tMF | The Movie-Fanatic

It's almost time for an update of the Top 50 Hottest Young Actors list! Before our rundown featuring the actors below, let's have a look at some hitlists from across the web - Moviefone has a 25 under 25 and Fandango a 10 Young Actors to Watch list. ScreenDaily publishes Stars of Tomorrow and there is the annual European Shooting Stars celebrated as part of the Berlinale. The first 2 only consider Hollywood movies and cast, while ScreenDaily is exclusively for UK-based filmmakers and actors. The 'shooting star' programme is, of course, for Europeans.

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These hitlists are more than point of references to our own - they are inspiration to keep us on our feet and come up with a listing that consider all angles. I don't think anyone is naïve enough to list down and rank 50 young actors ( and 50 young actresses) and expect everyone to agree and be happy, right? You bet! So we are constantly trying to innovate.

In coming up with the updated list this October, tMF is inviting publishers and bloggers to help us come up with a diverse, up-to-date list and that it will cater not only to American moviegoers but to a 'global' audience.

So, what else is new? A lot, actually! Let's begin with the actors shown above...

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Back on Track: Whether they are officially in "semi-hiatus" or not, these guys deserve higher rankings and with news of some exciting projects up ahead, they seem poised to get back into the spotlight.

James McAvoy (current rank: #10): There are 2 projects that make us really excited for James McAvoy - first, the long-awaited Tolstoy bio - The Last Station, with Christopher Plummer and Hellen Mirren, and second a film collaboration with Robert Redford for his new film entitled The Conspirator.

Redford’s new film will look at the after effects of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, with McAvoy taking the role of war hero Frederick Aiken who must defend Mary Surratt (Robin Wright Penn) who was thought to be the only woman amongst the group who planned Lincoln’s death. Reluctant in defending the conspirator, Aiken slowly begins to question Surrat’s part in the whole event and whether or not she may actually be guilty.

McAvoy has shown he has what it takes to play modern and contemporary roles, but playing historical characters seem to be his forte. Playing a Russian and an American in two high-profile films can't get any better!

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Ryan Gosling (current rank: #9): Moviegoers either love or hate 'Lars and The Real Girl' and felt disappointed with Fracture. But after such an awesome performance in Half-Nelson, you simply cannot expect Ryan Gosling to be 'almost perfect' in movies right after the critically-acclaimed film. The fallout in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones did not help the young actor either.

But two new projects seem very promising - All Good Things (with Kirsten Dunst) and Blue Valentine (with Michelle Williams).

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Jake Gyllenhaal (current rank: #7): He'll soon be the Prince of Persia, the brother of Tobey Maguire and lover of Natalie Portman, his borther's wife. The first movie will once again test his Box office factor, while the latter - Brothers - will give him another shot for possible noms come awards season. The Jim Sheridan film (a remake of Susanne Bier's "Brødre") has Jake playing Tommy, the black sheep of the family. When his brother Sam (Maguire) goes missing in Afghanistan, he tried to comfort Sam's wife (Portman) and children at home. When Sam came back, the events that follow will be dire, tragic and explosive.

He's also in Love and Other Drugs (with Anne Hathaway), which is based on Jamie Reidy's memoir "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman."

After Brokeback Mountain and Jarhead, Gyllenhaal seemed distracted with all the publicities and the media hound. Hopefully, this year and the next will be better years for Jake - both personally and career-wise. I have high expectations for Brothers - being a Jim Sheridan film and with such a stellar cast, it can be both critical and box-office success.

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Rising to the challenge: The actors who did great in between our last rankings (May 2009) until now. All 4 actors mentioned not only met our expectations, they actually surpassed it.

Jim Sturgess (current rank: #4): I have to say Jim Sturgess' performance in Fifty Dead Men Walking deserves nominations in major awards. What's so amazing about it? Let me see... Jim plays Martin McCartland, a former IRA who turned spy for the British government. From the time he appeared on the big screen fighting for his life to his recruitment by a government handler (Ben Kingsley) to the thrilling scene as he escapes from his torturers (by jumping down from a building) to those poignant and heartbreaking scene as he looks at his family from afar, Jim was armed to the teeth - aside from having a perfect accent, he showed such a believable transformation from a single young man out for sex and adventures to someone willing to sacrifice his life for his family.

Sturgess got, not one, but two movies which can only be described as his best movies so far. In Heartless, Jim plays Jamie Morgan. Twitch said:

Ridley's cast play a large part in the success of his eclectic approach...but Jim Sturgess is phenomenal in the lead role. Jamie has several key dramatic setpieces which could so easily have collapsed into saccharine tedium; he dreams another, ‘normal' Jamie lives a successful life in an alternate reality; he doubts his self-worth, his ability to make friends, have relationships. Yet Sturgess imbues these moments with an honesty that is nothing short of devastating.

Oh and before I forget, there is another one worth watching - Peter Weir's The Way Back. Sturgess is also in the cast, together with Colin Farrell, Ed Harris and Saoirse Ronan.

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Ben Whishaw (current rank: #2): Our friend, Keely from Good Prattle said Ben Whishaw's performance in Bright Star is 'phenomenal' and that the movie deserves all the acclaim. I agree 100% - having watched the movie myself and make that 3 sittings! Says The NY Times' A.O. Scott:

And there are times in "Bright Star" when Keats, played by the pale and skinny British actor Ben Whishaw ("Perfume," "I'm Not There"), trembles on the edge of caricature. He broods; he coughs (signaling the tuberculosis that will soon kill him); he looks dreamily at flowers and trees and rocks. But these moments, rather than feeling studied or obvious, arrive with startling keenness and disarming beauty, much in the way that Keats's own lyrics do. His verses can at first seem ornate and sentimental, but on repeated readings, they have a way of gaining in force and freshness. The music is so intricate and artificial, even as the emotions it carries seem natural and spontaneous. And while no film can hope to take you inside the process by which these poems were made, Ms. Campion allows you to hear them spoken aloud as if for the first time. You will want to stay until the very last bit of the end credits, not necessarily to read the name of each gaffer and grip, but rather to savor every syllable of Mr. Whishaw's recitation of "Ode to a Nightingale."

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt (current rank: #1): Someone said that being numero uno is harder than being in 2nd place (or 3rd place, for that matter) simply because one has to sustain such a position. But as #1, Joe Levitt showed he really has what it takes to be considered the hottest young actor around and as predicted his latest film, 500 Days of Summer was both successful in terms of the Box Office and critical acclaim.

Reports IndieWIRE:

Fox Searchlight looks like it might have a big indie hit in Marc Webb's "(500) Days Of Summer." The Zooey Deschanel-Joseph Gordon-Levitt romantic comedy nearly cracked the top ten films at Friday's daily box office, according to estimates. On only 27 screens, "Days" grossed an estimated $260,000. That could translate to a final weekend gross in the range of $850,000-$950,000, giving it an average of around $30,000. [ read more ]

Says Salon's Stephanie Zacharek, who made some interesting comments on Joe Levitt's performance:

But Gordon-Levitt may be the real key to what makes "(500) Days of Summer" work. Gordon-Levitt, a former child actor, has given fine performances in movies like Greg Araki's "Mysterious Skin" and Scott Frank's "The Lookout." He's a terrific, understated actor, but an unusual one: When I first sit down to watch a Gordon-Levitt performance, I'm never sure I'm going to like it. He has an opaqueness about him, as if he's resisting letting us inside. But I almost always find myself warming to him, and in "(500) Days of Summer," he works his usual spell in subtle gradations. As Tom watches his new crush winsomely toodle her way through "Sugar Town" (Deschanel has a lovely, silvery voice, as she's already proved on "Volume One," the 2008 album she made with M. Ward under the name She & Him), his face is transformed by open and unadulterated joy. He's not just falling in love with her; he's getting a real kick out of her, taking pleasure in her flirty stylishness -- and at the beginning, that's enough. In another scene, after he's slept with her for the first time, he bursts forth from his apartment building and begins skipping -- first figuratively, then literally -- his way to work. He high-fives strangers in the park; when he grins at them, they smile back. [ read more ]

Of course, Jamie Bell maintains his momentum, as we have previously noted.

tMF is also doing a piece on Louis Garrel and Tom Sturridge and why they both ought to be celebrated!

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A Major Disappointment: How frustrating it is to watch your favorite actors getting shitty roles and/or delivering bad performances. Its doubly frustrating if the role was supposed to be 'career defining'.

Gaspard Ulliel (current rank: #6): While I have yet to watch The Vintner's Luck, I can't help myself feeling frustrated and even angry that the film adaptation is not what I (and many others) expect it to be. Gaspard, who plays Xas, the angel and the main character in the novel was relegated into a supporting role. What should have been a career-defining role might turn out to be just a supporting role.

If you're not yet aware of the latest buzz surrounding Ulliel's latest movie, read our previous article: tMF TALKBACK: Get ready to be disappointed with The Vintner's Luck! You'll understand what's all the fuzz about...

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Ready and Willing to Take a Stand?: Whether or not they're backed by the Big Studios (or a suddenly big studio) and are surrounded with high-profile PR guys who are constantly on the lookout for scandals and will do damage control faster than me saying 'Terminator!'. These guys are the most talked about, and because of it, some people may find it difficult to consider them as actors and not as celebrities...

Robert Pattinson (current rank: #5): In terms of an acting career, is Robert Pattinson amenable to being known as Edward Cullen forever? Is there anything wrong with that? Are there other roles more worthy then? Actually, it depends on one's perspective. Let me tell you my thoughts and then react to it, and tell me if I'm wrong:

• I love the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer and I have to say, she has created a completely new Vampire universe with characters memorable and endearing. Edward Cullen is, in my opinion, one of the series' most beloved characters and for good reasons. But did the movie actually translated this - allowed us Twilight readers to savor each moment and make us remember how we see Edward Cullen as we imagined him from the books? My answer is that the movie failed to do so, partly because of the script and the kind of fuzzy direction from Catherine Hardwicke. In New Moon, I am hoping that Rob could finally bring Edward above the surface...
• If I have to tell someone who wants to know - is Robert Pattinson a good actor? - I'll let him watch 'How To Be'. The thing is, moviegoers never got the chance to see it and decide for themselves. Even with 2 Best Actor trophies and acclaim for the film from various Festivals, it remains an undiscovered gem. How about Little Ashes? Well, that will require a complete and separate article...
• I'm really looking forward to 2 features: Remember Me and Bel Ami - these are two completely different movies, but will really give us the chance to actually judge Rob as an actor. Will he be great doing modern and contemporary roles or will he be more successful in portraying historical characters? Or will he be great (or even just good) at doing both?
  

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Daniel Radcliffe (current rank: #16): From a previous update, I asked the question: How serious is Dan Radcliffe as a movie actor? My response is to actually compare Dan with Rupert Grint and Emma Watson - and what's the latest in terms of new projects and career goals. I believe that Grint is the most serious, but let me focus on Dan:

• Beating hundreds of aspirants for the role of Harry Potter is already an achievement in itself for Dan Radcliffe. As with Rob, is Dan amenable to being known as Harry Potter forever? Is he interested in exploring other roles, studying them and making them his own? Playing one of the orphans (Maps) in December Boys is - I believe - a minor attempt to hone his craft, but it takes more than 1 or 2 movies to do that. So I'm waiting for that 'career-defining' role once again.
• How about Equus and the raves he got for playing such a challenging and difficult character? Is that not enough to convince anyone that Dan is a serious actor? Again, the kind of career direction he takes. I applaud him for doing the play and that theater-goers from London and the Big Apple got to see him, but unlike a movie, no matter how phenomenal it was, only a limited audience can attest to that.
  
• Someone said, James McAvoy is also doing both theater and film. How come it's different with McAvoy? Obviously, it is - James is already an award-winning actor and has proven he can play both modern and historical roles successfully. Take a look at the list of films he did (and are currently making) and tell me if there is no diversity in the characters?
  
• The Journey is the Destination maybe Radcliffe's attempt to make the transition and finally get the chance to explore many acting possibilities later on. Let us see what it's all about:

Dan Eldon (Radcliffe) was was a British born photographer, who spent his childhood in Kenya. His photographs of refugees from the Somalian civil war led to his employment by Reuters, who sent him to Somalia in 1992. His pictures helped draw the world's attention to the crisis, but on 12 July 1993, while covering the story that UN forces had accidentally killed 74 civilians, he and three colleagues were stoned and beaten to death by a furious crowd.

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Shia LaBeouf (current rank: #15): Don't ask me the difference between a Michael Bay film and the movies directed by Jane Campion, Francois Ozon, or Ang Lee. I love all those special effects and I'm aware how much technology is used in order to realize one's vision - Bay's for that matter - but will this take precedence over acting?

So what's the issue (or issues) with Shia LaBeouf? After playing Stanley Yelnats IV in Holes and the young Ditto in A Guide to Recognizing your Saints, did Shia made another movie that is both 'substance and form' and as compelling as those mentioned? Sam Witwicky, anyone?

How about Oliver Stone's Wall Street 2? It has a stellar cast, that's for sure. But then again, Alexander also had a stellar cast and we all know what happened...

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What's on your mind? What are your reactions to this update? Do you think anyone among the young actors mentioned above is definitely deserving of his ranking? Or he just got to be ranked higher? Let us know what you think!
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