My Top 10 Favorite Actors
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So far, I think this was the hardest of all my top 10 lists. By hardest, I mean being able to narrow this list down to only 10 names. It could have easily been a Top 25 List. I compiled the list by selecting actors who have I enjoyed for a while, and who have several movies I've liked, with not many I haven't liked.
So, here's the list:
 10. Morgan Freeman
The Great: Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, Million Dollar Baby
The Good: Unforgiven, Outbreak, Kiss the Girls, Bruce Almighty
The Bad: I didn't mind them, but Edison and Along Came a Spider were pretty weak.
Morgan Freeman is the kind of actor it's so hard not to like. He usually plays such likeable characters, and his voice acting alone, in films like "March of the Penguins", is enough to make you love the guy. I wish he had more lead roles, as he's often more of a supporting actor. I'd really like to see him play a tortured soul type of character. I think he'd be great in a role like that.
 9. Christian Bale
The Great: Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Machinist
The Good: Harsh Times, Reign of Fire
The Bad: None that I have seen yet.
Christian Bale is quickly climbing my list of favorite actors. His past three films (Prestige, Batman Begins and Machinist) have just blown me away.
 8. Denzel Washington
The Great: Training Day, He Got Game, Inside Man, John Q
The Good: Philadelphia, Fallen, Remember the Titans, Man on Fire
The Bad: The Manchurian Candidate
Denzel Washington is great at picking top-notch roles. He is rarely in a bad movie, and I can almost guarantee I will enjoy any film he is in, which is quite an accomplishment for any actor.
 7. Al Pacino
The Great: Godfather's I, II and III, Dog Day Afternoon, Scarface, Heat
The Good: Any Given Sunday, Carlito's Way, The Recruit, Two for the Money, Insomnia
The Bad: His appearance in Gigli has to be considered quite the blemish on his resume.
Al Pacino is such an incredible actor, probably the best of his generation. Rarely does an actor of his ability come along, and not many other people can claim the type of superb films that he has starred in.
 6. Nicolas Cage
The Great: Leaving Las Vegas, Con Air, Face/Off, Weather Man, The Rock
The Good: City of Angels, 8MM, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Lord of War
The Bad: Ghost Rider, Captain Corelli's Mandolin (not a bad movie, but pretty boring).
Nicolas Cage doesn't necessarily get the critical acclaim, although he has won a Best Actor award. He does, however, continually pump out entertaining film after entertaining film. He's long been one of my all-time faves.
 5. Brad Pitt
The Great: Se7en, Fight Club, Troy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
The Good: Kalifornia, Twelve Monkeys, Sleepers, A River Runs Throught It, Ocean's 11
The Bad: Seven Years In Tibet (I found it incredibly boring)
Brad Pitt is another actor with a huge list of incredible movies, and although he does make some odd selections sometimes (Seven Years in Tibet, Meet Joe Black, Legends of the Fall), he is an actor who has such incredible range, with success in nearly every type of role possible.
 4. Mark Wahlberg
The Great: The Departed, Boogie Nights, I Heart Huckabees, Three Kings
The Good: Planet of the Apes, Rock Star, Invincible, Four Brothers, The Italian Job
The Bad: The Big Hit, The Truth About Charlie
Mark Wahlberg may be a strange choice for fourth overall on my list, considering the type of actors out there, but I have always been a huge fan of Wahlberg's. He has been in several movies I have really, really liked, and even the ones that weren't that great (The Big Hit), I still enjoyed. I'm really looking forward to seeing "Shooter".
 3. Samuel L. Jackson
The Great: Pulp Fiction, 187, Jackie Brown, The Negotiator, Unbreakable
The Good: A Time To Kill, Rules of Engagement, S.W.A.T., Coach Carter
The Bad: XXX, XXX: State of the Union, The Man
Sam Jackson has been in so many of my favorite movies, he was an easy pick for this list. Although he does make some pretty stupid choices (Both XXX's... come on Sam!), he is one of the coolest actors around, and I will always watch a movie if he's in it.
 2. Edward Norton
The Great: Fight Club, American History X, 25th Hour, Down In The Valley
The Good: Primal Fear, The Score, Rounders, Italian Job
The Bad: Death To Smoochy, Red Dragon. His performances were not bad at all, but the movies themselves were pretty bad.
Edward Norton is an incredibly talented actor. I'd go as far as to say he is the best actor under 40 years old in the world. Not only can he act, but his movies are entertaining as well. Often, the great actors will stick to boring films, but thankfully Norton doesn't do this. I am greatly looking forward to watching The Illusionist and The Painted Veil, both of which I have not yet seen.
 1. Kevin Spacey
The Great: Usual Suspects, Se7en, L.A. Confidential, The Negotiator, American Beauty
The Good: Outbreak, Glengarry Glenross, Pay It Forward, K-Pax, Life of David Gale
The Bad: Like Morgan Freeman, Spacey also appeared in the straight-to-DVD, "Edison".
It was a tough choice, but I am listing Kevin Spacey as my favorite actor. He has played some incredible characters and has been in two to three movies that I'd rank among my top 10. It's his work in American Beauty and the Usual Suspects that just blew me away. Spacey has been doing a lot more stage acting lately, and I hope he returns to film again soon.
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