Five A-List Actresses Who Refuse to Take it Easy
Katherine Heigl they are not.
by Carlos Cabrera
1. Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron left her native South Africa to model and had a brief stint studying ballet before getting into acting via an argument with a bank teller (true story). After a few forgettable roles, she portrayed serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, gaining weight and going through an elaborate makeup routine for the role. She won an Oscar for the role, and though she didn’t entirely shun big mainstream projects afterwards (she netted $10 million for Aeon Flux), she consistently chooses adventurous roles, like abused miner Josey Aimes in North Country, and the mentally-challenged Rita in Arrested Development. Her latest role in Diablo Cody’s Young Adult as a bitter, shallow novelist is firmly in the antihero tradition and expands on the comic range she showed in Arrested Development.
2. Kate Winslet
Born into a family of classically-trained thespians, Winslet was already booking professional gigs by the time she was eleven. Her star-making turn as Rose in Titanic made Winslet the youngest recipient of two Oscar nominations and got her a cool $2 million (not bad for a twenty-two-year old). Afterwards, Winslet retreated towards more independent productions for a few years, and her role as boorish extrovert Clementine Kruczynski in Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was the first of several offbeat roles. She continued on that road with characters like illiterate seductress (and, oh yeah, Nazi) Hanna in The Reader and a bored suburban housewife in Revolutionary Road, a role that prompted New York Magazine critic David Edelstein to call her “the best English-speaking film actress of her generation.”
3. Meryl Streep
Saying Meryl Streep is a good actress is kind of like saying Michael Jordan could play a good game of basketball, and she’s always chosen interesting roles. (Death Becomes Her, anyone?) But even after receiving $5 million along with revenue from The Bridges Of Madison County’s initial box office gross (which was probably equivalent to the GDP of some developing nations), she continued to play unique, challenging roles, like everyone’s favorite horrible boss Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada and the imposing Sister Aloysius Beauvier in Doubt. She also does stuff like Mamma Mia, but let’s just gloss over that.
4. Cate Blanchett
Like Charlize Theron, Blanchett lost her father at a young age, but she overcame that tragedy and quickly rose through the ranks of Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art. In 1998, Blanchett broke out with Elizabeth, a Serious Biopic about the life of Queen Elizabeth the First. Other quirky turns included pregnant journalist Jane Winslett-Richardson in The Life Aquatic and Hollywood legend Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator. But her most daring choice was taking on mid-’60s drug-addled Bob Dylan in I’m Not There, during which she stuffed her trousers to help her “walk like a man.” The cognitive dissonance of seeing those famous cheekbones beneath that famous shock of hair, combined with her eerie nailing of Dylan’s mannerisms, made her a bright spot in that overstuffed experiment of a film.
5. Julianne Moore
Born Julie Anne Smith, Moore spent her first few years as a globe-trotting Army brat. After a stint on As The World Turns, Moore made it to Hollywood and, with 1995's Safe established her relationship with oddball director Todd Haynes. Then, in 1997, Moore appeared in two very different movies — The Lost World and Boogie Nights. While the former had her playing a paleontologist (and made her $3 million), the latter featured her as Amber Waves, a porn star with a progressively worsening drug addiction. She moved on to play conceptual artist Maude Lebowski in The Big Lebowski, and Linda Partridge in Magnolia. While she still makes bank as a distinguished cover girl, Moore’s still partial to work outside the Hollywood safe zone. Her most recent gig as the irresponsible, daydreaming half of a married lesbian couple in The Kids Are Alright is a testament to her ability to challenge herself rather than sit back and collect.
Commentarium (64 Comments)
Yay to white actresses!
too funny
and you are so right.
lmfao
Well, maybe, but name an A-list non-white actress who isn't Halle Berry. Hollywood's still pretty racist...
Maybe that's because all other races have lazy actresses? Hmmmm....?
@Fawkes....
Wow. You're incredibly racist, aren't you?
@Ami *facepalm* Fawkes is saying that as a deliberate attempt to elicit a response just like yours. Welcome to the internet, you just met a troll.
Penelope Cruz
Zhang Ziyi
Selma Hayek
Salma Hayek is a horrible actress. See: Grown Ups.
But Penelope Cruz for sure, she chooses interesting roles.
I thought Fawkes' contribution was very amusing. And as a black man, I speak for all non-whites everywhere.
5 actresses that have been in indie movies and blockbusters.
helen mirren? where's helen?
Definitely a list I agree on, I just wish it was a bit longer. Helen Mirren, Penélope Cruz (going from Bandidas to Volver to Vicky Cristina Barcelona? amazing)
What about me and my rusty scissors ?
D:
Until she stops looking like Demon Feist, Charlotte is forever relegated to the C List. Harsh truth.
This list is BOGUS. See Reason #4: https://www.cracked.com/article_19549_5-old-timey-prejudices-that-still-s.... Then hate yourself for not thinking of Michelle Rodriguez, Penelope Cruz, Lucy Liu, etc., etc., etc....
Lucy Liu is not a great actress. Don't just include her because she's Asian.
always plays the same role. I don't really see how she fits. Cruz is a fair point, though.
Lucy Liu is a very versatile actress. She can play an icy lawyer AND a deadly assassin. Let's see you do that!
i totally agree on penelope cruz (anyone see the original vanilla sky?) but michelle rodrigues....really???
Thought I'd mention again that SAFE wasn't Julianne Moore's first film. She was a good five six years into doing theatrical films. She was in Altman's SHORT CUTS way before SAFE came out.
Same what I was thinking! She was also in Benny and Joon and that came out in the 80s!
1993 for BENNY AND JOON
Also in 1993: Body of Evidence... call it Julianne Moore paying her dues. I am not sure I agree with Hooksexup that Boogie Nights got Julianne noticed: there's that scene in Altman's Short Cuts that definitely caught everyone's attention, and her performance throughout the whole movie was excellent!
Moore was even in the Rebecca DeMornay film "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" way before any of that.
the Diversity Hooksexup!
you shouldn't have to include non white actresses just for the sake of diversity.
I don't understand the cries about diversity here. Do these actresses not belong on this list? Can you name a non-white actor who deserves it more?
This kind of knee-jerk reaction is just ammunition for those who love to say that anyone with a grievance is an over-sensitive liberal. It devalues legitimate grievances about diversity.
...tilda (fucking) swindon!!
homegirl has a husband AND a boy toy (w/hubby's blessing) - nuff said.
This.
i second this this
What's wrong with Katherine Heigl?
Everything is wrong with Katherine Heigl.
SHe's fine.
That doesn't make her not suck.
second for Tilda Swinton...
Tilda Swinton, and I would say Viola Davis deserves to be on this list. she was amazing in Doubt, and she picks super diverse roles, Solaris, Disturbia (even though that sucked) It's Kind of a Funny Story
They're all WOMEN!
Anti-male dooshes.
Really? Can you not read the title?
Really? Can you not read sarcasm?
Not when it's a failed attempt at humor.
Here we go again with the racists bollocks. I can't think of any non-white actresses who I would classify under this category. And you're right, it IS because Hollywood is racist and there are few roles for them, but it's not because the writer of this article is.
I could see the argument for Penelope Cruz, though has she been in a big blockbuster? (i.e., does she have the option of totally selling out?) Halle Berry a few years ago, but she's really gone in the opposite direction.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Sex and the City 2
G-Force
the most recent three movies on her imdb.
Ziyi Zhang, Penelope Cruz, Rosario Dawson. Off the top of my head. Maybe Zoe Saldana in the future but her career is still pretty fresh.
Penelope Cruz is from Spain. If she's non-white, then so is Martin Sheen.
Isn't the Sheen family Mexican? That's non-white, yes.
Spanish.
all you did was list a bunch of non-white actresses. none of them have taken any appreciable risks with their careers.
PS.
Mo'nique probably belongs on this list more than Julianne Moore, who kind of always plays the same thing.
Penélope Cruz is white European. You know, white people not only speak English. By the way, there are many Mexicans of Irish, Italian, or Spanish ascent who are white (namely, Martin Sheen).
If I'm allowed to mention a ginger, how about Amy Adams?
Absolutely! Good call.
I would hit 1, 2, 4, and 5.
Zoe Saldena
*bam*
Meryl Streep is the best actor of her generation (and yes, I'm including men).
I think Penelope Cruz sucks, esp. in English, but that's just me, apparently. Michelle Rodriguez plays the same role in every movie. Elena Anaya is better, and more daring, than both. Oh, and Halle Berry suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.
Agree. Halle Berry sucks ass. Oscar or not.
Elena Anaya is brilliant, have you seen her in Almodóvar's last film? She's not an a-lister though.
Part of the reason people can't think of non-white actresses who "deserve" to be on this list IS because Hollywood is racist! How many leading dramatic roles have you seen with actresses of colour in films that weren't specifically about race? It's kind of hard to take dramatic risks when most of the roles available to you include "sassy wisecracking best friend", "geisha ninja assassin", and "sassy spitfire Latina".
That said, I can think of MANY actresses of colour who have done great (and risky) dramatic work in the past, including Angela Bassett, Alfre Woodard, Gong Li, Taraji P. Henson, Joan Chen, Sandra Oh, Paz Vega and Penelope Cruz.
But I guess they're not "A-List" because none of them are anywhere near as talented as Julianne Moore. Yeah, that must be the reason.
Paz Vega and Penélope Cruz are white European. From Spain, in Europe.
Naomi Watts-- Mulholland Drive, 21 Grams, King Kong, The Painted Veil, as well as indies like I Heart Huckabees and experimental films like Ellie Parker. Naturally beautiful, versatile, talented.
Halle Berry, Tilda Swinton and Hillary Swank!
what about Natalie Portman?!?!
Now you say something