Quick–name three of the greatest actors of our generation.

According to a trailer for the new movie “Brothers” that list includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman. I think the brains behind this marketing campaign figured out how crazy their claim seems, since I haven’t seen that version of the trailer in about a week.

It is, of course, a pretty subjective list to create. We all have actors we like and loathe, and often they appear on both sides of that divide depending on whom you ask.

Let’s take this group, for example. It’s pretty popular to rag on Gyllenhaal, possibly because of the double-L and double-A thing in his name. But he has been in some solid films: “Jarhead,” “Proof,” “Brokeback Mountain” and “Donnie Darko.” For the sake of full disclosure, I haven’t seen the last two but list them based on their reputation. Let’s also not forget he was nominated for an Oscar for his “Brokeback” performance.

Maguire was Spiderman, so that’s clearly a plus on his resume. However I got stuck there. I couldn’t think of a single other movie he was in until I looked on IMDB (not counting Spiderman sequels of course). Looking down the list, I’ve only seen two of his other films: “Pleasantville” and “Empire Records.” Certainly those are OK films, but nothing to schedule your day around. I dare say Gyllenhaal has had a more impressive career.

That brings us to Portman. I won’t even build the suspense or put on any airs here–I adore her. There are some great movies you probably know, like “Garden State,” “V for Vendetta” and “Closer” (for which she garnered her own Oscar nomination). There are also some lesser known roles that you should certainly see: “Free Zone,” “My Blueberry Nights” and “Anywhere But Here.”

Should any of them be called “one of the greatest actors of our generation”? I’ll take the easy way out. The problem with the question is defining “our generation.” I can’t be sure of this, but I don’t think they have the technology to target that trailer at individual viewers. You could have a room full of people from a number of defined generations (Gen X, Gen Y, Millenials, GeneratioNext).

So until they more clearly define the question, I’ll reserve my judgment.