RUFUS SEWELL
Rufus Sewell is one of the finest actors out there right now. Most recently I enjoyed watching him in the "Zen" series on Masterpiece Mystery. One of the things I love about Mr. Sewell is that I never feel like I'm watching an actor, not for a second of his performance. Everything he does comes straight from the character. He is always 100 % in-the-moment. He could take on any role and make it believable and honest. He is definitely the number one actor on my list right now.
ROBERT DENIRO
DeNiro is just plain brilliant. He's an actor that I really want to study. His choices are so true and so believable and just so unpredictable. I haven't always been a huge fan, but that is mainly because I didn't watch a lot of his movies. I've been paying a lot more attention to him over the past few years and, man, he is just fantastic to watch. He becomes the characters inside and out and is completely committed. He gives so much to the other actors he is working with. There s so much to be learned from him. Love this guy!
COLIN FIRTH
I've been a huge, huge, huge fan of Colin Firth ever since I first saw him as Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. Since then I have been blown away by his performances. Equally amazing at comedy and drama. Not always a fan of his movie choices, but he is without a doubt a very fine actor.
KENNETH BRANAGH
I have always thought highly of Kenneth Branagh as an actor, but for some reason I have never had him in my top 10. After watching him in Wallander on Masterpiece Mystery though, I was seriously just blown away. The guy is brilliant. Again, I feel like I could learn a ton from him as an actor. Everything he did in Wallander was completely believable and honest. Lots of subtlety that worked perfectly for the character and the show. I have a newfound respect for Mr. Branagh. I plan to go back and watch some of his past work again. Fantastic.
BENEDICT CUMBERPATCH
Well, I haven't seen a lot of his work, to be honest, but what I've seen has been phenomenal. I just recently watched Sherlock Holmes on Masterpiece Mystery (in case you haven't noticed...I'm a big fan of Masterpiece Mystery) and he was so exciting to watch. So committed. It is very evident that he has been trained well. He uses his voice so well and he is a phenomenal character actor. I just recently saw him in War Horse and, while I wasn't a big fan of the movie, he was great. I am excited to check out his past work and I'm very excited for the new episodes of Sherlock and everything else he has in the works. I'm super excited to see where his career goes from here.
TOM HIDDLESTON
I don't have a super strong opinion about this actor, but I am a big fan as of now. He was in Wallander with Kenneth Branagh and he did a good job in that (didn't really stand out to me). I thought he did a very good job Loki in Thor. The performances I have been most impressed with so far were his roles in both Midnight in Paris and War Horse--something about those performances were just so honest and spot-on. I'm a fan and can't wait to see him as Prince Hal in BBC's Henry IV, part 1 and 2.
SIMON PEGG
I'm honestly basing this completely on his performance in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. His comedy is just BRILLIANT!! He is so committed and his choices are so out there, but 100% believable and honest. He kills me. I had to put him on the list. I know that I saw him in Star Trek, but I don't remember his performance--I'm sure I thought he was funny, but I'll go back and watch it again to make sure (great flick). Can't wait for his next project--hopefully it will be something I feel comfortable watching. Yay for Simon!!!
