Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Gambon. Wood. Maguire. Hoffman. Penn.

The Top 50 in our long suspenseful Top 100 Actors of the Aughts (So Far) Journey has begun... Read it and come back to discuss the choices in the comments if you're so moved.


Also be sure and vote in the poll regarding the previous batch (it's the last week to vote) Carrey is still trailing Giamatti with Nicholson, Norton, and Bana rounding out the powerhouse quintet. Cheadle, Del Toro, Jackman, and Kingsley are struggling in their dust. Some other acclaimed guys are barely registering. Let your voice be heard.

tags: Sean Penn, Tobey Maguire, movies, celebrities, Elijah Wood

11 comments:

tim r said...

I'm gutted that there's been so little love for Billy Bob Thornton in this race. Perf for perf, he can do virtually no wrong at the moment (OK, Levity and Intolerable Cruelty aside). But even when the films aren't great, which is quite a lot of the time (The Alamo and Bandits, say) he leaves every other performer trailing in the surrounding mediocrity while suggesting, in often startlingly imaginative ways, what might have been. He's far and away the best thing in Monster's Ball. He's just about perfect in The Man Who Wasn't There. I don't even like Bad Santa and yet I can't not admit that his comic acting is beautiful in it. (Bad News Bears, too, a film I really do like). And his Friday Night Lights turn is so strong and subtle and well-tailored to the movie.

Simply because none of these films achieved enough traction/popularity overall doesn't mean we should ignore how good he is in every one of them. For my money he's the best and most reliable leading man out there right now. What gives?

NATHANIEL R said...

i don't know. i'm surprised as you at the results and, as I indicated previously, had I seen more of his work he would certainly be higher on my personal chart.

Javier Aldabalde said...

I love the way you describe Elijah Wood. My favorite new selection no doubt.

Anonymous said...

excuse me for stating the obvious, but Penn is too low, even if your not fond of him...

NATHANIEL R said...

well I suspect Penn will rank much higher on the readers chart once voting for his section comes around...

Anonymous said...

Well, I will definitely not vote for him, because Hofmann, Wood and Maguire are already more interesting to me, than he is. ;)

Anonymous said...

Interesting. Sean Penn. 48. Ok. I'm taking a deep breathe.
...
I guess Orlando Bloom is ranked higher ?
I'm still taking a deep breathe.. Ok, now I feel better.
I remember what I was told as a child : "Everyone is allowed to have a different opinion". Now I'm going to repeat it 10 times and I'll feel even better.
...
Ok. We're talking movies, actors, performances.. It's not crucial, no big deal. I mean, you can praise Dan Brown and bash Tolstoi. No problem. That's fine by me. Why not ? I can survive. I really can. Let me just try.

Anonymous said...

It doesn't bother me that Sean Penn is so low. He's one of those guys that I know is highly respected and generally considered to be among the very best around, but I can't honestly say I love him. My loss maybe. And he doesn't make a whole lot of movies that I'm in love with.

Glenn Dunks said...

Yeah, we're judging based on movies from 2000-2005, right? Well then Sean Penn totally deserves to be where he is. Two great performances doesn't make him top 10 worthy. I speak of 21 Grams (my fave of his perfs this millenium) and Mystic River.

I must reiterate what Stevfin said and suggest you see Open Range. It's got Gambon being great. Robert Duvall being great. Annette Bening being all pleasant and beautiful. And Kevin Costner does a good job of acting and directing the thing. Plus, Diego Luna who I adore.

Your discussion on Elijah is so spot on.

I am still scared about Orlando Bloom. He is frighteningly high.

Gilidor said...

Your Elijah Wood blurb made want to watch THE LORD OF THE RINGS again. All of it. Thanks a LOT, Nate, there goes 10 hours...

Nick M. said...

Tobey!

Your implicitly harsh words against Wonder Boys and Maguire's performance as James Leer really hurts me.

Perhaps I am a bit biased (based on our occasional similarities), but it is one of my favorite characters/performances of the new century.