My Favourite And Not-So-Favourite Actors Jan 18 '05 (Updated Sep 29 '11)    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet The Bottom Line My personal choices of the good, bad, and Hayden Christensen's of the acting world. I have just about recovered from the most vicious bout of flu I’ve ever experienced – A truly nasty piece of work which left me with the the motivation of a suicidal lemming, so confined to either my bed or my sofa with countless mugs of Lemsip I have watched a staggering amount of daytime television, further zombified by endless ads for January furniture sales. I found myself drawn with a horrible mixture of fascination and revulsion to the evangelism channels, considered buying a leather jacket from QVC, realised Steve Irwin is a genius, discovered that televised darts is strangely addictive, and concluded that the worst movie ever made is Beneath Loch Ness. Drastic measures were called for. I instructed my good woman to rent me a stack of the finest DVD’s money could buy and spent many happy hours plowing through them, probably clocking up more hours in front of the box in the space of a week than in the last 5 years. I began making lists in my head of my favourite films, favourite scenes, favourite musical scores, favourite special effects - you know the drill. There are so many lists out there defining the absolute top 100 best of everything now that it surely can’t be long before we see a "100 Greatest Lists of All Time" chart. They're fun though, for the most part. So here is a not-very-well thought out list of my 10 favourite actors.  You may notice some glaring omissions here. This is because I am automatically exempting Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, and Christopher Walken, because as we all know, they are the best actors who ever lived and we don't need to debate that anymore. Nor am I claiming that the below actors are technically the best, simply that they are my personal favourites, and nor is this a countdown - they are in no particular order, as I find it hard to rate them, worst last. So... James Woods One of moviedom's great unsung heroes, Woods has never recieved the recognition he deserves as a brilliant, edgy character actor possessing one of the most unusual faces on the screen. Adept at playing nutters, and has never turned in a bad performance, even though he has appeared in some bad films. Due a Bill Murray-style renaissance in his advancing years, in my opinion. Memorable Quote: "Long live the new flesh!" - Videodrome Essential Viewing: Videodrome, Salvador. Unessential Viewing: Contact Anthony Hopkins Quite apart from his unforgettable portrayal of everyone's favourite cannibal, Hopkins has always been a quietly impressive presence in many a film. Think of his moral struggles in The Elephant Man or his restrained angst in The Remains Of The Day. It must be said that he's appeared in some serious turkeys, too, such as Bad Company and Bram Stoker's Dracula, but he's never less than watchable. Let's hope he doesn't do another Lector film, though. Memorable Quote: "I'm giving very serious thought to eating your wife" - Hannibal Essential Viewing: The Silence Of The Lambs, The Elephant Man Unessential Viewing: Freejack Ed Harris Perhaps the most dependably great actor working today - has never turned in a below-par performance. As good as De Niro, and you wouldn't catch him making Meet The Parents. Also hates James Cameron after serious ructions on the set of The Abyss, so that's another fine reason to like the guy. Essential Viewing: A History of Violence, Glengarry Glen Ross Unessential Viewing: The Abyss Bruce Campbell He may never win an Oscar, but Bruce Campbell has more style and panache than you can shake a boomstick at. From humble beginnings in low-budget shock fest The Evil Dead, to his tour-de-force performance in Evil Dead 2 and his acclaimed turn as an aged Elvis in Bubba Ho-Tep, the man with the comic-book lantern jaw is simply a legend. Handy with a chainsaw, not a fan of the recently deceased. Groovy. Memorable Quote: "OK you primitive screwheads, listen up." - Army Of Darkness Essential Viewing: Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn, Army Of Darkness Unessential Viewing: Congo Julianne Moore Red of hair and huge of talent, Julianne Moore is a class act. An astonishing performance in Magnolia is her zenith, but there's also  Boogie Nights and The Big Lebowski to support her claim to greatness. Certain to impress. Memorable Quote: "You can suck my f*cking dick!" - Magnolia Essential Viewing: Magnolia, Boogie Nights Unessential Viewing: Body Of Evidence Robert Shaw Most famous as the shark-hunting Quint in Jaws, Shaw dominated pretty much any movie he was allowed within scowling distance of, such as From Russia With Love and The Sting. A fearsome alcoholic, acclaimed novelist and physically imposing bruiser, his untimely death robbed the world of a huge talent. And there's no one handier to have around if you're having fish trouble. Memorable Quote: "Y'all know me. Know how I earn a livin'." - Jaws Essential Viewing: Jaws, The Sting Unessential Viewing: The Deep Tommy Lee Jones Like a fine wine, the sun-dried Texan grizzly just gets better with age. One of the most riveting actors of his generation, he's been a chilling Clay Shaw in JFK, a brilliantly sardonic US Marshal in The Fugitive, a world-weary trainer of killer marines in The Hunted and an alien-blasting secret agent in Men In Black. A man's man and the kind of actor guaranteed to up the quality of any film he's cast in (except Blown Away, which God himself couldn't save). Memorable Quote: "Don't ever argue with the big dog, because the big dog is always right." - The Fugitive Essential Viewing: JFK, The Fugitive Unessential Viewing: Blown Away Robert Carlyle The "Scottish De Niro", they call him, and not without good reason. You know him as the psychopathic Begbie from Trainspotting, or as the ice-cold Renard in The World Is Not Enough, or strutting his funky stuff in The Full Monty. Even in a cameo role, he was the best thing in The Beach, and you're advised to see the touching Carla's Song, and his inept Scouse gangster in The 51st State. Intense and in-your-face. Memorable Quote: "How the f*ck can it be armed robbery with a f*cking replica?" - Trainspotting Essential Viewing: Trainspotting, Face Unessential Viewing: Plunkett & Macleane Frances McDormand Known by anyone who loves movies as "the pregnant sheriff from Fargo", Joel Coen's better half has put in some barnstorming performances over the last twenty years or so, beginning with the highly underrated Blood Simple and continuing with memorable roles in Raising Arizona, Short Cuts, the excellent Palookaville and Almost Famous.  Memorable Quote: "I think I'm gonna barf... Well, that passed. Now I'm hungry again" - Fargo Essential Viewing: Fargo, Blood Simple Unessential Viewing: Crimewave Not a bad list, I hope you'll agree, although I'm sure there are some I've forgotten to include who really should be on there, but these are the ones that spring readily to mind. And, just to even things up a tad: Dishonorable Mentions (A solemn reminder of the untalented) Hugh Grant - A one-trick pony if ever there was one, Hugh has managed to stretch his ever-so endearing bumbling floppy-haired Englishness into a decade-long career without ever acquiring more than three facial expressions or manner of delivery. Became briefly interesting when hilariously caught with hooker. Madonna - Associated with more turkeys than an industrial poultry farmer. Inability to act has not deterred her desperate ambition, resulting in such towering indignities as Body Of Evidence, The Next Best Thing and the notoriously noxious Swept Away. Overrated singer, too. Ben Affleck - King Turkey. Responsible for Jersey Girl, The Sum Of All Fears, Pearl Harbour, Paycheck and probably many more to come. Critics seen staggering out of Gigli screenings in search of smelling salts. Unfeasibly smug demeanour has provoked general merriment at recent box-office flayings. Hayden Christensen - Could well be Worst Actor Of All Time. Catastrophic casting in Attack Of The Clones looks to have scuppered any chance of critical acclaim for Star Wars prequels. Talent-free, untroubled by charisma, ability to emote missing presumed dead. Winona Ryder- Early promise now sullied by endless stream of limp, lifeless performances. Alternative career in crime derailed by equally inept attempt at department store larceny. Richard Gere - Face seemingly frozen in annoying wistful half-smile, popular with ladies of a certain age, unpopular with anyone with sense. Lastly, anyone know What Happened To These Guys? Michael Keaton - Genius of Beetlejuice and the best Batman. Vanished in the 90's. Family continues to appeal for information. Harrison Ford - Legend of the 80's who has spent years making crap films like Sabrina, What Lies Beneath, Regarding Henry, Random Hearts and Six Days, Seven Nights. Will always be cool though. Richard Dreyfuss - He never calls, he never writes... Kevin Costner - One-time biggest star in Hollywood, then made Waterworld and the thrillingly titled The Postman. Result? Career assumes properties of balloon made of lead. Hopeful signs of life with last years excellent western Open Range. Sylvester Stallone - Has performed David Copperfield-style vanishing act. Disturbing rumours persist of further Rambo and Rocky instalments. So, that's about it, I think. I'm sure I will end up adding to these lists, as you do, when you're walking the dog and suddenly slap your head in disbelief at something you've missed, but for now I think my choices are pretty representative of my fluctuating tastes. Any thoughts on these filmic musings are welcome.

Read all comments (9)|Write your own comment

Write an essay on this topic.