Top 10 Actors – The 00’s

Article by Todd Plucknett

Posted - 2/8/10

This past decade was an interesting one for actors. The decade was ruled by people you might not expect. There were of course people like Orlando Bloom that starred in two of the highest-grossing trilogies of all time, but since he is such a shoddy actor, I can’t put him near this list. There was also Sean Penn, who won more Oscars this decade than anyone, yet his overall body of work was not strong enough to be included. Many people will argue that Johnny Depp ruled the decade, but I’m sorry, I refuse to include the “star” of the worst film of the decade, The Libertine. These are fairly subjective lists. I cannot really judge someone for roles in films that I have not seen. I am judging by consistency, not volume or popularity.  From the scope of what I have seen or at least know about, here are my top 10 actors and actresses of the decade. 

Honorable mention: Tony Leung, Edward Norton, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Colin Farrell

10. Seth Rogen. Ok, do I think Rogen was one of the best actors of the decade? No. However, no one but Meryl Streep has ruled the last 3 or 4 years of the decade like Seth Rogen. Every film that Rogen released was a critical hit and/or a blockbuster smash. Beginning with tiny parts in Donnie Darko and Achorman, Rogen was already starring in some immensely popular films. That led to him starring in Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Zack and Miri, and Superbad, among others. While each performance may be similar, his charisma and humor are always perfect for the role. He went outside his box with Funny People and Observe and Report, which proves that he is not just a one-note actor. Add in some major animated work in Horton Hears a Who!, Monsters vs. Aliens, Kung Fu Panda, and Shrek the Third, and we have a complete acting resume. I have no reason to believe that he will not continue to dominate this coming decade.

Best performance of the decade: Knocked Up

9.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt. This actor has risen up my favorite actors list unlike anyone this last decade. To me, he was always just the kid from 3^rd Rock and Angels in the Outfield. Now, he is his own guy. He is not one to just completely sell out and make films that will tear up the box office, either. He is one who almost exclusively does independent features, with the occasional more mainstream film. His tiny films like Manic, Brick, and Mysterious Skin all show his enormous talent. His more mainstream films like Stop-Loss, The Lookout, and Miracle at St. Anna show his mass appeal. Then he has one of the only tolerable parts in Gi Joe and finally receiving a major nomination for (500) Days of Summer. That kind of resume is as good as any this decade.

Best performance of the decade: Mysterious Skin

8. Gael Garcia Bernal. This is the only foreign actor included on this list. His film career began in 2000, when he starred in a film that was a good as any that year, Amores Perros. From the first time I saw that film, I knew he was a special actor. He followed that up with Y Tu Mama Tambien, The Motorcycle Diaries, and Bad Education. He went on to star in American film releases Babel and Blindness, proving that he can be in a mainstream film as well. Rudo y Cursi and The Science of Sleep also only add to his astonishing resume. I can’t wait to see what he does in the coming years.

Best performance of the decade: The Motorcycle Diaries

7. Brad Pitt. This inclusion is more for the later part of the decade than the beginning of it. While the early part of the decade included a couple great performances in Snatch, Spy Game, and two of the Ocean’s films, it was later in the decade that he came into his own as an actor. This included award-level work in Babel, Burn After Reading, Jesse James, Inglourious Basterds, and Benjamin Button. Those five films alone put him on the list. Coupled with the Ocean’s films, he is undeniably among the best actors of the decade.

Best performance of the decade: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

6. Ethan Hawke. I have seen basically every film Ethan Hawke has made last decade, and I can honestly say that he was as good as anyone. In 2001, he got his Oscar nomination for Training Day, and while that was a phenomenal performance, he was even better in the ridiculously underrated Tape. He gave Oscar-level work in Before Sunset, What Doesn’t Kill You, and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Add to that list the underrated films Lord of War, Waking Life, and Taking Lives, I cannot help but hail him as one of the best and most consistent actors working today.

Best performance of the decade: Tape

5. Robert Downey Jr. No one is as happy as me to include Robert Downey Jr. on this list. He had one phenomenal comeback. Beginning the decade with his amazing performance in Wonder Boys, he proved that he still had it. Later, he took on The Singing Detective, Good Night and Good Luck, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. After that, everything he touched was gold. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Zodiac, and A Scanner Darkly showed he still had that incredible screen presence. Then he comes out with the box office hits Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, and Sherlock Holmes. Add in fine performances in The Soloist and Charlie Bartlett, and you get a complete and fantastic decade-long run. He is no longer only that quirky actor that used to be great. He is now a movie star and an astonishing character actor.

Best performance of the decade: A Scanner Darkly

4. Mark Ruffalo. I can’t be alone when I say that Mark Ruffalo might be the most underappreciated actor in Hollywood. He is an amazing talent. He burst into acclaim with You Can Count on Me. Then he did My Life Without Me and Eternal Sunshine, along with the underrated films We Don’t Live Here Anymore, 13 Going on 30, and In the Cut. His run during the last few years is something truly amazing, though, including Zodiac, the criminally underrated Reservation Road, Blindness, The Brothers Bloom, Where the Wild Things Are, and the amazing What Doesn’t Kill You. Everything he does is handled with such subtlety and feeling. I can’t wait to see what he does in the highly-anticipated (personally at least) Shutter Island, Margaret, and Sympathy for Delicious.

Best performance of the decade: You Can Count on Me

3. Matt Damon. Few actors are as consistently brilliant as Matt Damon. He is one of the best actors of this generation. Damon started the decade with smaller, yet acclaimed work in The Legend of Bagger Vance, All the Pretty Horses, and Finding Forrester. He had the monumentally popular Ocean’s and Bourne trilogies. Add in Oscar-level work in The Good Shepherd, Syriana, Gerry, The Departed, Invictus, and The Informant!. He reinforced his comic timing with Eurotrip and Stuck on You. Add in The Brothers Grimm, Che, and Ponyo and you have one of the most astonishing decades in recent memory.

Best performance of the decade: The Good Shepherd

2. Philip Seymour Hoffman. There are few actors who have risen from no-name to household name like Philip Seymour Hoffman. He was an awkward character actor (who I knew as “the let it rain guy from Along Came Polly” for the longest time), and now he is a movie star that cannot miss, even if he tried. When one starts off the decade with Almost Famous and State and Main, then that is a sign of good things to come. He had acclaimed work in Love Liza, Empire Falls, and Owning Mahowny. His astonishing smaller parts of Red Dragon, Punch-Drunk Love, and 25^th Hour remind us why we all love him. He got his Oscar win for Capote, followed by his insane villain in Mission: Impossible III. Then he simply could not hit a bad note with Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, The Savages, Synecdoche, New York, Doubt, Charlie Wilson’s War, and The Boat that Rocked. There is no better leading man right now than Hoffman. Period.

Best performance of the decade: Capote

1. Benicio Del Toro. Now, he may not have had the amount of films this decade that some of the others had, but there was no actor who was as unforgettable and reliable as Benicio Del Toro. It is hard to say that he is anything other than the best actor in film. In 2000, he had Snatch, Traffic, and The Way of the Gun, all of them garnering praise and deserving of nominations. He had a hauntingly small part in the underrated The Pledge. The Hunted was garbage, but he was amazing. His performance in 21 Grams is one of the best of the decade. Sin City and Things We Lost in the Fire further enforced his impact. All of this was topped by his crowning achievement in the epic Che. That is the extent of his films this decade. Incredible would be an understatement.

Best performance of the decade: 21 Grams