Top Ten Actors Working Today

10. Jude Law

Standout Roles: The Talented Mr. Ripley, eXistenZ, My Blueberry Nights, Breaking And Entering, Sleuth, The Aviator, Closer, Alfie, The Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow, Cold Mountain, Road To Perdition, Enemy At The Gates, Artificial Intelligence: A.I., Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, and Gattaca

Why He Rules: Somehow he just seems unsuspecting yet he always delivers in every role he’s been in.  Get prepared for the upcoming Sherlock Holmes staring himself and Robert Downey Jr.  His charisma is overwhelming and even if you don’t want to like him, his charm wins you over.  He has the ability to play any role.  I was tempted to put Mark Wahlberg in this ten spot, but Law’s overall work and continuing ability to make entertaining and compelling movies wins over Wahlberg and his latest ventures Max Payne and The Happening.

Standout Roles: Training Day, Glory, Deja Vu, Man On Fire, Out Of Time, American Gangster, Remember The Titans, The Hurricane, Fallen, The Bone Collector, Courage Under Fire, Devil In A Blue Dress, Virtuosity, Philadelphia, Crimson Tide, The Pelican Brief, and Malcolm X

Why He Rules: He just keeps on making great movies decades after decades.  He’s one of those rare actors that makes a role interesting simply because he’s in it.  He commands our attention each time he is onscreen and weobediently give it.  In return we get movie moments that last forever.

Standout Roles: The Talented Mr. Ripley, Goodwill Hunting, Saving Private Ryan, Courage Under Fire, The Bourne Series, The Departed, The Oceans Series, Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, Titan A.E., Rounders, Dogma, and The Rainmaker

Why He Rules: He’s Jason Bourne that’s why!  It’s not unlike he hasn’t played a series of roles that have challenged him from villain to hero, to comedic.  In each he has been successful which is a feat only a handful of actors can really claim bragging rights to.  It seems everything he does turns to gold either at the box office or by critic acclaim.  He’s made smart choices in his career and continues to wow his fans by making movies that we love.  Damon is going to be around for a long time.

Standout Roles: Primal Fear, Fight Club, Rounders, American History X, The Italian Job, The Illusionist, The Incredible Hulk, Kingdom Of Heaven, 25th Hour, The People vs. Larry Flint, and The Score

Why He Rules: He plays diabolical just as good as sweet and innocent.  His career has been full of a plethora of different kinds of roles but only one thing remains the same and that is the fact that Norton plays each of his roles well.  His talent is profound and unique.  Each time he takes on a role he embraces it and what comes across is an entirely authentic performance that the audience salivates to watch.  He is one of the most rare and talented actors of this decade.

Standout Roles: Pirates Of The Caribbean, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, Donnie Brasco, Edward Scissorhands, Public Enemies, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, From Hell, Blow, Secret Window, Chocolat, Don Juan DeMarco, Cry Baby, Benny And Joon, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, and Ed Wood

Why He Rules: Depp is one of the few real remaining character actors out there doing work today.  His affair with Tim Burton and all of his magical characters, not to mention his most notorious role as Captain Jack SparrowDepp has gone deeper than most actors would have been able to take them. He’s played roles that may have been a bit outside the box for some, but for him suited his ingenuity and the magic he brings to every role he’s ever played.  One year he’s the demon barber of fleet street and the next he’s John Dillinger, who can’t respect that versatility?

Standout Roles: Iron Man, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Soap Dish, Heart And Souls, Gothika, Less Than Zero, Air America, Chaplin, Natural Born Killers, Home For The Holidays, Wonder Boys, In Dreams, Bowfinger, Only You, Zodiac, A Scanner Darkly, and Tropic Thunder

Why He Rules: After everything Robert Downey Jr. has been through, I expected a more somber face, or even someone who’d looked tired, but Downey still had a vibrancy about him that came across as youthful, with perseverance, and moreover still incredibly vigorous.  A former drug addict, and prolific actor somehow in the middle of his abusive state he managed to play some of the most memorable roles in film and television history.  On the show only years after overcoming his addiction problems Downey seemed ready to conquer anything put before him.  His sense of humor still in tact, he was funny, and had no problem making jokes about some of his past demons.  It somehow may have gotten lost or forgotten in the mix how many great movies Downey has really been a part of, and even if his role was a supporting he managed to offer so much more than maybe if the leads could.  In the past year he starred as Tony Stark in Iron Man and made one of the most successful and best movies of 2008.  Coupled with that he was nominated for a best supporting actor in a motion picture for the comedy Tropic Thunder.  The Oscar went to Heath Ledger, but the acknowledgement of his years accomplishments were widely received by everyone at the Kodak theater.  His unwavering fear to tackle any kind of role, and his unique ability to execute it and make it his own is one of his best qualities as an actor.  His humbling persona on the Actors Studio showed he’d learned from his mistakes and seemed confident in not repeating them again.  It was great to see one of Hollywood’s most talented actors evaluate his own work, but also appreciate what he’d given to his audiences.  I predict to see even more and greater things from Robert Downey Jr.  Or so we can all hope.

Standout Roles: Seven Pounds, Independence Day, Men In Black I and II, I Am Legend, The Pursuit Of Happyness, Hancock, Hitch, I: Robot, Bad Boys I and II, Ali, Enemy Of The State, and Six Degrees Of Separation

Why He Rules: He is still deemed the king of Fourth Of July opening weekend.  He may have had a few flops in his time, but ultimately has had one of the most successful careers of any actor ever.  Maybe he doesn’t have a giant roll of films he’s done but let’s not forget he’s a Grammy winning artist for his music career and spent half a decade on the wildly successful show “The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air”.  He may be most well known for blowing the fourth of July box office up, but he’s also been nominated for an Academy Award and done some very impressive dramatic roles.  He is unquestionably one of the best cinema has to offer and one of the few actors I will go see a movie for just based on his presence in it.

Standout Roles: Seven, American Beauty, The Usual Suspects, The Big Kahuna, Superman Returns, The Life Of David Gale, A Bugs Life, Pay It Forward, Midnight In The Garden Of Good and Evil, L.A. Confidential, The Ref, Outbreak, The Negotiator, andGlengarry Glen Ross

Why He Rules: He is completely diverse.  He can play any kind of role and will play in any kind of movie whether it’s destined for Oscar or Big Box Office.  His integrity and talent shines through in each role he plays.  He’s played a diabolical serial killer in Seven, An Insect, and abonafide comic book villain.  Everything Kevin Spacey is in becomes better just by his mere presence.  The role of John Doe he played and especially LesterBurnham from American Beauty are examples of his amazing talent.  He doesn’t just make a scene interesting, he  makes it worthwhile.  Unquestionably one of the most talented actors available today.

Standout Roles: Interview With A Vampire, Thelma And Louise, Legends Of The Fall, Fight Club, Snatch, Troy, The Oceans Series, Kalifornia, Sleepers, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Twelve Monkeys, and Babel

Why He Rules: What movie does Brad Pitt make that isn’t good?  It essentially doesn’t happen.  Each role he’s in he brings a little of himself to each role, while still fully embracing the character he’s depicting.  From his early career there was no question that he was going to be one of the biggest stars film had to offer.  Eventhough his career choices have become a bit more along the lines of mainstream he still takes on roles that really show his brilliant talent like Burn After Reading and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button.  Brad Pitt is not only a huge star but a huge talent.

Standout Roles: What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Basketball Diaries, The Beach, Marvins Room, The Aviator, Titanic, Gangs Of New York, Catch Me If You Can, Body Of Lies, Revolutionary Road, Blood Diamond, and The Departed

Reason He Rules: DiCaprio had the unfortunate backlash of becoming a “teen idol” after Romeo and Juliet, and then the overwhelming popularity of Titanic.  After already proving himself with What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Basketball Diaries, and Total Eclipse as a dynamic and talented actor he defied the odds and continued to make important films with staggering roles.  He is one of the few actors of his generation that continue to push the envelope in every role he plays.  He is one of the few actors making film today that I will watch in any movie simply because he is on the billing.  While he has occasionally been acknowledged by the Academy, he’s still yet to be acknowledged with a golden man.  He still also battles the teen idol conception, but seems to slowly be escaping that has plagued him for years.  Even with the lack of acknowledgment, he’s too good to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Honorable Mentions: Mark Wahllberg, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Joaquin Phoenix, Russell Crowe, Sigourney Weaver, Morgan Freeman, Hugh Jackman, Gary Oldman, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, Samuel L. Jackson, Ewan McGregor, Anthony Hopkins, and Jack Nicholson