ScreenwriterGuy’s Top 10 Most Trusted Actors
April 8th, 2007 by screenwriterguy
You know how we frequently go see a movie not because of its genre, or who made it or what it’s about, but because of who’s in it? I’ve been thinking about which performers have earned my trust, such that their involvement alone is enough for me to believe I will see a great movie.
Now, today’s Top 10 list does not necessarily include my favorite actors, or the people I think deliver the best performances. Michael Caine is fantastic, but you never know when he might make a Bewitched or a Miss Congeniality. As much as I’ll expect to like his performance in anything he does, I can’t trust John Malkovich to pass on scripts like Eragon or Art School Confidential. Steve Martin is one of my favorite entertainers, but he has also made some real duds.
And there are, of course, eye candy performers whose movies I will catch no matter what. I admit to you here and now to watching both Underworld and its atrocious sequel for a chance to see Kate Beckinsale in vinyl. But that hardly makes her a performer whose taste in movies I trust.
Qualifiers have few sell-outs picture in their career, and overall have good taste in what projects they should take on. I haven’t seen every movie ever, so I’m sure I’ll mess up on somebody, but here’s my list:
| #10 |  |
Johnny Depp–This guy was my favorite actor since long before it was cool to have Johnny Depp as your favorite actor. We’re talking Jump Street early He brings so much to every project he touches that they may or may not be great before he comes on board. Maybe it is a self-fulfilling prophesy that movies he choses will be good. Would you have trusted a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake if he hadn’t been in it? And his career has pretty much been great project after great project, all the way back to the first Nightmare on Elm Street. So why not further up on this list? Well, there’s the fact that he seems to want to play a pirate for the rest of his life, for one thing. And then he has stinkers like Sleepy Hollow, From Hell, and The Corpse Bride to answer for. But I have to be forgiving, chalking those films up to his willingness to risk-take, realizing that that same risk-taking brought us Blow, Chocolat, and Benny & Joon. Can’t wait to see his Sweeny Todd. |
| #9 |  |
Tom Cruise–OK, OK, I know I’m going to take heat for putting this guy on the list. And I admit that Mr. Couch-jumper’s antics have kept me from seeing Mission Impossible 3 so far. And I’ll also grant you that later this month, when I put out a list of “Worst-Ever Movie Endings,” he’ll be in two of them, with War of the Worlds and Far and Away. But THIS list is based on the quality of the projects in which an actor chooses to involve himself, and, especially in his recent career, Cruise has some magnificent titles to his credit: The Last Samurai, Magnolia, Collateral, A Few Good Men, and Jerry Maguire. Those titles make me think that, however annoying his tabloid headlines, his movies are worth a look. |
| #8 |  |
Gwyneth Paltrow–Close your eyes for a moment, and pretend View from the Top never happened. There. Now you can appreciate a career that includes choices like The Anniversary Party, The Royal Tannenbaums, Sliding Doors, Sylvia, Proof, and Se7en. What’s that? Shallow Hall? Bounce? Shhhhh…. |
| #7 |  |
Maggie Gylenhaal–I haven’t seen World Trade Center to know if it disqualifies her, and I’m making allowances for the uneven and clunky Cecil B. Demented, early in her career. But her subtle-but-powerful performances in Secretary and Sherry Baby put her on my short list of best actresses alive. As well, I think it’s the smaller roles a performer takes that truly measures her worthiness for the trusted actors list; what is she willing to take on for some extra money when her part will only commit her for a week or two? Will she do just any movie? Gylenhaal has gone with films like Stranger Than Fiction and Mona Lisa Smile. Brilliant. I’m guessing that as her career progresses, she will only ascend this list. |
| #6 |  |
Tim Robbins–Bull Durham, Jacob’s Lader, Bob Roberts, Short Cuts, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Shawshank Redemption, Arlington Road. Wow. Sure, I wish he would stop doing silly side roles like the one in Tenacious D (his hilarious cameo in Anchorman being an exception,) but looking at his overall career, Tim Robins is a god. Stick with features in which he is the lead, and you’re golden. |
| #5 |  |
Cate Blanchett–There are a couple of movies on her resume that are nothing special, but not many, and Elizabeth washes those away for me. Overall, she makes films that don’t get remembered as the most amazing things you’ve ever seen, but they’re really, really good. Babel, The Shipping News, Charlotte Grey, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Pushing Tin are examples. Add to that the fact that you know that her individual performance is likely to be stellar, and she makes the list. |
| #4 |  |
Jimmy Stewart–I have to include the legend. Sure, it’s a little unfair to list an actor who has passed, since the real question is whether I would want to see his next project. However, I haven’t seen all of his past movies, and I would happily do so based on his name, so I think that qualifies. As part of the studio system, he probably didn’t always have as much choice in what projects he took as modern actors, but he continued to make great pictures after the studio system’s collapse, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Credit him with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It’s a Wonderful Life, Vertigo, Broken Arrow, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance, Rear Window, Harvey, and one of my favorites, The Philadelphia Story, to name a few. That’s a heck of a career. |
| #3 |  |
Katherine Hepburn–If we are to speak the integrity of legends past, it’s not fair to pass up the woman that Hollywood couldn’t make wear a dress. Not to mention that it was she, as owner of the rights to The Philadelphia Story, who chose Jimmy Stewart to play along with her. With twelve Oscar nominations and four wins, it’s safe to say she was choosing quality projects. |
| #2 |  |
Kate Winslet–You might not LIKE every movie she ever made, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a flick in her career that is fairly labeled as bad. Of course she was in a little movie called Titanic (which I promise is better than you remember it), but she was also part of daring pics like Quills, Heavenly Creatures, The Life of David Gale, and Finding Neverland. Those are probably enough, but Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind puts her over the top for me. |
| #1 |  |
Billy Crudup– Keeping one foot firmly on the stage, here you have a man who has actively passed up the movie star life in effort to seek out great little gems to make. And he really has made some gems. Of course, Almost Famous is where he came onto most people’s radars. If you want to see an amazing movie that will grab onto your heart with one hand, your gut with the other, then twist, do yourself a favor and watch Waking the Dead. Crudup is dating Claire Danes, and he passed on The Incredible Hulk. These facts alone prove the man has taste. |
| Near Misses: |
Kevin Spacey, but for K-Pax or Pay It Forward.
Jake Gyllenhaal would probably be higher on my list than his big sister is, but for The Day After Tomorrow. (I know, I’ve forgiven other actors with more than one questionable choice on their resume. But… The Day After Tomorrow!!!) Denzel Washington, but for one too many big action movies lately. Will Smith if his choices weren’t quite so poppy Sigourney Weaver, if she had stopped making Alien sequels sooner. Leonardo Dicaprio’s second half of his career doesn’t quite make up for the first half… YET. Think I’m being harsh? Critters 3 and Poison Ivy. George Clooney, minus his Oceans. |
Who did I miss?
Posted in Top 10 Lists, Movies |
Apr 8th 2007 at 8:00 pm
Great topic. I agree with many of the people you listed.
So not actors we like, but actors whose taste in screenplays is dependable.
I’m surprised not to see any mention of DeNiro or Pacino. Also, Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford have been involved in an awful lot of great movies.
Apr 9th 2007 at 9:40 pm
Three words: Robert. Downey. Jr. ‘Nuff said.
(And Ocean’s Eleven was a quality flick. Don’t dis eleven when you’re really just mad at twelve.)
Apr 9th 2007 at 11:09 pm
StudioPicturesSuck-
Robert Downey Jr. has also always been one of my absolute favorites. But putting his name on a list of people who make good choices? Not sure about that… (On an unrelated note, I’m excited to see him and Gwyneth in Iron Man) I agree that Ocean’s Eleven was good. But I’m mad at twelve AND thirteen.
FutureMovieMogul-
Harrison Ford has done some great scripts, but look closer and you’ll find some Sabrina remakes. I’m with you on De Niro, though I don’t need to see any more pairings with Billy Crystal or Ben Stiller, personally. While Pacino is a great, he’s got a bit of sell-out factor going, and doesn’t get to come near my list. Plus, he’s in Ocean’s Thirteen… Brad Pitt? Ocean’s. Anyone in an Ocean’s movie is disqualified.
Mar 18th 2008 at 3:22 pm
Like you list. Like it a lot. I will pretty much go see anything that has got Billy Crudup in it (hush, don’t mention Trust the Man (which I liked hush hush)) and I agree with your comments on most of the other listed actors.
Are the numbers in random order or do you find Johhny Depp to be no. 10 and so forth?
Mar 19th 2008 at 1:13 pm
Nope, not random. I actually mean that I trust Tom Cruise to star in a great movie more than I trust Johnny Depp. Depp’s willingness to make Pirates movies forever is offputting.
Naturally, putting a list like this into an actual order invites plenty of quibbling, but I took a stab.