Age: 27

Nationality: British (England)

Best movie: Nicholas Nickleby. That movie was just an all-around blend of good. Good characters, good story, good humor—I know it’s not a remarkably accurate depiction of Dickens’ original work, but for a two-hour movie, I thought it was impressive and I thought Charlie did an excellent job. He was a sweet fellow in that movie.

Best character: Embry Larkin from Abandon. Bosie from Cold Mountain is close, but Embry was just a perfect mixture of arrogance, intelligence, scorn, and a hint of self-loathing. Plus, something about Embry spoke of hidden danger. He was completely intriguing and one of my favorite characters to date.

Why I like him: Something about Charlie is infectious. He’s just appealing, for a reason I can’t fully explain. Maybe it’s that he smiles really big in his pictures. He plays a mean psychopath (Bosie from Cold Mountain, Patric from Children of Men) and an equally effective good guy (Nicholas Nickleby—such an admirable character!), and he can also find the middle ground, play the anti-hero (Embry Larkin, though I’m not sure I’d call Embry an anti-hero). Not everyone can do that. He’s avoided typecasting pretty well and, above all, he can act. He also has a very good American accent, which always impresses me with British actors.

Other: I quote the director of Abandon: "Charlie Hunnam was a rascal. I'm going on record right now and saying that Charlie Hunnam was a rascal."
Jamie Bell, his co-star in Nicholas Nickleby, says that Charlie was eager to bond with him, as they were best friends in the movie, and describes a "bonding game" Charlie came up with, where they'd try to hit each other in the thighs as often as possible, and if one succeeded then he got a free hit. Jamie says that since Charlie was so tall and had long arms, he was very good at it. In Jamie's words, "This is his idea of bonding?! And apparently, he's popular with the ladies-- I've no idea why!"

Gary Oldman

Age: 49

Nationality: British (England)

Best movie: It’s a tough call, but probably Batman Begins. The movie was excellent, my favorite superhero movie of all time, and his part wasn’t big but it was integral.

Best character: Dracula. He plays an awesome, eerie Dracula, and I’ve always loved Dracula anyway.

Why I like him: He’s a purely amazing character actor… plus there’s the fact that I’ve always simply like the man, for no reason I can fathom! My first exposure to him was as Zorg in The Fifth Element, and though Zorg was a bad guy, I still liked him! And so it went in all his movies… he’s very often a psychopath, yet he looks so friendly that he’s irresistible. I think he’d be an awesome uncle. He’s likely the best actor of his generation, truly, and it’s not just me saying that.

Other: A few good quotes:

“I had this idea of myself as a shy, kind, sweet chap. I was working with Winona Ryder and she turned to me and said, "[. . .] you're really intense!" I was so shocked, I went, "What do you mean? I'm not intense, I'm sweet!" My passion and energy get mistaken for anger.
“I don't think Hollywood knows what to do with me. I would imagine that when it comes to romantic comedies, my name would be pretty low down on the list.”

Sir Anthony Hopkins

Age: 69

Nationality: Welsh

Best movie: Hannibal. Silence of the Lambs was excellent, of course, but he was in Hannibal more and there was more of an exploration into how he related to other people. I liked the ending, as well. Very good.

Best character: Dr. Hannibal Lecter, obviously. I’m going to go on record here and say that Dr. Lecter is the best villain in the history of film. Smart, eerie, completely insane, yet strangely sympathetic… all the elements are there. Don’t think that I’m condoning murder and/or cannibalism, though! I know how evil it is. I’m just saying if you’re going to be a villain… go the Hannibal route.

Why I like him: Because he seems like the kind of fellow that would be a great granddad! No, really, the first time I saw him was in The Mask of Zorro, where he played a mentor-guru type that seemed like a really cool person to hang out with, so not only was I saved from ever being afraid of the man (as most people are because they saw Silence of the Lambs first) but I developed an undying admiration for him. I love this man.

Other: According to Ryan Gosling, he’s never still. He’s always drawing, writing, composing, doing something. He memorizes a poem a week to keep his memory intact. He plays the piano. I think that’s extremely marvelous in today’s “classical education doesn’t matter” world.

Sean Bean

Age: 48

Nationality: English (side note: he’s from Sheffield, and his accent is the most beautiful accent I’ve ever heard. It even overtakes Scotland!)

Best movie: The Lord of the Rings films, obviously. Boromir has pretty much always been my favorite character in the trilogy—he seems more sympathetic than the rest of them. Legolas and Aragorn don’t need your sympathy; Frodo’s off in his own world… you get the picture. But Boromir—Boromir is the perfect reminder that we’re all human, and we’re all prone to failure. His role is a hopeful one, though, as it also speaks of redemption. For me, that’s an extremely powerful message. I’m a big believer in redemption. Anyway—the movies were beautiful and well-done, and a decent adaptation of the books—there were flaws, of course, but it was still a remarkable project.

Best character: It’s tough… but I’m going to say Ian Howe (from National Treasure) so that Tabitha doesn’t kill me. Tabitha and I have talked about this fellow often, and we’ve pointed out that, for a bad guy, he’s sympathetic enough for even her to like him! (Tabitha is a pretty strict good-guy-only person) He values human life, he treats his minions well, and his motive isn’t all that despicable. He’s clever as well as capable of human flaws. There’s not much you can’t like about Ian… except the fact that he’s a bad guy.

Why I like him: Sean is the quintessential bad guy. Seriously, most of his roles have been villains—I think he’s died onscreen more than any other actor on my list. Now, the fact that he plays an awesome bad guy in part explains my liking for him—y’all know how much I like my bad guys—but in my opinion, he plays an overwhelming good guy as well. He’s especially good at the conflicted good guy. He has an infectious smile and an overall genial nature, so it makes you feel less guilty rooting for him when he’s good. I’m rambling now. Close out.

Other: I think this is funny—the man’s apparently obsessed with football (soccer, for us Americans), backing Sheffield United. You don’t often hear about actors who love sports, and it’s a big guy thing, so I found that amusing.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Age: 26

Nationality: American

Best movie: Brick. The movie was a little bit rough, as it dealt with heavy subject matter—teenagers involved in the drug industry—but it was truly a work of art, in my opinion. The words in the film are beautiful—teenagers don’t really talk like that, but the dialogue flowed; they had their own language and it was so pleasant to hear after all this dumbed-down generic language in most modern films. It was classic film noir put into modern form, and it was well-done and very smart.

Best character: Brendan Frye from Brick. He was extremely smart and observant, he acted like a man despite his young age, he never let girls get the best of him, and he was just all-around a good character—the kind of guy I’d trust with my life.

Why I like him: Joe is a person. Joe’s down-to-earth, he talks to his fans as though he’s known them all his life. I know this because Joe runs a website—HitRECord.org. HitRECord has a forum, on which he mingles among the fans and talks to them, encouraging them to “make a record”—in other words, write a story, make a film, write a song, take a picture, or the like. He comments on people’s work and just talks to us. I’ve talked to him a few times, and he’s a really likeable guy who’s made this community where artists come, and it just feels like everybody is friends with everybody. He hates the idea of celebrity. He’s also very loving—he takes care of people and he’s careful not to be abrasive. Add this to the fact that he’s a very good, very smart actor, and you’ve got one awesome guy on your hands.

Other: Joe is also an amateur filmmaker, and his short films are works of art. My favorite is Mahala, but his others are just as creative and well-done. I can see a future in directing for him. Also, his brother Dan—who also browses the HitRECord forums—is a photographer, and a very good one. They’re a creative family.

Cillian Murphy

Age: 31

Nationality: Irish

Best movie: 28 Days Later. I am not a zombie movie fan. I hate them, as a matter of fact. But lo and behold! Someone tackled the zombie genre and actually turned it smart! And his character, Jim, was a wonderful hero. When he was needed, he lived up to expectations and protected those who couldn’t help themselves. I won’t say more, or I’ll start spoiling, but I really liked this movie and thought it was very intelligent.

Best character: Jackson Rippner from Red Eye. There was so much to this character! He was able to switch instantly from genial, warm-hearted stranger to cold, ruthless assassin (manager is a better word for it)… he was mocking, misogynistic, arrogant, but despite these detestable traits, he also managed to earn himself some sympathy. There were moments when you believed he was a reluctant accessory, moments when he seemed very close to calling the whole thing off (though those moments passed soon enough), moments when he seemed almost affectionate towards the woman he was supposed to be terrorizing. He was a multi-layered character, and very fascinating.

Why I like him: Well… I can’t really answer that. I guess it’s that he picks really good roles, and he’s very, very good at carrying them out. He’s also versatile, going from psycho Irish bad guy to sympathetic ambiguous character to hero amidst chaos to calm but mildly insane bad guy. Plus, he’s Irish. That always helps.

Other: He proposed to his wife while they were hill-walking in Ireland. That’s what I call romantic.

Paul Bettany

Age: 36

Nationality: English

Best movie: A Beautiful Mind. I’m not sure why that movie’s so good—there’s just something appealing about the characters, and the story is fascinating as well. As for Paul’s role, his character provides a light laziness, without which the movie might get too tense and serious.

Best role: Hands down, it’s Geoffrey Chaucer in A Knight’s Tale. I like that movie—it’s not going to win any Oscars, but the characters are bright and the story is interesting. Chaucer, however, brings it to new levels. The passion and humor Bettany brings to the role immortalizes him—you can just tell he’s having fun, and it’s catching. It’s the best performance in the movie. I doubt there will ever be a better Chaucer.

Why I like him: Because he’s fun! Really, Paul seems to have a really good time doing what he does, and he’s good at it. When he’s on screen, you just sense that things are about to get fun—even when he’s playing a bad guy. Usually, his bad guys are intelligent and interesting to follow—it’d be interesting to see him explore that facet of his acting, but as it is, I’m content with his more benign roles.

Other: He’s married to Jennifer Connelly! I didn’t know that till… maybe a few months ago? Also, word is that when they were out one night, a guy started talking very inappropriately to Jennifer… so Paul hauled him out and laid a few punches on him. A man defending his wife’s honor—that’s sweet. Probably not the best approach ever, but still something most women could appreciate.

You know… I think that’s it! So thank you for sitting with me through this fest of amazing actors… it was pretty much a showcase, but it was fun to think about why I liked them, exactly, and what their best movies/roles were. I’ll probably do another post on actresses, but it probably won’t be for a while—I get the feeling I should space these out. Till next time!