All American actors? Surprised at that a little since there are such great ones in England. Don't know much about French actors I'm afraid.
I think I might stick my neck out about the style of movies in the USA, when they're good they're great. And I really have a hard time separating my like of an actor based on the roles they play -- since I don't know anything about them personally. But based on their parts, if they get a good role and pull it off, it's magic.
I really like Helen Mirren for a lot of different reasons. Even though I don't particularly like all her movies. I was blown away by the TV series Prime Suspect. And there were some great roles she had -- Both Queen Elizabeths. . . wow. Complex projection.
I have been watching Doctor Who for the 1st seven seasons in a sort of marathon. And I must say that the shows were very uneven. But even though I didn't care for any of them straight off, it destroyed me when I just started to like them and they would kill off that actor in that role. Of the ones I saw, I think I liked David Tenant most. He had a good balance between eccentric and commanding. And they wrote some of the best Sci-Fi stories I've ever seen where they were dealing with pretty deep concepts. So right actor right vehicle.
I have to say I loved the woman who played the press secretary on West Wing, Allison Janney, though everybody was great in that show and they were very smartly written. She had the coolest role I think and that made her really stand out.
And I love all the primary cast in Friends the Sitcom TV Show -- in that context.
And then there are the stars that appear on talk shows who I have grown very fond of because of their personal charisma. Regardless of the parts they play, which are often too cartoony for me to watch for any length of time, they seem like they would be great to hang out with.
You can see I do a lot of catch-up and wait for a series to end (not deliberately) and the watch like 10 seasons in a row. If the show can stand that much of a concentrated viewing and not get stale, it's the highest form of entertainment art.
My hit parade of stars is dynamic and sadly my opinion of them is how good they were in their last role. The good news is that because of subscription on-demand viewing, I can get a good first taste of an actor and go dig out their really good work in the past. So my opinion's less dependent on their latest roles as they age and the parts slip to second tier and dry up some.
I do like some of Kevin Costner's work. I thought Dances with Wolves was a classic. He does sentimental pretty well. Some of Cher's work has been quite memorable particularly in Moonstruck.
I also find myself following film makers more than actors. Love Peter Jackson. His achievement is beyond measure. And early George Lucas, Coppola and Spielberg. Scorsese is also interesting intermittently. Back in the day I always seemed to like Frank Capra movies.
And of course the old classic actors during the golden age -- gotta love most of them. Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Sophia Lauren, Kirk Douglas, Audrey Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper, etc etc etc. . .
Anyway, good to see you back. Was wondering what became of you.
"Not a bit is wasted and the best is yet to come. . ." -- remembered from a dream
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