I was digging through some old files and noticed I ranked the top 30 actors and actresses:
There were four clear contenders for the top spot. The two
Cates (Blanchett and Kate Winslet) are the go-to actresses for auteurs and in
nearly twenty years of high-profile acting
have displayed a seemingly endless range for Oscar-caliber projects.
Blanchett is penalized a little because she’s so chameleon-like and doesn’t
have any star persona. Winslet is penalized a little because she wasn’t on any
particular hot streak before Steve Jobs (which got her an Oscar nomination but
which no one really saw) as evidenced by the disaster that was Jason Reitman’s
Labor Day.
Lawrence is on fire, as Alicia Keys wrote a song to attest,
with two franchises she’s successfully helmed and more Oscar nominations than
any 25-year-old really needs. However,
she could be in danger of being ghettoized if she chooses to do all her
tentpole films with David O Russell. For non-DOR fans, she is soon to fall off
their radar as the lack of success Joy had in finding an audience showed.
There’s also some debate about whether she can master an older woman but that’s
based on whether you think she pulled Joy of f (she mostly did).
That leaves Charlize Theron, who is acertifiable action
star. She’s been recognized as a high-caliber actress for a dozen years now,
has the hardware to show for it, and has a certain edge to her screen persona
that sells. With sheer talent and appeal, I’m comfortable naming her #1.
1.
Charlize Theron
2.
Cate Blanchett
3.
Jennifer Lawrence
4.
Kate Winslet
5.
Meryl Streep-Universally considered the best actress of
her generation, Streep continues to take risks and interesting choices while
also doing broad appeal films like Mamma Mia, Lemony Snicket, It’s Complicated,
Prime, and some might say Ricki and the Flash (in theory, this film should have
broad appeal). She’s aging gracefully and is a threat to get an Oscar nominated
nearly every year
6.
Scarlett Johansson-Although she’s never been
Oscar-nominated, she’s come close enough a few times that she’s considered
high-calliber. She also has several Golden Globe and BAFTA nominees and has
been an established actress for a dozen years. She’s a certifiable action star,
and on the art side, has made boundary-pushing choices whether Lucy, Her or Don
John’s Addiction. It says a lot that a younger director like Joseph
Gordon-Leavitt thought she could handle a mature role.
7.
Julianne Moore-She’s obviously hot because she just won
an Oscar and consistently brings in great preformances. She’s been in romantic
comedies, art house films, and adaptations BUT she’s #7 and not in the top 5
because occasionally her best performances are for obscure films. She won an
Oscar for Still Alice but did anyone see Still Alice? Free Held, Maps to the
Stars and, in the past, The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio didn’t even get
widescale distribution.
8.
Amy Adams-The female answer to Leonardo DiCaprio. She
has the make and temperament of a character actress but she has shown the
ability to hold her own as a lead (she outacted Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle) and her filmography is so
full of good films, she brings John C Rilley or Phillip Seymour Hoffman to mind.
Man of Steel brings Tentpole Credentials and going back to 2007, so does
Enchanted. She also has done comedy like Talladega Nights or The Muppet Movie
pretty aptly.
9.
Naomi Watts-How often she appears in film is relative
but her talent alone groups her in the top tier. Like Nicole Kidman, she’s
chameneon-like in accents and although this is three years ago, The Impossible
was very Dicaprio-like in the rigor of the shoot.
10. Rooney
Mara-Although her filmography is relatively short (not as short as Hailee
Steinfeld or Soisre Ronan), she has made strong marks in everything she’s in.
Even small supporting roles in Social Network or Her garnered her attention.
She has about a 50% chance of winning an Oscar for Carol but even if she
doesn’t, she’ll likely be back.
11. Keira
Knightley-Authentic English actors and actresses always get a boost in
bankability because so many period pieces (even things not explicitly set in
England like Troy or Merchant of Venice) that require an English thespian. On
top of that, Knightley is hip and cool and has a modern sensibility. She could
easily fit into a Diablo Cody or Noah Bombauch work (Begin Again or Seeking a
Friend for the End of the World might not have been written explicitly by those
two but they were in that mold). Plus, she can swashbuckle AND sing.
12. Anne
Hathaway-An Oscar winner at the right age to play a wide range of parts, her
public persona is a bit polarizing. She did do action in Get Smart and sang in
Les Miserables. Even though she’s been on SNL, her comic chops are not
particularly strong IMO.
13. Rachel
McAdams-Introduced to Hollywood in a villainess role in Mean Girls, she’s
tackled a wide range of parts working with Terrence Malick, Woody Allen, Thomas
McCarthy and kicked ass in Sherlock Holmes and a Most Wanted Man. Turned a best
supporting actress nomination in a competitive field. She’s also a very strong
romantic lead.
14. Sandra
Bullock-The female counterpart to Matthew McConaughey in that she was seen
mostly as a romcom type of actress with a bubbly personality but her 2009 Oscar
gave her a makeover and the follow-up Oscar nod in Gravity gave her a lot more
leverage in being taken seriously.
15. Emma
Stone-This might just be me but I have
trouble not seeing her as a teeny-bopper sor tof star even though we’re
apparently 5 years removed from her high school roles in Easy A and Scott
Pilgrim vs. the World. She’s had a respectable turn in the Help, starred in two
of Woody Allen’s most invisible films and her big Oscar-nominated turn in
Birdman (which I’m pretty sure would not have materialized if she wasn’t acting
in the eventual BP winner) was still that of a teenager. I think it might still
be a while until she’s taken seriously as an actress who can play 30+.
16. Judi
Dench-If you need a senior citizen, she’ll work in nearly every film, but IIRC,
she’s getting to the age where she might have to stop acting soon. I believe
I’ve heard her eyesight is going.
17. Jessica
Chastain-Two Oscar noms in the past five years and a very close call last year
for a nominaion as well. Not to mention she’s been in four Best Picture
nominees-The Martian, Zero Dark Thirty, Help, and Tree of Life- in that time
period as well. She’s also won a Golden Globe and two NBR awards. With
Interstellar, The Martian, Zero Dark Thirty, and a Most Violent Year, she has a
very good track record of interesting film choices
18. Helen
Mirren-Very versatile actress and not as
old as she looks (she’s 70), but she gets relegated to senior citizen parts
even though she gives those senior citizen roles a surprising sex appeal. She
still gets awards buzz here and there (Woman in Gold and Trumbo in this year
alone). Also worth noting, Woman in Gold got $33 million domestically at the box office. Extremely impressive for a
film no one’s ever heard of.
19. Alicia
Vikander-It’s hard to properly rate someone who’s been in the public spotlight
for exactly one year. Man from Uncle, Ex Machina, The Danish Girl ere all great
performances and she could even win an Oscar and just won a SAG award, but it’s
just one year. The longer you’re in the public eye the better chances you have
of working up a fan base.
20. Nicole
Kidman-The first time I wrote a list like this in 2009, she was #1 and she’s
still just as good but a lot of her films are not wide-release. Her best role
in the last half-decade, Paperboy, was mostly enjoyed ironically by people. The
Oscar campaign for that role was something along the lines of “Let’s give an Oscar nom to someone in a bad
movie for once!”
21. Soisre
Ronan-I tend to group her, Haile Steinfeld and Carey Mulligan together in the
same boat. Women who got Oscar noms at young ages and subsequently got set up
with expectations as the next big thing. Of the trio, Ronan has had the biggest
cult. Carried Brooklyn to a BP nom this past year.
22. Kristen
Wiig-Some might disagree but she wasn’t as well-known on SNL as Maya Rudolph,
Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. Those three were known as Hollywood royalty. Wiig had
the most screentime of anyone on SNL in her later years, but there was a good
chance if you didn’t watch SNL during those years, you wouldn’t have known she
was on. Since leaving, she’s had a game-changing megahit in Bridesmaids, has
taken value-added supporting roles in nearly every comedy to come out, and has
won critical acclaim in a wide variety of indie films.
23. Emily
Blunt-This is more wishful thinking because somehow I don’t think Blunt is
quite A-list yet, but I see no reason why she shouldn’t. I don’t even
understand why she wasn’t nominated for Sicario. She can play a brooding,
introspective star, she can do dramedy (Sunshine Cleaning, Devil Wears Prada),
she did period (Young Victoria), and she has edge.
24. Reese
Witherspoon-Wild was one of the best performances of any actor last year IMO
and she deserved an Oscar, but she’s so
ingrained as the ingénue that it’s sometimes hard to see her outside of that
typecast. Even Walk the Line had her playing a version of that Southern
Ingenue. It’s also been well over a decade since she became a tentpole star
with Legally Blonde.
25. Claire
Danes-Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell, James Gandolfini and Kyle Chandler have
enjoyed extremely successful movie careers since their star-making TV roles
have ended. I predict when Homeland ends, Danes will be an A-lister in the
movies. As far as I can gather, she’s only
been in one film in the 2010s (a Sundance entry) but that should change when
Homeland ends. Anna Faris and Kerry Washington are two others I believe will
explode in film when their TV shows end.
26. Carey
Muligan-Her casting in the Great Gatsby when it was hyped up in the
pre-production phase says a lot about how prized she is among casting
directors. She’s the right age to be cast in young women roles.
27. Marion
Cotillard-Being from England is a big plus. Being from nearly every other
country is an impediment, but Cotillard has done extremely well for herself
acting in such high profile films as Public Enemies, Midnight in Paris, and
Inception and shone in MacBeth this year.
28. Kerry
Washington-She had a long career as a character actress (Ray, Mr and Mrs Smith,
Last King of Scotland) before being cast in a highly visible TV show which
should give her a big boost when Scandal ends. She’s even done great work in
the movies while on Scandal (Django Unchained)
29. Rosario
Dawson-She’s been consistently in good roles for the last 13 or 14 years and
has done multiple genres.
30. Ellen
Page-Has a hip and cool edge (Whip It, Juno) but could use a better agent.
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