I recently was thinking about all the really good actors that were born in the same decade as me, and I decided I'd make a list of actors and actresses who, in my opinion, are currently the best actors of my generation. This list contains 10 men and 10 women who I believe are the best LIVING actor/actress born in each year of the 80's decade. We'll start from 1990 and go backward.
1990
Aaron Johnson and Emma Watson
Aaron's career is just getting started, but it's started with a bang. He is the title character in Kick-Ass, starred as John Lennon in the bio-pic Nowhere Boy, and gave a wonderfully nuanced performance in a little indie movie called The Greatest starring Susan Sarandon, Pierce Brosnan and Carey Mulligan.
And Emma is famous for her Harry Potter role of Hermione Granger, which she plays to perfection. She doesn't have much else on her resume, but as busy as that's kept her, you can't really blame her. Plus, she's getting her degree from Brown Univeristy.
1989
Anton Yelchin and Mia Wasikowska
Anton is one of those actors who disappears into his roles. He got his big break in Alpha Dog, played Chekov in the 2008 Star Trek reboot, and Kyle Reese in Terminator: Salvation, and has starred in some smaller, indie films such as Middle of Nowhere with Susan Sarandon, and as the title character in Charlie Bartlett.
Mia was Alice in last years Alice in Wonderland, starred in the Oscar nominated film The Kids Are Alright with Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, and Mark Ruffalo, and plays the titular role of Jane Eyre in this year's film of the Charlotte Bronte classic.
1988
Haley Joel Osment and Emma Stone
Okay, so Haley hasn't done anything of note in the last six years. Big deal. He OWNED Sixth Sense, was fantastic in AI, and held his own against Robert Duvall and Michael Caine in Second Hand Lions. The only guy who could come close is Rupert Grint, but as much as I love Ron Weasley, I have to give Haley his props.
Emma's probably best known for slapstick comedies such as Superbad (which I haven't watched all the way through, and never will), Housebunny, and Easy A, in which she outshone Amanda Bynes (which is hard to do). But I like her performance in Zombieland best, and I'm really looking forward to watching her portray Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spiderman.
1987
Thomas Dekker and Ellen Page
I know you expected me to say Zac Efron, but I didn't. Most people don't know who Thomas Dekker is, but that's going to change. He starred in his own TV show, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and gave a brilliantly nuanced performance as Taylor Ambrose, Kate's boyfriend and fellow cancer patient, in My Sister's Keeper. Plus, at 23, he's already written and directed his own independent film. Not many guys can say that.
Ellen Page, however, is a shoe-in. She's got this quirky, wry, dry sensibility that works well in comedies like Whip It and Juno, but she was wonderful in Inception, holding her own with Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and has been lauded for her work in the dramatic Hard Candy.
1986
Jamie Bell and Emmy Rossum
This was a difficult year to decide in both categories. Jamie's chief competition was Shia LaBeouf, who I think is actually an excellent actor. The edge went to Jamie, though, because he is able to disappear into a role. Whether it's a period piece like Nicholas Nickelby, or an action film like Jumper or Defiance, or a character piece like The Chumscrubber or Billy Elliot, Jamie is always spot on.
Emmy won out over actresses like Gemma Arterton simply because her body of work is more diverse. She did a musical Phantom of the Opera, an epic movie The Day After Tomorrow, and had her break-out role in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, acting alongside Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, and Tim Robbins. Now she stars in her own TV series on Showtime.
1985
Emile Hirsch and Keira Knightley
1985 was a hard year for men, simply because there aren't many established actors with a decent catalogue of work. But, Emile won the vote because of his lead role in Into the Wild, and his supporting roles in Milk, Taking Woodstock, and Alpha Dog. (I'll pretend someone else starred in Speed Racer).
This was a difficult year for women as well, but for the opposite reason. Ultimately Keira Knightley beat out other actresses, like Carey Mulligan, Amanda Seyfried, and Anna Kendrick, simply because she's got such a wonderfully diverse portfolio. From an Oscar nomination as Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, to a turn as a bounty hunter in Domino, to her Pirates trilogy, to a spot-on Welsh accent in The Edge of Love, Keira has proven that no matter the role or genre, she always brings her "A" game.
1984
Paul Dano and Scarlett Johansson
Paul's main competition was Garrett Hedlund, who has come out guns blazing this year with Tron: Legacy, and Country Strong. However, I chose Paul because he was spectacular as vow-of-silence Dwayne in Little Miss Sunshine, was brilliant in the indie Gigantic opposite Zooey Deschanel, and shone as kid-wonder scientist Simon Feck in Knight and Day.
I first saw Scarlett's work in Lost in Translation, and then I watched Girl with a Pearl Earring and Match Point. I was impressed. But what solidified my decision to go with her instead of, say, Jena Malone (who, by the way, is a fantastically under-rated actress), was actually her performance in The Spirit. Finally, she played a character that didn't reek with sexuality, and she disappeared into the skin of an automaton. Brilliant.
1983
Jesse Eisenberg and Emily Blunt
Everyone knows him from The Social Network. I first saw him in The Squid and the Whale. Then I watched The Education of Charlie Banks, then Adventureland, then Zombieland, and while I am waiting patiently for him to play a character completely opposite to type to prove he's got the chops, there's no arguing that he's one of the best young actors in Hollywood.
She stole the show from Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, won a Golden Globe for her role in TV movie Gideon's Daughter, held her own against Amy Adams and Alan Arkin in Sunshine Cleaning, and was radiant in The Young Victoria. Even in the B-movie homage to old thrillers, The Wolfman, where everything was over-the-top and a little campy, she was pitch-perfect in her choices.
1982
Cam Gigandet and Anne Hathaway
Three years ago, no one knew who Cam Gigandet was. Then he played James in Twilight, out-acting everyone in the film with the exception of Anna Kendrick and Michael Welch. He starred in three movies in 2009, and four in 2010, including Easy A where he showed his comedy chops, and Burlesque where he wowed me as soft-hearted bar manager Jack. He doesn't have a big award nomination or win yet, but don't count him out.
Anne Hathaway had a couple of close followers in Anna Paquin (she won an Oscar when she was 12) and Hayley Atwell (who is brilliant in The Duchess and Pillars of the Earth). But ultimately, I had to give it to Anne. She burst onto the scene with The Princess Diaries, then she chose Havoc and Brokeback Mountain so she wouldn't be pigeon-holed as a Disney actor. She was brilliant in Becoming Jane opposite James McAvoy, and fun in Get Smart opposite Steve Carrell, and was nominated for an Oscar for Rachel Getting Married. Even her work in the recent Love and Other Drugs was brilliant, despite the fact that there was far too much nakedness.
1981
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman
I fell in love with him in Angels in the Outfield. Then he starred on 3rd Rock from the Sun. Then he did 10 Thing I Hate About You. And he followed all those up with a wonderfully mixed bag of big blockbusters (Stop-Loss, Inception, GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra) and Indie films (Brick. (500) Days of Summer, and Uncertainty). Rupert Friend and Chris Evans are the only two who come close, and they just don't have the goods.
Is there anyone other than Natalie Portman I could have given this to? Sienna Miller is the only one I could consider, but even that was so distant it was a no-brainer. From her brilliant turn as Mathilda in The Professional at the tender age of 12, to Amidala in the Star Wars trilogy, to epileptic Sam in Garden State, to her Oscar nominated role of Alice in Closer, to Evey in V For Vendetta, to widowed army wife, Grace, in 2009's Brother's, to this year's brilliant and much-awarded turn as psychologically broken Nina Sayers in Black Swan, she's proven herself to be fantastic in whatever role is set before her. And if she doesn't win the Oscar on Sunday, I'll eat my hat.
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I'm working on at list of actors born in the 70's, which I'll post shortly.
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