15) Paul Walker
Paul is simply a runner up. For the exception of four or five movies, Paul has played an undercover cop who really loves his family/girlfriend in everything I have seen him in. In Pleasantville he didn't do much, and although I loved his performance in The Skulls, he hasn't shown me much yet. I am a big time Fast & Furious fan and Into The Blue is definitely one of my favorite thrillers (and not just because he is shirtless 70% of the movie!), but I long to see something new from him. Until then, unfortunately he is the last.
14) Benedict Cumberbatch
Oh, I know what you're thinking! 'She watches Sherlock!', and yes, I do. But I have been following his work for a far longer period than the people who think discovered him! Cumberbatch played Prime Minister William Pitt in my favorite movie Amazing Grace (2006), afterwards he appeared in the critically acclaimed Atonement (2007), and he was also the husband of Scarlett Johansson in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008). He had mini series and a couple of other great movies in between that are worth mentioning. The only reason why I am not jealous now that he is well known on almost every continent, is that he gets far more work done, and I was getting a bit bored with all these British things... Can't wait for the new Hobbit :)
13) Matthew MacFadyen
Many people prefer Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, which is wonderful for me, cause I get to keep Matthew all to myself :D This man's voice is that of the God's! He makes me melt in my seat. The beginning of The Three Musketeers (2011) starts with his narration and that's really the thing that gets you hooked! (click here to read my review!). I have been after his work for quite some time now, he finally got a new series since Spooks (2002). As far as great British actors go, trust me, he is up in the top 10!
12) Zac Efron
I am eternally proud of Zac for not being a one hit actor! He did High School Musical and went on to do great things. He is so low on the list simply because he is way too young in comparison to the other people I listed. Other than that I loved Charlie St. Cloud (2010), I am currently listening to Hairspray (2007), I was touched by Me and Orson Welles (2008), I laughed my ass off on 17 Again (2009) and I cried during The Lucky One (2012). I am anxiously looking forward to anything he is working on :)
11) Stephen Fry
It is easy to be a comedian. It is also easy to be a dramatic actor. To be both, is something that takes talent. This man has got it all. If you look back to an old episode of A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1987), you are surely going to die of laughter. However, take a movie like Wilde (1997) and you'll end up in tears. It was with this movie that Fry showed me how wonderfully he can go from one extreem to the other, without being over the top. He is one of a kind. Loved him Black-Adder II (1986), V For Vendetta (2005) and Bones (2007-09)!
10) Alfred Molina
This men gets it right everytime. The first thing that got me was his voice. There is a confidence in it that many actors lack. Among my favorite roles by him there is of course that of Levin in Anna Karenina (1997), Dr. Ock in Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Comte De Reynaud in Chocolate (2000), one of my favorite movies. He is one of those actors who completely makes the role his and makes you believe every word he says. Truly fantastic.
9) Tom Selleck
It is mean of me to use this picture, because Tom Selleck is just as sexy today as he was when Magnum PI (1980) was shot, but that is when I fell in love with him. :) More precisely, my mom did. Magnum was a big favorite, and the movie that locked Tom into my heart was Three Men And A Little Lady (1990). I could re-watch that movie every single day, I love it so much! And the mustache, don't get me started... (roar...) After knowing him as a playboy, a father, I also got to meet his funny side in Friends (1996). I always follow his interviews and he is one of the sweetest man on the planet! If I didn't already have an awesome dad, I would really want to adopt him :D (My mom would surely be happy!)
8) Ted Danson
Yeah, OK, this wasn't hard to guess after I revealed that I love Three Men And A Little Lady! However, I didn't grow up watching Cheers (1982), I only know the re-runs. What I did grow up with was a little movie called Made In America (1993), that is really close to my heart. Not to mention that Ted Danson is the only reason (OK, now Elizabeth Shue as well) that I started watching CSI (2012). He is great and charismatic and there is something extremely sweet in his eyes. (And I am all for the gray hair!)
7) Denis Leary
I first saw this actor in one of the funniest movies I know, Two If By Sea (1996), where he played the love interest of Sandra Bullock. The second thing I loved him in was Operation Dumbo Drop (1995), which he claims was Willem Dafoe and not him. I then got to know him from interviews, and he might not be a role model, but he is one of the funniest people on this planet! When Rescue Me (2004) became a hit, I got hooked too. That's a really great show and still up to today Leary organizes found raisers for firefighters, which I think is very noble of him. In The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) I think he played a role that was a bit out of his comfort zone, but still, he delivered brilliantly (click here to read my review!). Please, watch his two interviews on Funny Or Die (click here!), and you'll immediately understand why I love him.
6) Harrison Ford
I have a fear of snakes and I have never seen Indiana Jones, any of them! I also only watched the original Star Wars trilogy after Episode II came out. My love for Harrison comes from two movies from the 90's. The first was a remake, this is Sabrina (1995). His charming ways made me fall in love in a split second. The other movie is a big favorite of mine, Six Days Seven Nights (1998). I then watched many of his previous movies, among them of course the more iconic roles. Up to today, he cannot do wrong by me. With Morning Glory (2010) he showed me that he can even do comedy, and I got a bit tired of his action movies... I hope he'll participate in the new Star Wars movies :)
5) Tom Hanks
This man is a genius. I think my fascination goes back to You've Got Mail (1998), a movie I still watch every year. Afterwards I never refused to watch a movie he was in, and I made it my mission to watch back his old successes. Forrest Gump (1994) has a special place in my heart now, Apollo-13 (1995) is a classic, and my favorite That Thing You Do! (1996). However, it wasn't until Catch Me If You Can (2002) that I really started to appreciate the art of acting and that's when I really got hooked on Hanks' works. But I also fell in love with him as a person. He constantly appears in talk shows and proves to be one of the funniest guys on the planet, not to mention that his producer work has given us some great movies, among them Mamma Mia! (2008). Keep up the good work!
4) Rob Lowe
I'm been thinking very hard about where I first saw him. And I think my fandom goes back to the first time I saw The West Wing (1999). I watched every season and I prefer the ones that he starred in. But now, I remember! He was in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and the villain in the awesome Wayne's World (1992). He is currently starring in the series Parks & Recreation (2009) portraying one of the funniest characters ever written on paper. This guys' smile is something that makes it worth while waking up in the morning! I look forward to any of his new projects! (I also bought his biography, it's really great!)
3) Ben McKenzie
♪'California, here we come!' - So, you can guess where I fell in love with Benji here. The day The O.C. (2003) got cancelled was probably one of the worst dies in my life. (click here to read my review!). However, the same thing applies to him as it does to Zac Efron - he didn't stop there. He starred next to Amy Adams in Junebug (2005), he was in a thriller-crime with Al Pacino, 88 Minutes (2007). He has also been the voice of Batman! He currently stars in a great drama by the name of Southland (2009), where he plays Officer Ben Sherman. He is one of those actors who clearly learned more about acting in a theater, but he also has the luck of being able to build a relationship with the camera. I so far loved him in everything he did, I even went as far as watching that one episode of J.A.G. where he had a 10 second scene! Not to mention, he voiced someone in the new version of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, and guess what, I saw even that! I love everything he does, and unfortunately Southland only airs 10 episodes/year - NOT ENOUGH BENJI FOR ME!
2) Ioan Gruffudd
The first time I saw the promo pictures for Fantastic Four (2005) I stumbled and asked myself, where did this cutie come from? I know him... And then it dawned on me that he was in the horrible 102 Dalmations (2000) movie. Anyway, I always loved the comic character that he portrayed and his movie only reassured me in wanting to know as much as I can about him. The following year he stared in the above mentioned Amazing Grace (2006) with Cumberbatch - playing slavery abolitionist William Wilberforce. I then managed to get my hands on his previous works, among them Wilde (1997) with Stephen Fry, and King Arthur (2004) with Clive Owen. One of my favorite movies with him however must be The Secret Of Moonacre (2008). Last year he was the male lead in the series Ringer (2011) with Sarah Michelle Gellar, but unfortunately the show got cancelled. Because of the failure of the Fantastic 4: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (2007), he disappeared a bit and I am very sorry to say that he barely gets any lead roles... I hope something will come soon because I miss him :)
1) Eric Bana
Oh my... this guy... he steals every single scene. Comedy, thriller, drama, fantasy: he is the best. I fell in love with him in the Hulk (2003), which admittedly wasn't a great movie... (click here to read my review!) However, I could re-watch any and all of his scenes a thousand times! I then got my hands on Troy (2004) just because of him, and when Brad Pitt killed him... well, I've hated him ever since! While waiting for Lucky You (2007), which is undoubtedly the worst movie ever made (it is boring, long, makes no sense and worst usage of a celebrity cast in history! But Eric was wonderful again, the only reason why it is worth watching!), I watched Munich (2005). That movie was creepy as shit, but I liked it very much. You also need to know that I love Henry VIII, so the cherry on top of the cake was when he portrayed him in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) - one of my favorite movies. If it's on his imdb list, I have probably seen it and I am dying to see what he will star in next, protagonist, antagonist, side character or hero - doesn't matter, I'll be there in the theater!
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Names worth mentioning:
There are a couple of people who I love and always make sure to check on imdb, to see if they have anything new. However, either because I haven't seen all of their works, or simply because I can't get a hold of many of them, I decided to leave them off the list. But they are all great actors nonetheless!
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