First off, this is easily the hardest entry I've ever done. Bar none. Even though the topic is silly to begin with, I don't have that much experience with it, so I've spent the past month and a half actually coming up with a list of people that do the acting particularly well in my opinion.
Probably not many surprising choices, a lot of whom I can't really back up as to why they're on the list.
Again, though, these are in no particular order, as I'm going down the list the way I wrote them down as I remembered them.
- Alan Tudyk
If you have watched Serenity, he's probably a "leaf on the wind" for you. The thing is though ... this guy so versatile in characters, he'll never be a leading man, but he'll never be out of work either. He's probably even my favourite. Both TV and movies alike (A Knight's Tale, that awful third transformers movie, ...)
If I were to recommend a movie he's been in, I'd say horrorcomedy Tucker & Dale vs Evil. Pretty fucking brilliant.
- Morgan Freeman
For his performance in Shawshank Redemption alone he is worthy of inclusion. Morgan always brings it, for whatever role he's playing. If you can act Jim Carrey's antics off the screen, you're doing pretty well huh?
- Ahnuld Schwarzenegger
Surprised? Are you? This is part of the category I've dubbed SHBIG (So Hilariously Bad, It's Good). Terrible actor, now and then, but memorable. He's made a shitload of money by marketing the fact he's a terrible actor. Bravo. And honestly, is there anyone who cannot even remember a single one of his one-liners and hasn't done them in their best Ahnuld impression?
I know I did, multiple times.
- Samuel L. Jackson
You want badass? You get Sam Jackson. That's a given. A guy that does "Snakes on a Plane" knowing full well it's absolute garbage, for fun? That's Sam. Pulp Fiction is probably the highlight.
Also, he's not Laurence Fishburne.
- Ben Kingsley
Fantastic actor. Both as lead and supporting character. He's probably the master of immersion. Schindler's List, Hugo and (naturally) Iron Man 3. Even though everyone hates that last one, Ben Kingsley was definitely the highlight of that film for me. His performance in Hugo was pretty amazing too. Complimentary to the joy that was that film.
- Nicolas Cage
You guessed it, the next entry in the SHBIG category. This guy has two modes, whisper and scream, and they both come out in every film he does. He used to be really good, I've heard. Don't know what happened. Anyhow, I never sour on a film if Cage is in it, much like Ahnuld above. Probably why I've seen both Ghost Riders a couple of times now. Eva Mendes had nothing to do with that. Ahum...
- Bruno Ganz
Don't know who he is? Sure you do. The man has been a meme for years ... after portraying Hitler in possibly the second most jarring WWII-related film after Schindler's List. That performance alone definitely cements him as one of my favorite actors.
- Claire Danes
Surprising lack of women, huh? Thought so too. Claire Danes is probably an unusual choice. She made Terminator 3 bearable, is pretty awesome in Homeland ... guess that says something.
- Helena Bonham Carter
Nobody does absolutely batshit, like Helena Bonham Carter. Helps being married to an equally batshit director, but still. She's a hugely popular actress, despite being predominantly a character actress. Not bad.
- Peter Sellers
Watch Dr. Strangelove. Superb film, and Peter Sellers at his best. Easily the best comic actor I've ever seen.
No list is complete without some honorable mentions. Any one of these I'd put before Claire Danes, but gender equality is cool and so I've bumped Claire up to the list instead. Don't judge me, gender equality gets the bitches wet**
- Robin Williams. I kept him off the list because of his recent passing, which would likely make his inclusion a result of that. Nothing could be farther from the truth. He's done great comic acting, but his dramatic roles are possible even better. Dead Poets Society, Insomnia, What dreams may come. The latter isn't really that great of a film, but Robin is on fire in this role.
- Steve Buscemi. A face even his mother finds difficult to love, but a fantastic actor. First saw him in a bad film called airheads (Brendan Fraser AND Adam Sandler, you do the math). Later saw him absolutely kill it in Fargo and Reservoir Dogs. Now he's being completely and utterly awesome in Boardwalk Empire. He really should've been on the list ... Oh well.
- Malcolm McDowell. A Clockwork Orange. There you go. No further reasoning necessary.
Now, the obligatory inclusion of a female specimen of beauty.
I wanted to include Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, because she did some acting. But she made me sit through the third Transformers movie, which is unforgivable***Therefore, Allow me to introduce you to: Sigrid Agren
Since the readership of my blog is predominantly French, why not go with a French/Swedish girl?
Carribean French, but hey ...
naturally, google is your friend if you're aiming for boobies.
** of course the statement was made with a brave sense of irony. Don't hit me with lipstick and tampons please.
Here’s my counterpart for all the choices you made, and I’ll even try to include my top 5.
ReplyDeleteAlan Tudyk: complete stranger to me, sorry. Though I googled him and saw he was on the cast of Firefly which you recommended but I haven’t found time to watch yet. (see how long it took for a comment to reach your article)
Morgan Freeman: a big YES to that, he’s all by himself a reason why I should go watch any movie he’s in, so far I don’t recall a single movie he was in that I didn’t like.
Arnold: surprised here, considering he is more of an entertainer than an actor; I mean, he’s been in some films for which he was dubbed as “actor” (heck, sometimes a “lead actor”) ; I won’t say I can’t enjoy a film with him in it, but there’s no point in getting all worked up for any of his films.
Samuel L. Jackson: Pulp Fiction all the way, man. Great actor, great choice.
Ben Kingsley: name didn’t ring a bell till I saw his face; reminded me of Shutter Island, the only movie I saw with him that I can recall. Not that big of an impression.
Nick Cage: that’s the one I can’t stomach. Nick has indeed the award for the clumsiest persona in all films ever made. He brings the weird to a brand new perspective each time which is a kind of talent.
Bruno Ganz: as famous as Alan Tudyk for me. Next entry?
Claire Danes: there goes the first actress. There goes another empty name for me ;)
HBC : she’s a good actress and she would probably end up on my list. Good pick this one.
Peter Sellers: I’ve seen Strangelove and Lolita and this is a good pick. Very intelligent choice
Now here’s my top 5 in no particular order.
Di Caprio, in his work with Scorsese and his recent films in general. I find him to be more and more capable as a dramatic actor. Now I wonder if (but to my knowledge there isn’t) Leo could act in a comedy, though it’s not his style.
Samuel L. Jackson, for what you mentioned and for the Sunset Limited. Great actor.
Edward Norton: Fight Club, American History X, among others. Underrated but a choice actor nonetheless.
And here’s two ladies for you:
Jennifer Anniston: c’mon, the girl next door we grew up with in Friends, the girlfriend in Bruce Almighty, the nymphomaniac dentist in Horrible Bosses. There’s probably some crush on her, but hey, that’s my top 5 list ;)
Jodie Foster: for her performance in The Silence of the Lambs alone. Though I recently rediscovered her playing a baddie in Elysium which wasn’t a tremendous film beside the budget.
"Bruno Ganz: as famous as Alan Tudyk for me. Next entry?"
ReplyDeleteNext entry?
I've never found Aniston to be particularly good. Of course, she used to be everyone's crush back in the mid to late 90's, but that had very little to do with acting talent. Matter of fact, I'd say Claire Danes is a better actress and prettier to boot.
You know, I've never actually gotten around to watching Silence of the Lambs other than a few choice clips. Happens when you're not really a movie buff.
As for Arnold and Nic, I did specify they're included because they are so terribly bad, they're in a league of their own, making each performance memorable enough.
I do like Di Caprio as well, also because he tends to pick some very great roles. The only movie I didn't like Di Caprio in was Gangs of New York. Though a lot of that had to do with the fact that Daniel Day-Lewis completely played him off the screen.