Comment with “SHOWTIME!” and I will give you five actors and five actresses. Then post in your journal what your favorite film of theirs is and why.
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winterdahlia gave me a very good list of actors and actresses, and she probably never expected me to spend nearly two days working on my answers. They turned out to be quite lengthy (I even went back and edited a bit to make them shorter), but I just love stuff like this.
So I hope you enjoy!
Here's my list:
ACTORS
Al Pacino
Cillian Murphy
Ewan McGregor
Jake Gyllenhaal
Johnny Depp
ACTRESSES
Cate Blanchett
Jennifer Aniston
Kate Winslet
Reese Witherspoon
Scarlett Johansson
Answers below
Al Pacino – Al Pacino is one of those actors whose roles are all so distinct and intense. He’s probably best known for his roles in Scarface and The Godfather, but these are not my favorites. He’s good at playing a gangster, but I actually enjoy him more in Carlito’s Way and Donnie Brasco (with another favorite actor Johnny Depp). However, I would have to say that his best work was his earliest, especially …And Justice for All and Dog Day Afternoon . He plays a hardened criminal in “Dog Day” and a lawyer in “Justice” but is equally convincing as both.
In “Justice”, he plays Arthur, a very idealistic defense attorney who is faced with defending a truly despicable, but highly powerful judge who has been accused of rape.
The final scene of that movie will go down in history as one of the best movie endings ever. Pacino’s smoldering performance, as he manages to turn a courtroom into utter chaos, has me cheering every time I watch.
Cillian Murphy : The first time I saw Cillian Murphy was in Red Eye in which he plays a frightening hit man who terrifies Rachel MacAdam during a flight. From the start, I couldn’t help but realize that not only is he intensely gorgeous, but he is also insanely talented. I then proceeded to watch almost all of his films, and I realized that like Al Pacino, Cillian can play both villains (as in Batman Begins and Red Eye ), and every day heroes, like in the upbeat movie Sunburn and the dramas On the Edge and The Wind that Shakes the Barley . I think that his strongest performance so far was in the Irish war saga The Wind that Shakes the Barley , in which he plays Damien, a young doctor who joins the Irish Republican Army to fight for independence from Great Britain in the early 1900’s. However, my all-time favorite of Cillian’s roles is “Kitten” in Breakfast on Pluto, . Cillian not only effortlessly transforms into a beautiful woman, but his portrayal of the confused and rebellious Patrick, whose alter ego is the tender, naïve and easily lovestruck Patricia or “Kitten,” creates one of the most endearing and memorable movie characters in the last 10 years.
Ewan McGregor – Ewan McGregor has definitely played some memorable characters in some otherwise not-so-noteworthy films: Curt Wild in Velvet Goldmine , Christian in Moulin Rouge , Martin in Nightwatch , and Jerome in Pillow Book . And he’s also played key roles in some very good movies, such as Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Big Fish, and Stay . I realized, after looking at his list of credits on imdb, that I haven’t seen most of his recent films – in fact the last movie I saw him in was Ghost Writer , which was quite dull – both his character and the movie. So I’d have to say that my favorite of his roles has to be Obi Wan Kenobi in the last three Star Wars installments. He so perfectly embodied a younger version of Alec Guinness, down to the mannerisms and the way of speaking. He has a commanding presence, is good at wielding a light saber, and of course he just looks so gorgeous in those robes!
Jake Gyllenhaal - Donnie Darko has to be hands down my favorite of Jake’s films, and one of my favorite of his characters. Donnie was such a complex character - indifference mixed with rebellion - and Jake played this duality just perfectly. My infatuation for Jake was clinched when I saw him in two very similar roles, as young men who seduce older women, in the films The Good Girl and Lovely and Amazing . Soon after I moved to Japan in 2005, Brokeback Mountain , was released, and I was able to see it via the internet (because it wasn’t playing in theaters here). His controversial role as Heath Ledger’s lover proved that he wasn’t just a pretty face – he could really act; and he took on a role which many actors his age would be afraid would ruin their reputation. But not Jake – after Brokeback, he had many strong leading roles in Jarhead, Zodiac, Proof, Rendition and Brothers . And of course he looks incredibly fine without his shirt in the recent Prince of Persia . I love Jake in pretty much everything he’s done, even the quirky, silly Bubble Boy , but my favorite role, besides Donnie Darko and Brokeback, would be that of Joe in Moonlight Mile , opposite Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon. He is understated and genuine as a man grieving the murder of his fiancée, who develops a relationship with her parents. Jake is so good at just playing a real guy, someone who you could have a few beers with, but who also listens to you and cares what you have to say. And I can still get lost in those eyes for days and days!
Johnny Depp – This may be one of the tougher tasks, to choose a favorite of Johnny Depp’s movies. I haven’t liked some of his recent characters, especially his horribly creepy Willy Wonka or his nighmare-induced Mad Hatter; and even his Keith Richards –inspired Jack Sparrow in the Pirates franchise, while clever and entertaining, was definitely not my favorite of his creations. I can’t choose one favorite, so I’ll list the movies that I will watch over and over: Benny & Joon, Edward Scissorhands, Don Juan DeMarco, Sleepy Hollow and Chocolat. . Edward Scissorhands really proved that Johnny could do weird, but in a very tender and even romantic way. Benny & Joon is Johnny as pure and innocent as he can come, without the weirdness. Don Juan DeMarco and Chocolat are the two movies in which Johnny shows us how gorgeous and sexy he can be. And Sleepy Hollow is probably the funniest character I’ve ever seen Johnny do – I think his Ichabod Crane was much more entertaining than Jack Sparrow. One honorable mention: I recently watched Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street , and I thought Johnny was brilliant. Of course the sadistic barber was just up his alley, and I couldn’t imagine anyone else playing Mr. Todd – he was just perfectly creepy in a role that should be creepy.
ACTRESSES
Cate Blanchett This is embarrassing to admit, but I haven’t yet seen the movies that have made Cate Blanchett famous, and which are to be her best roles: Elizabeth, Notes on a Scandal, Oscar and Lucinda, The Missing… I guess I should add them to my viewing list. I have seen her in the Lord of the Rings movies, as well as the latest Indiana Jones movie, and she was quite good in those. But my favorite of her roles, that I’ve seen, is what the credits call “Jude” but what is really an uncanny portrayal of Bob Dylan in I’m Not There . With this role, Cate Blanchett proves that she can do almost anything. I guess I just need to see more of her films!
Jennifer Aniston – Jennifer Aniston is one of those actresses who is hard to dislike. She’s down to earth, smart, funny and beautiful. And that appeal has carried over to the roles she’s played, more so in her movies than on tv. It was easy for me to choose my favorite of her roles, though – and that would be as Olivia in Friends with Money . As the only one in a circle of friends who is not married or wealthy, Olivia is trying to re-define her life after she quits her job as a teacher and becomes a housemaid. Jennifer has this amazing ability to make her characters believable and real; Olivia (or most of Jen’s characters for that matter) is someone I would have coffee with, and someone who would listen to my problems. I don’t feel that way about someone like Meg Ryan, or Sandra Bullock. An honorable mention for Jennifer Aniston would be her performance in The Good Girl . Jen never needed to prove that she could do romantic comedy – but this drama was a brave leap for her, and shows how much potential she has to take on any type of character, and to shine.
Kate Winslet – Oh Kate, how do I love thee? Kate Winslet shines in anything that she does, and I’ve always felt that she shows a rare gift (which also shows in her maturity beyond her years) that far surpasses other actresses her age. Take Sense and Sensibility for example, easily my favorite of all of her movies. Kate was only 19 when she made this movie, and though her age is appropriate for playing Marianne, the depth of the character may have been too much for most 19-year-old actresses. But not Kate. She lost herself in that role – she utterly made me believe in her obsessions and her strong convictions. Marianne may have been emotionally weak, but she was such a strong and complex character – and Kate played her perfectly. But this is a girl who one year earlier turned heads with her dark portrayal of Juliet in Heavenly Creatures - another very complex and intense role for a brilliant prodigy. Other highlights, for me: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Little Children, and Finding Neverland . Kate is so enjoyable to watch because she seems to possess such confidence, which makes her characters all the more believable and sometimes even chilling (like her character in The Reader .
Reese Witherspoon : I really wanted to dislike Reese Witherspoon when she started dating Jake Gyllenhaal. But he’s another of those actresses who is difficult to dislike. She’s cute, smart, funny – and she can not only act, but she can sing! I have two favorite roles of hers, and they are about as different as night and day. First there’s Elle in Legally Blonde . I think anyone who doesn’t like this movie, and doesn’t like Reese in it, just doesn’t have a heart. Yes, the movie’s quite silly. And yes, Elle on the surface is shallow. But Reese wasn’t just playing a dumb blonde with a great wardrobe. She made Elle into a smart heroine, and she made us smile (perhaps even despite ourselves). The other movie was Reese’s chance to prove her acting chops, while also astounding everyone with her ability to sing. In Walk the Line Reese was a very convincing June Carter Cash, and deserved every bit of praise she got, including the Academy Award.
Scarlett Johansson – Like Kate, Scarlett is another of those actresses who started out young, and who have been able to play complex leading characters at a very young age. Scarlett already showed promise in The Horse Whisperer when she was just 14. But there’s no question in my mind which is my favorite of Scarlett’s movies: Lost in Translation . She filmed this movie when she was just 19, and perhaps it was a combination of good writing, good direction, and confident acting – but Scarlett really brought life to her portrayal of a girl who feels like a fish out of water, not only in a foreign country but also in her own life. She’s so real, so genuine, and her chemistry with Bill Murray is believable and enjoyable. I also loved Scarlett in Match Point - of course it gives her a chance to be sexy, which is she is also so good at!
Do play along if you wish.
winterdahlia gave me a very good list of actors and actresses, and she probably never expected me to spend nearly two days working on my answers. They turned out to be quite lengthy (I even went back and edited a bit to make them shorter), but I just love stuff like this. So I hope you enjoy!
Here's my list:
ACTORS
Al Pacino
Cillian Murphy
Ewan McGregor
Jake Gyllenhaal
Johnny Depp
ACTRESSES
Cate Blanchett
Jennifer Aniston
Kate Winslet
Reese Witherspoon
Scarlett Johansson
Answers below
Al Pacino – Al Pacino is one of those actors whose roles are all so distinct and intense. He’s probably best known for his roles in Scarface and The Godfather, but these are not my favorites. He’s good at playing a gangster, but I actually enjoy him more in Carlito’s Way and Donnie Brasco (with another favorite actor Johnny Depp). However, I would have to say that his best work was his earliest, especially …And Justice for All and Dog Day Afternoon . He plays a hardened criminal in “Dog Day” and a lawyer in “Justice” but is equally convincing as both.
In “Justice”, he plays Arthur, a very idealistic defense attorney who is faced with defending a truly despicable, but highly powerful judge who has been accused of rape.
The final scene of that movie will go down in history as one of the best movie endings ever. Pacino’s smoldering performance, as he manages to turn a courtroom into utter chaos, has me cheering every time I watch.
Cillian Murphy : The first time I saw Cillian Murphy was in Red Eye in which he plays a frightening hit man who terrifies Rachel MacAdam during a flight. From the start, I couldn’t help but realize that not only is he intensely gorgeous, but he is also insanely talented. I then proceeded to watch almost all of his films, and I realized that like Al Pacino, Cillian can play both villains (as in Batman Begins and Red Eye ), and every day heroes, like in the upbeat movie Sunburn and the dramas On the Edge and The Wind that Shakes the Barley . I think that his strongest performance so far was in the Irish war saga The Wind that Shakes the Barley , in which he plays Damien, a young doctor who joins the Irish Republican Army to fight for independence from Great Britain in the early 1900’s. However, my all-time favorite of Cillian’s roles is “Kitten” in Breakfast on Pluto, . Cillian not only effortlessly transforms into a beautiful woman, but his portrayal of the confused and rebellious Patrick, whose alter ego is the tender, naïve and easily lovestruck Patricia or “Kitten,” creates one of the most endearing and memorable movie characters in the last 10 years.
Ewan McGregor – Ewan McGregor has definitely played some memorable characters in some otherwise not-so-noteworthy films: Curt Wild in Velvet Goldmine , Christian in Moulin Rouge , Martin in Nightwatch , and Jerome in Pillow Book . And he’s also played key roles in some very good movies, such as Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Big Fish, and Stay . I realized, after looking at his list of credits on imdb, that I haven’t seen most of his recent films – in fact the last movie I saw him in was Ghost Writer , which was quite dull – both his character and the movie. So I’d have to say that my favorite of his roles has to be Obi Wan Kenobi in the last three Star Wars installments. He so perfectly embodied a younger version of Alec Guinness, down to the mannerisms and the way of speaking. He has a commanding presence, is good at wielding a light saber, and of course he just looks so gorgeous in those robes!
Jake Gyllenhaal - Donnie Darko has to be hands down my favorite of Jake’s films, and one of my favorite of his characters. Donnie was such a complex character - indifference mixed with rebellion - and Jake played this duality just perfectly. My infatuation for Jake was clinched when I saw him in two very similar roles, as young men who seduce older women, in the films The Good Girl and Lovely and Amazing . Soon after I moved to Japan in 2005, Brokeback Mountain , was released, and I was able to see it via the internet (because it wasn’t playing in theaters here). His controversial role as Heath Ledger’s lover proved that he wasn’t just a pretty face – he could really act; and he took on a role which many actors his age would be afraid would ruin their reputation. But not Jake – after Brokeback, he had many strong leading roles in Jarhead, Zodiac, Proof, Rendition and Brothers . And of course he looks incredibly fine without his shirt in the recent Prince of Persia . I love Jake in pretty much everything he’s done, even the quirky, silly Bubble Boy , but my favorite role, besides Donnie Darko and Brokeback, would be that of Joe in Moonlight Mile , opposite Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon. He is understated and genuine as a man grieving the murder of his fiancée, who develops a relationship with her parents. Jake is so good at just playing a real guy, someone who you could have a few beers with, but who also listens to you and cares what you have to say. And I can still get lost in those eyes for days and days!
Johnny Depp – This may be one of the tougher tasks, to choose a favorite of Johnny Depp’s movies. I haven’t liked some of his recent characters, especially his horribly creepy Willy Wonka or his nighmare-induced Mad Hatter; and even his Keith Richards –inspired Jack Sparrow in the Pirates franchise, while clever and entertaining, was definitely not my favorite of his creations. I can’t choose one favorite, so I’ll list the movies that I will watch over and over: Benny & Joon, Edward Scissorhands, Don Juan DeMarco, Sleepy Hollow and Chocolat. . Edward Scissorhands really proved that Johnny could do weird, but in a very tender and even romantic way. Benny & Joon is Johnny as pure and innocent as he can come, without the weirdness. Don Juan DeMarco and Chocolat are the two movies in which Johnny shows us how gorgeous and sexy he can be. And Sleepy Hollow is probably the funniest character I’ve ever seen Johnny do – I think his Ichabod Crane was much more entertaining than Jack Sparrow. One honorable mention: I recently watched Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street , and I thought Johnny was brilliant. Of course the sadistic barber was just up his alley, and I couldn’t imagine anyone else playing Mr. Todd – he was just perfectly creepy in a role that should be creepy.
ACTRESSES
Cate Blanchett This is embarrassing to admit, but I haven’t yet seen the movies that have made Cate Blanchett famous, and which are to be her best roles: Elizabeth, Notes on a Scandal, Oscar and Lucinda, The Missing… I guess I should add them to my viewing list. I have seen her in the Lord of the Rings movies, as well as the latest Indiana Jones movie, and she was quite good in those. But my favorite of her roles, that I’ve seen, is what the credits call “Jude” but what is really an uncanny portrayal of Bob Dylan in I’m Not There . With this role, Cate Blanchett proves that she can do almost anything. I guess I just need to see more of her films!
Jennifer Aniston – Jennifer Aniston is one of those actresses who is hard to dislike. She’s down to earth, smart, funny and beautiful. And that appeal has carried over to the roles she’s played, more so in her movies than on tv. It was easy for me to choose my favorite of her roles, though – and that would be as Olivia in Friends with Money . As the only one in a circle of friends who is not married or wealthy, Olivia is trying to re-define her life after she quits her job as a teacher and becomes a housemaid. Jennifer has this amazing ability to make her characters believable and real; Olivia (or most of Jen’s characters for that matter) is someone I would have coffee with, and someone who would listen to my problems. I don’t feel that way about someone like Meg Ryan, or Sandra Bullock. An honorable mention for Jennifer Aniston would be her performance in The Good Girl . Jen never needed to prove that she could do romantic comedy – but this drama was a brave leap for her, and shows how much potential she has to take on any type of character, and to shine.
Kate Winslet – Oh Kate, how do I love thee? Kate Winslet shines in anything that she does, and I’ve always felt that she shows a rare gift (which also shows in her maturity beyond her years) that far surpasses other actresses her age. Take Sense and Sensibility for example, easily my favorite of all of her movies. Kate was only 19 when she made this movie, and though her age is appropriate for playing Marianne, the depth of the character may have been too much for most 19-year-old actresses. But not Kate. She lost herself in that role – she utterly made me believe in her obsessions and her strong convictions. Marianne may have been emotionally weak, but she was such a strong and complex character – and Kate played her perfectly. But this is a girl who one year earlier turned heads with her dark portrayal of Juliet in Heavenly Creatures - another very complex and intense role for a brilliant prodigy. Other highlights, for me: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Little Children, and Finding Neverland . Kate is so enjoyable to watch because she seems to possess such confidence, which makes her characters all the more believable and sometimes even chilling (like her character in The Reader .
Reese Witherspoon : I really wanted to dislike Reese Witherspoon when she started dating Jake Gyllenhaal. But he’s another of those actresses who is difficult to dislike. She’s cute, smart, funny – and she can not only act, but she can sing! I have two favorite roles of hers, and they are about as different as night and day. First there’s Elle in Legally Blonde . I think anyone who doesn’t like this movie, and doesn’t like Reese in it, just doesn’t have a heart. Yes, the movie’s quite silly. And yes, Elle on the surface is shallow. But Reese wasn’t just playing a dumb blonde with a great wardrobe. She made Elle into a smart heroine, and she made us smile (perhaps even despite ourselves). The other movie was Reese’s chance to prove her acting chops, while also astounding everyone with her ability to sing. In Walk the Line Reese was a very convincing June Carter Cash, and deserved every bit of praise she got, including the Academy Award.
Scarlett Johansson – Like Kate, Scarlett is another of those actresses who started out young, and who have been able to play complex leading characters at a very young age. Scarlett already showed promise in The Horse Whisperer when she was just 14. But there’s no question in my mind which is my favorite of Scarlett’s movies: Lost in Translation . She filmed this movie when she was just 19, and perhaps it was a combination of good writing, good direction, and confident acting – but Scarlett really brought life to her portrayal of a girl who feels like a fish out of water, not only in a foreign country but also in her own life. She’s so real, so genuine, and her chemistry with Bill Murray is believable and enjoyable. I also loved Scarlett in Match Point - of course it gives her a chance to be sexy, which is she is also so good at!
Do play along if you wish.
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