Your Favorite Movie With Your Favorite Modern Actor and Actress
No, I didn’t mis-count, it is still day 20. Yesterday I stretched this question into two questions by naming my favorite classic Actor and Actress. Today, I have the unenviable task of naming my favorite modern actor and actress. Gladly, these don’t necessarily have to be an on-screen couple, because I have struggled to find that perfect pair like Stewart and Kelly. While there are some couples with great chemistry, they are not my favorite performers. I was even tempted to separate my modern performers into young performers and those that are in their twilight, but I thought that would be going over the top.
As it is, My favorite modern actor is Matt Damon, and while I haven’t seen his newest offering Contagion, his filmography is filled with juicy roles. Since he broke out of obscurity alongside his long-time friend Ben Affleck with Good Will Hunting in 1997 and won an Academy Award for writing with him. He has worked for some of the finest directors (and alongside some of the most talented actors) in Hollywood, and proved his mettle as a dramatic actor, gifted screen comic, and steely action hero. He was even voted the Sexiest Man Alive in 2008. I wrestled with his many superb roles, but could never find one that surpassed his freshman effort in which he plays a janitor who is a mathematical genius.
My favorite modern actress is another tough decision. The leading lady I picked has been very selective in her roles. She started her career at 12 years old by getting herself kidnapped by a hitman named Leon. She would go on to get her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Harvard University, and become the Queen of Naboo and a representative in the Galactic Senate. But Natalie Portman really caught my eye when she shaved her head and learned an English accent to play Evey in the futuristic V for Vendetta. She is the accomplice to V, a masked and mysterious anti-hero who’s either a terrorist or a freedom fighter, depending upon which side of the explosion you’re on.
What are your favorites? Some of my honorable mentions for the fellas are Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Leonardo Dicaprio, and Brad Pitt (All who have shared the screen with Damon). On the female side, you have Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet and Rachel Weisz. I would love to hear what you have to say. Perhaps you can come up with a modern on-screen couple on par with Stewart and Kelly. Leave me a comment in the area below or you can get in touch with me on Twitter or Facebook. I’m currently working on a complete list of films I have watched and films that I want to see, I’m using a great little site called icheckmovies.com you can create a profile and track your own progress.
Modern actors? Hm…Sean Bean is always fun to watch. Nathan Fillion needs a silver screen breakout, as I think he is way more entertaining (and probably cleverer) than most of the A-list stars these days. Of the famous folks, George Clooney has a classic-star charm that is always great to watch, so I suppose he’s my favorite of the A-listers, even if I don’t always like his movies. I do like Tom Hanks and his roles a lot, and really admire his versatility. Viggo Mortensen is a powerful and likable presence, though I’m sad that his recent choices have been mostly hard R-rated, since I refuse to see those. But still, none of the modern actors come close in my affections to the great classic actors.
As for actresses…well, Amy Adams has an alluring charisma, no doubt — I think she’s the prettiest actress of the decade, for sure, and seems to inhabit her characters very naturally and comfortably. Her movies are hit-and-miss, though. But I have a hard time finding modern actors and actresses that I respect for their personalities.
I had the same problem. I just don;t have the affection for these newer actors and actresses that I do for the old studio actors. Perhaps I’m being too hard on them because I’m seeing their flops in the same light as their modern classics. Perhaps I should think of this as if it were 2051, and then we’ll see how well those actors stand out from the crowd. Sadly I think Hollywood has a serious lack of smart and lively actresses, most of them just seem like pretty faces that have been taught how to read lines. I wonder if my father has bad feelings about actors in his day because of their views on certain topics, probably not, because he didn’t know those opinions, they were personal.