Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. 1998.

Who can deny the acting prowess of John Christopher Depp II?

The original eighties fans will know him forever as the poster boy who made panties drop in 21 Jump Street. All the fans who came after will know him as that guy who likes to take on weird roles. And when I say weird, I mean weird.

His weirdest role to date would probably be that infamous pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow, immortalized by Depp with the pirate accent and the drunk swagger. But Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas came much, much earlier, and if you want to see an offbeat, eccentric Johnny Depp, it's Raoul Duke, not Jack Sparrow, that you should watch.

Here Depp plays the sportswriter Raoul Duke, who is actually notorious writer Hunter S. Thompson's alter-ego. Now I personally know nothing of Johnny Depp's drug use, but as a musician, I'm pretty sure he's done pot a couple of times. But in this movie, Duke is actually someone who ingests drugs in huge quantities, and the effects of each and every drug he consumes, spanning the whole gamut of the uppers-downers spectrum, is portrayed accurately by Depp. The opening scene itself is like an anti-drug video clip showing the harmful effects of LSD, and yet the thing is, it's all acting. It's all brilliant acting.

One doesn't have to be a method actor to prepare for a role. Every actor has their own style. What Depp did for this role was to visit the real Hunter S. Thompson, and ended up living in Hunter's basement for four months. This was where Depp fleshed out the role, paying attention to Hunter's mannerisms and habits. He also went through the original manuscript of Fear and Loathing, as well as the notebooks Hunter kept during the original trip. He even traded cars with Hunter, shaved his head, and changed his wardrobe to match Hunter's.

Now, Hunter S. Thompson is a huge man, and one of the first actors considered to play him was Jack Nicholson, who was more or less the same size as the real Hunter S. Thompson. But due to some studio mishaps, the project never got off the ground. When Hunter first met Johnny Depp, his first thought was that, "This actor couldn't possibly play me. He's too small." But once Depp got inside his head and dissected his psyche, transforming it into his very own, Hunter became convinced that nobody else could play him the way Johnny Depp did. And for Depp's performance alone, this film is worth watching.

Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis as William "Bill" a.k.a. "The Butcher" Cutting. Gangs of New York. 2002.

Okay, anybody who says that Daniel Day-Lewis's performance was not that good, please stand up. Bill the Butcher'll plunge a knife through your heart.

To qualify into the Acting Hall of Fame, three conditions must be satisfied. First, the actor should become the character. And in this film, did the actor become the character? In this case, why the answer is yes. As with any Daniel Day-Lewis film, he totally becomes the character, on and off camera. Daniel Day-Lewis is in fact well-known for his acting eccentricities, staying in character as long as production is in progress, even if the cameras have stopped rolling. It was reported that he even had a bout of pneumonia during filming, and he stubbornly refused to be treated, saying it wasn't staying true to the period. I think he was finally persuaded when someone pointed out that during the period, people actually died of pneumonia.

The second condition that must be satisfied is that you must believe that the actor is really the character. With Day-Lewis in front of the camera, it's hard not to believe he isn't actually from nineteenth-century New York, what with his flawless accent and handlebar mustache. Daniel Day-Lewis's face totally disappears, as even the Butcher's facial expressions, gestures, and mannerisms totally become his own. Even his character's slight limp, as well as the dirty fingernails and greasy hair, all contribute to sustain the illusion that Bill the Butcher has indeed walked the earth and graced us with his presence. His knife-throwing lessons and his butcher apprenticeship definitely paid off.

And finally, the third condition that must be satisfied is that no other actor should be able to play the part better. The role must be tailor-made for that specific actor. This doesn't mean that only Daniel Day-Lewis can play Bill the Butcher. That would be an insult to all the other brilliant actors in the Hall of Fame. Perhaps the correct way to say it would be that only Daniel Day-Lewis can play Bill the Butcher the way he did. The level of artistry and devotion to the craft is unparalleled with this actor, which is why Daniel Day-Lewis, despite his considerably shorter filmography compared to other actors, still remains one of the most respected thespians of his generation.

Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. 2003.

Ask yourself this: why would the Academy give an Oscar to Russell Crowe for Gladiator? Because it's an epic, that's why. Gladiator is the type of movie that Hollywood churned out during its golden age, or whatever they want to call it. But that is definitely not Crowe's best performance to date.

Russell Crowe's best performance is still in 2003's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Anybody who's ever read the books by Patrick O'Brian will know what I'm talking about. Crowe brings life to the swaggering sea captain who knows his ship inside-out like Michael Schumacher knows his F1. The whole movie has been described as "a testosterone-filled sea journey about nothing but seamen, seamen, and seamen" (no pun intended), and Russell definitely comes out as the ship's alpha male. Seeing him in uniform, with his long blonde hair in a ponytail, will almost make you wish you were back in the days when ocean-going vessels travelled by the power of the wind alone.


Crowe may still retain some of his famous mannerisms, like the way he raises his eyebrow, but generally, the man called Russell Crowe completely disappears and is totally replaced by Lucky Jack Aubrey. He shows the many sides of Lucky Jack: the cultured musician when he is with his close friend Doctor Maturin; the brilliant tactician when he is with his officers; the stern disciplinarian when he is with the ship's crew; and the excellent navigator when he takes the ship's wheel. He plays all these parts effortlessly, able to blend all those different traits seamlessly into one solid character.

Russell Crowe's performance here is commendable in that he not only learned to play the violin for this role, but he also spent hours studying the history of the dialect that Jack Aubrey may have used during this time. Crowe has been known to spend hours researching his roles, with the zeal of a graduating Ivy League student working on a thesis. And the only reason Russell Crowe wasn't nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for this role? Because he already won for Gladiator, that's why. And I don't think the Academy is in the habit of letting Australians win twice.

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone. The Godfather. 1972.

This guy is the reason I wanted to become an actor.

Anybody who's seen The Godfather will not deny that Marlon Brando delivered one mind-blowing performance. He truly the deserved the Academy Award given to him for that year, but in true Marlon Brando-fashion, he boycotted the Oscar ceremony, and sent Native American activist Sacheen Lttlefeather to do the explaining.

But anyway, Brando as Vito Corleone was a turning point not just in Brando's career, but in the gangster genre as well. In the old days, a gangster had to be menacing and tough, like Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar. But Brando took the mobster to a whole new level, showing us a frail old man, with a barely audible speaking voice, capable of sending chills through your spine and making you wet your pants. Talk about power.

Brando has improved on the Vito Corleone in The Godfather novel by Mario Puzo, breathing life into the character by adding some of his own tricks. For example, that raspy, gravelly voice was not really in the book, but hearing Marlon Brando deliver it, you wouldn't doubt that Vito Corleone really talked like that. Brando even put the extra mile on his already-excellent make-up by adding cotton balls in his mouth to give his cheeks that puffy look.

The testament to Brando's performance can be felt even to this day. Stand-up comics consider their acts incomplete if they don't have Vito Corleone in their arsenal of celebrity impersonations. Almost all the gangster films after 1972 pay homage one way or another to The Godfather, and as I said, Brando has single-handedly managed to get rid of the tough-guy gangster stereotype.

Again, one of the criteria for getting into the Acting Hall of Fame is that the actor must become the character. And in this movie, Marlon Brando was Vito Corleone. No one else could have played the part better. Rest in peace, Don Corleone.

Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger as Skip Engblom. Lords of Dogtown. 2005.

One of the most unappreciated roles in Heath Ledger's career is actually one of his best performances, playing a surfer-turned-skateboarder in 2005's Lords of Dogtown. The seventies wardrobe, coupled with the surfer drawl, breathes life into the character of Skip Engblom, and it seems improbable that another actor could have given a better performance.

Even the little details, like the way Ledger sticks out his front teeth from his upper lip, show his complete devotion to the craft, even neutralizing his Aussie accent in the process. He speaks in perfect California surfer talk, his hair is the same grizzly gold of the California surfers, and he also walks on sea legs, slightly duck-footed with a pirate swagger.

This role manages to capture the essence of Heath Ledger as an artist. Ledger is a natural, and his acting ability is innate. And like Skip Engblom, Heath Ledger is also a true bohemian, preferring unemployment over doing roles he doesn't like. And this role is a statement that he has graduated from teen flicks and rom-coms, and he isn't going back.

Heath Ledger's maturity in acting is also what separates him from other actors of his age. Although only 24 when he did this movie, Ledger has proven that his talents truly place him light-years ahead of his generation.

Sadly, there is very little literature on this movie, making me think that the critics took this Skip Engblom performance as a sort of joke. But believe me, critics, when I say that this performance is no joke at all. I personally wanted to watch Dogtown because of its historical value as a film about the rise of the sport known as skateboarding. And as soon as I saw that grizzly-haired surfer chilling out in his surf shop, talking like a beach bum, I thought to myself, "That actor's good." And slowly it began to dawn on me that the guy behind the gold locks and the big sunglasses was actually Heath Ledger. The realization crept slowly, but my respect for him as an actor skyrocketed. This was the film that made me realize that Heath Ledger is indeed a brilliant actor, way before Brokeback Mountain would cement that status with an Oscar nomination.

May the Lord bless the soul of Heathcliff Andrew Ledger (April 4, 1979 - January 22, 2008). Requiescat in pace.