Actors worth following, part 8
This list continues from part 7.
Kevin Costner
Costner has a great screen presence and often plays an everyman thrust into extraordinary circumstances. He also directed Dances with Wolves and The Postman.
- Masterpieces
- Dances with Wolves
- Field of Dreams
- Hidden Figures
- Great movies
- The Bodyguard
- The Company Men
- Man of Steel
- The Untouchables
- Great at the time
- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
- Good movie
- Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
- Mediocre but has its moments
- Waterworld
- Not-so-great movie
- The Postman
Kirsten Dunst
Dunst gave a stunning performance as a child in Interview with the Vampire. She was also a guest star on Star Trek: The Next Generation around the same time. Although she’s made some duds, she does tend to choose interesting projects.
- Masterpieces
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Hidden Figures
- Interview with the Vampire
- Spider-Man
- Spider-Man 2
- Great movie
- Mona Lisa Smile
- Good movie
- Midnight Special
- Mediocre movies
- Melancholia
- Upside Down
- Bad movies
- Jumanji
- Spider-Man 3
Dakota Fanning
Fanning wowed audiences as a child actor and she’s now wowing them as a young adult. She appeared in Neill Blomkampās experiment Zygote. She lent her voice to the main character in the animated Coraline.
- Great movies
- Man on Fire
- Now Is Good
- Please Stand By
- Push
- Mediocre movie
- War of the Worlds (2005)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Gordon-Levitt portrayed Tommy on 3rd Rock from the Sun for 6 seasons. He also directed Don Jon.
- Masterpieces
- 50/50
- Inception
- Looper
- Great movies
- 500 Days of Summer
- Don Jon
- Good movie
- The Dark Knight Rises
Ian Holm
I probably first became aware of Holm as an actor in Brazil, and have been on the lookout for him since then. He’s had small parts in lots of movies. He briefly reprised his role as Bilbo in 2 of the Hobbit movies. It seems like he may have retired.
- Masterpieces
- Brazil
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- The Sweet Hereafter
- Great movies
- The Day After Tomorrow
- Garden State
- Good movies
- eXistenZ
- The Fifth Element
- Kafka
- Time Bandits
- Movie that was brilliant the first time
- Alien
Hugh Jackman
Jackman has certainly portrayed the character of Logan / Wolverine in the X-Men universe to great effect, but he also throws himself into different roles in movies like Australia and The Prestige.
- Masterpiece
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- Great movies
- Australia
- Logan
- The Prestige
- X-2: X-Men United
- Good movie
- Chappie
- Mediocre movies
- The Fountain
- The Wolverine
- X-Men
- Bad movie
- X-Men: The Last Stand
Jennifer Lawrence
Although I haven’t seen the Hunger Games movies, I have seen Lawrence dazzle in several other movies.
- Masterpieces
- American Hustle
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- Great movies
- Passengers
- Silver Linings Playbook
- X-Men: Apocalypse
- X-Men: First Class
Brit Marling
Marling has had a hand in writing several of her movies. She also stars in the intriguing TV show The OA.
- Great movies
- The East
- I Origins
- Good movies
- Another Earth
- Sound of My Voice
Carey Mulligan
Whether Mulligan’s character is in the 19th century or a mysterious alternate 20th century, her performance will grab you.
- Masterpiece
- Pride and Prejudice (2005)
- Great movies
- An Education
- Far From the Madding Crowd
- The Greatest
- Never Let Me Go
Emma Stone
Stone burst on the scene for me in the delightful Easy A. She is a talented singer, as evidenced by La La Land. She also lent her voice to the animated The Croods.
- Masterpieces
- Crazy, Stupid, Love.
- La La Land
- Great movies
- Birdman
- Easy A
- Paper Man