Over the last 2 weeks, I’ve listed my 10 favourite directors and actresses. Now, the last thing to do is to run through my favourite actors.

 

It’s never easy narrowing the list down to 10 names and this year was no exception. There are 3 newcomers to the list – George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr and Tommy Lee Jones. All have had a great 12 months and coupled with their prior performances, they’ve done enough to make the cut. They come in at the expense of Ryan Phillippe, Paul Giamatti and Geoffrey Rush.

 

Others which just missed out on the list include Don Cheadle, Daniel Day Lewis (should be in there but doesn’t make enough movies), Javier Bardem, Denzel Washington, Josh Hutcherson, Christian Bale and Johnny Depp.

 

Philip Seymour Hoffman is still on top and he very much deserves it. As you can see below, I have listed 13 great films that he has starred in over the last 10 years. That’s impressive!

 

Here then is my list and you can see how it compares with your own…

 

10. William H. Macy (last year’s rank: 8)

Best Recent Role: The Cooler (2003)

Other Great Performances: Bobby (2006), Thank You For Smoking (2005), Seabiscuit (2003), Focus (2001), State And Main (2000), Magnolia (1999)

 

9. Chris Cooper (last year’s rank: 5)

Best Recent Role: Adaptation (2002)

Other Great Performances: Married Life (2007), Breach (2007), Syriana (2005), Jarhead (2005), Capote (2005), Seabiscuit (2003), The Bourne Identity (2002), American Beauty (1999), October Sky (1999)

 

8. Jake Gyllenhaal (last year’s rank: 3)

Best Recent Role: Donnie Darko (2001)

Other Great Performances: Rendition (2007), Zodiac (2007), Jarhead (2005), Proof (2005), Brokeback Mountain (2005), The Good Girl (2002), October Sky (1999)

 

7. Tommy Lee Jones (not ranked last year)

Best Recent Role: No Country For Old Men (2007)

Other Great Performances: In The Valley Of Elah (2007), A Prairie Home Companion (2006), The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada (2005), Rules Of Engagement (2000)

 

6. Matt Damon (last year’s rank: 2)

Best Recent Role: The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

Other Great Performances: The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), The Departed (2006), Syriana (2005), The Bourne Identity (2002), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), All The Pretty Horses (2000)

 

5. Robert Downey Jr (not ranked last year)

Best Recent Role: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)

Other Great Performances: Tropic Thunder (2008), Iron Man (2008), Zodiac (2007), A Scanner Darkly (2006), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), Wonder Boys (2000)

 

4. George Clooney (not ranked last year)

Best Recent Role: Michael Clayton (2007)

Other Great Performances: Burn After Reading (2008), Leatherheads (2008), Syriana (2005), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind (2002), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), The Perfect Storm (2000), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

 

3. Russell Crowe (last year’s rank: 6)

Best Recent Role: A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Other Great Performances: Body Of Lies (2008), American Gangster (2007), 3:10 To Yuma (2007), Cinderella Man (2005), Master & Commander (2003), Gladiator (2000), The Insider (1999)

 

2. Leonardo DiCaprio (last year’s rank: 4)

Best Recent Role: Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Other Great Performances: Body Of Lies (2008), Blood Diamond (2006), The Departed (2006), The Aviator (2004), Gangs Of New York (2002), The Beach (2000)

 

1. Philip Seymour Hoffman (last year’s rank: 1)

Best Recent Role: Capote (2006)

Other Great Performances: Charlie Wilson’s War (2008), Before The Devil Knows Your Dead (2007), The Savages (2007), Cold Mountain (2003), Owning Mahowny (2003), 25th Hour (2002), Red Dragon (2002), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Almost Famous (2000), State And Main (2000), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Magnolia (1999)