Now and Then.

Who the...?

Harendra Kapur.
Kyra Mathews.
Tejas Menon.

Ello all

At some point in time we've all watched a movie and wondered why the little ones, the actors who don't make it to the posters, get left behind when in many cases they're extremely talented.
But I don't know, that really just is the way it is and as a result, sometimes very cool people get forgotten a lot sooner than they really should.
So this post, is about the 9 actors and actresses in English cinema who I really think deserve more blog space than they currently get.
Bear in mind these names are in no particular order of preference. Just memory...

1. Eric Christian Olsen
I last saw him as the 'threat-to-current-boyfriend-from-girl's-past' stereotype in License to Wed but fortunately or unfortunately, he's going to be remembered as the failed attempt at replacing Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumberer.
He's grown his hair since then and he's got solid Adam Pascal overtones happening for him now. He was also in The Last Kiss as one of Zach Braff's guy buddies and he wasn't half bad there either.
Too often the guys who play the stereotypes get written off but I don't know, there's a coolness to this guy which was possibly the only bearable thing about License to Wed.




2. Loren Dean
Ok, so first time I ever saw this guy was in this movie called Mumford, which didn't do terribly well but was still totally awesome. His performance wasn't incredible and compared to the performances of lead actors in even smaller films, you can totally see why he didn't exactly shoot to fame.
I mean you see what Will Smith did with Seven Pounds, or what Ellen Page did with Juno, and it's kind of hard NOT to expect from a lead actor, no matter how small the film's meant to be.
He's always seemed to me, to be the serious, not so charming Christian Slater, which admittedly, is not a lot of Christian Slater at all, but it's something. What?
It's just odd to me that a man who notched up parts in Gattaca, Apollo 13 AND Enemy of the State should just remain one of those faces you vaguely remember from something you saw somewhere at some point but aren't able to IMDB. And Mumford was awesome!

3. Julia Ormond

Alright, now here's something I really do not understand. Kind of like why Sam Rockwell will have to suffer Charlies Angels 2 on his resume.
Here's a woman, a very rare actress who actually has the 'gorgeous' thing going for her, a continental Julia Roberts if you will. She's perfect in Legends of the Fall, she's worth dumping Sean Connery on his ass in First Knight, yet for some bizarre reason, her next significant role is as the rarely shown daughter of the narrator's love in freaking Benjamin Button. I haven't seen Che yet so I can't comment, but it's a serious shame that she dropped out of sight and if anyone has any explanations I'd love to know.
Hollywood's loss better be someone's gain because there are far too many wannabe serious actresses with half the class this woman has.

4. Mathew Goode
Watchmen casting director: I think Matt Goode should play Adrian Veidt.
Zach Snyder: Oh. Sure. What's he acted in?
Watchmen Casting director: Oh. Um. Well. Yeah. About that. Um. Chasing Liberty and a...um... side role in Match Point.
Zach Snyder: BWAHAHAHAHA! Oh Shit! Sorry, Mr. Goode... I meant, that's...Oh God! I'm sorr...put down that lead pipe...!
While I'm sure that's not how things work out there, I'm sure that was the general response once everyone realised what was going on. But look what we got out of it. One of the most memorable "not-a-movie-villain" movie villains of all time.
I most certainly cannot wait to see what he does next and I certainly hope it isn't in some pubescent bullshit involving more flinching and eye rolling from the likes of Mandy Moore.

5. Rosemarie Dewitt
Rachel Getting Married didn't have alot wrong with it and the title character Rachel, to me atleast, deserved an oscar nomination just as much as Anne Hathaway.
She was impactful, deep, shallow, loud, soft, bitchy, beautiful and everything the role asked for. Maybe it's one of those roles that are just perfect for the actor so they can slip in and out seamlessly. Maybe it wasn't. All I know is, Ms. Dewitt put in an amazing performance and I would certainly hope to see her in more dramatic roles.


6. Bill Irwin
The Dad in Rachel Getting Married and Uncle Teddy in Across the Universe! I love this guy. I honestly felt he had the best performance in Rachel Getting Married. A truly awesome actor who seems to have done everything.
He's a theatre man who played Mr. Noodle on Sesame Street for 10 years! He then played a psychopathic serial killer on CSI (a natural transition) and he then shows up as the emotionally tormented daddy in Rachel Getting Married.
An amazing talent, and I would love to see him playing the quirky brother to William H Macy in something or the other. Definitely worthy of more screen time. Especially after you see stuff like freaking Fargo.
And also, cherry on the top, he was Tom Snout in Midsummer Night's dream. This guy has suddenly become one of my favorite actors.

6. Emily Blunt
Does she honestly deserve to be here? Yes!
I've seen her in Devil Wears Prada and Charlie Wilson's War and she's seriously awesome.
Between her, Sarah Paulson and Lizzy Caplan it's wholly apparent what Hollywood sees as 'cute'. Add to that we know she CAN act, I cannot understand why she doesn't get more roles.
She's most famous for her more 'English' stuff like Summer of Love and A Young Victoria, but I think it's fair to say her charm is wholly apparent to anyone who's seen her act. Let's just hope we get to see more.



7. Zak Orth
Remember Philip Seymour Hoffman in Along Came Polly? Of course you do. First time I saw anyone play that part it was this guy in Down To You, a Freddie Prinze-Julia Stiles starrer. ( As it turns out, I saw it again and the movie's actually pretty awesome.)
I've always felt this guy's like a fat Ben Affleck and believe me, a lit extra skin makes Affleck far more likable. And if ever there was hope for young generally uni dimensional actors, I must say it would be in the shape of Affleck's continued movie career.
He was also in Loser, the Jason Biggs movie and since then he's done some TV stuff but that's about the extent of it. It's a shame really, he's a smart, funny actor who I hope we get to see again.


8. Jason London

Ah, yes the man who made me want to do this post in the first place. I first saw him in Out Cold and then in the popular for no apparent reason 'Dazed and Confused'. The movies weren't big deals but this guy really impressed me. He has a twin brother and both of them seem to have stuck to television stuff over the years.
He usually seems to be the 'head-firmly-on-shoulders-amidst-madness' guy and he's pretty damn good at it.
What's amazing though, is that in '96 he was one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People (Identical twin didn't make it though...!) and yet he's not starred in anything significant since then.



9. Justin Chatwin
Ok look inside your hearts and forgive me for this.
I first saw him in The Invisible. A shitty shitty movie which he got to star in. He was mediocre at most.
Now he's in Dragon Ball Evolution but something tells me that won't do much for him either.
So why the hell do I want to see him more? I do not know.
Maybe it's because he looks a lot like Arsenal Midfielder Tomas Rosicky.
No but seriously, he's a young actor who's definitely got something going for him in the looks and charm department. Perhaps a decent role and a dedication to avoid teeny boppy bullshit and we could see something more happen. I think he's got potential.
Anyway that's all for my list, there's shitloads of other actors who deserve screen time, so feel free to mention some in the comments. And Indians too, please.
There's a whole bunch who didn't make it to the list like George Newbern (Danny from Friends, now voice of Superman!), Adam Scott (Leo's flacky in Aviator) and Rahul Khanna, and I'm fully aware there'll be hundreds who fit the bill so by all means let us know some of your favorites.
And finally I'll leave you with a thought I've been having for a while now...
Does anyone else feel that Macaulay Culkin, Freddie Prinze Jr. and John Cusack are the same person at different ages?
Think about it...

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