The other day someone asked me who my favorite actor is and I found out something interesting about myself: I don’t have one. Despite being a “movie guy” and a “TV guy,” I don’t have an actor where I’ll make it a point to see all of their movies.
Favorite actress, that’s another story. That’d be Shiri Appleby. I like her even in bad movies (“Swimfan”) and even in bad movies, in a bad role, where she’s not particularly acting well (“Darklight”).
I do have actors whose work I admire very much, but I can’t in good conscience label them my favorite actor. I relate to many of the roles played by Bill Murray. There’s a moment in “Broken Flowers” where Murray sits unmoving on a couch for a full 20 seconds — then it cuts to a shot of Murray sitting unmoving on a plane. And I think it’s brilliant acting. That guy knows how to “think” on screen. But there are people who have seen “Caddyshack” 100s of times, and I couldn’t even watch it twice, so I’d be insulting those true Murray fans if I went with him as my favorite actor.
I liked Denzel Washington so much in “The Hurricane” that I watched the Oscars that year to see if he would win a well-deserved prize. I went on a Denzel kick after that and rented his back catalogue, and enjoyed almost all of it. But he’s in so many “blah” movies now that I don’t care anymore; I’ll call him a “former” favorite actor of mine.
I liked David Boreanaz as Angel. But I don’t watch “Bones.” I liked James Marsters as Spike. But if he’s been in anything lately, I don’t know, and I’m not exactly seeking out that information. I liked Nathan Fillion in “Firefly” and “Dr. Horrible.” But I have no desire to watch “Castle.” I liked Mandy Patinkin in “Dead Like Me,” but I’m not exactly setting my DVR for “Criminal Minds.” I think Taylor Kitsch is awesome as Tim Riggins on “Friday Night Lights,” but he was pretty bad as Gambit in the “Wolverine” movie. I thoroughly enjoy Jack McCoy on “Law & Order,” but do I consider myself a Sam Waterston fan? Not really — I’m a Jack McCoy fan.
I thought everyone on the cast of “Veronica Mars” was brilliant, particularly Ryan Hansen (no relation) as resident party animal Dick Casablancas. But that’s another case where I really liked the character and I really liked the show. Once “Veronica” was over, I lost track of the actor.
I liked Hugh Dancy in “The Jane Austen Book Club” and I want to see him in “Adam,” because that movie looks good. Dancy plays characters that remind me of me (I know I just channeled that episode of “The Simpsons” where we see inside Homer’s mind and his image of himself is 50 pounds lighter and rippling with muscles). Dancy has “favorite actor” potential, but I have to see more than one of his movies before I can go there.
There are a few actors I can think of where I end up seeing most of their movies. Jason Bateman and Michael Cera from “Arrested Development,” Seth Rogen from “Freaks and Geeks” and Vince Vaughn from “Swingers” come to mind. But are they my favorite actors, or do they just happen to take roles in movies that appeal to me? If they suddenly ceased to have discerning taste in scripts — say Vince Vaughn suddenly popped up in “Transformers 3,” for example — would I still go to their movies? Honestly, no.
I could make a logical case for Cera as my favorite actor. His resume is pretty incredible: “Superbad,” “Juno” and “Nick & Norah” were all top-10-of-the-year material for me. And even among the brilliantly messed-up “Arrested Development” ensemble, George Michael’s awkwardness stood out. Cera’s characters tend to be so uncool they’re cool; someone once described me that way, and I was flattered. I love the way Cera’s Nick says “I got the Ellen DeGeneres haircut” or “I never wash my pants. I like to keep the night on them.” It’s like something I would say, and delivered in a dry tone that I can appreciate.
Still, I like my favorite actress choice better because no casual entertainment fan has heard of Shiri Appleby, so it gives me the illusion of having edgy tastes. But everyone knows who Michael Cera is, and everyone likes Michael Cera — except for those who’ve decided it’s time to stop liking him and begin the backlash. And while I don’t think a backlash is warranted, I also won’t go out of my way to argue against Cera haters I might come across in a cinema lobby. Maybe that’s a sign he’s not my favorite actor in the purest sense of the phrase, only my favorite actor by default.
I admire a lot of actors; I enjoy a lot of characters. But a favorite actor — as in “see all their movies,” “read their biographies,” “buy their posters” — maybe I should just accept the fact that I don’t have something like that.
Does anyone else struggle to name their favorite actor? And if you do know your favorite actor, who is it?