I apologize to friends, family, and fans of James Garner. I posted based upon an offhand comment I heard at lunch, and did not confirm it before posting it.
Clearly I will never be a journalist. Sincerely, I am sorry.
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Posted by gaughin
Every so often I like to stand back and look at the insignificance of what I am doing. Now seems as good as a time as any. I am attempting to categorize every working film actor, in terms of their accomplishments in film acting. I am working through the alphabet, for lack of any more rational way to do it. There’s a post somewhere in this blog that sort of explains the process; if you search the blog for “Robert Forster”, I think you’ll find it, but really, just read the whole blog. It’s THAT important.
Here’s the current top 100. At this pace, I hope to have the whole list in place no later than my retirement.
1) Robert DeNiro 2) Woody Allen 3) Dustin Hoffman 4) Clint Eastwood 5) Catherine Deneuve
6) Gene Hackman 7) Robert Duvall 8) Harrison Ford 9) Gerard Depardieu 10) Julie Christie
11) Sean Connery 12) Johnny Depp 13) Richard Dreyfuss 14) Nicolas Cage 15) Jeff Bridges
16) John Cusack 17) Tom Hanks 18) Anthony Hopkins 19) Mel Gibson 20) Albert Finney
21) William Hurt 22) George Clooney 23) Bruno Ganz 24) Michael Caine 25) Michael Douglas
26) Kevin Costner 27) Tom Cruise 28) Isabelle Huppert 29) Mia Farrow 30) Jane Fonda
31) Daniel Auteuil 32) Ellen Burstyn 33) Ralph Fiennes 34) Bob Hoskins 35) Judy Davis
36) Dennis Hopper 37) Alan Bates 38) Emmanuelle Beart 39) Maggie Cheung 40) Matt Dillon
41) Richard Gere 42) Faye Dunaway 43) Juliette Binoche 44) Matthew Broderick 45) Isabelle Adjani
46) Glenn Close 47) Anjelica Huston 48) Russell Crowe 49) John Hurt 50) Leonardo DiCaprio
51) Leslie Caron 52) Holly Hunter 53) Albert Brooks 54) Ethan Hawke 55) Peter Fonda
56) Jodie Foster 57) Jim Carrey 58) Jackie Chan 59) Ian Holm 60) Sandrine Bonnaire
61) Willem Dafoe 62) Antonio Banderas 63) Morgan Freeman 64) Gabriel Byrne 65) James Caan
66) Keith Carradine 67) Helena Bonham Carter 68) Julie Andrews 69) James Garner 70) Laruen Bacall
71) Kevin Bacon 72) Elliott Gould 73) Bruce Dern 74) Colin FIrth 75) Anne Bancroft
76) Ed Harris 77) Cameron Diaz 78) Michel Bouquet 79) Kirsten Dunst 80) Hugh Grant
81) Alan Arkin 82) Jacqueline Bissett 83) Woody Harrelson 84) Anouk Aimee 85) John Goodman
86) Steve Buscemi 87) Giancarlo Giannini 88) Matt Damon 89) Angela Bassett 90) Peter Boyle
91) Danny Devito 92) Annette Bening 93) Alan Alda 94) Jim Broadbent 95) Danny Glover
96) Richard Benjamin 97) Harriet Andersson 98) Laurence Fishburne 99) Jennifer Connolly 100) Jake Gylenhall
I am aware that a few of these folks have passed on (James Garner most recently, bless his heart), but the qualification for getting on the list is that at the time I get to them, they have appeared in a theatrical release within the last 3 years. When I complete the list, theoretically it will be much quicker to update the entries, and that is when the recently departed will be moved over to the former actors list.
Please feel free to discuss these ratings; it won’t change them (after all, this is science) but it will be fun.
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Posted by gaughin
When I was 12, I was taking golf lessons in a public park program in Nashville. My dad was a solid working class golfer; he was never going to join a country club, but on the public courses he was pretty solid, generally shooting 8-10 overpar for 18 holes. He was very encouraging, and even though we were not rolling in dough, he and Mom scraped together the cash for me to take these lessons, 3 days a week throughout the summer.
One perk of taking these lessons was automatic entry into a city-wide tournament. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was played on “Little Shelby”, a par 29 course shoe-horned in between a longstanding rowhouse neighborhood and the Cumberland River. It was something like Nashville Junior Golfers Open, and was open to golfers between the ages (I think) of 8 and 15.
At the end of the first of a two-day tournament, I had somehow shot a 1 under par 28, and was in second place, only 1 shot back. My name was in the paper, and I could not sleep that night, worrying about round 2. Although I was not yet a teenager, I was filled with the terrifying thought that I may have just experienced the greatest day of my life, and that I was facing 60-80 years filled with days that could never ever be that good again. The next day I shot a 40, and finished about 50th.
All of that to say, when Ordinary People shows on TV, I immediately think of that day, and of how fond I am of Timothy Hutton, and how, although his best role probably occurred in his first theatrical feature, even when it’s that good early, it’s just a single good experience, and not the end of all of the good things in life.
I also LOVE Iceman, another 80’s film that hasn’t dated that well, but I don’t care. And for any FOT who might be tuned in…..Turk-182 it.
Ten best roles
10) Deliberate Intent 9) Deterrence 8) Stephanie Daley 7) Iceman 6) Daniel 5) Beautiful Girls 4) Taps 3) Q&A 2) Ordinary People 1) The Falcon and the Snowman
Percentile rating
89.70
It can’t be easy for an aspiring actress to grow up in the shadow of one of the greatest American directors. Huston started slow with bit parts and cameos. She’s got a very distinctive look that serves her better now as a middle-aged woman than it did as an awkward young woman. Her acting style has always projected confidence. She’s always in high demand, and her recurring role as the anchoring matriarch in Wes Anderson’s recent films has exposed her to a younger audience than she might otherwise enjoy. She’s also acquitted herself ably as a director in her own right, most recently with the Irish family comedy/drama Agnes Brown. By restricting herself to smaller film roles, she’s been able to appear in a dozen productions in the last 5 years, making her our new female Brian Dennehy.
Ten best roles
10) The Addams Family 9) Crimes and Misdemeanors 8) The Witches 7) Agnes Browne 6) Addams Family Values 5) The Royal Tenenbaums 4) Prizzi’s Honor 3) Enemies: A Love Story 2) The Dead 1) The Grifters
Percentile rating
96.64
I am led to understand that he’s got an enormous ego. That he would inform you that he is one of the greatest actors of his generation. At least we would have something to agree on.
I think that more than any other accomplished current actor, he projects absolute chilling cold in almost every performance. He comes across smart, intensely quiet, and sometimes cruel. He had this quality from his earliest film roles from his film debut in 1980 with Altered States. He’s appeared in around 60 films, and though he occasionally missteps, particularly in recent years, he still pulls in important roles with the likes of Cronenberg.
He’s also responsible for one of my favorite Saturday Night Live moments. When Kathleen Turner hosted, a few years after co-starring with Hurt in Body Heat, he appeared during her monologue to bemoan her appearance on a show that he would “never appear on.” It seemed so perfectly, condescendingly right, and this is coming from an admirer.
If you’ve not seen it in a while, I highly recommend Broadcast News; Hurt, Holly Hunter, and Albert Brooks are all perfect in it.
Ten best roles
10) Into the Wild 9) Gorky Park 8) Eyewitness 7) Altered States 6) The Accidental Tourist 5) Smoke 4) Kiss Of the Spider Woman 3) Children of a Lesser God 2) Broadcast News 1) Body Heat
Percentile rating
98.54
Frequently confused (by me) with Pamela Reed, although I don’t think Ms Reed ever appeared in a smart role in a Woody drama.
Like John Hurt, she scores with strong roles in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and recently (with 2006’s The Dead Girl), but her hottest period was 1989-1993 with the at-the-time-hilarious-but-may-not-have-dated-well Parents, Defenseless, Light Sleeper (under the direction of her husband Paul Schrader), and Six Degrees of Separation.
I find the quiet, intense, intellectual vibe she projects in Interiors and The World According To Garp appealing. I would like to see more of that in women’s roles, and fewer goofy sex kittens.
10) Parents 9) Light Sleeper 8) Chilly Scenes of Winter 7) Defenseless 6) Affliction 5) DARYL 4) Six Degrees of Separation 3) The Dead Girl 2) Interiors 1) The World According to Garp
Percentile rating
81.08
He’s had strong roles in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s, although he had a real hot streak from 1980-1984, a period that saw the release of The Elephant Man, The Hit, and 1984 (cannily released in 1984, co-starring Richard Burton in the definitive version; I saw it as a part of a feel-good doubleheader; it was immediately followed by Dead Ringers. I then went home and tried to jab a fork in my eye to get those images out of my head.)
I like Hurt; he’s got the sort of craggy countenance that allows him to play either jolly, imposing, or genuinely creepy. He still shows up consistently in high profile summer films like the Harry Potter series, and just this week in the latest installment of Indiana Jones.
Ten best roles
10) Rob Roy 9) Midnight Express 8) 10 Rillington Place 7) The Hit 6) Scandal 5) Beyond the Gates 4) Hellboy 3) Love and Death on Long Island 2) 1984 1) The Elephant Man
Percentile rating
96.49
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Posted by gaughin
I don’t know much about French cinema, but I get the impression she’s like the French Meryl Streep, with a side of sexual depravity (and if I weren’t such a prude, that would probably be sexual adventurousness.)
I saw 8 Women, an interesting enough musical, and I saw parts of The Piano Teacher, and I went away scarred and scared. I hereby pledge to view more Isabelle Huppert films. After I learn French.
Ten best roles
10) 8 Women 9) The Time Of the Wolf 8) Merci Pour le Chocolat 7) Violette Noziere 6) The Piano Teacher 5) Story of Women 4) La Ceremonie 3) Gabrielle 2) Amateur 1) Entre Nous
Percentile rating
98.03
Most actors have a number of minor roles, then get recognized for an outstanding job in a splashy but small role (think Paul Giamatti in Private Parts, or The Negotiator), and then get a starring role that either solidifies their star standing, or knocks them back to Tier 2.
By contrast, Holly Hunter seemed to spring from out of nowhere, fully-formed in Raising Arizona, and then was almost immediately featured in Broadcast News, a role that, outside of that twangy accent, could not have been more different.
She’s further staked a reputation as something of a rebel, repeatedly taking offbeat roles in strange films that most actresses either could not or would not be able to pull off. If you wanted a single word to best characterize her, “feisty” seems to work. With few exceptions (like Little Black Book,) she’s not made many mistakes.
Ten best roles
10) Crash 9) Copycat 8) Thirteen 7) Home For the Holidays 6) Miss Firecracker 5) Once Around 4) Broadcast News 3) Living Out Loud 2) Raising Arizona 1) The Piano
Percentile rating
96.27
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Posted by gaughin
She won an Oscar playing a man, Billy Kwan, 25 years ago in The Year of Living Dangerously. I need to see that film again; I remember next to nothing about it. I do remember, however, a quite public story about how she fell into bouts of depression as a result of some combination of inability to get more parts, mostly due to her unusual size and look, but also tied in some way to some sort of gender confusion resulting from having been so highly regarded in a role so convincingly playing the other gender. She is generally highly regarded as an actress, although she was never going to get cast as the standard leading lady, and as a result, most of her parts were minor.
Ten best roles
10) Popeye 9) Eleni 8) Yours Mine and Ours 7) She-Devil 6) Dune 5) Kindergarten Cop 4) The Relic 3) If Looks Could Kill 2) Twenty Bucks 1) The Year of Living Dangerously
Percentile rating
71.66
