Gary Ewing, good call! he was perfect.

The best drunk acting in soap ever is Steve aka Phil Mitchell, he just plays the part so well.

I disagree. He is very, very good but I think Chris Gascoyne and Ted Shackleford are just a bit better.

Tanya Franks is better IMO.

Tanya Franks portrays an addict flawlessly. You can just see the desperation in her eyes, and how much she relies on something like drugs to keep her going. Her body language is also really telling, the way her hands shake and how she speaks in a raspy tone. The episode where she told Denise about Ian and was walking around the Square begging for cash on the street effectively proves this, in my opinion.

Lane Davies was pretty convincing as Mason Capwell too.

I agree.

It is also worth noting that 'drunk' acting is not the same thing as portraying an addict. Yes for some people alcohol is addictive but not for everyone so some actors will need to portray their character being drunk (as most adults will experience at some stage of their lives unless their religion bars them from ever trying it) without it being a problem. Portraying an addict is very different, there is desperation involved in that that isn't always involved with general drunk acting.

It isn't. But good actors can.

I think Kate Ritchie (Sally, H&A) is the most convincing cryer. She only needs to well up and I'm off with her!!

Kellie bright got some praise just from a look during the rape scenes. She just had a stare on her face and it made the entire scene incredibly uncomfortable, there was no tears.

As for best criers in soap id go for Debbie Dingle, Darren Osbourne and Sinead O'Conner

I'm not all that sure if being good at crying necessarily makes a good actor, Shane Richie can cry for England and so can Adam Woodyatt but while Adam is a good actor, Shane basically plays a more exaggerated version of himself but imo is really good at drama especially the crying scenes.

OP it is the sign of a good actor in the sense that they have used method acting, accessed emotional memory from a previous life experience and then applied that emotional memory to the given circumstances or situation of a character, to then cry.

But being an actor isn't just about crying, a highlight or end goal - it's more rounded than that. Lots more colour and shades. Being able to cry through character is a cherry on top. And trust me it's the most amazing experience when you actually do it!

However some characters, like some people, aren't cryers. Not everyone bawls and sniffles. Being able to cry effectively is a skill though and also shows thst the actor is willing to make themselves vulnerable and not caring how they look, as crying is rarely a perfect clean tear.