Hey everybody! I had a thought the other day, and I decided it would be a good idea to share it with you. Before I do, I just wanted to remind everyone that my Pre New Year’s Resolution Video Blog is well underway, and you should check it out at http://www.youtube.com/user/slingerbaba.
Ok, so here’s what I was thinking. There are certain actors who, when their name is mentioned, I immediately say, “Oh, that person is ‘the man’ (or woman).” Why is that? What have they done to earn that title? Usually, I say that a person is “the man” because of a movie, or set of movies, that they have appeared in where I greatly enjoyed their performance. Or it can be that I particularly like their attitude off set. For example, Viggo Mortensen (my favorite actor,) gave the best Daily Show interview that I have ever seen an actor give, thereby making him “the man.” (Although, he was already the man at the time of that interview, for other reasons.)
Of course, when I mention Viggo in conversation, most people know who I’m talking about, and readily agree that he is most certainly “the man.” But there are those who, when mentioned in a discussion of actors, most people will respond by saying, “Who the heck is that?” but are still, without question, “the man.” So I have decided to present my list of The People You Should Know, and why they are “the man” or “the woman.”
1. The Stud - Cam Gigandet
I know. He has yet to appear in a good movie. And yes, he is almost always cast as “the young handsome badass.” And that’s totally ok, because he is a young handsome badass. For starters, the guy knows Krav Maga. (If you don’t know what that is, take a minute to look it up. In fact, I’ve looked it up for you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_maga. You’re welcome.) As if that wasn’t awesome enough, let me present you with this little factoid: He’s read Twilight. And appeared in the movie. Whoa. Also, if you’re looking for a cheesy, montage-filled, high-school martial arts movie, look no further than Never Back Down, where he fills his typical role as the shirtless bad guy. If after that you’re not convinced of his total badass-ery, you need to redefine your “the man” scale. Here’s another fun fact: Never Back Down holds my record for most consecutive days with a complete viewing, at seven. In summation, Cam is “the man.”
2. The Beauty - Nora Zehetner
The only female to appear on this list. Incidentally, she ranks number one on my “Girl Next Door Scale.” Not Emma Watson, who somehow makes everybody else’s list. Why does she belong on this list? One word: Brick. Brick, in addition to jump-starting Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s career, is a perfect showcase of Nora’s beauty and acting talent. As an added bonus, she had one of the coolest powers on season one of Heroes. Spoiler Alert: I was real upset when she died. I used to think that Julia Stiles was the most attractive woman to appear in a movie that also starred Mr. Gordon-Levitt, (Ten Things I Hate About You,) but I was wrong. In Brick, Nora completely owns every scene and every shot that she appears in. Despite her obvious attractiveness, she is “the woman” because of her on-screen talent. She is a fine actress with a bright future, and brighter eyes.
3. The Brooding One - Ashton Holmes
As I already mentioned, Viggo Mortensen is my favorite actor. There is only one actor that I have seen that has appeared in the same scene as Viggo, and outperformed him. That actor is Ashton Holmes. (Not Ed Harris.) In A History Of Violence, Ashton plays the role of the troubled son to perfection. He delivers one of my all-time favorite lines in one incredible scene in that movie. (“In this family, we shoot them.” Taken out of context, it makes no sense. You have to see it to understand. Which you should do.) In the HBO series The Pacific, he again plays a dark and troubled character, a young man who’s innocence gets corrupted by the horror’s of war. (Just like everyone else in that series.) Although his body of work is not extensive, I have yet to see him give anything other than a superb performance, making him “the man.”
4. The Brit - Tom Hardy
People are starting to take note of Tom Hardy, so he’s not as “under the radar” as the rest of the people on this list, but I would still say that the average movie-goer does not know who he is, so he gets a place on this list. Tom is a what I like to refer to as a “physical actor.” Other examples of physical actors include Ben Kingsley and Christian Bale. What I mean is that he throws his body into his role. For the movie Bronson, he puts on a ton of muscle, transforming himself from the lean, homosexual “Handsome Bob” in Rock’n’Rolla to the big, violent Charlie Bronson, Britain’s most violent prisoner. He recently appeared in Inception as Eames, the smooth-talking British forger, wherein he totally dominates every one of his shots. As a matter of fact, despite the monster star power of that movie, I believe that he outperforms DiCaprio, Gordon-Levitt, Page, and Murphy. He is truly a stellar actor, who’s star is rapidly on the rise.
5. The Best Actor You’ve Never Heard Of - Mads Mikkelsen
I’d like to start of by saying that I used to be under the impression that Daniel Craig, in addition to being the best actor, was also the most handsome man in Casino Royale. I was wrong on both accounts. Mads is. The problem is that he plays a Bond Villain, which automatically detracts from the credibility of the role. But after taking a view of Valhalla Rising (my current favorite movie,) and Flame and Citron, it’s hard to argue that Mads has the most expressive face I have ever seen. Why do I say this? Because in those two movies, he doesn’t say a single word in English. That’s right. And yet, I was able to completely understand every facet of his character, just by looking at his face (and in the case of Valhalla Rising, his body). By the way, both of those films are available on Netflix streaming, so if you have that service, I cannot recommend them highly enough. Just make sure you don’t let any young ones see Valhalla Rising. It will scar them for life. When I say he is the best actor you’ve never heard of, I mean it. He ranks number two on my overall list, (after Viggo,) and is certainly the best one whose name I mention and nobody knows who I’m talking about. Fun fact: They’re both Danish. Go figure.
Well, that concludes my exploration of The Men and Women you should know, but probably don’t. I hope you enjoyed it. And keep your eye out for these actors, as they are always worth watching.
Until next time,
Harry
P.S. Who is your favorite actor/actress, and does anybody else know who they are? Sound off below.
Ok, so here’s what I was thinking. There are certain actors who, when their name is mentioned, I immediately say, “Oh, that person is ‘the man’ (or woman).” Why is that? What have they done to earn that title? Usually, I say that a person is “the man” because of a movie, or set of movies, that they have appeared in where I greatly enjoyed their performance. Or it can be that I particularly like their attitude off set. For example, Viggo Mortensen (my favorite actor,) gave the best Daily Show interview that I have ever seen an actor give, thereby making him “the man.” (Although, he was already the man at the time of that interview, for other reasons.)
Of course, when I mention Viggo in conversation, most people know who I’m talking about, and readily agree that he is most certainly “the man.” But there are those who, when mentioned in a discussion of actors, most people will respond by saying, “Who the heck is that?” but are still, without question, “the man.” So I have decided to present my list of The People You Should Know, and why they are “the man” or “the woman.”
1. The Stud - Cam Gigandet
I know. He has yet to appear in a good movie. And yes, he is almost always cast as “the young handsome badass.” And that’s totally ok, because he is a young handsome badass. For starters, the guy knows Krav Maga. (If you don’t know what that is, take a minute to look it up. In fact, I’ve looked it up for you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_maga. You’re welcome.) As if that wasn’t awesome enough, let me present you with this little factoid: He’s read Twilight. And appeared in the movie. Whoa. Also, if you’re looking for a cheesy, montage-filled, high-school martial arts movie, look no further than Never Back Down, where he fills his typical role as the shirtless bad guy. If after that you’re not convinced of his total badass-ery, you need to redefine your “the man” scale. Here’s another fun fact: Never Back Down holds my record for most consecutive days with a complete viewing, at seven. In summation, Cam is “the man.”
2. The Beauty - Nora Zehetner
The only female to appear on this list. Incidentally, she ranks number one on my “Girl Next Door Scale.” Not Emma Watson, who somehow makes everybody else’s list. Why does she belong on this list? One word: Brick. Brick, in addition to jump-starting Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s career, is a perfect showcase of Nora’s beauty and acting talent. As an added bonus, she had one of the coolest powers on season one of Heroes. Spoiler Alert: I was real upset when she died. I used to think that Julia Stiles was the most attractive woman to appear in a movie that also starred Mr. Gordon-Levitt, (Ten Things I Hate About You,) but I was wrong. In Brick, Nora completely owns every scene and every shot that she appears in. Despite her obvious attractiveness, she is “the woman” because of her on-screen talent. She is a fine actress with a bright future, and brighter eyes.
3. The Brooding One - Ashton Holmes
As I already mentioned, Viggo Mortensen is my favorite actor. There is only one actor that I have seen that has appeared in the same scene as Viggo, and outperformed him. That actor is Ashton Holmes. (Not Ed Harris.) In A History Of Violence, Ashton plays the role of the troubled son to perfection. He delivers one of my all-time favorite lines in one incredible scene in that movie. (“In this family, we shoot them.” Taken out of context, it makes no sense. You have to see it to understand. Which you should do.) In the HBO series The Pacific, he again plays a dark and troubled character, a young man who’s innocence gets corrupted by the horror’s of war. (Just like everyone else in that series.) Although his body of work is not extensive, I have yet to see him give anything other than a superb performance, making him “the man.”
4. The Brit - Tom Hardy
People are starting to take note of Tom Hardy, so he’s not as “under the radar” as the rest of the people on this list, but I would still say that the average movie-goer does not know who he is, so he gets a place on this list. Tom is a what I like to refer to as a “physical actor.” Other examples of physical actors include Ben Kingsley and Christian Bale. What I mean is that he throws his body into his role. For the movie Bronson, he puts on a ton of muscle, transforming himself from the lean, homosexual “Handsome Bob” in Rock’n’Rolla to the big, violent Charlie Bronson, Britain’s most violent prisoner. He recently appeared in Inception as Eames, the smooth-talking British forger, wherein he totally dominates every one of his shots. As a matter of fact, despite the monster star power of that movie, I believe that he outperforms DiCaprio, Gordon-Levitt, Page, and Murphy. He is truly a stellar actor, who’s star is rapidly on the rise.
5. The Best Actor You’ve Never Heard Of - Mads Mikkelsen
I’d like to start of by saying that I used to be under the impression that Daniel Craig, in addition to being the best actor, was also the most handsome man in Casino Royale. I was wrong on both accounts. Mads is. The problem is that he plays a Bond Villain, which automatically detracts from the credibility of the role. But after taking a view of Valhalla Rising (my current favorite movie,) and Flame and Citron, it’s hard to argue that Mads has the most expressive face I have ever seen. Why do I say this? Because in those two movies, he doesn’t say a single word in English. That’s right. And yet, I was able to completely understand every facet of his character, just by looking at his face (and in the case of Valhalla Rising, his body). By the way, both of those films are available on Netflix streaming, so if you have that service, I cannot recommend them highly enough. Just make sure you don’t let any young ones see Valhalla Rising. It will scar them for life. When I say he is the best actor you’ve never heard of, I mean it. He ranks number two on my overall list, (after Viggo,) and is certainly the best one whose name I mention and nobody knows who I’m talking about. Fun fact: They’re both Danish. Go figure.
Well, that concludes my exploration of The Men and Women you should know, but probably don’t. I hope you enjoyed it. And keep your eye out for these actors, as they are always worth watching.
Until next time,
Harry
P.S. Who is your favorite actor/actress, and does anybody else know who they are? Sound off below.
