Easy Come Easy Gaughin

Ernie Hudson

What if you were cast in one of the funniest and most beloved films of all time, and then learned when you got to the set that you were the only one in the cast not allowed to be funny?

Ten best roles

10) Best Of the Best: Without Warning 9) Operation Delta Force 8) Never 2 Big 7) The Wrecking Crew 6) The Hand That Rocks the Cradle 5) Fakin da Funk 4) Butter 3) Ghostbusters 2) The Last Siege: Never Surrender 1) The Crow

Percentile Score

76.70

C. Thomas Howell

Howell made a sort of splash in the sort of teen-oriented 80’s comedies that have dated really badly. Perceived as an overnight sensation, he had actually worked since his pre-school days on a variety of family oriented TV shows, usually as the 3rd or 4th kid in the family who had next to no lines.

Since his mid-80’s days as a sort of teen heartthrob, he has cannily kept a career rolling with a long series of small parts in big movies, and starring roles in TV films and direct-to-video stuff. Occasionally he’s managed to land a decent, if terribly obscure part, and that, combined with the mini-triumphs of his earliest film days combine to allow him to score reasonably highly on this list.

Ten best roles

10) Young Toscanini 9) The Eyes Of the Panther 8) Nickel and Dime 7) That Night 6) Jailbait 5) Treacherous 4) Payback 3) The Million Dollar Kid 2) The Hillside Strangler 1) The Outsiders

Percentile rating

84.08

Terrence Howard 

On January 11, 2007, he was at 71.63, but it’s been a busy couple of years, and he seems to be living up to his promise. With The Hunting Party and The Brave One, he’s jumped up significantly. Next up; Iron Man.

Ten best roles

10) Ray 9) Angel Eyes 8) The Best Man 7) Idlewild 6) Spark 5) Pride 4) The Brave One 3) The Hunting Party 2) Hustle and Flow 1) Boycott

Percentile Score

83.13

We’re out of rice. How do you run out of rice?

Bob Hoskins

He’s most famous, probably, as the “hero” of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but that broad slapstick style is only a small piece of his skill set. He’s impressively brutal as the gang boss in The Long Good Friday, and displays a more recognizably human domestic sort in Mermaids and Last Orders.

I am going to ruffle some feathers, as I did with Michael Gambon, because I am including here a nod to Hoskin’s best role, in the original BBC production of Pennies From Heaven, later made into a disquieting showcase remake in an American version starring Steve Martin (himself an interesting case, who, at my present clip, I will maybe get around to by 2017.)

Hoskin’s version was in fact a mini-series (like Gambon’s The Singing Detective), but I am allowing it, in part because there was a theatrical cut that showed throughout Europe, but more so because it’s an awesome piece of work that should be seen and publicized. So sue me.

Ten best roles

10) Twentyfourseven 9) The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne 8) Mermaids 7) Last Orders 6) Mrs. Henderson Presents 5) Felicia’s Journey 4) The Long Good Friday 3) Mona Lisa 2) Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1) Pennies From Heaven

Percentile rating: 97.59 (for purists, if I disallow Pennies From Heaven, and replace it with The Favor, the Watch, and the Very Big Fish, he drops to 96.03, still pretty impressive. But it ain’t going to happen.)

Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston passed away a few weeks back. Young people have little appreciation for his body of work, as his last major role, as Captain Matthew Garth in the WWII film Midway, was released in 1976. But he leaves behind an impressive selected filmography, the equal of nearly every contemporary star. A square-jaw action hero, comparable in many ways to Ah-nuld, he was arguably much more a star than an actor, but his best films are rousing in the best sense.

I think his peak period was 1965-1971, which saw the release of The Agony and the Ecstacy, Khartoum, Will Penny, Planet Of the Apes, and The Omega Man, but his highest profile roles occurred earlier, in Touch of Evil and Ben Hur.

Ten best roles

10) Midway 9) El Cid 8) Khartoum 7) The Three Musketeers 6)  The Agony and the Ecstasy 5) Will Penny 4) The Omega Man 3) Touch of Evil 2) Ben Hur 1) Planet Of the Apes

Percentile score (when compared to contemporary actors): 99.24

Dennis Hopper

I saw an interesting documentary on David Lynch over the weekend called Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch. Dean Stockwell told a few interesting stories about his encounters with Lynch in the late 60’s (Lynch remembers them fondly, Stockwell not at all.) Stockwell says that when he got the script for Blue Velvet, he liked every role except the one Lynch wanted him for. When Stockwell learned that Hopper had been cast as the fearsome Frank Booth, he thought “I know Dennis pretty well, and I knew how Dennis would play him.”

So that was only partly an act. Which may be all you need to know to not try to make Dennis Hopper your pal.

He’s an iconic figure, and though his career’s spotty at best, his very best work rivals almost anyones, as you can see from his ten best roles.

Ten best roles

Note; while his role in Apocalypse Now really revved up the anxiety count, it’s so small that it doesn’t measure here. Still, there’s

10) Straight Shooter 9) Hoosiers 8) Double-Crossed 7) Carried Away 6) Out of Season 5) Red Rock West 4) The American Friend 3) Speed 2) Blue Velvet 1) Easy Rider

Percentile rating

97.44