Actors & Actresses Rankdown 2.0 (Winner Posted)

[*Chris]

 

 

Vivien Leigh is certainly a legendary actress, but I am also comfortable with cutting her from the rankdown especially when I don't believe anyone is a superfan of her - if I am wrong, my apologies.  If you've never heard of Vivien Leigh, you certainly have heard of some of roles in movies such as Gone with the Wind, A Streetcar Named Desire, Anna Karenina, and 21 Days - she has won 2 Academy Awards for Best Actress for Gone with the Wind and A Streetcard Named Desire.  But what is surprising to me is how small her filmography is - it seems that she had a long career as an actress in many plays on the West and Broadway.  She is seen as one of the major female movie star of classic Hollywood but I am fine with eliminating her, especially considering Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, and Barbara Stanwyck were all omitted from the rankdown, or the fact that Audrey Hepburn has already been cut. 

 

SAVING: ANGELA LANSBURY

[*Chris]

 

This may be an unpopular opinion but I've been someone that has been WOW'ed by any of Samuel L Jackson's roles or movies, which is surprising considering that he is one of the most recognize actors of his generations.  He has been in movies such as Coming to America, Goodfellas, Juice, True Romance, Jurassic Park, Meance II Scoiety, School Daze, Do the Right Thing, and Jungle Fever - I've seen some of these but wouldn't consider that any of them are my favourites, and I don't really think of Samuel L Jackson when I think of those movies.  However, it is Pulp Fiction that is seen as one of his better roles which earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination.  Anyway, he appeared in over 150 films which is impressive - some of those movies include Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, Die Hard with a Vengeance, A Time to Kill - probably my favourite role of his, Coach Carter, and Snakes on a Place.  He has truly done it all from the stage to the television to the movies ; He continues to be involved with Marvel but I couldn't really tell you more about his role there... Anyway, apologies to his fans but I've never been huge on him & therefore, I am cutting him from this.

 

SAVING: RITA MORENO

 

[#jeah]

Emma Watson

 

 

I like Emma Watson, I think she's charming and inoffensive and I think the world is certainly a better place because of her. But honestly I have never been impressed with her actual acting chops so I think around now is a good spot for her to peace out from this rankdown. She is certainly best known for her portrayal of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, but she has made a somewhat nice career for herself since her days as a child actor. I most enjoyed her in Little Women (though I though Saoirse, Florence, and others outacted her). Besides that she did well in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and starred as Belle in the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. Her filmography also includes The Bling Ring, My Week With Marilyn, Noah, and The Tale of Despereaux. Honestly I'm most impressed with her charity/social work as she's been an advocate for sustainability and women's rights over the years. Truly seems like a delightful person but I am cutting her here.

 

Save: Jane Krakowski

[~Tom~]

I know Samuel L Jackson mostly does Marvel today, but I like him in lesser-known roles like Eve's Bayou. 

 

 

[*Chris]

On 11/11/2022 at 11:43 AM, FrogLenzen said:

oh man, I'm hardcore slacking in this one

keep slacking.

[~Tom~]

Alia Shawkat

 

 

Time to cut an actress whose work I believe I am entirely unfamiliar with, and today that cut goes to Alia Shawkat. I believe she is mostly known for her role as Maeby Fünke in Arrested Development, but other well-known roles of hers include The Old Man, State of Grace, Gertie Michaels in the 2015 horror-comedy film The Final Girls (which I should get around to seeing one of these days), and Dory Sief in the TBS and HBO Max comedy series Search Party (2016–2022). She has also guest starred as Frances Cleveland, Virginia Hall, and Alexander Hamilton on the comedy series Drunk History. Seems like she does mostly comedy roles, so it makes sense why I'm not familiar with her and am cofortable cutting her at this stage.

 

Save: Eddie Redmayne

[FrogLenzen]

11 minutes ago, *Chris said:

keep slacking.

your tone seems very pointed right now

[~Tom~]

Fred Willard

 

 

Fred Willard is an actor and comedian, and anyone who knows me well knows I don't particularly like comedians. He rdcently died in 2020 and was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap (1984), the Christopher Guest mockumentaries Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006), Mascots (2016), and the Anchorman films. On the television side, he was known for Fernwood 2 Night, Everybody Hates...err...Loves Raymond, and Modern Family. The latter two earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, but I don't think I've seen him in anything I care about except for a couple of animated voice roles like Monster House so he's a very easy cut for me to make now.

 

Save: Patrick Wilson

[.Rei]

Anthony Mackie

 

Anthony Mackie is most recognised for his role as Sam Wilson/Falcon on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and now as the new Captain America, a role that he is good at it but not one that I would consider a great feat of acting. Other than than his filmography is pretty unknown to me, so let's check Wikipedia and see what has he done. 8 Mile, The Manchurrian Candidate, Million Dollar Baby, Half Nelson, The Hurt Locker, The Adjustment Bureau and The Hate U Give are all famous movies, so I'm surprised that I don't remember his part on any of those. Half Nelson and The Hurt Locker are my favorite movies from his filmography but unfortunately other performances were stronger than his. He is gonna be on four films next year: We have a ghost, Desert Warrior, If you were the last and Elevation, so he's pretty busy. Let's wait until they come and see if they're any good. He might even stay longer for the next actors rankdown.

 

Saving: Adam Scott

[Alex95]

Jennifer Connelly

She's certainly a name I recognize, but if you asked me to name a film or tv show she's been in off the top of my head, I would honestly struggle. It took me a minute to remember I just saw her in Top Gun: Maverick earlier this year. Connelly is best known for her Oscar winning performance in A Beautiful Mind, a movie I've always been too lazy to actually watch. Connelly is one of the few models to actually really make it as an actress so good for her! She definitely peaked in the 2000's starring in films like Requiem for a Dream, A Beautiful Mind, Hulk, Little Children, Blood Diamond, etc. Honestly, it's rather impressive directors and films she got into. Unfortunately she hasn't gotten as many gold roles in the 2010's, which is where the vast majority of my movie watching knowledge comes from. I know the 2000's and 90's as well, but not as well. And of course iconic films here and there before that. On tv, she's been in the Snowpiercer show which I never watched though I liked the movie. She's got an Apple show coming out called Dark Matter and I still have nightmares from the show of the same name being dragged to the end of that trainwreck tv shows rankdown. But that's neither here nor there.

 

Save Youn Yuh-jung

[Alex95]

Chris Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth is a solid Thor. I wouldn't say he delivers a standout "performance" in the Marvel movies, but he's got good comedic timing, he's huge, and he's hot. Really that's all you need to be passable in a Marvel movie. There's performances here and there from Marvel that go well beyond your typical Marvel fare. Hemsworth does not have one of those performances. Other than the Marvel movies...what is there? He was on an Australian soap called Home and Away which led to him being on DWTS in Australia before he was actually famous lol. Based on his scores, it seems like he was terrible. He's done a few action movies like Snow White and the Huntsman, Red Dawn, and Extraction. He was actually pretty fun in the Ghostbusters reboot, typecasting him as a himbo was a very good call. I saw him in Rush which was his big serious movie, but that was really Daniel Brühl's movie. Tbh I wonder what his next steps after Marvel will be. He's gonna be in the next Mad Max movie with Anya Taylor-Joy so that could be make or break for him if he has it or not. As a huge fan of the first Mad Max, I hope it delivers.

 

Save Al Pacino

[Alex95]

Anthony Mackie is by far the strongest performance of The Hurt Locker

[~Tom~]

The Dark Matter shoutout.   

[Steven_]

We reached 100 cuts earlier today.  

[FrogLenzen]

Hugh Grant

 

The king of the rom com. Four Weddings and a Funeral gave this guy a BAFTA and a Golden Globe. But he has yet to be acknowledged by the Academy. Let's explore his non-rom-com filmography in this write-up. There's Cloud Atlas, which was certainly a Nice Try by all those involved. Then there was also Florence Foster Jenkins with Meryl Streep which got him nominated for a couple things. Paddington 2, the best film ever made. And then he's also TV work on HBO in The Undoing. Interesting stuff but every time I pass his name on the list I just think rom com and generic

 

Save Meryl Streep

[FrogLenzen]

Henry Cavill

 

Superman and the Witcher. He absolutely nailed those roles. But those performances were convincing mainly because of his looks, end of story. He was fine in Enola Holmes, but that was kind of a smaller part and he didn't really bring anything extraordinary to it. He has now quit The Witcher and is back doing Superman I think? And Enola 2 is either out now or coming soon or something, idk. What else has he done? I'm seeing spy movies, action movies, etc. To be expected. Oh! The Tudors. I haven't seen that one. I'll let everyone else tell me if he was good or not. 

 

Save Sandra Bullock

[FrogLenzen]

Ryan Reynolds

 

I feel bad accusing anyone of not having enough range in this game because obviously I haven't seen the entire filmography of ANY of the actors. Ryan plays a cheeky hot guy very well and gets lots of work doing it. He also seems like... just a good guy in general from what I've seen hit the media here and there. He was People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2010. BURIED that's the movie I was trying to think of. That was more out of the box for him. Even though he was in a box for that film . Also wasn't he in some haunted house remake? Anyway, he was married and divorced Scarlett Johansson and is now happily married to Blake Lively and they have 3 kids

 

Save Sally Field

[FrogLenzen]

Chris Pine

 

Hot guys can be good actors! I swear this is less about his looks and more about his filmography. Chris Pine, like most actors, made his acting debut on the greatest TV drama in the world, ER. He was some guy in one episode in 2003. Seriously, that was his first role. ER is the best. Once he got his guest appearances in the TV procedural circuit out of the way, you could find him in various rom coms over the years. He's mostly known as Captain Kirk in the Star Trek remakes, which I've seen and he does a good job of that. He was in Wonder Woman which I have not seen but I've heard he does a good job of that as well. I also liked him in Into the Wood, but that was a tiny part. 

 

Save Nicole Kidman

[~Tom~]

Evan Rachel Wood

 

 

Evan Rachel Wood has been a steadily working actress since the 90s, starting from TV. She's also the recipient of a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations for her work in film and television. I gotta say that I never really knew or cared for much of her work except Westworld, Across the Universe, and Practical Magic. She started off acting in sows like American Gothic and Once and Again in the 90s, but since 2008, she has appeared in more mainstream films, including The Wrestler (2008), Whatever Works (2009), and The Ides of March (2011). She returned to television in 2009 in the recurring role of Sophie-Anne Leclerq, the vampire Queen of Louisiana, on True Blood from 2009 to 2011, which I started but never finished. She's an easier cut to make now I think.

 

Save: Charlie Hunnam 

[*Chris]

Everyone should watch ERW documentary, Phoenix Rising.

[#jeah]

Jacob Tremblay

 

 

This cut might get some heat and I get it. He was quite the revelation in Room. But at this point, Jacob has such a limited career and has many years to establish himself in Hollywood so I think this is a fair spot for him. Jacob Tremblay is currently a child actor hailing from Canada. Holy crap he's already 16 years old. He is best known for playing the son in the devastating film Room opposite Brie Larson. He did an incredible job as the boy who was born and spent the first several years of his life in captivity with his mother. His nuanced performance gave the movie that extra gut punch and I will not forget his performance any time soon. Besides that, he played Robin in Harley Quinn and voiced the lead character in Pixar's Luca. He's got a lot more upcoming stuff and I see him as a huge name one day, but for now I think this is a fair spot.

Save: Daniel Kaluuya

[.Rei]

Sheryl Lee Ralph

 

Maybe Sheryl is a legend or a very good actress but I took at look at her filmography and I haven't seen any of her films or tv shows, so this is the reasoning of my cut. She has been acting since the end of the 70's, so quite a long time. So I see she played Deena on the 1981's Dreamgirl Broadway musical so she is also a great singer. She received a Tony for that role. She is also known for being on Abbott Elementary during its run for which she got an Emmy for Supporting Comedy Actress. Some of her films include The Mighty Quinn, To Sleep With Anger, Mistress, The Distinguished Gentleman and Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit. Some of tv shows include It's A Living, New Attitude, instant Mom and Moesha. Sheryl has clearly been on everything so I'm probably the one that has missed out a lot. Sorry to her fans.

 

Saving: Ana de Armas

[.Rei]

Cecily Strong

 

Cecily Strong is mostly known for being part of Saturday Night Live since 2012 and according to Wikipedia, she is the longest-tenured female cast member in the show's history. She was also in Ghostbusters, a movie that I enjoyed but nothing super amazing. Besides SNL, she has also appeared on other tv shows such as The Awesomes, Loafy and Schmigadoon! The latter has been on my watchlist for a while but I haven't been able to watch it yet, I'll let you know later how that goes. Unfortunately for Cecily, she hasn't had many roles to justify a longer stay on this game. Au revoir!

 

Saving: Elizabeth Banks

[#jeah]

Harriet Walter

 

 

Time to throw a dart at my computer and it landed on Harriet Walter. Harriet Walter is a British actress who has been in the business since 1974. Seems like her career really started to take off in 1983 when she made her Broadway debut. A theater actress, she has starred in many Royal Shakespeare productions and received a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the 2009 Broadway revival of Mary Stuart. Besides that she has been in the film industry, starring in Sense and Sensibility, Atonement, Rocketman, the Last Duel, the new Star Wars movie(s), and more. She was also in The Crown and Downton Abbey, so she is about as British as you can possibly imagine. Seems like she's an accomplished actor and I'm sorry for this cut but out she goes from the rankdown.

 

Saving: Carrie Coon

[Steven_]