before?" I wish I could blame it all on his superb acting, but no. Not that he isn´t great. Ok, let the banter begin.

[nerd4hire]

I have this feeling that after Dollhouse hits TV screens people will connect better to what a well-rounded, and flexible actress Eliza Dushku is. The potential is there with the part anyway.

[Aethra]

I voted Alyson Hannigan, but was torn about James Marsters and Amy Acker. I voted Alyson because her character had such a large range, going from geeky and timid in season one to evil and vengeful in season six, and everything in between. And she just made it so believable.

[palabravampiress]

I think it is interesting that what most of us seem to consider evidence of good acting is at least partially dependent upon the writing that the actor was given. Consider: if Amy Acker hadn't been given the role of Illyria -- if Fred had just died and been dead -- would we all be as impressed, or would we have considered her acting skills as somehow less well-honed simply because she wasn't given the chance to shine? Of course, there is the flip side to consider: did the writers consider the actors' talents at all when writing? Is it possible that plots depicting great emotional range were only given to actors whom the writers felt could handle it?

When I consider this question, I always think of DB and JM. Their roles -- the vampires who sort of walked the line between good/bad -- were very similar. Between the two, though, JM was given much more emotionally complex material. The line between good and bad was much more clearly delineated with Angel/Angelus. With Spike, JM had to incorporate endless degrees of nuance and subtlety. He also had to do some really difficult scenes, like the attempted rape scene and the post-soul insanity. On one hand, it is possible that DB is the better actor, but the plot and the split personality kept us from seeing a lot of the middle ground (which, to be fair, we explored more thoroughly on his own show). On the other hand, it is possible that JM got more complex material because he is the better actor. I think the answer is somewhere in between. I think that plot and characterization as determined by the writers do obviously limit what we see of an actors' range, but I also think that the writers do take into account an actor's abilities when they pen a difficult scene or story for a character.

[littlewilly]

In the end, id say James was a far better actor than Dave.
Im glad to see James is winning : )