Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch will play a villain in the upcoming Star Trek movie set to be released in 2013. That seems appropriate to me. Why? Because he looks the part – he looks villainous. He has the kind of face that, were you to pass him on the street, might make you look twice and then clutch your purse a little tighter. I’m sure that in real life he’s a very nice man, but he has the eyes of a ladykiller.

I’m not saying the man is evil. He just has the face of an evil mastermind. It’s in set of his lips and the depths of his cool, blue eyes. I’m sure when he was born his parents (actors Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham) did not look at him and think they had birthed a future Damien. I’m certain his classmates didn’t fear for their lives when they passed him in the corridor (or think much of that Rottweiler following him around all the time). And, I can almost state for a fact that the monks at the Tibetan monastery where he taught English for a year, could meet his penetrating stare without wetting themselves during his lessons. (Seriously, he spent a year teaching at a Tibetan monastery!)

He is a highly-regarded and talented English actor of screen and stage, after all. Performing in at least a dozen stage productions since 2001, he’s done Ibsen, Shakespeare and Gilbert and Sullivan. Most recently, he performed as both Dr. Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s monster in the same play (performing the characters on alternate nights opposite Jonny Lee Miller). That takes some acting chops. He received wonderful reviews and awards for his ability to convey both the monster’s yearning and the doctor’s deep and troubling flaws.

On the small screen, he has done some lighter fare having been cast as Hugh Laurie’s son in the British comedy Fortysomething back in 2003. For the most part though, his career has been firmly anchored on the dramatic side. In 2004, he garnered critical acclaim (and a BAFTA nomination) for portraying theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking in the BBC production of Hawking. In 2006, he played William Pitt opposite Ioan Gruffud’s William Wilberforce in Amazing Grace. More recently, American audiences have been him in Atonement, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and the Steven Spielberg-directed War Horse.

Arguably, the role for which he is best known for on these shores is Sherlock. We do love Sherlock Holmes in all of his incarnations. This Sherlock, set in modern London, is a bit of a psychopath, er, excuse me, high-functioning sociopath. He keeps a head in his refrigerator and hanged mannequins in his sitting room. When he’s bored he fires a pistol. When he’s really, really bored he plays psychotic games with James Moriarty. Nothing good can come from that. Ever. His Sherlock abhors social niceties, but can pretend to be charming when the situation warrants it.

My favorite scene from the first season involved Cumberbatch’s Sherlock and Martin Freeman’s Watson. Watson said he had just met one of Sherlock’s “friends”. Sherlock was dumbfounded. You could see written plainly on his face that he had no clue to whom Watson was referring and was puzzled by the reference to a “friend” altogether. As soon as Watson told him that it was really an enemy, his expression immediately cleared and he wanted to know “which one”. The whole scene took all of fifteen seconds, but it summed up Sherlock and his life quite nicely.

Cumberbatch and Freeman have reunited for the big screen adaptation of the highly-anticipated Peter Jackson-directed The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Cumberbatch will be doing voice work for both the Necromancer and voicing/motion-capturing the dragon Smaug.

I hope Smaug has his eyes.

Official sites:
Frankenstein at the National
Hawking
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
War Horse
Sherlock
The Hobbit

Fan Sites:
Cumberbatch Web
Benedict Cumberbatch Fan

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Jay Baruchel

The awkward, adorable, silly-funny guy is epitomized by Jay Barachel. At least on screen he is. Jay has played that cute, sweet, uncomfortable fella in numerous films, including the Judd Apatow directed Knocked Up, Tropic Thunder and I’m Reed Fish. Jay also lent his memorable voice to the lead character, Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon. Most recently Jay took on a starring role as Kirk in She’s Out of My League in which he was able to demonstrate his ability to take on a lead romantic role by using his charm and wit to unintentionally swoon the beautiful Molly played by Alice Eve. And… might I say, his bare booty was a surprising treat.

The Canadian born actor, who sported a Canadian maple leaf tattoo on his chest during Knocked Up, has been in the film and television industry since the 1990’s. Jay got his first big break on the Nickelodeon series, “Are you Afraid of the Dark?” He also played a large part of the well received, however, short-lived television series, “Undeclared” in later 2001.

Jay attributes his acting successes partly to his ability to improvise while filming.  During an interview with avclub.com, he called himself a “chronic ad-libber.” It seems that his time under Apatow’s direction (in both “Undeclared” and Knocked Up), has entrusted him with the confidence to embrace his natural humor which makes him relate-able on screen. Jay also said that “one attribute you need as an actor is to be malleable” because “rigidity is the enemy of acting.” Granted, I’m sure this is not what he meant, but I would like to see how “malleable” he is… or perhaps how “rigid“…yes, yes, dirty, I know.

Although Jay has expressed graciousness for his successful acting career and continued roles in popular films, he has stated that acting is just a means to an end for him. And that end may surprise you. Jay told avclub.com that he his ultimate goal is to direct horror movies in his native Canada. Thankfully for us Americans and the rest of the world where his films are available, he is still acting. But he has already experimented with his dream by writing, directing and producing the 2002 film, Edgar and Jane, which is described as a “frantic journey” and “a hyper-real, religious epic [film] about love, revenge and the end of the world.”

Starting July 14th, Jay can be seen in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice as the newly recruited Dave Stutler, chosen by Nicholas Cage, a modern-day sorcerer to help him defend their city from evil-doers.

One things for sure, whether Jay Baruchel continues to provide us with that tilted-down head, bashful smirk combined with off-beat humorous one-lined snippets or he embarks on his directorial dream full-time, he’s sure to do it with an air of adorable, that is bound to make many of us keep following him for more… or stalking him… or just “googling” him… whichever you prefer.

Fansites:
Jay Baruchel Fan

Official Sites:
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
How To Train Your Dragon
She’s Out of My League

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(4 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)


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Idris Elba

Tall, Dark and Handsome, it’s not hard to see why Ali Larter was stalking Idris Elba in Obsessed. And if Idris was MY man, I, like Beyoncé would do anything to keep it that way, including having a major bitch slapping cat fight with the hot new temp trying to take him away from me!

Audiences know Idris best as Russell “Stringer” Bell in HBO’s “The Wire” or as Michael Scott’s new boss Charles Miner in “The Office.” I officially first noticed this beautiful man as the quiet caring detective in Prom Night. I am ALWAYS aware of beautiful men, like the single dad of three girls in Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls, or maybe the reclusive brother in This Christmas, or perhaps holding his own against Gerard Butler in Guy Ritchie’s RockNRolla or maybe a soldier fighting zombies in 28 Weeks Later. Let’s not forget that he appeared on the cover of Essence’s “Hot Hollywood Men” issue in April 2004 and was also in People Magazine’s annual “100 Most Beautiful People in the World” in May 2007.

Did I mention that he has accent!? He was born outside of London as Idrissa Akuna Elba, to a father from Sierra Leone and a mother from Ghana. At 16, he won a place in the National Youth Music Theatre thanks to a Prince’s Trust Grant. Although he does have a wonderful British accent, he won’t use it when talking to fans of “The Wire” to keep the illusion of his character. Idris was married and has daughter named Isan who was born in 2002. He even bought a house in Atlanta, so that he could be closer to his daughter who lives with his ex-wife. What a DILF!

No stranger to music, having appeared in numerous music videos and counting Diddy as a one of his friends, Idris is also an accomplished DJ. As a little boy, he once helped his uncle with his wedding DJ business, which led him to start his own DJ company. He worked in nightclubs under the DJ name of Big Driis. He has contributed tracks to the soundtracks for Prom Night and Tyler Perry’s Madae Goes to Jail. And in 2008 he was chosen to produce the intro track for Jay Z’s “American Gangster”. Under Hevlar Recordings and working with some top producers, Idris has released an EP entitled “King of Kings”. He is also planning a tour to promote the new EP, which is a fusion of sounds that reflect his eclectic influences.

Besides being able to see him in a nice intimate venue promoting his EP, We can also see/listen to Idris and his accent in the upcoming gang movie Takers with a few other hotties. Maybe we’ll have a naked shower scene or mud fight!? And most exciting is to know that Idris will be playing “Heimdall” in Kenneth Brannagh’s Thor!! My inner geek is going wild with this thought and I know that this movie will make Idris a household name! But for now, I’m enjoying keeping this Brit as a secret.

Official Sites:
Hevlar Recordings on MySpace
Takers
Takers on Facebook
The Wire
Idris’s Official Twitter
Idris’s Official Site

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(23 votes, average: 4.52 out of 5)


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Joseph Gordon-Levitt

It takes a lot to say “God hates Homos,” and be sympathetic. I know what you’re thinking, not exactly the first words that come to mind when you think, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but because of his amazing range and strength in taking on characters of all kinds, he has muttered those words. As Elder Riley in the independent film Latter Days, Joe plays a small part. However his jaw-dropping line is basically, the whole point of the film and it’s delivered with an innocence that transforms it’s awfulness into a tone that makes you wonder if maybe, he isn’t right. He’s just that good.

28-year-old Joe, is probably most known for the very recent bright light of success for his Golden Globe and Independent Spirit nominated role as Tom Hansen in 500 Days of Summer, with the beautifully understated Zoey Deschanel (with whom he also shared the screen in indie-film, Manic). Tom is the epitome of the oh so adorable, ‘hopeless romantic’, with an endearing use of language that he applies to the description of love and all things romantically related. His performance leaves you wanting to be his girlfriend and mend his tragically broken heart.

Joe’s breadth of acting began in 1988 as a child. He’s had stints on various television shows, including: “Rosanne”, “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman”, “Quantum Leap” and more. He finally hit the ‘big time’ with his lovable role as Cameron, in the cult-hit film 10 Things I Hate About You. Although Heath Ledger may have been the biggest star to come out of that film, Joe’s freshness landed him the role as Tommy Solomon on the long running television series “3rd Rock from the Sun” aside comedic great, John Lithgow. Joe brought viewers continued laughter as an alien assimilating on Earth in the form of an angsty human teenager, while dealing with heart break and high school. The show won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe during it’s run from 1996 to 2001.

In addition to his minor role in Latter Days Joe has starred in numerous independent films, most of which were in parts of socially marginal, angry, hurt individuals. Among them, Mysterious Skin, he takes on a serious and difficult role in the film adaptation of a controversial novel, in which he plays a sexually compulsive, homosexual teen, who has turned to a life of prostitution and whose “clients” are mostly middle aged men, by choice. The reason for this dangerous and seedy lifestyle? Sexual abuse by his baseball coach as a young boy. His depiction of the broken and confused teen is at times difficult to watch, however; both enthralling and emotional. Manic, with it’s documentary feel, plunges Joe’s character, into a juvenile mental ward after he has an explosive outburst involving a baseball bat, that is a violent and utterly disturbing. Joe’s performance is riveting as he attempts to deal with and perhaps channel his feelings of anger, violence and rage.

Lucky for us, Joe is appearing in the upcoming sci-fi action thriller-ish film, Inception, written and directed by now legendary Christopher Nolan, in theatre’s 7-16-10. He plays Arthur, whose part of a team put together by criminal(?) C.E.O. Cobb, played by Leonardo Decaprio. The team has the technology to divulge the “scene of the crime”, from the “architecture of the mind.” Yeah, I’m still trying to figure out what that means. Where’s all those WonderCon panel attendees when you need ‘em? But, more to the point, there’s something sexy about a man with a gun and Arthur just happens to be a gun-toter. Now, maybe they could just remove his shirt while he’s shooting at a bad guy? Eh, a girl can dream.

What grabs me most about Joe, well aside from those deep as puddles brown eyes, toned body, small spattering of freckles, honest smile… ::sigh:: … Where I was I going with that? Oh right, what grabs me most about Joe, known as RegularJOE to cyberspace, is his conviction to creativity and his full-hearted devotion, both on and off screen. In an interview in 2007, he stated, “the point of acting [is] to affect people.” His film and television history demonstrates his deep commitment to this belief, and his ability to make the viewer relate to him, in any of his forms; sex-crazed abuse victim, lovely and adorable romantic, alien in human adolescent form, you catch my drift.

He also stated, “I just want to work on things that I think are good.” He’s taken this belief to higher grounds; you could say it’s been Levit-tated (ha!). Early this year, Joe started, what may become a revolution in media, with his web-site, www.hitRECord.org, which has evolved into a “full-fledged professional collaborative production company,” where he is attempting to create a new medium for all types of talent (art, dance, music, acting, etc.) RegularJOE will actually pay you (yes you, you creative soul) for any contribution you make on the site that becomes part of a “money making production.” If you take a gander at his site, among many “records” you’ll see a short film, entitled, Morgan and Destiny’s Eleventeenth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo, directed by and starring Joe, along side two-time co-star and fellow hotness, Channing Tatum (together in 2009’s, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra and 2008’s, Stop-Loss). This lil’ nugget is sure to make you smile; as the sheer silliness of Joe’s creative soul is played out in black and white.

Always busy Joseph Gordon-Levitt has an ever-growing desire to be apart of something great. At 18, he took some time off from acting to attend Columbia College, where he studied classes taught solely in French. He has no desire to be a “celebrity”, and stated that “celebrity is giving into the idea that certain people are better than others, and I say: **ck that, we’re all people! We’re all beautiful. We all deserve attention!” Joe surely has gotten my attention, and I’m sitting on the edge of my seat, just dying to see what he’ll do next.

Fansites:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Fan

Official Sites:
Joseph on Twitter
HitRecord dot Org
Inception

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(36 votes, average: 4.94 out of 5)


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Gerard Butler

This Scottish almost-lawyer traded in his higher education to pursue acting, little did he know that he would fall into some plum roles and STILL not be recognized.

Leading off with small roles in British TV and stage productions, Gerard Butler found himself playing one of the most feared warriors in history for the USA Network production of Attila and then followed up with donning black to play the seductive, yet dialogue challenged, Count Dracula in Wes Craven’s Dracula 2000 (or Dracula 2001 depending on where you live).

Follow that with slaying dragons alongside Christian Bale and Matthew McConnaughey in Disney’s multi-million dollar Reign of Fire and one would think…..what next? That’s easy — a Granada Television British mini-series The Jury and a trip back to 14th century France in Richard Donner’s production of Michael Crichton’s Timeline as its hero Andre Marek. He found himself opposite Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider 2 and cast as the masked madman in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. Not bad for a lawyer.

Since then, he has risen to international fame with his turn as Spartan King Leonidas in 300, the dead husband opposite Hilary Swank in PS, I Love You, a father and a hero in Nim’s Island and starring roles in the  films, Game, RockNRolla,  The Ugly Truth and Law Abiding Citizen. How can he NOT be a one2watch4?

FAN SITES:

http://www.gerardbutler.net

VIEW THE TRAILER FOR THE BOUNTY HUNTER:

Watch some of Gerard’s funniest moments on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson:

GALLERY:

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(194 votes, average: 4.69 out of 5)


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