My system's back, i'm back, let's do this. You mention Brando, DeNiro, Pacino and Nicholson and you conjure up images of acting royalty. This week's lising is to try and create the next generation of that royalty list. Think of actors that have had the bulk of their theatrical releases during our lifetime; born in the 60s, 70s or perhaps even 80s in some cases. List a fave role, a fave film or even a fave scene if you want to get right down to it. 'Actors' by all means includes females, but most of my faves are dudes. Call me shallow, it's the fuckin' truth. And Killerov, porn doesn't count.
Top 5 Movie Actors of Our Generation
- Johnny Depp. I'm sure you all knew this was coming. I love the guy. I celebrate his entire catalog. From his shitty (yet funny) spring break comedy Private Resort through all of his Tim Burton collaborations up to his Academy-nominated roles as a pirate and writer, Johnny does it all, with his own twisted style and take it or leave it attitude. He's everyman's freak, the loner you love, the outsider with a heart (or teeth) of gold. If i could only own one actor's entire body of work, it would be my man Johnny.
- Philip Seymour Hoffman. This guy can play any role, comedy or drama, and sell it hook, line and sinker. Celebrated in The Big Lebowski, Boogie Nights and Magnolia, he also captivated the screen in Almost Famous, Punch Drunk Love and Owning Mahowny. After that he once again made us pee our pants in Along Came Polly, and now has Capote set for release to critical acclaim.
- Benicio Del Toro. Already an Academy Award winner for Traffic, he has recently killed in Sin City, and previously ruled in 21 Grams, Snatch, The Way of the Gun and of course as the beloved Dr. Gonzo in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Benicio can rock a dark, smoldering glare like no other, and has a presence that commands immediate attention, even with little or no dialogue being spoken.
- John Cusack. John has occasionally missed the mark, but the fact that he keeps putting himself out there in a wide variety of roles shows that he's not afraid to tackle any challenge, regardless of if it's against type or not. He's also one of the few actors to successfully transist from teen comedy to adult comedy to drama and back and forth again. As we all know, High Fidelity is at the top of the Cusack performance list.
- Bill Murray. Bill wasn't originally going to crack my top 5, but i didn't want to be that guy who doesn't include comedy roles in the same ballpark as the dramatic. Bill has killed the comedy for years, and has recently reemerged in a new dramatic light, peppered with the deadpan comedy touches that we love him for. I still need to get out and see the acclaimed Broken Flowers, but even without having seen that yet Bill holds steady in my top 5.
Honourable Mention - Paul Giamatti. One of the guys that you hear of all the time, but can't name 3 movies that he's been in other than Sideways. Sideways was a genius performance, and i guarantee that within the next 2 years this guy will break out like no other.
Posted by scotty at October 04, 2005 10:06 AMOh yeah...Giovanni Ribisi.
Posted by: The Captain on October 7, 2005 02:37 AM1. Brad Pitt
2. Gary Oldman
3. Christopher Walken
4. Robert DeNiro
5. Ben Kingsley
Hon Men: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert Duvall, Val Kilmer, William Macy, Steve Buscemi, Johnny Depp, Ed Norton, Natalie Portman, AND the entire casts of True Romance, Beautiful Girls, and of course fucking of course, Glengarry Glenross.
Posted by: The Captain on October 6, 2005 04:26 PMBut that would just be boring and predictable! ;)
Posted by: BaTmAn on October 6, 2005 12:49 PMit's top 5, not top 50. take some time, think about it, narrow down your choices to a final list with merit! i left some great ones off of mine, you can too.
Posted by: scotty on October 6, 2005 11:04 AMNice work SteveO!
Watched Old Skool last night and so Im adding Will Farrel to my long list!(Anchorman\Wedding Crashers\Bewitched\Elf\Zoolander\Superstar\Night at the Roxbury and ahh of course Saturday Night Live cheerleaders!
As well as Ashley Judd(High Crimes\Where the heart is\Double Jeopardy\Simon Birch/Kiss the Girls\A time to kill\Natural born killers)always an awesome movie paired w\Samuel L Jackson and your heiness!
Shes beatiful AND her mom n sister are 'The Judds'('mama hes crazy..'-vagina might know!)
Lastly(I promise no more!)one and only*DEMI MOORE
She caught our attention in Ghost aside Patrick Swayze-how they made handling clay into a sex scene!Next A few good Men\Indecent Proposal\Now and Then\performed an old school abortion in If these walls could talk\strutted around nearly naked in Striptease\made any guy in kombat look like a girl in G.I Jane, was married to Bruce Willis w\4 good looking children and now gets to get her cake and eat it too w\Ashton Kutcher!!(jealous)
back to the task at hand!!!!
Joaquin Phoenix- Clay Pigeons, Signs, the Village, Ladder 49, Gladiator, Hotel Rowanda, and the fuckin Man In Black himself, Johnny Cash - who else could play such a delicate role!
Posted by: Rosa on October 5, 2005 04:54 PMThanks Megs!!I'll have to look into tkts!(not near as gorgeous as almost famous though eh,wheres the long glowing locks)
Posted by: Batman on October 5, 2005 02:33 PMabsolutely fantastic - http://www.pillowmanonbroadway.com/ in the play he's evil incarnate saying things you know are sooo wrong, but its too funny not to laugh. if this was a film, i'd own it already
Posted by: meg on October 5, 2005 01:52 PMMegs-Im jealous!As gorgeous outside of the 'real world'in Almost Famous??Pillow Man?Hmm..interesting
Posted by: Batman on October 5, 2005 11:00 AMRyan Phillipe also played one hell of a hot role in Cruel Intentions!!MMmm..
Amy-I do beleive we were seperated @ birth-how could I not name Julia Roberts(Pretty Woman\Flatliners\Hook..and shes gorgeous)
I think everyone forgot the late Walter Matthau(Hanging up\Odd couple w\Jack Lemmon\Grumpy Old Men\Dennis the Menace\narrator for How the Grinch Stole Christmas!!
Honerable Mentions*Sam Elliott*Sure hes 61 but hes an extremly good looking man!Very distinguished(as is Robyns dad-lol)and who can forget that sexy, deep voice!--Tombstone\Prancer\Kill Bill\Big Lebowski\The Ranger The Cook and a whole in the sky\We were soldiers.
P\s SteveO-Cindys coming out next Thursday after we catch Collective Soul @ Pheonix!!
You called it Rosa....a complete oversite on my part. Brad Pitt is a fucking awesome actor. I am also going to add Christian Slater, Woody Harrelson and Julliette Lewis to my honourable list.
I have purposely left out comics as they are a topic in themselves.
Posted by: Killerov on October 5, 2005 04:24 AMhmmm....i'll concure with the Depp, Vaughn, Del Toro, Cusack, Norton, Spacey,.....and as for the cast of almost famous-not so much....well Lee kills me so i'll take him, but the rest of em are averages at best.
in no particular order:
1. Brad Pitt-surprised he has'nt been picked sooner. regardless of who he's fathering....kalifornia, true romance, snatch, mexican, 13 monkeys, thelma and louise, and of course Fight Club, always outrageous to watch
2. Jude Law- another tabloid smasher, and he's in every fuckin 3rd movie that comes out! loved i heart huckabees
3. "The foot fuckin' Master" Samual "muthafuckin" Jackson- great in anything he does. maybe not appropriate for this list, but i'm naming him anyway. this muthafucka demands respect
4. Ryan Phillipe -picks his roles cautiously and nails them cold! Crash, The I inside, Way of the Gun
5. Matthew McConaughey- just awsome. you gotta just keep on livin' man. L-I-V-I-N.
6. Ben Affleck- he was the bomb in Phantoms, yo!
Ohhhhh, I like this one!
1. Johnny Depp - he continues to make entertaining movies and really captures the character he plays no matter what the role!
2. Drew Barrymore - she starred in one of my all time favorite movies (E.T.), and has always been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember. Hey, some guy even made a movie about his dream date with Drew.
3. Ewan McGregor - he can sing, he can dance, he can play a tripped out heroin addict. Is there anything he can't do?
4. Benicio Del Toro - I love this guy. From his role in Usual Suspects, right down to Sin City. Always a good show.
5.Uma Thurman - a strong actress that has played many strong roles. The Kill Bill movies were deffiently a very high point in her career. She should stick close to Tarantino. He gives her the best roles.
John Cusak-everything from Say Anything to High Fidelity...the guy rocks!
Jean Reno-watch the "Professional" or "Leon" depending on if its an import.
Robin Williams-always liked his feel good characters.
Willam Dufoe-his character in Boondock Saints says it all.
Jonny Depp-too many movies to mention, but extremely talented
Honourable Mention:Leonardo DiCaprio-not really my favourite, but the guy can act....basketball diaries, catch me if you can. I hate to admit it but the guy is good.
Posted by: Jay (Gay) on October 4, 2005 05:29 PMI agree with Cusack, Vaughn and Del Toro, dave - i'm fighting your hayden christianson though - no way he deserves to be up here!
1. Mr.Depp- decades of fine work starting on elm street and included in a large portion of my all-time favourite movies. I was a bit disappointed with the corpse bride - but my expectations were high for my fav burton-depp pairing
2. Edward Norton- he made me a fan with american history X, hard not to get your attention in that movie. since i first saw him there he has not disappointed in anything i've seen since - fight club, primal fear, the score... although i'd like to see him in less 'hollywood' movies like recently
3. Helena Bonham Carter- having starred with #1 & #2 both and doing an amazing job in each of those movies, she holds her own in big fish, planet of the apes, etc
4. Kevin Spacey- where do i start? usual suspects, american beauty, LA confidential, seven, the negotiator, the man's done it all, and cool as anything the entire time. he can do no wrong in my eyes
5. Uma Thurman- just slightly beat out Samuel L. Jackson for the final position- she's got the dance moves, she's got the fighting moves and she's got a great list of credits behind her- the Kill Bills, gattaca, pulp fiction, be cool... love her
Hon Ment -William H. Macy- he doesn't crack your timeframe, but he's still fantastic.
Justine- saw billy crudup onstage (broadway) and YES, the boy can act - f*ed up play though - pillowman
Posted by: meg on October 4, 2005 04:58 PMgiamatti- i MUST see american slendor at once, that was totally him in singles, YEAH ed norton, and killer, john wayne was your grandpa's generation, not yours, but i'll let you slide in (pun intended) with the peter north!
Posted by: scotty on October 4, 2005 04:53 PM1. Philip Seymour Hoffman. The man is a God.
2. Kate Winslet (all you Titanic haters can just sit the fuck down because she is an amazing actress who takes very interesting roles)
3. Tom Hanks
4. Paul Giamatti (ahem AMERICAN SPLENDOR, Cinderella Man and Saving Private Ryan.. and I'm fairly certain that was him making out at the next table in Singles when Kyra Sedgewick and Campbell Scott go out for "water".. am I right, Batman?). Paul is going be much, much bigger than he is now.
5. Julia Roberts (I wish it could be Catherine Keener, but let's face it.. Julia is royalty).
1. Johnny Depp - I'm seeing a pattern here! If an actor can take a movie like Cry Baby and turn it into something that you'll watch every time it's on Much More Music, you know you have someone very special!
2. Vince Vaughn - He has to be on my list too Killer. He's beyond funny and I'd pretty much go see him in anything! Made was a delight! Captains?? Am I right?
3. Edward Norton - I don't think he's given nearly enough credit. American History X... he was beyond words! Fight Club, Rounders, People vs. Larry Flynt... the list goes on. Love him!
4. Anthony Hopkins - I watched Silence of the Lambs in grade 5 and I haven't been the same since. He was on Oprah last week for Proof and I had to turn it... I was still scared!
5. Jennifer Connelly - She got a lot of attention for her role in A Beautiful Mind, but she was incredible in Requiem for a Dream! She's stunning and amazingly talented.
Posted by: Chilli on October 4, 2005 04:07 PM1. easy! gary oldman...from sid and nacy to the professinal to the contender and many others god damn man of many faces
2. ewen mcgregor ...maybe pop culture in his movie picks but some of his unknown titles are incredible (like the pillow book)
3. yes i will push the obvious ...johnny depp...a pretty boy gary oldman .
4. ill push scottys choice with benicio del toro...the man is a subtle genius
5. as far as new and up coming i dont why im saying this but i fear he is miss handled and once someone gets a hold of his genius i think hell do great ...hayden christiansen...ok shoot me now but i believe he will bring balance to the force.
1. Vince Vaughn: "look at all the beautiful babies in here!" Plus he's worth 4million that the gov't knows about.
2. Johnny Depp: star of the coolest cop show ever (sorry Don) and copius groovy roles. Richard Greco didn't have a chance in Johnny's shadow.
3. Harrison Ford: only the coolest fucking action hero ever...nuff said.
4. John Wayne: made me wanna be a cowboy as a kid.
5. Peter North: fuck you Scotty...he was and is an inspiration to us all!
#1~Kate Hudson-Shes definitly "it" for this decade, shes hot she gets all the awesome roles, her mom is Goldie Hawn, her step dad is the late but still very hot Kurt Russell and shes married to Chris Robinson!I couldnt imagine Almost Famous without her.
#2~Jason Lee-Another Almost Famous actor playing lead singer('Im only the fucking lead singer')for STILLWATER!You can also catch him in "My name is Earl", Vanilla Sky and Chasing Amy!
#3~Johnny Depp-Im not as much in love as ScAtty but I do think hes a great actor.Edward Scissorhands is one of my fave movies of all time.
#4~Tom Hanks-Im sorry but I love this guy.The Green Mile, the Lady Killers Forrest Gump, *The Burbs*, Turner n Houch, *BIG*, Splash, Radio Flyer, Sleepless in Seattle-all great!!
#5~Billy Crudup-Yet another Almost Famous man of the hour!!Mmm and so hot!You can also catch him in Big Fish(not so hot)and Mission Impossible 3-keep your eyes open.