Top Twenty Female Actors - Page 4

11.) Kristen Scott Thomas was a nurse in The English Patient, a discontented American housewife in Horse Whisperer and My Life as a House, and the aristocratic wife of a successful British industrialist in Gosford Park. Elegance, style and beauty are the watchwords for this wonderful actor. No matter the role or the moment there is always a certain je ne sais quoi about her work that makes you feel part of something special.

12.) Janeane Garfalo couldn’t be more opposite from Kristen Scott Thomas if you tried. Best known for her acerbic tongue and sarcastic comments in movies such as Mystery Men, Dogma and Big Trouble she shows her true scope as an actor in The Truth About Cats and Dogs, The Honeybee Flies Anyway, and The MatchMaker. She is another actor whose abilities are superior to the roles she is given to play.

13.) Minnie Driver maybe a surprise inclusion for some people on a top twenty list but she can always be counted on to deliver top notch performances. In either period pieces like The Ideal Husband and The Govenerness or contemporary films Grosse Point Blank, Good Will Hunting, and High Heels and Lowlifes her performances are always more than a match for her more celebrated screen partners. She is another actor who knows the secret of subtlety being more effective then exaggeration.

14.) Geena Davis has always been one of my favourite actors. Her big toothy grin charms, and her intelligence and sense of mischief are infectious. Even in movies like David Cronenburg’s The Fly she’s a reassuring presence. She has a talent for both humour and adventure as she’s proven in Beetle Juice, Earth Girls are Easy, Thelma and Louise, and Cutthroat Island (despite Johnny Depp’s best efforts, still the best modern pirate movie). We haven’t seen enough of Geena recently.

15.) Christina Ricci is one of the best young actors around. Whether she’s doing an offbeat John Waters film likePecker, the quirky social satire ofThe Opposite of Sex, the twisted fantasies of Tim Burton in Sleepy Hollow, or the drama ofThe Man Who Cried she brings an intelligence and integrity to her role that belies her years. If she is able to maintain the standards she has set for herself there should be no stopping her.

16.) Mary Stuart Masterson seems to get some of the stranger rolls going. In Benny and Joon she plays Juniper, a girl permanently scarred by the tragic death of her parents and in Fried Green Tomatoes an irascible tom-boy Idgie Threadgood. But everything she does is touched by her ability to create characters that are believable and the audience can relate to. Her ability to connect with those watching on an emotional level separates her from the pack.

Article Author: Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of the recently published What Will Happen In Eragon IV? and has had his work published in print and on line all over the world. The not so long-haired Canadian iconoclast writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees …

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