Paul Giamatti, Simon Pegg, Timothy Olyphant
Ed Norton, Christian Bale, Tom Cruise, and apparently Julianne Moore.
Debra Winger - Terms of Endearment, Urban Cowboy, that Officer movie (ugh! on Richard Gere, a limited actor), Legal Eagles, Cannery Row, Shadowlands, the wonderfully weird Wilder Napalm…Debra always creates multi-faceted characters, dramatic but can do subtle shades of comedy. Though she doesn’t act much anymore I always enjoy re-watching any film Debra is in.
Sam Rockwell.
Yes, how’d I forget Sam. I figured out I liked him in the movie “Moon”, which most people probably don’t have the attention span for (plus it’s a predictable plotline).
You are correct.
I liked it! I can’t think of any movie I’ve seen him in where he didn’t make it better, without having to obviously draw attention to himself. Even in small roles, he delivers a solid performance. Just a good, solid actor.
Cate Blanchett
Tilda Swinton
Helen Mirren
Willem Dafoe
Sounds like a Wes Anderson movie…
The aforementioned Paul Giamatti and Sam Rockwell come to mind. I haven’t seen everything they’ve ever done but neither has disappointed in anything I’ve seen thus far.
Alive: Christoph Waltz, Paul Giamatti, Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Steve Buscemi
Dead: Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Sidney Poitier, Dame Maggie Smith, Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Harold Lloyd
There are others, but these were top of my head.
In that case allow me to add
Kirsten Dunst
Robert Shaw
Walter Matthau (yes, even Earthquake)
Billy Bob Thornton, Christopher Walken and Tommy Lee Jones are all consistently good.
Small screen rather than big, but
Nicola Walker
Anna Maxwell Martin
And the (sadly missed) Helen McCrory
Of course Maggie Smith and Judi Dench.
I don’t remember where I heard it, but someone said anything with Harry Dean Stanton or Dean Stockwell can’t be all that bad. May have been Ben M. on TCM.
Paris, Texas had them both! Great movie!