15 Actors Most Overdue for Oscar

1. Ralph Fiennes — Longtime cinephile's favorite online publication The Film Experience often refers to him as the best actor of his generation not to win. In addition to his two nominations in the 90s, he also was a great lead in another Best Picture nominee in Quiz Show. In the 00s, he garnered buzz in Constant Gardener, and the trifecta of Reader/In Bruges/Duchess (which might have split votes) in 2008, in addition to infusing one of the decade’s big franchises with Voldemort. He also got in on the Hannibal action in Red Dragon. In the 2010s, his output lessened. He likely was the most inventive Wes Anderson protagonist ever put to film in Grand Budapest Hotel (sorry Jason Schwartzman in Rushmore) and was quietly brilliant in The Dig a bit more recently.

2. Bradley Cooper -- While finishing a distant third in this past year's Oscar race, Cooper is well-known to have education bona fides (he went to an elite school) and to be a serious actor with a capital S. His streak of 3 straight nominations from 2012-2014 shows and 5 total shows that he's managed to break through at the top of wish lists by now. He’s getting so immersive (and possibly desperate) that he might pull a more extreme stunt like Revenant and get himself eaten by a bear.

3.  Paul Giamatti — I think the voters and media got a taste of how good the possibility of “And the Oscar Goes to Paul Giamatti” would have sounded. That he does not like a conventional leading man has worked in his favor as he is very much an ordinary man in the same way that Dustin Hoffman and Ernest Borgnine captured our imaginations.

4. Harvey Keitel — With luminaries like James Caan, Ned Beatty, and Danny Aiello tragically gone, he might be the last of the greatest generation of character actors who changed acting in the 1970s. Like Bill Nighy or Bruce Dern with recent norms, it might never be too late

5. Daniel Craig — Sean Connery won an Oscar for James Bond, but Craig had a far wider range and showed before and after Bond that he was willing to take risky roles, like Truman Capote’s lover in Infamous or a detective whose idiosyncrasies seemingly are modeled after Foghorn Leghorn. There are a ton of great roles in between in Craig’s filmography and his turns as Bond and LeBlanc make him a more marketable figure than, say, Colin Firth.

6. Johnny Depp — I’m not sure I’d cast him on a film because his drunken and difficult on-set behavior has become quite legendary (exacerbated through accounts at the Amber Heard trial), but to the degree that he would get cast, he’s never less than brilliant and superbly inventive. That can’t be denied.

7. Hugh Jackman — A convincing musical lead is hard to deny like his work in Les Miserables or Greatest Showman (a fan favorite, didn’t go so well with critics on the left). With his popularity with the Wolverine roles, and his range of work like The Front Runner or The Fountain, it’s not far-fetched at all that in a given year, he might have the best performance of the year. If it’s close, I have faith that the extremely amicable Jackman could get the award by doing well on the awards circuit

8. Benedict Cumberbatch — I tend to think best actors should be a little on the older side, and after Casey Affleck and Rami Malek, I’m happiest with actors winning the lead award over, say, 40, which is why Adam Driver seems a bit young for me (he’s 39, and nowhere near due). Cumberbatch might be there at 48. Damn, how the time has flown. He’s been superb in movies dating quite a while, and even if he doesn’t have a gazillion nominations, he does have an Emmy, and he’s the kind of guy you know could nail any future challenging role. He has been in 5 Best Picture nominees (War Horse, Imitation Game, 12 Years a Slave, Atonement, 1917), so his filmography is solid, even if his roles in a couple of his pictures were small.

9. Ed Norton — An actor’s actor, Norton has had some great break-out roles in the 90s, and has acted in a wide range (he even directed a romantic comedy). Motherless Brooklyn (his second directorial film) and his role in the Glass Onion show he’s still pretty ambitious.

10. Liam Neeson — His batting average of noticeable performance to regular performance is low considering how prolific he is, but he’s pretty beloved, and he has an excuse for acting in so many movies (it helps him get over his wife’s death). The probability that he has another brilliant performance like Kinsey or Schindler’s List shouldn’t be that far out of reach.

11. Eddie Murphy — The degree to which he held up SNL and the film industry in the 1980s can’t be underestimated. If you want to give a comic star an award, Murphy would be a good choice. The problem is that there isn’t that often a role like Dolemite is My Name or Dreamgirls.

12. Michael Fassbender — In 2011, he broke out with simultaneous plaudits for Shame, Dangerous Method, X-Men, and Jane Eyre all at once. He got two nominations in the next four years and I think he’s still growing strong. He’d be on the newer end of nominees.

13. Jon Hamm — The leading man on Mad Men fits the mold of a leading man very easily and I’m often thinking he’d be a good lead whenever I armchair cast a film idea I think of in my head.

14. Steve Martin — Hard to think of a more beloved legend in comedy. Roles like 2005’s Shopgirl show he can do something big if he gets the right role. He’s retiring soon, so he can market such a win as his swan song.

15. Richard Gere — This 75-year-old actor has had roles in key films in the 1970s (Days of Heaven), 1980s (Officer and a Gentleman), 1990s (Pretty Woman, Primal Fear), 2000s (Unfaithful, Chicago, Amelia), and 2010s (Arbitrage). He’s never been the preeminent of his generation and he’s never had the hot streak of a lot of great movies in a row, but his filmography stretches back a ways. With a good role, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be cheered as a consummate screen icon.

2023/2024 Oscar Nominations Reactions

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-The nationalities of the 20 best actor nominees are:

16 US nominees though 2 are second-generation Latin American (Colman Domingo’s parents are from Guatemalan and Belize, America Ferrera is Honduran); 1 Canadian in Ryan Gosling; 1 Irishman in Cillian Murphy 1 German in Sandra Huller; 1 British (2nd generation Irish) in Carey Mulligan

-Zasie Baetz was announcing like she was giving away cars on either the Price is Right or Opera. At first, I was convinced that she was stanning American Fiction but that was likely my bias. Jack Quaid is one of my favorite young stars of Hollywood, but isn’t there still room in Hollywood for Jack and his dad? #FarFromHeavenforever

-I’ve seen 6 of the 10 nominees (Check: Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon, Anatomy of a Fall, Maestro, Poor Things, Holdovers, Didn’t See: American Fiction, Zone of Interest, Past Lives, Barbie) and 14 of the 20 nominees (Paul Giamatti, Cillian Murphy, Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, Emma Stone, Sandra Huller, Annette Bening, Lily Gladstone, Robert DeNiro, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr, DaVine Joy Randolph, Emily Blunt, and Jodie Foster). Of the remaining four, I haven’t seen Zone of Interest holds the least interest to me. I don’t pressure myself to see everything that’s out there.

-The woke crowd will probably be split, but with the surprise inclusion of Sterling K Brown, America Ferrera, and the fact that one woman was still nominated (Justine Triet), they don’t have much basis that the patriarchy squeezed their voices out. To the degree that foreign film enthusiasts overlap with woke advocates (a lot of foreign films are made by white people and that’s all that counts to the woke), there’s much to celebrate on that front as three foreign films have never been among the final ten. I saw Anatomy of a Fall and the subtitles made the story difficult to follow, so audiences will have to adjust.

-Killers of the Flower Moon is the 12th Best Picture Nominee that Robert DeNiro has appeared in: Godfather II, Taxi Driver, Deer Hunter, Raging Bull, Soldier’s Story, Awakenings, Goodfellas, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, Irishman, Joker, and now Killers of the Flower Moon. It’s likely a new record. Leonardo DiCaprio is close behind at 11; Matt Damon, Willem Dafoe; Jesse Plemons (who’s had a streak of 6 in 7 years: Brides of Spies, The Post, Vice, Irishman, Judas and the Black Messiah, Power of the Dog), and Bradley Cooper are tied at 7;Emma Stone is at 5; and Margot Robbie, Gary Oldman, and Paul Giamatti are at 4

-These were the most competitive female acting categories in years. Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman in May December; Greta Lee in Past Lives; Fantasia Barrino and Taraji P. Henson in Color Purple; Rachel McAdams in Are You There God It’s Me Margaret; Rosamund Pike in Saltburn were all in the running. The last one in each category was likely the two elderly ladies from Nyad: Annette Bening and Jodie Foster. I’ve never loved a Jodie Foster performance but somehow she won me over this time. I think, all factors considered, Foster, got in on that extra bit of sparkle she bought to that inspirational role. Bening got in because of the tendency to award people who transform and exhaust themselves. They couldn’t recognize her in the role.

-Congratulations to Bradley Cooper, Jodie Foster and Annette Bening for being in the 5-timers club. Why Cooper is already considered by pundits to be out of running for the award is already beyond me. He completely transformed himself for the role, he keeps the movie watchable through his pure joy, and he’s turned into a great spokesman for classical music through the journey. He also co-wrote, directed, and produced the film. If he doesn’t get an Oscar now, he might get desperate enough to go full-Revenant and get eaten by a bear.

Congratulations to the 2023/2024 Oscar Class. These people all have a screen credit (as determined by Rogerebert.com) in one of this year’s best picture nominees: Adam Brody, Alexandra Shipp, America Ferrera, Anne Rotger, Antoine Reinartz, Barry Corbin, Benny Safdie, Bradley Cooper, Brendan Frasier, Camille Rutherford, Cara Jade Meyers, Carey Mulligan, Carrie Preston, Casey Affleck, Christopher Abbott, Christian Friedel, Cillian Murphy, Daniel Holzberg, David Krumholtz, Da’vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa, Emma Mackey, Emma Stone, Emily Blunt, Emily Cass McDonnell, Erika Alexander, Florence Pugh, Gillian Vigman, Greta Lee, Gustaf Skarsgard, Helen Mirren, Issa Rae, Jack Quaid, Jason Clarke, Jason Isbell, Jeffrey Wright, Jehnny Beth, Jerrod Carmichael, Jesse Plemons, John Cena, John Lithgow, John Magaro, John Ortiz, Josh Hartnett, Kate McKinnon, Keith David, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Lucy Boynton, Margaret Qualley, Margot Robbie, Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bonner, Matt Damon, Maximilian Beck, Maya Hawke, Medusa Knopf, Michael Cera, Michael Urie, Milo Machado Graner, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Olivia Thirby, Paul Giamatti, Ramy Yousef, Rhea Pearlman, Robert DeNiro, Robert Downey Jr, Ryan Gosling, Sascha Maaz, Sandra Huller, Sarah Silverman, Simu Liu, Scott Shepherd, Stephen Thorne, Skyler White, Sterling K Brown, Swann Arlaud, Tate Donovan, Teo Yoo, Tony Goldwyn, Vicki Pepperdine, Willem Dafoe, Will Ferrell

The nationalities of the 20 best actor nominees are:

16 US nominees though 2 are second-generation Latin American: Colman Domingo’s parents are from Guatemalan and Belize, America Ferrera is Honduran; 1 Canadian in Ryan Gosling; 1 Irishman in Cillian Murphy 1 German in Sandra Huller; 1 British (2nd generation Irish) in Carey Mulligan

Top 20 Movie Scenes of 2023

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1. Bernstein Conducts at The Ely Cathedral Conducting Scene, Maestro­: Like most biopics, one of the selling points of Maestro is how much Bradley Cooper put his heart and soul into the role. It’s hard to tell if the anecdote about how he wanted to be a conductor as a kid is true, but he certainly mastered this esoteric art for the film. In a scene shot in Ely Cathedral with the London Symphony Orchestra, Cooper (the director) makes the brilliant decision to shoot Bernstein’s highly animated conducting largely with the camera’s focus on the director as the camera zooms in and then outward of its principal subject.

2. The Climactic Negotiation, Tetris: Who would have thought a film about intellectual rights could be so thrilling. The film follows a Dutch entrepreneur (Taron Eggerton) who mortgages his house and future in his quest behind the Iron Curtain to secure the rights to the titular game. The film’s climactic scene features a cross-cutting between our protagonist, the an amoral father-son (Anthony Boyle and Roger Allam) conglomerate who screwed him over, and a befuddled middle-man (Tobey Jones) as they try to make their case in darkened rooms with the KGB breathing down their necks. Although fictional, the negotiation is topped off with a chase out of the country a la Argo.

3. Diana Makes it to Land, Nyad: The docudrama chronicling Diana Nyad’s historic 2013 swim from Cuba to Key West has an ending that’s pre-ordained. The challenge, therefore, is to sell the audience on the strength of the two key relationships in the film: One between two best friends (Jodie Foster as trainer Bonnie Stoil) and another with a foil tempering her unound optimism (the boat’s captain played by Rhys Ifans). This all comes to fruition at the sight of Diana Nyad making it onto land after 50-straight hours of swimming. She’s so dazed that she can’t make the final steps without Bonnie coaching her step by step, until the two fall into an embrace (shortly joined by her captain). A litmus test of emotion-driven films is how well one interprets the power of their ending. This one hits.

4. The Cowboy Dances with the School Teacher, Asteroid City: Like all of Wes Anderson’s big ensemble films, Asteroid City has a few characters providing the central story and a lot of characters who are sprinkled in to provide different dashes of color. The marmish school teacher (Maya Hawke) and the rugged cowboy (Rupert Fiend) exhibit the kind of sexual chemistry that seems destined by the Western tropes that encoded these caricatures in the first place. Then again, they exist in a Wes Anderson movie which often keeps the characters in a rigid state of introspection. Fortunately, spontaneity wins out and the pair share a very spirited dance with virtually no segue beforehand.

5. Latte’s “Wipe Out” Dance, Fool’s Paradise: Charlie Day’s Fool’s Paradise combines the physical comedy of the silent clowns, with the comedies about idiot savants who fail upwards like Being There and Broadway Danny Rose. In this pivotal scene at a Hollywood party, the song “Wipe Out” plays and our previously catatonic hero suddenly awakens like a wind-up toy. He loses all inhibitions as his limbs flail widely through a crowded party and dances on a the ledge of a skyscraper, before falling into a pool. In a possible homage to The Graduate, Latte sinks to the bottom with a sense of childlike wonder.

6. Elizabeth Reveals Her Voyeurism in a Talk on Method Acting, May December- Iconoclast director Todd Haynes’s latest film challenges us to think about how we classify people as pariahs in our society. The film centers around a doppelganger of 90s scandal Mary Kay Letourneau (Julianne Moore) who prayed on a middle school student and is still married to her victim (Chris Melton) 25 years later. Natalie Portman plays a method actor who travels to her home to study her for the role. But she’s not so innocent herself. In a speech given to the local high school, a version of Elizabeth creeped in that showed herself to be devious and her motives for capturing a subject to be less than pure.

7. Keith Shares a Drink with his Viewers, Dumb Money-Judging by how often the pandemic has been dealt with in real films, it appears that the public might have been too traumatized by it to enjoy seeing it presented on screen. But the pandemic gave way to moments of unique social celebration that are worth celebrating. The scheme of a bunch of have-nots to short-circuit the stock on Reddit is the kind of social media ingenuity that is hard to believe wasn’t strengthened by the pandemic. The emotional touch of ring leader Keith toasting his viewers on line and revealing to a group of (by some definitions) strangers that his sister just died: That’s something.

8. Richard Calls the CEO of the Company, Flaming Hot-This rather typical story little-engine-that-could docudrama tells of a janitor at the Frito-Lays company, Richard Montanez (Jesse Garcia), who invents a spicy new brand of snack food. The movie’s fairly by-the-book, but one stand-out scene distinguishes the film. After hitting the predictable red tape of a factory janitor who wants to revolutionize the company, Richard takes a gamble and calls headquarters from the janitor’s closet. He gets through to Tony Shalhoub’s CEO who responds with the kind of tempered curiosity one would expect. It’s a very effectively written scene. It also channels that frustration we all have in this age, where getting through to someone on the phone is a relic of the past.

9. The Score Powers Through the First Look at the Mushroom Kingdom, Super Mario Brothers-There’s very little chance this film will go down as a classic. That’s not to say that the score didn’t deliver the nostalgic feels for a 90s kid like myself, and that it didn’t have striking visuals to match. This is especially apparent when Mario gets his first site of Princess Peach’s castle and the full vista of the Mushroom Kingdom after being led there by Toad.

10. Ernest Meets His Fate in Tom White, Killers of the Flower Moon-At the 2005 Oscars, Chris Rock got flack for one of the least controversial comments ever made at an Awards ceremony: That actor Jude Law acts a lot. Aww, quaint times. When Killers of the Flower Moon gets nominated for an Oscar (a near certainty), Jessie Plemons will have the distinction of having been in an Oscar nominated film seven of the past nine years: In other words, a new Jude Law. Is this a good or bad thing? There’s a such thing as overexposure, but Plemons’ ability to say a lot with silences can certainly have a chilling effect when utilized correctly. In Killers of the Flower Moon, Plemons instantly establishes himself as the adult in the room when he visits Leonardo DiCaprio’s wreckless manchild and tells him in few words that there will now be consequences for his actions.

Ten Runners-Up in Slightly Less Detail

11. Next Goal Wins- Oscar Knightley revealing himself as a cameraman who moonlights as a federation soccer executive, kicking off a running gag of everyone taking on multiple jobs in the impoverished Samoan economy. 

12. Oppenheim-The very real explosion. Conducted with no CGI. Certainly worth the hype that the first half of the movie was building towards.

13. Holdovers-That electric kiss between Angus and Miss Crain’s niece. The niece was a bit childish and immature (she did finger paints, after all), but it had a great sense of youthgul playfulness

14. Asteroid City-Jason Schwartzman’s Augie photographing ScarJo’s Midge like an avant-garde French movie. 

15. Maestro- Maya Hawke initiating a dance to the Clap Song and everyone joining in; the family’s culminating in an emotionally messy hug.

16. Saltburn-Ollie’s cryptic seduction of Venetia. It’s the first time that Ollie’s undertones of deviousness are shown and it comes out of nowhere. 

17. Holdovers-Mary gifting Paul an open book. Mary also made a mark for being gracious in accepting the same gift that Paul gave to Angus, but subtly pointing out how it’s not a particularly thoughtful gift. 

18. Migraton-Carol Kane’s heron alternating between extremely threatening and highly accommodating to the protagonist duck family. Sometimes cartoon characters can endear me to them lightning-fast simply by being drawn in a certain way. This was one of those cases 

19. Dumb Money- Pete Davidson putting the breaks on being a douche for a second to bond with his brother over their dead sister, running, and their shared goals. 

20. Quiz Lady-Awkwafina’s winning the audition round on a gnarly acid trip.

The 25 People That Most Impacted the Year of 2018

For a short period of time in the late 90s to about 2003, I would read People Magazine's 25 people that defined our year list. Today I am going to play Fantasy People Magazine editor (which probably I'm the only person in the world to play because I'm weird into lists like that). Feel free to add, subtract, or debate with this in any way you see fit. I'm going to go with the Harry Potter route and leave the person who has the most impact on our lives and is using it to do evil (the president) the "he who shall not be named" treatment. Also Robert Mueller strikes me as a 2019 person so he's off too:

1. Jeff Flake-Senator-I personally like the guy, but I am trying to make this a subjective list of who's had impact and he has been a humongous swing vote and to some degree a true voice of independence
2. Beto O'Rourke-Congressman-Currently has the most thunder on the democratic side
3. Kendrick LaMarr-rapper-The People's list included a musician or two and this guy is the first rapper to win a Pullitzer Prize. He's also, I believe the first musician outside of jazz to win a Pullitzer
4. Stan Lee-comic book artist-Almost our entire movie calendar and I suspect the next generation's literary hallmarks based around this guy.
5. Christine Blasey Ford/Brett Kavanaugh-Stanford Professor/Supreme Court Judge-Depending on who you believe, I guess you can take your pick. The country couldn't agree on which one was the significant personhere
6. The Parkland Survivors-Activists-No one has been more history-changing or kicked more ass then these people. I would have made them Time's Person of the Year but Times is always a whimp about that
7. Nancy Pelosi-Congressman-She's probably also Ms. 2019 but she's held steady in what must be the most difficult job in Washington
8. Michael Cohen-Former fixer-No one has pierced Trump's armor more than this guy. He taped everything, he has Giuliani and Trump on tape saying great things about him, he turned on a dime.
9. Sarah Huckabee Saunders-WH Press Seceretary-The face of the Trump administration, the origin of much of our spin, and the heart of much debate about civility
10. Jon Krasinski-Director/Actor-Breakthrough actor with Jack Ryan and breakthrough director with Quiet Place
11. Ryan Coogler-Director-Black Panther. He's #6 on Time's Man of the Year list.
12. Nick Foles-Athlete-Broke the Patriots stronghold
13. Bradley Cooper-Director/Actor-Like Krasinski and Coogler, big big breakout with Star is Born
14. Ronan Farrow-Journalist-Big pioneer in the metoo movement and continues that quest with integrity (vetting false accusations in his reporting) also wrote another book about Seceretaries of State in which he got inside access to Rex Tillerson saying some dirty stuff about Trump, it's mad juicy
15. French Soccer Team-Because someone's gotta win the WC and they were all very multi-cultural and wonderful
16. Emmanuel Macron-French President-The president we wish we had
17. Cardi B-Rapper or musician or something. Love her re-invented words
18. Pete Davidson-Comedian/SNL Cast Member-Has made more headlines than anyone else which has been odd for a 3rd year SNL cast member and has made me really want to watch the show to see how he'll comment on his own life.
19. John Mulaney-Comedian-I've been thinking a lot about comedic voice of the year and I think John Oliver has a place here too but Mulaney has been able to create a really strong brand for himself this year without a talk show or anything, and that his escapism is a hit says a lot. I heard about his comedy special (also his show about puberty) A LOT this year.
20. Tiffany Haddish-Actress/Comedian-Officially the next big thing
21. Chloe Kim-Snowboarder-Why not include someone from the 2018 Olympics. Korean-American was a hero to both sides and a millenial icon
22. Theresa May-British prime minister-Really significant things are happening in England. We should be paying attention, guys!
23. Jose Andreas-CelebrityChef-Been a major voice in activism and charitable efforts
24. Rachel Brosnahan-Actress-I think it's fair to say that no one has ever gone from such an unknown to Emmy winner (although possibly America Ferrara of Ugly Betty) in the span of one year
25. Megan Markle-Princess of whatever-Throwing a bone to the kind of celebrities People Magazine likes to cover

A few others I was considering: Sandrah Oh, Claire Foy, Alyssa Milano, Lindsey Graham, Scott Pruitt, Kamala Harris, LeBron James, Rihanna, Angela Merkel

Top 30 Actors: 2015 Year-End Hollywood Actor Power Ranking

This is a list of best actors working today based on how likely it is today that if you cast them in your movie, that film will succeed commercially and/or in terms of critical/awards recognition with weight given to the last three or four years or so.

Also, worth noting, I'll reference Oscar nominationss and BP appearances but I pay attention to other stuff like BAFTA, GGs, how often it appears on critics' top ten lists, comments on IMDB message boards, but Oscars are slightly easier to cite and to remember.

This power ranking was written at the end of 2015, so view it as a snapshot of December 31, 2015. The last edition (published December 2012) was here:

Chime in and tell me who you think should move in or out, up and down

1. Matt Damon-I'm thinking back to 2006 when Scorsese cast both DiCaprio and Damon as leads in the Departed and Ed Zwick and Robert De Niro reportedly agreed to basically work around Departed's schedule for their prestige films (Blood Diamond which succeeded and Good Shepard which er.. had noble intentions). Since then, they've been pretty much the go-to guys for any prestige project wracking up Oscar buzz wherever they go, picking among the most innovative projects, killing it on the acting side, and generating good will as Hollywood ambassadors. I give the edge to Damon because he has better commercial appeal (The Bourne series, The Martian). I don't think Damon would invest himself in a prestige film without commercial legs like DiCaprio

did with J. Edgar and I don't think DiCaprio would be willing to play action or humor.

2. Leonardo DiCaprio-At this point, the current generation of young adults has grown up with Leonardo DiCaprio as the very capable star of all of their favorite films. His status is summed up pretty well by Sasha Stone at Awards Daily makes a convincing case that pretty much the only thing teenagers know about the Oscars is that DiCaprio doesn't have one.

"I suspect one of the biggest draws, in addition to Creed and The Martian, to encourage the younger generations to give a damn about the Oscars will be the question of whether or not Leonardo DiCaprio can pull off a victory, since his lack of an Oscar win has become practically a cultural cause célèbre."

3. Christian Bale-One of those actors for whom the talk of his talent is mythical enough that you've (or at least I have) heard the "best of his generation" appraisals of his in the years leading up to his breakout roles. The centerpiece of the most successful tent pole trilogy with Dark Knight, he can carry an action franchise and although he failed to do the Terminator series justice in 2009's Terminator Salvation, it says a lot that he was cast as the guy to resurrect another franchise. Critically, he's a staple of David O Russell's high-flying Oscar streak in the 2010s and he's back in the Oscar conversation this year with a third nomination and a 3rd BP film in Big Short. Also working with Terrence Malick.

4. Benedict Cumberbatch-Extremely talented and versatile guy who just won an Emmy in TV and has been in Oscar BP films in the past couple years (he's been in 4 BP noms total if you count War Horse and Atonement) along with an action role in Star Trek II. Of all the up-and-comers, I think he is posed for longevity

5.Bradley Cooper-His Inside the Actor's Studio pedigree and his friendly intensity off-screen does wonders in making him a likeable box office draw (IMO). He was in 3 BP nominees in the past few years and had tentpole/comic potential in the Hangover series. It helps a lot that he didn't do his last BP nominee with Eastwood which shows he can succeed outside of the David O Russell factory. Pretty untarnished by Aloha and Burnt was a fun lightweight change of pace for him.

6. Michael Fassbender-X-Men and Prometheus are fine enough tent pole credentials and he's pretty much all over the map in high-end directors-David Cronenberg, Steve McQueen, Ridley Scott, Danny Boyle,etc. and with the exception of Prometheus, Shame, A Dangerous Method, 12 Years a Slave and Steve Jobs have all been critical darlings. As evidence of his pedigree, consider how Jobs was not treated as a must-watch film with Ashton Kutcher in the lead

7. Brad Pitt-Clooney and Pitt are arguably more poster boys of the ideal Hollywood actor in the 2000's than the best and most productive actors and I think there’s a division. If not, Elvis Prestley and Frank Sinatra would have been the best actors of the 50’s. The thing is unlike Clooney, Pitt still has the potential to do his best acting in future films. He really broke out as a top tier actor in 2011 by turning in two of the best performances of anyone that year in Oscar BP nominees (Tree of Life & Proof of Life). With appearances in two other BP nominees in the last three years, he’s still relevant.

8. Joaquin Phoenix-He doesn’t get that “best actor of his generation” buzz that DiCaprio or Bale get, but can I make the argument that he should? Pretty much every film he touches puts it in the Oscar race every year-Her got nominated and Master and Inherent Vice were pretty darn close. This year, he did a Woody Allen which rarely generates buzz outside of the Woody Allen fanbase and generally lives or dies on the strength of its writing (I don’t think Charlize Theron killed Curse of Jaded Scorpion’s chances).

9. Denzel Washington-The #Oscarssowhite movement could benefit him in the future as people will have to put their money where their mouth is and treat his next films like gold. Since the early 90’s, he’s been one of Hollywood’s most dependable brands and in that sense he’s pretty much timeless. Filming a Magnificent Seven remake now that I have no doubt his name on the marquis will help.

10. Will Smith-From about 1996 to say 2009, Smith was pretty much the most dependable box office draw Hollywood had (Men in Black III was riding on past glory), and while he’s out of it, there’s little

evidence he couldn’t return and Concussion gave him a decent shot at a third Oscar nom which isn’t shabby.

11.Johnny Depp-I would have ranked him in the top 5 about five or six years ago. He is still loved as the epitome of a talented actor making daring choices. Even though Alice in Wonderland and Lone Ranger are highly commercial, he miraculously holds onto a reputation as an artist’s artist. Fewer of them have panned out in the past year but his brand is strong with Jack Sparrow and Alice in Wonderland (both of which sequels have already been planned out).

12. George Clooney-He hasn’t had a noteworthy performance since 2011 and I imagine that’s starting to count for something. The Monuments Men and Tomorrowland were both highly forgettable and his role in Gravity wasn’t as essential as advertised. The fact that Hail Cesar is coming out in February indicates that this is more Ladykillers than No Country for Old Men. Then again, he’s on the front pages of tabloids and is constantly name checked as Mr. Hollywood, so that capital still goes a long way, but to some degree it’s worth mentioning that he’s more the posterboy for Hollywood than the most successful actor working today.

13. Matthew McConaughey-Hollywood isn’t as now-obsessed as one would imagine. The McConassaince was more of a 2012-2013 thing, effectively ended by Insterstellar, but the world is still this guy’s oyster. He’s already had the likeable quality that still can drive a romcom but he’s added the bearings of a prestige actor to his resume and at times he’s been the top choice for a prestige part like Interstellar. Plus True Detective.

14. Ryan Gosling-Mr. Handsome has not been particularly steady but he’s liable to pop up in any given year and kill it whether 2007 (Lars and the Real Girl), 2011 (Drive, Crazy Stupid Love) or 2015 (The Big Short).

15. Hugh Jackman-Like Bradley Cooper and McConaughey, Jackman has cultivated a persona offscreen as likeable and there’s a school of thought that it helps his brand immensely. He’s extremely versatile

in genres – musicals, historical epics, comedies, superhero flicks- and his Oscar nomination three years ago gives him that prestige.

16. Ralph Fiennes-Primarily known as the classy British guy of refined heritage you plug into period pieces -- The White Countess, Quiz Show, End of the Affair, Avenger -- he's shown a lot of range as a villain with Red Dragon and the Harry Potter films and last year, broke out as a comic star. He can definitely bend quite a bit if Hollywood. He's actually been in 6 best picture nominees-Quiz Show, Schindler's List, English Patient, Reader, Hurt Locker, and GBH, so he knows how to pick them too.

17. Tom Hardy- There's a bunch of young guys who have broken out recently -- Joseph GL, Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Henry Cavill -- but Hardy's had somewhat of a cult following since Bronson and Layer Cake and many of his film choices are credible indie darlings (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was he first English language film of Tomas Alfredson, Warrior was also a pretty low budget thing) and he can step over to a big tentpole film like Mad Max and Inception. Was in 2 BP nominees this year.

18. Michael Keaton-Like McConaughey a couple years ago, Keaton is at a place where he's pretty hot and can pretty much do anything. He followed up Birdman with a film that has a good chance at winning the Best Picture Oscar again. Personally, I've never seen him as a great actor, but it's not about me but an objective ranking.

19. Sean Penn-Like Bale, he gets the "best of his generation" tag a bit, and he is that good. He was definitely top 5 material in the 2000's, but he hasn't been particularly active lately. I also feel a possibility that he might be heading the path of Mel Gibson and becoming so unlikeable as a public persona that it might affect his box office (the El Chapo interview didn't look good for him)

20. Robert Downey Jr.-He has the tentpole credentials of Iron Man (the centerpiece of the megasuccessful Avengers) and Sherlock Holmes and brings his own brand of cool to the former and a refusal to see the part as lowly genre fare to the latter (for which he got a Golden Globe). He is an exceptional actor and can make a smart character emotionally affecting BUT he did some damage to his reputation with The Judge. It's not just that the film bombed but it showed Downey Jr going back to the same character tics of his more acclaimed roles and suggested he might not have that many tricks left in the bag.

21. Ben Affleck-He has a highly complicated relationship with the public and has undergone two of the most bizarre cases of celebrity worship gone wrong (with Gigli and his casting as Batman) but he is a Hollywood pro who is extremely intelligent about his career and his future, and deep Hollywood knows it (case in point: the public outpouring of love for his Argo win was a de facto "we're sorry we were so *beep* to you ten years ago" apology). Although he has a BAFTA nom (for Argo), he's not Sean Penn-level good but he's a capable leading man, and has enough clout as a producer/director/man about town to find films that cater to his strengths as an actor (Hollywoodland and Gone Girl were perfect matches of it).

22. Will Ferrell-The most reliable comic actor in Hollywood. He wasn't in Adam McKay's last film but he's a frequent collaborator so if McKay's getting a boost so should he. Neither Get Hard not Daddy's Home was a stroke of genius but he's creative enough in defining characters that there's little reason to count his ability to bring an iconic Ron Burgundy-like character in his next outing.

23. Tom Hanks-Like Denzel Washington, he's simply timeless. He will definitely get anyone the attention of someone who's maybe 35 or older with every project he does. He's not Mr. Now, but strangely enough he's been in 4 best picture nominee in the last six years: Toy Story 3, EL & IC, Captain Phillips, Bridge of Spies.

Loses points because Da Vinci Code never really caught on and Hanks really could have had the power to make that film an event picture if he played the part like Indiana Jones.

24. Mark Ruffalo-He's on his third Oscar nomination since 2010 and has been in such critically acclaimed works as Kids are Allright, Foxcatcher, Spotlight, while doing indie fare such as Infinitely Polar Bear and Begin Again, AND playing a big role in the Marvel Universe. He even improved on past performances of The Hulk.

25. Channing Tatum- Built like an action herobut plays that tortured youth persona that I equate with James Dean or Montgomery Clift. He has talent and if he doesn’t have the requisite talent,

it’s clear he chooses his parts with great ambition.

26. Steve Carell-He's a guy who can play comedy and lead a film and is getting some dramatic acclaim. Ironic as it is, but I think Date Night was the best example I've seen of him carrying a movie as the straight guy like Paul Rudd or Jason Bateman does and that is a big skill.

27. Chris Pratt-The man of the moment for headlining the two biggest hits of the past two summers. I love this guy but there I have to question how much range he has outside of bringing a different

sort of energy to an action film.

28. Seth Rogen-One of the most bankable funnymen and his ability to co-direct lets him control his own image more. His serious role in Steve Jobs wasn’t full fledged Jerry Lewis playing a sad clown in terms of comic going full dramatic, but it showed that like Louis CK and Zach Galifiranakis, he can be dropped into a prestige drama without inducing a humongous laughing fit from the audience

29. Liam Neeson-Whether Neeson is one of the most successful actors today depends on whether you think there's merit in taking on three to four movies a year indiscriminately. Personally, I think being a workaholic is benefitting him as it's getting his name out there more and odds are sooner or later, he's going to walk into a great film or a great role. Besides, no one is alleging he's making these movies worse through his presence. He has always been an extremely gifted actor. As he's stated in interviews, the reasons that he's taking on more roles are because it helps him stay busy in the wake of his wife's death so who is going to fault him for that.

30. Daniel Craig-If outacting every James Bond that came before him wasn't enough, he's already had roles that showed off great acting chops (Infamous, Munich, even Road to Perdition) and is positioned to take on more high-caliber roles with Bond behind him.