Best Whedonverse Actor

[lightandmagic]

Who do you think out of all the Whedonverse alum is the best (not your favourite) actor?

My vote is definitely going for Amy Acker, I have never once see her deliver a bad performance, or an awkward line or anything. She's been flawless, and her performance in A Hole in the World is absolutely phenomenal.

[drusillacakes]

That's a really good one! To be honest, I don't know since we're not playing favorites. I suppose I might go with Julie Benz. Her performance in Lullaby was so touching and actually I think it was the first time I was ever really moved by a Whedonverse character. The second time was Amy Acker in A Hole in the World.

[VampSlayer]

Amy Acker, hands down. She did a sweet smart Fred, then Illyria. And now Whiskey! She is amazing.

I also go'ta give praise to SMG and Emma Claufield. James Marsters too. Everyone is amzing.

[BlueJay]

I think it's a tie between Sarah and Amy Acker. I would opt for Alyson Hannigan as well, but her performance as Dark Willow made me cringe whereas Sarah and Amy always always always delivered. However, whenever Willow cries, I tear up, which is something not a lot of people can pull off. So definitely those three are up there.

As for men, David Boreanaz and James Marsters are awesome, and I think Boreanaz had the larger range of the two.
...But my vote goes to Alexis Denisof.

[Just Willow]

ALY ALY ALY ALY ALY ALY ALY!!!

seriously. she has the whole amazing acting package. plus her face is SO expressive, i just smile every time i look at her.

[Wyndam]

Going to do a top five:

1. Alexis Denisof: Not only do I think he is the best Whedonverse actor, but in my opinion, he's the best actor I've ever seen. Wesley is my favorite character from any medium, and a large part of that is because of Alexis. He was so good that Joss and Co. didn't want to kill him off in Buffy Season 3, and then even brought him onto Angel where he underwent more development than any other character in the 'verse. Simply amazing.

2. Amy Acker: Along with Alexis, it is difficult for me to think of an actress that I think is better than Amy. Going from Fred to Illyria was like night and day. They were two complete opposites, and Amy pulled them off brilliantly. Now she's on Dollhouse and has once again pulled off a brilliantly tragic character. Love her.

3. Sarah Michelle Gellar: Without her, Buffy wouldn't have as large of a fanbase as it does today. She IS Buffy and was fantastic in the role from start to finish.

4. Anthony Stewart Head: Giles is one of my favorite characters, and that is all because of Anthony. He turned Giles into a multi-faceted character, that could have been a one-note father figure. Instead he was witty, sarcastic, tough, uncompromising and a psuedo Father to three people, which is not an easy thing to pull off. Anthony did it with ease.

5. Harry Groener: The Mayor was Buffy's best big bad (imo), all because of how Harry played the role. He stole every scene he was in and brought the nice yet sinister dialogue to life.

Honorable mentions:
David Boreanaz and James Marsters, like Alexis, their characters weren't meant to last, but the actors played them so well, it was impossible to keep them away. David wasn't that great early on, but by the time he started Angel he was aces. James was great from start to finish, and played Spike well no matter what situation he was in.

[Iceeh★]

Wow, this is tough. I guess my top 3 are Emma Caulfield, Anthony Stewart Head(in Repo too, ahhhh asdfdsjklg) and Amy Acker.

[lucifurl]

I would have to say Alexis Denisof, also he had the most believable british accent.

[Randi Giles]

My pick for best actors are

1. Sarah Michelle Gellar - To quote CC she knows her $H!T. Everytime she cries it gets me.

2. Amy Acker - Her performance at the end of the 5th seaon got to me. She stole the show.

3. James Marsters - He can do anything, he can be bad and cry at the same time. Anything

4. Julie Benz - She should have been a regular on Angel. She was so good. I love her as an actress and on Dexter

5. Nicholas Brendon/Charisma Carpenter - They tie for me. I love NB and I don't think he ever gets recognize for how good he is. And as much as I loved Xander and Cordy it was a good thing for Charisma Carpenter to go to Angel and branch her acting wings. She played the best b!tch. Among other things

Honorable Mentoin - Aly great cryer. David Boreanaz is awesome too.

[CrayonBreakyScaryVeiny]

Amy Acker is fantastic I love her so much as Fred. But I think Nathan Fillion is a really fantastic actor as well... I also really love Emma Caulfield, and Nicolas Brendon. Emma was absolutely astounding in "The Body" She made me cry more than SMG did in that episode.

[spurtyknowledge]

1. Alexis Denisof
2. Amy Acker
3. Sarah Michelle Gellar
4. Alan Tudyk
5. Nathan Fillion
6. Anthony Stewart Head
7. James Marsters
8. Eliza Dushku
9. Enver Gjokaj
10. Gina Torres

Honorable mention:
Olivia Williams, Harry Groener, and Emma Caulfield, who made their respective characters quite memorable.

[CourtneyDax]

1. Amy Acker
2. Alexis Denisof
3. Sarah Michelle Gellar
4. Anthony Stewart Head
5. Eliza Dushku

Just my list. I love these actors so much and they are excellent at what they do.

[Greer]

Hmm...

I'd have to say that SMG and Amy Acker are my favorites. I've never seen someone transition as well as Amy Acker did on Angel. It's phenomenal to see the changes that she goes through when she turns into Illyria. She's brilliant!


...and of course, I'll always love James as Spike. He has got the best accent of the whole 'verse!

[gumgnome]

I think on balance I would have to go with Alexis Denisof for the range that he is clearly capable of. Thinking of the change that his character undergoes throughout Buffy and Angel, it's astonishing that an actor clearly brought in for the distance he would go in embarassing himself on screen could become such a dark, grief-stricken antin-hero. He's also one of the only Buffverse alums that I had already seen and loved in a previous show. He memorably played Lord John Rossendale in the ITV series "Sharpe" (which brought Sean Bean into the limelight and into my heart as a childhood idol). Although only appearing in the final three episodes, Alexis Denisof really shone and holds his own in the final episode alongside Bean and a young Paul Bettany.

[●B E N]

1. Juliet Landau! She is amazing as Dru! Her accent was the most believable.
2. Amy Acker
3. Alyson Hannigan

[Xander-Shaped Friend]

In no particular order
Amy Acker
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Summer Glau
Emma Caulfield

[hedgehogvampire]

I think that they are all great but Amy Acker stands out to me. To go from Fred to Illyria, there completely different from each other, I could be wrong on this but did Illyria ever blink?

[xxxvaliumxxx]

amy acker and emma caulfield hands down.
they are both amazing, although amy wins for me.

[faithlehane]

In no particular order:

Sarah Michelle Gellar - Her performance in "The Body" was Emmy-deserving. And also just her portrayl of Buffy in general. She's quirky, funny, emotional, damaged, and kick-ass.

Amy Acker - Her acting ability and range is nothing short of astounding. Going from the sweet, innocent, emotional Fred to the fierce, powerful Illyria in a blink of an eye was brilliant.

Alyson Hannigan - And not just because Willow is my favorite character. Alyson is so great at both the humerous and the emotional scenes, which is ironic.

Emma Caulfield - Basically, read what I wrote for Alyson.

Anthony Stewart Head - His father figure portrayl of Giles is so fantastic. To see that, and then for him to occasionally resort back to the bad-ass Ripper, is great!

Also honorable mentions to Alexis Denisof and Charisma Carpenter.

[N.D.U.O]

David Boreanaz - Imagine playing someone so far from your actual personality for 8 years!