Mike's Musings: Five Actors to Watch
Al Pacino. Robert De Niro. Meryl Streep. Johnny Depp. Will Smith.
Many great actors become are famous actors. That's where we get the term "movie star." But for all the movie stars we have, there are many great actors who have talent but aren't famous at all. Or at least, don't get the recognition they should.
So, here are five actors to watch out for. If you see a movie with them, it will probably be good, and their performance definitely will. For your benefit, I've linked their names to their iMDb profile pages.
Dane DeHaan: I first took notice of Dane DeHaan after his performance in "Chronicle," the pseudo-documentary superhero movie. With his boyish face and breaking voice, he looks a lot like a high schooler (he's really 26...and married). But it's his raw talent, especially for simmering anger, that has kept him in my radar. He was terrific in the otherwise awful "Lawless," and very good in "The Place Beyond the Pines." Two of his future roles are playing Harry Osborn in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and an unspecified role in "Devil's Knot," Atom Egoyan's Westboro Memphis Three movie. I can't wait!
Christian Coulson: Okay, fine, I admit. I haven't really seen enough of Christian Coulson's work to know if he has any talent whatsoever (only one movie and a few clips on YouTube, including his ten second appearance in "The Hours," although he merely had to act spaced out and push a book cart). That being said, if you're able to steal a Harry Potter movie away from everyone, including classical British thespians, that's saying something. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is my favorite book in the legendary series, and the one thing that I remember about the movie is Tom Riddle. Coulson, who was 23 at the time of filming (far older than the 15-17 year old age group that the producers were looking for), played the character perfectly (and didn't stumble over Steve Kloves' clunky dialogue very much, a feat that eclipsed many of the cast members). Tom Riddle was dark, handsome and charismatic, and the young actor added a hint of sexuality to it that made it (SPOILER ALERT! but is this really possible? I mean, who hasn't read the books or seen the movies?) believable that he could bamboozle an adolescent girl and become one of the greatest villains in literary history. He hasn't been in much lately, although he has some independent films in the pipeline. Here's to hoping he'll get the recognition he deserves.
Gong Li: In all honesty, it's probably unfair to include her on this list because, at least in the arthouse circut, she's far from an unknown. But, as a devout fan of her work, how could I not? The Chinese legend has impressed me even when she's in something truly awful, like Wong Kar Wai's "2046." Michael Mann and Rob Marshall, two American directors who have worked with her (Mann in "Miami Vice" and Marshall in "Memoirs of a Geisha"...talk about alliteration!) have both called her "the Asian Meryl Streep." Truer words have never been spoken. She may not be as well known on this side of the Pacific as she should be, but once you see her on screen, you'll gobble up all her movies as fast as you can. I'm still waiting for "Shanghai," the movie she did with John Cusack, Chow Yun-Fat, Ken Watanabe and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, to be released. It's been 3 years, Hollywood!
Ezra Miller: Unconventional is probably the best way to describe Ezra Miller. He's far from a heartthrob, and looks like a goth/emo version of a super young Cillian Murphy (Scarecrow from Nolan's "Batman" saga). In any event, his credits speak for themselves. He played a teenager secretly attracted to big women in "City Island," a high school age spree killer in "We Need to Talk About Kevin," and a gay outcast in last year's brilliant "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." Next up is the role of Leon in "Madame Bovary" opposite Mia Wasikowska, Rhys Ifans, and Paul Giamatti. Need I say more?
And finally...
Penn Badgely!
No, I'm not a fan of "Gossip Girl." I tried to watch that show once, mainly because of Badgely, but also because of all the guest stars I was feeling left out. I didn't make it through one episode.
Anyway, this young actor first came to my attention when I saw him in "Margin Call." His charisma and everyman quality were both striking, and he was easy to identify with. I went to college with guys like Seth Bregman. I next saw him in the utterly worthless "The Stepfather" remake, where I was impressed with his boy next door quality (including being incredibly attractive) and his screen presence. He's a low key actor, but he has the presence to hold his own on screen with actors of more wattage. His next movie is "Greetings from Tim Buckley," which hasn't been released in Saint Louis, although Badgely's performance has gotten great reviews from Rolling Stone. After that, he has a role in a romance called "Parts Per Billion," with Rosario Dawson, Josh Hartnett, Alexis Bledel, Frank Langella, and Gena Rowlands. It's got a minuscule ($1.3 million) budget, but with a cast like that, it could be very good!
I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT HIM!
Michael Angarano: I've been a fan of Michael Angarano's for years. He's given great performances in a number of movies, including "Black Irish" and "Red State." I like him for the same reasons I am excited about Penn Badgely. His boy next door charm. But while Badgely's is more studly, Angarano is more the cute best friend, and in some ways it makes him more adorable and sympathetic. Take for example his performance in "Black Irish." Angarano's natural, unforced acting gave us a window into a loving but broken family. And Angarano showed no sense of artifice or reaching during the heavy emotional scenes, which trip up many actors (including some established ones). Angarano has established himself as a working character actor in the indie film circuit with a number of leading roles, including the aforementioned "Black Irish," "Gentlemen Broncos," "One Last Thing..." and some supporting roles in more mainstream roles (including the hero of the wretched Jackie Chan/Jet Li movie, "The Forbidden Kingdom." Coming up are a number of films, including "The Brass Teapot" with Juno Temple (which he has the lead, and looks to be a twisted comedy), Dito Montiel's bank robbery thriller, "Empire State," with Dwayne Johnson, Liam Hemsworth and Emma Roberts, "The English Teacher" with Julianne Moore, Lily Collins, Greg Kinnear and Nathan Lane, and "Heat" (not to be confused with the DeNiro/Pacino masterpiece) with a huge cast including Jason Statham, Sofia Vegara, Milo Ventimiglia, Stanley Tucci, Anne Heche, Jason Alexander and Hope Davis.
In the words of Senator Palpatine (paraphrased of course), "I'll be watching their careers with great interest!"
Many great actors become are famous actors. That's where we get the term "movie star." But for all the movie stars we have, there are many great actors who have talent but aren't famous at all. Or at least, don't get the recognition they should.
So, here are five actors to watch out for. If you see a movie with them, it will probably be good, and their performance definitely will. For your benefit, I've linked their names to their iMDb profile pages.
Dane DeHaan: I first took notice of Dane DeHaan after his performance in "Chronicle," the pseudo-documentary superhero movie. With his boyish face and breaking voice, he looks a lot like a high schooler (he's really 26...and married). But it's his raw talent, especially for simmering anger, that has kept him in my radar. He was terrific in the otherwise awful "Lawless," and very good in "The Place Beyond the Pines." Two of his future roles are playing Harry Osborn in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and an unspecified role in "Devil's Knot," Atom Egoyan's Westboro Memphis Three movie. I can't wait!
Christian Coulson: Okay, fine, I admit. I haven't really seen enough of Christian Coulson's work to know if he has any talent whatsoever (only one movie and a few clips on YouTube, including his ten second appearance in "The Hours," although he merely had to act spaced out and push a book cart). That being said, if you're able to steal a Harry Potter movie away from everyone, including classical British thespians, that's saying something. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is my favorite book in the legendary series, and the one thing that I remember about the movie is Tom Riddle. Coulson, who was 23 at the time of filming (far older than the 15-17 year old age group that the producers were looking for), played the character perfectly (and didn't stumble over Steve Kloves' clunky dialogue very much, a feat that eclipsed many of the cast members). Tom Riddle was dark, handsome and charismatic, and the young actor added a hint of sexuality to it that made it (SPOILER ALERT! but is this really possible? I mean, who hasn't read the books or seen the movies?) believable that he could bamboozle an adolescent girl and become one of the greatest villains in literary history. He hasn't been in much lately, although he has some independent films in the pipeline. Here's to hoping he'll get the recognition he deserves.
Gong Li: In all honesty, it's probably unfair to include her on this list because, at least in the arthouse circut, she's far from an unknown. But, as a devout fan of her work, how could I not? The Chinese legend has impressed me even when she's in something truly awful, like Wong Kar Wai's "2046." Michael Mann and Rob Marshall, two American directors who have worked with her (Mann in "Miami Vice" and Marshall in "Memoirs of a Geisha"...talk about alliteration!) have both called her "the Asian Meryl Streep." Truer words have never been spoken. She may not be as well known on this side of the Pacific as she should be, but once you see her on screen, you'll gobble up all her movies as fast as you can. I'm still waiting for "Shanghai," the movie she did with John Cusack, Chow Yun-Fat, Ken Watanabe and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, to be released. It's been 3 years, Hollywood!
Ezra Miller: Unconventional is probably the best way to describe Ezra Miller. He's far from a heartthrob, and looks like a goth/emo version of a super young Cillian Murphy (Scarecrow from Nolan's "Batman" saga). In any event, his credits speak for themselves. He played a teenager secretly attracted to big women in "City Island," a high school age spree killer in "We Need to Talk About Kevin," and a gay outcast in last year's brilliant "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." Next up is the role of Leon in "Madame Bovary" opposite Mia Wasikowska, Rhys Ifans, and Paul Giamatti. Need I say more?
And finally...
Penn Badgely!
No, I'm not a fan of "Gossip Girl." I tried to watch that show once, mainly because of Badgely, but also because of all the guest stars I was feeling left out. I didn't make it through one episode.
Anyway, this young actor first came to my attention when I saw him in "Margin Call." His charisma and everyman quality were both striking, and he was easy to identify with. I went to college with guys like Seth Bregman. I next saw him in the utterly worthless "The Stepfather" remake, where I was impressed with his boy next door quality (including being incredibly attractive) and his screen presence. He's a low key actor, but he has the presence to hold his own on screen with actors of more wattage. His next movie is "Greetings from Tim Buckley," which hasn't been released in Saint Louis, although Badgely's performance has gotten great reviews from Rolling Stone. After that, he has a role in a romance called "Parts Per Billion," with Rosario Dawson, Josh Hartnett, Alexis Bledel, Frank Langella, and Gena Rowlands. It's got a minuscule ($1.3 million) budget, but with a cast like that, it could be very good!
I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT HIM!
Michael Angarano: I've been a fan of Michael Angarano's for years. He's given great performances in a number of movies, including "Black Irish" and "Red State." I like him for the same reasons I am excited about Penn Badgely. His boy next door charm. But while Badgely's is more studly, Angarano is more the cute best friend, and in some ways it makes him more adorable and sympathetic. Take for example his performance in "Black Irish." Angarano's natural, unforced acting gave us a window into a loving but broken family. And Angarano showed no sense of artifice or reaching during the heavy emotional scenes, which trip up many actors (including some established ones). Angarano has established himself as a working character actor in the indie film circuit with a number of leading roles, including the aforementioned "Black Irish," "Gentlemen Broncos," "One Last Thing..." and some supporting roles in more mainstream roles (including the hero of the wretched Jackie Chan/Jet Li movie, "The Forbidden Kingdom." Coming up are a number of films, including "The Brass Teapot" with Juno Temple (which he has the lead, and looks to be a twisted comedy), Dito Montiel's bank robbery thriller, "Empire State," with Dwayne Johnson, Liam Hemsworth and Emma Roberts, "The English Teacher" with Julianne Moore, Lily Collins, Greg Kinnear and Nathan Lane, and "Heat" (not to be confused with the DeNiro/Pacino masterpiece) with a huge cast including Jason Statham, Sofia Vegara, Milo Ventimiglia, Stanley Tucci, Anne Heche, Jason Alexander and Hope Davis.
In the words of Senator Palpatine (paraphrased of course), "I'll be watching their careers with great interest!"
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