80. Paul Bettany, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Bettany makes his second appearance in the top 100 with his subtle and quietly breathtaking work in Master and Commander. As Dr. Stephen Maturin Bettany finds the perfect role, he takes the character and imbues him with an intelligence and humour that may have been lost in the hands of another. He never misses a beat, finding a perfect balance with Russell Crowe, thus making the film a perfect balancing act between the two men. Master and Commander has a tendency to meander and Peter Wier seems to be an overkill mode throughout but Bettany always has his eye on the goal, grounding the film with a sense of reality. Then there's the scene where he operates on himself....wow.
79. Jamie Foxx, Collateral
The other Foxx performance of 2004 was indeed rewarded with an Academy Award nomination but in the WRONG category, by no stretch of the imagination is this a supporting role. Foxx is, without a doubt, the lead of Collateral, and rightly so, gone are the tics of his work in Ray instead replaced by an actor presenting a real character. Foxx's Max is a man who holds certain ideals close to him and lives his life the best way he knows how, suddenly thrown into a situation where he's in over his head. The actor gives a calm and quiet performance, allowing his co-star to soak up the spotlight with the flashier role. That isn't to say that Foxx doesn't stand out, in fact his workman-like performance is the real gem of the piece: perfectly in step with Michael Mann's vision of the urban vastness of Los Angeles. Jamie Foxx is a man with an insufferable ego who can easily grate on an audience but in this film, stripped of his 'look at me!' attitude, he gives a performance that easily justifies his star status.
78. Naseeruddin Shah, Monsoon Wedding
What's not to love about this film? Mira Nair's film is positively bursting with joy, and Shah is right at the centre. The veteran actor embraces his role of befuddled father and brings out the joy and warmth in Sabrina Dhawan's screenplay. He mixes the high comedy and dramatic gravitas of his role expertly, grabbing the audience and refusing to let go. A work that will bring a smile to your face and leave you in tears by the end.
77. Hugh Grant, About a Boy
Who'd have thought Hugh Grant had this in him? 8 years after he exploded on the scene in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Grant finally proves to us that there's a real actor hiding in there. While Grant's Will is hardly new territory for the actor: the self-conscious tics and stammering are still there, but Grant adds an acidic edge to the whole act. The greatness lies in how it is not only Grant relying on these tics but Will Freeman himself and when the character is forced to break out of his constraints Grant does too. His remarkably charming performance helps carry the movie and, alongside the Weitz brothers' brilliant screenplay and great supporting work from Toni Collette, keep it far and away from becoming the cutesy, sentimental fair it could've so easily have been.
76. Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai
You know you're doing something right when your starring opposite the biggest movie star in the world and you're the one everyone's talking about and that's just what happened to Ken Watanabe here. While Cruise sleepwalks through his role, Watanabe stands on the screen dripping in charisma. His Katsumoto is a stoic symbol of a dying Japanese culture: commanding and understanding. Watanabe is in complete control of the audience and it is quickly apparent that this is a star we are watching. He's so good he makes you forget just how horrifyingly awful the film really is-- and that is quite a feat.
75. Russell Crowe, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Crowe and I have a love/hate relationship. See, I'm all for Crowe of the late 90s, the charismatic actor in L.A. Confidential and The Insider, but I couldn't run further away from the Crowe of this decade, the pompous, arrogant movie star of terrible films like A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man, and Gladiator. So it was a pleasant surprise when the Crowe I once admired was back in Peter Wier's adaptation of two Patrick O'Brien novels. The actor gives a brilliant, understated turn as Jack Aubrey, exuding charisma but never showboating. Its hard to find performances that are this intelligent. Crowe and Wier work perfectly in synch, creating a classic hero with all the trappings but always keeping him in the realm of reality.
74. Jamie Bell, Billy Elliot
Its easy to make the mistake, when watching most movies, that in order to be a child actor one must not have any talent whatsoever. Hollywood is littered with kids who couldn't act out of a paper bag so when someone this special pops up its time to sit up and take notice. Jamie Bell is, of course, no longer a child at 20 but he was a mere 14 when he gave this terrific performance. Under the guidance of director Stephen Daldry, Bell infuses the film with its inspiring spirit- he's at the core of this story and for it to work in any capacity, the performance had to be nothing short of fantastic. Bell is admirably up to the task and manages not only to hold his own against acting greats like Julie Walters but to show them up from time to time, proving that perhaps he too will one day be just as esteemed.
73. David Carradine, Kill Bill, Volume 2
It couldn't have been an easy task playing the titular character in Quentin Tarantino's gargantuan film, not only was there the expectation of a new QT film- this was the second part and after the whirlwind of Volume 1, expectations were sky high for the second volume. There's also the small matter that we never saw Carradine's face in that first film, only that sandpaper voice ordering people around and, even then, only for a few minutes. But Carradine delivers the goods without breaking a sweat: his Bill is cool, calm, funny and warm- from that first scene onwards, Carradine shows the audience why the Bride trusted him in the first place, all the while never forgetting to remind us just how sinister Bill really is. Carradine instantly suggests the nature of his relationship with Bride and creates a complexity that I feel may not have been there on paper. He is devious, devilish and quiet- giving a quintessential Tarantinoian performance. The very definition of cool.
72. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Aviator
The success of The Aviator is often attributed to one man: the GREAT Martin Scorsese and sometimes that bracket is stretched to include Cate Blanchett. Poor ol' DiCaprio is often left out in the cold, like a distant (and ugly) third cousin. This is highly unfortunate (and foolish) as the film would be nowhere near as good as it is without DiCaprio's contribution. The performance is important in many ways: amongst them were the public finally getting why Scorsese had decided that his new De Niro would be DiCaprio and the acceptance of DiCaprio as a serious actor yet again. Another reason is because it is a damn good performance. The actor acutely maps out Howard Hughes' rise into the world of the rich and famous, his searing ambition and his eventual fall into mental disarray due to OCD. In scenes like the one in which Hughes locks himself in the car all the while creeping into dementia, or the heartbreaking scene where Blanchett's Katharine Hepburn comes to visit Hughes, whose locked himself up in his room, DiCaprio is downright chilling. The Aviator gives solid proof that Leonardo DiCaprio is not only a bona fide movie star but one of the best actors of his generation.
71. Owen Wilson, Zoolander
Owen Wilson, like most of the 'big' comics, has a film persona that he rarely deviates from, that of the laid back stoner. The difference between his shtick as opposed to, say, Ben Stiller's is that Wilson's never feels like it. He has the uncanny ability to read every line in a fresh and new way and constantly surprise his audience. Zoolander marks the birth, if not the zenith, of this persona. Wilson plays Hansel, the new top male model who's "so hot right now", and embraces the character completely. He never condescends or tries to explain and even though Stiller has the 'funnier' character, its Wilson who gets the laughs. A truly inspired comic turn.
[click here for the full list, so far, of Arun's Top 100 Male Performances from 2000 to 2005]
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