50 Actors We'd Watch in Anything (Part 1)

1

KATE WINSLET
Beautiful without being untouchably glamorous, warm without being cutesy, Kate Winslet is the kind of actress that women would actually want to befriend. Because she's so real and accessible in her performances, it's easy to empathize with her characters, even when they're having ill-advised affairs (Little Children, her Oscar-winning turn in The Reader) or acting like basket cases (Heavenly Creatures, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) or, you know, at the center of a terrible chick flick (The Holiday). Also: Winslet is, hands down, the best crier on the big screen. Just seeing her face start to screw up sends me running for a tissue. —Dawnie Walton

2

ALEC BALDWIN
Never underestimate this combo: brains and impishness. From his beloved 30 Rock network-suit back to his finger-breaking psycho in the great Miami Blues (1990), Alec Baldwin radiates playful malice. Glengarry Glen Ross, sure. But also in The Shadow. Really. —Ken Tucker

3

JUDE LAW
Behind his Old Hollywood prettiness lurks a wolfish glint and playful willingness to go ugly. He'll never be confused for an Everyman, but his filed teeth in Road to Perdition and his coarse invective in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil prove Jude Law the rarest of things: a majestic character actor. —Jeff Labrecque

4

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN
Is there anything Philip Seymour Hoffman can't do? The actor has appeared in the silliest of comedies (like State and Main), the most serious of dramas (Proof and Cold Mountain) and the most vigorous of action films (see: Mission: Impossible III and his blink-and-you-missed-it appearance in Twister). And he just keeps building onto his already venerable resume: After his Oscar-winning turn in Capote, Hoffman churned out stellar performances in The Savages and Charlie Wilson's War, for which he was nominated. Heck, we'll even dig up a copy of Patch Adams just to watch the talented Mr. Hoffman. —Kate Ward

5

EDIE FALCO
From her iconic role in The Sopranos to her new gig on Nurse Jackie, as well as stints on Oz, Law & Order, and Homicide, Edie Falco's got an acting style — remarkably naturalistic, melancholy, and jaded — that just leaps off the screen. She proved she can bring the funny, too, with a hilarious guest stint on 30 Rock opposite Alec Baldwin. —Tanner Stransky

6

MORGAN FREEMAN
He's played the president (Deep Impact), God (Bruce Almighty), and Clint's righthand man (Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby), but Morgan Freeman's just as renowned for classing up dreck like The Bucket List and Wanted. His dulcet intonation alone is, much as he proclaimed in The Shawshank Redemption, the sound of hope. —Jeff Labrecque

7

MERYL STREEP
Look no further than her 15 Academy Award nominations as proof that she's the greatest actress of her generation. But it's not the super-serious, Oscar-baiting roles that make us love Meryl Streep so much — her magic is in the way she can elevate an otherwise mediocre, mainstream-appeal movie into an experience that's waaaaay better than it has any right to be (see: The Devil Wears Prada, The River Wild, Prime). Bonus points for her constant willingness to stretch into new genres (i.e., Julie & Julia) and embrace a crowd-pleaser every once in a while — she surprised audiences with lovely pipes in both A Prairie Home Companion and Mamma Mia!. —Dawnie Walton

8

JOHNNY DEPP
Sly and slippery, the former 21 Jump Street idol is the Bob Dylan of actors, constantly shifting, constantly confounding, and never letting us forget that the real joke's on us. Only after watching Johnny Depp in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Ed Wood, and Donnie Brasco can one really locate the genius behind Captain Jack. —Jeff Labrecque

9

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS
Few actors delve into the experiences of their characters as fully as Daniel Day-Lewis, who's stunned with dramatic portrayals in My Left Foot, Last of the Mohicans, Gangs of New York, and There Will Be Blood. —Tanner Stransky

10

SIMON PEGG
The British comedian remains impishly lovable whether dispatching zombies in Shaun Of The Dead or aping overblown Michael Bay-styled action movie hijinks in Hot Fuzz. And we couldn't get enough of his Scots accent — well, Scotty-ish accent — in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek revamp. —Clark Collis

11

RYAN GOSLING
We fell in thrall with him, first, in The Believer, with his harrowing turn as an Orthodox Jew-turned-neo-Nazi. Then again with his poor, love struck young guy in The Notebook. And yet again, as a drug-addict teacher in Half Nelson. Most recently, he did it once more as a deluded, small-town guy who's obsessed with a sex doll in Lars and the Real Girl. There's no disputing the effect Ryan Gosling's presence has on the screen, but we like him most for the fact that whatever he brings next will be totally different. —Tanner Stransky

12

ROSARIO DAWSON
Want to make an okay movie great? Add Rosario Dawson. The doe-eyed actress makes thrillers more thrilling (Grindhouse, Descent, Sin City) and dramas more dramatic (Kids, Rent). And she was the only reason to watch Alexander. She may seem like the girl next door, but this girl knows how to kick butt. —Mark S. Luckie

13

DON CHEADLE
For years, Don Cheadle instilled cuddly-named villains — like Mouse (Devil in a Blue Dress) and Snoopy (Out of Sight) — with chilling brutality, while enhancing virtually every revered ensemble cast (Boogie Nights, Traffic, Crash, the Ocean's flicks). But after Hotel Rwanda, no one could deny he'd become a leading man in his own right. —Jeff Labrecque

14

KRISTEN BELL
She slayed us with her acerbic yet vulnerable yet tough yet damaged TV heroine, Veronica Mars, then even mesmerized us as villainous Elle during Heroes' otherwise fast-forwardable third season. Heck, we're riveted by Kristen Bell's voice alone as the anonymous Gossip Girl herself. Forgetting Sarah Marshall? Not a chance. —Jennifer Armstrong

15

TONY LEUNG
Swordsman. Gangster. Detective. Stylist. Writer. Gigolo. Tony Leung Chiu Wai has already played nearly every role there is. Need more proof of his skills? Take his character from Wong Kar Wai's 2046 and In The Mood For Love — he plays the same man, but at two extremes of empathy. His kind of talent can handle any part. —Jef Castro

16

NATHAN FILLION
I have watched an episode of Desperate Housewives. Because of him. Because his rugged good looks and easy charm — winning on Firefly, Buffy, and Castle — have rendered Nathan Fillion eminently man-crushable. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. (I'll deny watching Desperate Housewives, however, to my grave.) —Marc Bernardin

17

EMMA THOMPSON
She's smart and classy. And while Emma Thompson kills in good projects (Howards End, Sense and Sensibility), she got this incredible knack for bringing a lovability to the character she plays in totally ridiculous movies (Love, Actually; Nanny McPhee), too. —Tanner Stransky

18

DENZEL WASHINGTON
Because he's got one more Oscar than F. Murray Abraham, and two more than most everyone else. Because no one does righteous anger like Mr. Denzel Washington. Because he even made a crappy virtual-reality thriller (Virtuosity) borderline watchable. —Marc Bernardin

19

CHERRY JONES
Her Broadway star has shined with Tony award-winning lead roles in Doubt and The Heiress, but this serious character actress brings it in small roles, too, like M. Night Shyamalan's The Village and Signs. Plus, we're happy she's Jack Bauer's Commander in Chief. Her President Allison Taylor is the first 24 POTUS since David Palmer to show some real steel. —Tanner Stransky

20

BRENDAN GLEESON
This Irish character actor makes a good ass-kicker (Braveheart, Gangs of New York, Troy), a terrific villain (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), an even better assassin (In Bruges), and the greatest, cuddliest dad (28 Days Later, Cold Mountain). —Aubry D'Arminio

21

WILL FERRELL
Will Ferrell has had more jobs than Barbie. Since leaving Saturday Night Live, the comic actor has starred as a figure skater, a fashion designer, a news anchorman, a race car driver, a basketball player, an elf...you name it. Yet as formulaic as his repertoire may seem, Ferrell infuses comic genius in every single role. —Mark S. Luckie

22

CATHERINE KEENER
As proof of her versatility, in 2005 alone, the 49-year-old Catherine Keener starred in The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Capote, and The Ballad of Jack and Rose in which, it's safe to say, she played a lover of a different caliber than Virgin's Trish. Her magnetism makes you wish you could come home to a single mom like her after playing Where the Wild Things Are. —Vanessa Juarez

23

TOM SELLECK
With the perfect mix of movie-star good looks and a boyish persona, the famously mustachioed Tom Selleck rocked Magnum, P.I. And His Sexiness cropped up in Las Vegas and Boston Legal — and in his ongoing series of Jesse Stone TV movies — proving that he's both wonderfully throwback in nature while still being modern as all get-out. —Tanner Stransky

24

PATRICIA CLARKSON
She brings it — a certain charisma — every time, from Pieces of April to Good Night, and Good Luck. Even in a C+ film like No Reservations, our own Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote, ''a soignée Patricia Clarkson plays owner and manager [of a restaurant] with precision and intensity of purpose.'' —Vanessa Juarez

25

PAUL RUDD
Put it this way: No other actor could have made us rent the direct-to-DVD Amy Heckerling disaster I Could Never Be Your Woman. Flirting with Alicia Silverstone in Clueless, playing dad in Knocked Up, stoned out of his gourd in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and bromancing it up in I Love You, Man — Paul Rudd's just fun to have around. —Whitney Pastorek

George Clooney. Amy Adams. Steve Carell . See the 25 names that make up part 2 of our list of 50 Actors We'd Watch in Anything