List: Top 50 Favorite Modern Actresses

I just went through this rant in my intro to my ‘Top 50 Favorite Modern Actors’. So that post will give a general idea for what went into the list.

EDIT: October, 2013
In order of preference i.e who I get most excited to see, whether during this decade or the 70’s. Who I consider my ‘favorites’ on a personal level. There’s a mix of current interests mixed with constants. Brie Larson and Lola Creton are on the cusp. Kirsten Dunst is also getting back in my good graces. Keep in mind there is a fair amount of fluctuation. It’s an arbitrary counter of who I like at any given moment.

A reminder that this list covers actresses who have had the majority of their career take place between the 1960’s and the present.

Actresses I cut from the original Jan 2012 posting: 
Moon So-ri, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Helena Bonham-Carter, Meryl Streep, Katee Sackhoff, Maggie Smith, Saorsie Ronan, Christina Hendricks, Summer Glau, Kelly Macdonald, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Katherine Moennig, Michelle Forbes, Jessica Hynes, Carey Mulligan, Laura Linney, Jeon do-yeon, Gong Li, Lola Creton

50. Emily Browning
Previously: —
Seen in 5 films: Ghost Ship, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Uninvited, Sucker Punch, Sleeping Beauty

#49. Marion Cotillard
Previously: #46
Seen in 10 films: Big Fish, A Very Long Engagement, La Vie En Rose, Public Enemies, Nine, Inception, Midnight in Paris, Contagion, Rust and Bone, The Dark Knight Rises

48. Sarah Gadon
Previously: —
Seen in 4 films: A Dangerous Method, The Moth Diaries, Cosmopolis, Antiviral

47. Laura Dern: 
Previously: —
Seen in: Smooth Talk, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Jurassic Park, Citizen Ruth, October Sky, The Master

46. Elizabeth Debicki
Previously: —
Seen in 1 film, 1 stage production: The Great Gatsby, The Maids

45. Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Previously: —
Seen in: 9 seasons of “Seinfeld”, 2 seasons of “Veep”, Hannah and Her Sisters, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Deconstructing Harry, A Bug’s Life

44. Viola Davis
Previously: —
Seen in: Doubt, The Help, Traffic, Antwine Fisher, Far From Heaven, Disturbia, Prisoners, State of Play

43. Pam Grier
Previously: —
Seen in: Foxy Brown, Jackie Brown, “The L Word”, Mars Attacks

42. Elisabeth Moss
Previously: —
Seen in: 6 seasons of “Mad Men”, Top of the Lake

41. Thora Birch
Previously: #42
Seen in 9 films: All I Want for Christmas, Hocus Pocus, Monkey Trouble, Now and Then, Alaska, American Beauty, The Hole, Ghost World, The Pregnancy Pact

#39. Rinko Kikuchi
Previously: —
Seen in 3 films: Babel, The Brothers Bloom, Pacific Rim

38. Brie Larson
Previously: —
Seen in 7 films, 1 TV show: Sleepover, Greenberg, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, “The United States of Tara” (3 seasons), 21 Jump Street, Short Term 12, Rampart, The Spectacular Now

37. Jessica Chastain
Previously: —
Seen in 6 films: Take Shelter, The Tree of Life, The Help, The Debt, Lawless, Zero Dark Thirty

36. Mia Wasikowska
Previously: #31
Seen in 6 films, 1 TV show: “In Treatment”, 1 season, Alice in Wonderland, The Kids Are All Right, Jane Eyre, Albert Nobbs, Lawless, Stoker

35. Keira Knightley
Previously: #26
Seen in 17 films: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, The Hole, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Love Actually, King Arthur, The Jacket, Domino, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Atonement, The Edge of Love, The Duchess, Never Let Me Go, Last Night, A Dangerous Method, Anna Karenina

34. Charlotte Rampling
Previously: #27
Seen in 10 films: The Night Porter, The Verdict, The Wings of the Dove, Swimming Pool, Deception, The Duchess, Life During Wartime, Never Let Me Go, Melancholia, The Mill and the Cross

33. Michelle Williams
Previously: #23
Seen in 17 films: Species, Halloween: H20, Dick, If These Walls Could Talk 2, Prozac Nation, Brokeback Mountain, I’m Not There, Deception, Synecdoche, New York, Wendy and Lucy, Shutter Island, Mammoth, Blue Valentine, Meek’s Cutoff, My Week with Marilyn, Take This Waltz, Oz The Great and Powerful 

32. Angela Bettis
Previously: #29
Seen in 4 films, 1 TV show: Girl, Interrupted, Bless the Child, May, The Woman, “Dexter”, 2 episodes

 

31. Hanna Schygulla
Previously: #30
Seen in 3 films: The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, The Marriage of Maria Braun, Edge of Heaven

#30 Shelley Duvall
Previously: —
Seen in: McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Nashville, 3 Women, Annie Hall, The Shining, Popeye, Time Bandits, “Frankenweenie”, Roxanne, Mother Goose Rock N’ Rhyme, ” Faerie Tale Theatre” (host), Casper Meets Wendy

#29. Theresa Russell
Previously: —
Seen in 6 films: Bad Timing, Eureka, Wild Things, Spider Man 3, “Empire Falls”, Liz & Dick

28. Emma Thompson
Previously: #22
Seen in 14 films: Howards End, Much Ado About Nothing, Remains of the Day, In the Name of the Father, Junior, Sense and Sensibility, Love Actually, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Stranger than Fiction, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I Am Legend, An Education, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Brave (voice)

27. Shirley Henderson
Previously: #19
Seen in 12 films, 1 TV show: Trainspotting, Topsy-Turvy, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 24 Hour Party People, Intermission, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Marie Antoinette, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Life During Wartime, Meek’s Cutoff, Anna Karenina, “Doctor Who”, 1 episode

26. Olivia Williams
Previously: #12
Seen in 8 films, 1 TV show: Rushmore, The Sixth Sense, The Heart of Me, Peter Pan, An Education, The Ghost Writer, Hanna, Anna Karenina, “Dollhouse”, 2 seasons

25. Vera Farmiga
Previously: #18
Seen in 9 films: Return to Paradise, The Manchurian Candidate, The Departed, Joshua, Quid Pro Quo, Nothing but the Truth, Orphan, Source Code, The Conjuring

#24 Julie Delpy
Previously: —
Seen in 10 films: Europa Europa, Three Colors: White, Three Colors: Blue (cameo), Three Colors: Red (cameo), Before Sunrise, Waking Life, Before Sunset, 2 Days in Paris, 2 Days in New York, Before Midnight

23. Kate Winslet
Previously: #7
Seen in 14 films, 1 TV show: Heavenly Creatures, Sense and Sensibility, Hamlet, Titanic, Quills, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Finding Neverland, Little Children, The Holiday, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Mildred Pierce, Contagion, Carnage, “Extras”, 1 episode

22. Katharine Isabelle
Previously: —
Seen in 6 films, 2 TV shows: Cousins, Ginger Snaps, Insomnia, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, Freddy vs Jason, American Mary, “Supernatural;” (2 episodes), “Hannibal” (1 season)

22. Scarlett Johansson
Previously: —
Seen in: Under the Skin, Lucy, The Avengers, Her, Ghost World, Match Point, The Spirit, The Man who Wasn’t There, Lost in Translation, Iron Man 2, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Prestige, Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Black Dahlia, In Good Company, “A View from the Bridge” (stage production)

21. Lili Taylor: 
Previously: —
Seen in: Say Anything…, Dogfight, Short Cuts, Rudy, Four Rooms, I Shot Andy Warhol, The Haunting, High Fidelity, The Notorious Bettie Page, Public Enemies, The Conjuring, 2 seasons of “Six Feet Under”

#20. Aggeliki Papoulia
Previously: —
Seen in 2 films: Dogtooth, Alps

19. Ellen Page
Previously: #14
Seen in 9 films: Hard Candy, X-Men: The Last Stand, Juno, Smart People, Whip It, Peacock, Inception, Super, The East 

18. Helen Mirren
Previously: #20
Seen in 14 films: The Long Good Friday, The Cook, the Thief, his Wife & Her Lover, The Madness of King George, Gosford Park, Calendar Girls, The Clearing, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Queen, Inkheart, State of Play, RED, The Debt, Phil Spector, Monsters University (voice)

17. Eva Green
Previously: —
Seen in 5 films, 1 TV show: The Dreamers, Casino Royale, The Golden Compass, Cracks, Dark Shadows, “Penny Dreadful” (one season)

16. Christina Ricci
Previously: #15
Seen in 21 films: Mermaids, The Addams Family, Addams Family Values, Caspar, Now and Then, Gold Diggers: Secret of Bear Mountain, That Darn Cat, The Ice Storm, The Opposite of Sex, Small Soldiers (voice), 200 Cigarettes, Sleepy Hollow, Bless the Child, The Man who Cried, Prozac Nation, Monster, Cursed, Black Snake Moan, Penelope, Speed Racer, AfterLife, “Grey’s Anatomy”, 2 episodes

15. Michelle Pfieffer
Previously: #44
Seen in: Grease 2, Scarface, Dangerous Liaisons, Batman Returns, The Age of Innocence, Dangerous Minds, One Fine Day, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, What Lies Beneath, Stardust, Hairspray

14. Ludivine Sagnier
Previously: #24
Seen in 9 films: Water Drops on Burning Rocks, 8 Women, Swimming Pool, Peter Pan, Paris je t’aime, A Secret, Mesrine: Public Enemy Number 1, Love Crime, The Devil’s Double

#13. Léa Seydoux
Previously: —
Seen in 7 films: Inglourious Basterds, Midnight in Paris, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Farewell My Queen, Sister, Blue is the Warmest Color, The Grand Budapest Hotel

12. Liv Ullman
Previously: #21
Seen in 5 films: Persona, Hour of the Wolf, The Passion of Anna, Cries and Whispers, Autumn Sonata

11. Nicole Kidman
Previously: #9
Seen in 24 films: Dead Calm, Days of Thunder, Flirting, Far and Away, My Life, To Die For, Batman Forever, Practical Magic, Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge!, The Others, The Hours, Dogville, Cold Mountain, The Stepford Wives, Bewitched, Birth, The Interpreter, The Golden Compass, Margot at the Wedding, Nine, Rabbit Hole, Stoker, The Paperboy

10. Sally Hawkins
Previously: #7
Seen in 11 films: Tipping the Velvet, Vera Drake, Layer Cake, Fingersmith, Cassandra’s Dream, Happy-Go-Lucky, An Education, Never Let Me Go, Submarine, Jane Eyre, Blue Jasmine

9. Winona Ryder
Previously: #11
Seen in 19 films: Beetlejuice, 1969, Mermaids, Edward Scissorhands, Night on Earth, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Age of Innocence, Reality Bites, House of the Spirits, Little Women, How to Make an American Quilt, The Crucible, Girl, Interrupted, Mr. Deeds, The Ten, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Star Trek, Black Swan, Frankenweenie (voice)

8. Maggie Cheung
Previously: #13
Seen in 9 Films: Centre Stage, Police Story 3: Supercop, Days of Being Wild, The Heroic Trio, Executioners, Irma Vep, In the Mood for Love, Hero, 2046

7. Isabelle Adjani
Previously: —
Seen in 6 films:  The Tenant, The Driver, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Possession, One Deadly Summer, Ishtar

6. Bae Doona
Previously: #8
Seen in 5 films: Barking Dogs Never Bite, Take Care of My Cat, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, The Host, Cloud Atlas

5. Juliette Binoche
Previously: #5
Seen in 12 films: Lovers on the Bridge, Damage, Three Colors: Blue, The English Patient, Chocolat, Code Unknown, Cache, Paris je t’aime, Flight of the Red Balloon, Summer Hours, Certified Copy, Cosmopolis

4. Cate Blanchett
Previously: #4
Seen in 23 films: Elizabeth, The Talented Mr. Ripley, An Ideal Husband, The Gift, The Man who Cried, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Bandits, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Coffee and Cigarettes, Veronica Guerin, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Aviator, Babel, The Good German, Notes on a Scandal, Hot Fuzz, I’m Not There, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hanna, Blue Jasmine

3. Tilda Swinton
Previously: #3
Seen in 13 films: Vanilla Sky, Adaptation, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Thumbsucker, Stephanie Daley, Michael Clayton, Julia, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Burn After Reading, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I Am Love, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Moonrise Kingdom 

2. Catherine Deneuve
Previously: #2
Seen in 12 films: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Repulsion, The Young Girls of Rochefort, Belle de Jour, Donkey Skin, The Last Metro, The Hunger, Dancer in the Dark, 8 Women, Persepolis (voice), A Christmas Tale, The Girl on the Train

1. Isabelle Huppert
Previously: #1
Seen in 12 films: Violette Noziere, Story of Women, La Ceremonie, Sentimental Destinies, Merci Pour le Chocolat, The Piano Teacher, 8 Women, Time of the Wolf, I Heart Huckabees, White Material, Amour, In Another Country, Abuse of Weakness

List: Top 50 Favorite Modern Actors

The explanation for this list is significantly more complicated than the ‘classic’ list. Why? Well, first it is meant to represent the actors I am the most excited about at the moment. On the other hand, it has to balance those actors I love whose careers may not be in the most exciting spots today, but were at one point (usually in the 70’s) making iconic after iconic film. And then there are the old standards; actors who are not recent additions and don’t necessarily represent ‘in the moment’, but are people I always save spots for. The ‘modern’ lists are significantly hard to cut down; I had almost twice this number when I brainstormed and a great many actors who deserve a spot just as much as many of those who made it on. And really, in the end, it is completely arbitrary both who made it and where they are placed. I think of myself as a legitimate fan of Tom Cruise and Jim Carrey, two actors I could not get on here and yet when they get a role that showcases their talents appropriately (i.e I Love You Philip Morris or MI4), there are few things I enjoy more than watching them.

Yet I wanted to get actors on here that are new to me. For example, my number 50, Nicolas Duvauchelle. I first saw him in White Material where he owned his role and legitimately had me frightened of what his character may be capable of. Next, I saw him in The Girl on the Train, a severely underrated film and I was aware of just how happy I was to see him. And again, several months ago when I saw Inside for the first time. I was giddy when he popped up, which broke through the unrelentingly dark and disturbing journey of that film. Other actors, like Sam Rockwell and Christian Bale, who normally break into my Top 10 don’t appear. Why? I just felt like favoring other actors this time around. Ryan Gosling, Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon, Martin Freeman,  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gael Garcia Barnal, Laurence Fishburne, Paul Giamatti, Robert De Niro, Viggo Mortenson, Jeff Daniels, Ray Winstone, Nathan Fillion, Simon Pegg, Michael Douglas, Kevin Spacey, and so many more…all of these people are not on the list yet I count them among my favorites. Actors like Tom Hiddleston, John Boyega, Edgar Ramirez and Jeffrey Combs I’d gladly rank along with the 50, but I do not see them often enough or their careers are just getting started. Lastly, the numbers are not meant with any finality; it’s just a frivolous fun list I’ve been making for a long time. I really just keep it as a record for myself and decided to share on this blog. Dustin Hoffman, Aaron Paul, Jon Hamm, Geoffrey Rush, Jeremy Irons

50. Nicolas Duvauchelle
Previously: 50
Seen in 3 films: White Material, The Girl on the Train, Inside

#49. Caleb Landry Jones
Previously: —
Seen in 3 films: Byzantium, Antiviral, X-Men: First Class, 2 episodes of “Breaking Bad”

48. Peter Dinklage
Seen in 4 films, 1 TV show: Living in Oblivion, Elf, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Penelope, “Game of Thrones”, 3 seasons

46. Takeshi Kitano
Seen in 6 films: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, Violent Cop, Sonatine, Hana-bi, Battle Royale, Outrage

Idris Elba

43. Donald Sutherland
Seen in 13 films: M*A*S*H, Don’t Look Now, Kentucky Fried Movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, National Lampoon’s Animal House, Ordinary People, JFK, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Cold Mountain, Pride and Prejudice, Horrible Bosses, The Hunger Games

Daniel Radcliffe

41. Eddie Marsan
Seen in 14 films: The Bunker, Gangs of New York, 21 Grams, Vera Drake, The New World, Mission Impossible III, The Illusionist, V for Vendetta, Happy-Go-Lucky, Me and Orson Welles, Red Riding, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Tyrannosaur, War Horse

40. Peter Mullan
Seen in 14 films: Shallow Grave, Braveheart, Trainspotting, Fairy Tale: A True Story, Session 9, The Magdalene Sisters, Children of Men, Boy A, Red Riding: 1974, Red Riding: 1980, Red Riding: 1983, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Tyrannosaur, War Horse

H. Jon Benjamin

39. Chris Eigeman
Seen in 6 films: Metropolitan, Barcelona, Kicking and Screaming, Highball, Mr. Jealousy, The Last Days of Disco

37. John Malkovich
Seen in 18 films: The Glass Menagerie, Empire of the Sun, Dangerous Liaisons, Of Mice and Men, In the Line of Fire, Con Air, The Man in the Iron Mask, Rounders, The Messenger: Story of Joan of Arc, Being John Malkovich, Shadow of the Vampire, The Libertine, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Beowulf, Burn After Reading, The Great Buck Howard, Jonah Hex, Red

34. Leonardo DiCaprio
Seen in 14 films, 1 TV show: “Growing Pains”, 1 season, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, The Basketball Diaries, Romeo + Juliet, Titanic, The Man in the Iron Mask, Catch Me if You Can, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Blood Diamond, Revolutionary Road, Shutter Island, Inception, J. Edgar

33. Steve Carell
Seen in: “The Office”, 6 seasons, Bruce Almighty, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Sleepover, Melinda and Melinda, Bewitched, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine, Evan Almighty, Horton Hears a Who! (voice), Crazy, Stupid, Love

32. Bill Murray
Seen in 25 films: Caddyshack, Stripes, Tootsie, Ghostbusters, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, What About Bob?, Groundhog Day, Ed Wood, Larger than Life, Space Jam, Wild Things, Rushmore, Charlie’s Angels, Hamlet, The Royal Tenanbaums, Lost in Translation, Coffee and Cigarettes, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, City of Ember, Fantastic Mr. Fox (voice), Zombieland, Get Low, Passion Play

Max von Sydow

29. Michael Stuhlbarg
Seen in: “Boardwalk Empire”, 2 seasons, Afterschool, A Serious Man, Hugo

28. Bill Nighy
Seen in 14 films: Fairy Tale: A True Story, Blow Dry, Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead, Enduring Love, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Constant Gardener, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Notes on a Scandal, Hot Fuzz, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Valkyrie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Rango (voice)

27. Paddy Considine
Seen in 8 films: 24 Hour Party People, In America, Dead Man’s Shoes, My Summer of Love, Hot Fuzz, The Bourne Ultimatum, Red Riding: 1980, Submarine

Peter Capaldi

 

25. Alan Rickman
Seen in 18 films: Die Hard, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Sense and Sensibility, Dogma, Blow Dry, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Love Actually, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Sweeney Todd, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

24. Tom Hollander
Seen in 10 films: Bedrooms and Hallways, Gosford Park, Paparazzi, The Libertine, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Valkyrie, In the Loop, Hanna

22. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
Seen in 5 films: Chungking Express, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, Hero, 2046

21. John C. Reilly
Seen in 24 films: Days of Thunder, State of Grace, Out on a Limb, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, The River Wild, Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, The Thin Red Line, Never Been Kissed, Magnolia, The Perfect Storm, The Anniversary Party, Gangs of New York, The Hours, Chicago, The Aviator, A Prairie Home Companion, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Zombieland, Cyrus, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Cedar Rapids, Terri, Carnage

20. Michael Caine
Seen in 21 films: Alfie, The Italian Job, Get Carter, Dressed to Kill, Hannah and Her Sisters, Mona Lisa, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Noises Off!, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Little Voice, Quills, Miss Congeniality, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Batman Begins, Bewitched, Children of Men, The Prestige, Sleuth (2007), The Dark Knight, Inception, Cars 2 (voice)

19. Choi Min-sik
Seen in 5 films: The Quiet Family, Oldboy, Crying Fist, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, I Saw the Devil

17. John Hawkes
Seen in 10 films, 4 TV shows: From Dusk til Dawn, Rush Hour, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, The Perfect Storm, Identity, Me and You and Everyone We Know, American Gangster, Winter’s Bone, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Contagion, “Eastbound and Down”, 1 season, “Lost”, 3 episodes, “24”, 2 episodes, “Deadwood”, 3 seasons

16. Lee Byung-hun
Seen in 6 films: Joint Security Area, Three Extremes, A Bittersweet Life, The Good, the Bad, the Weird, G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra, I Saw the Devil, “Iris”, 1 episode

15. Gary Oldman
Seen in 24 films: Sid and Nancy, Prick Up Your Ears, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, State of Grace, JFK, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, True Romance, Leon, Murder in the First, The Fifth Element, Air Force One, Lost in Space, The Contender, Hannibal, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Batman Begins, Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, The Dark Knight, A Christmas Carol (voice), Red Riding Hood, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Kung Fu Panda 2 (voice), Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

14. Jack Nicholson
Seen in 12 films: Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Shining, Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, Batman, A Few Good Men, Mars Attacks!, As Good as it Gets, The Departed

13. Peter Sarsgaard
Seen in 11 films: Dead Man Walking, The Man in the Iron Mask, Boys Don’t Cry, Shattered Glass, Garden State, Kinsey, The Dying Gaul, The Skeleton Key, Flightplan, An Education, Orphan

12. Steve Buscemi
Seen in 27 films: Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink, Reservoir Dogs, “The Adventures of Pete and Pete“, Airheads, Pulp Fiction, Billy Madison, Living in Oblivion, Fargo, Con Air, The Big Lebowski, The Wedding Singer, Armageddon, Big Daddy, 28 Days, Ghost World, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (voice), Domestic Disturbance, Monsters Inc. (voice), Mr. Deeds, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, Coffee and Cigarettes, Big Fish, Paris je t’aime, Interview, The Messenger, Rampart, “Boardwalk Empire”, 2 seasons

10. Willem Dafoe
Seen in 19 films: Platoon, The Last Temptation of Christ, Wild at Heart, The English Patient, eXistenZ, The Boondock Saints, American Psycho, Shadow of the Vampire, Spider Man, The Clearing, Spider Man 2, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Aviator, Auto Focus, Finding Nemo (voice), Inside Man, Paris je t’aime, Antichrist, Fantastic Mr. Fox (voice)

 

11. Vincent Cassel
Seen in: La Haine, Elizabeth, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, Shrek (voice), Read My Lips, Irreversible, Ocean’s Twelve, Eastern Promises, Mesrine: Killer Instinct, Mesrine: Public Enemy Number 1, Black Swan, A Dangerous Method

10. Michael Fassbender
Seen in 11 films: 300, Hunger, Centurion, Fish Tank, Inglourious Basterds, Jonah Hex, Jane Eyre, X-Men: First Class, Shame, A Dangerous Method, Haywire

9. Cillian Murphy
Seen in 15 films: On the Edge, 28 Days Later, Intermission, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Cold Mountain, Batman Begins, Red Eye, Breakfast on Pluto, Sunshine, The Dark Knight, The Edge of Love, Peacock, Inception, Retreat, In Time

8. Denis Lavant
Seen in: Mauvais Sang, Lovers on the Bridge, Beau Travail, A Very Long Engagement, Holy Motors

7. Daniel Day-Lewis
Seen in 10 films: My Beautiful Launderette, Room with a View, The Last of the Mohicans, The Age of Innocence, In the Name of the Father, The Crucible, The Boxer, Gangs of New York, There Will Be Blood, Nine

6. Mathieu Amalric
Seen in 8 films: Late August, Early September, Munich, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, A Secret, A Christmas Tale, Mesrine: Killer Instinct, Mesrine: Public Enemy Number 1, Quantum of Solace

5. Michael Shannon
Seen in 12 films, 1 TV show: “Boardwalk Empire”, 2 seasons, Groundhog Day, Pearl Harbor, Vanilla Sky, Kangaroo Jack, Bug, Shotgun Stories, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Revolutionary Road, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, The Runaways, Jonah Hex, Take Shelter

4. Mads Mikkelsen
Seen in: King Arthur, After the Wedding, Casino Royale, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, Valhalla Rising, Clash of the Titans, A Royal Affair, The Hunt, “Hannibal” 2 seasons

3. Song Kang-ho
Seen in 9 films: The Quiet Family, Joint Security Area, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Memories of Murder, Lady Vengeance, The Host, Secret Sunshine, The Good, the Bad, the Weird, Thirst

2. Joaquin Phoenix
Seen in: SpaceCamp, Parenthood, To Die For, Inventing the Abbots, Return to Paradise, The Yards, Quills, Gladiator, Signs, The Village, Hotel Rwanda, Walk the Line, We Own the Night, The Master, Her, The Immigrant

1. Philip Seymour Hoffman
Seen in 28 films: When a Man Loves a Woman, Hard Eight, Twister, Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, Happiness, Flawless, Magnolia, The Talented Mr. Ripley, State and Main, Almost Famous, Punch-Drunk Love, Red Dragon, The 25th Hour, Owning Mahowney, Cold Mountain, Empire Falls, Capote, Mission Impossible III, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, The Savages, Charlie Wilson’s War, Synecdoche, New York, Doubt, Mary and Max (voice), The Invention of Lying, Moneyball, The Ides of March