Essentials by Actor: Ewan McGregor  A Scottish actor who easily moves from art house to big budget, Ewan McGregor was best known for his portrayal as a heroin addict in Danny Boyle's Trainspotting, then found mainstream success as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. A charming romantic lead, McGregor is famously fearless as an actor and always fun to watch.
›Essentials by Actor: Ewan McGregor Essentials by Actor: Philip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour Hoffman is one of those actors who make it look easy, and because he does, when you're watching him you forget that he's an actor who's just performing, and not an actual character who's really living that life on the screen. He became a household name with his Academy Award®-winning performance as the title character in Capote. Previous to that, however, he was already building up one of the strongest resumes in Hollywood by taking on challenging roles in substantive films that often had limited appeal, but artistic depth. As such he gained credibility and proved he could play a wide range of characters convincingly. These titles provide a look at his best work and show you what people mean when they say that he's one of those actors who comes along once in a generation ›Essential Philip Seymour Hoffman DVDs Essentials by Actor: Errol Flynn  A true Tasmanian devil, Errol Flynn drifted into acting, and his graduation from rookie to box-office star was rapid, landing his archetypal, cutlass-brandishing role as Captain Blood within his first year in Hollywood. Blood established an ebullient equation of raffish good looks, buoyant self-confidence, and natural athleticism, exploited during his late-'30s and early-'40s tenure at Warner Bros. through an impressive string of costume adventures built around Flynn's appeal.
›Essentials by Actor: Errol Flynn Essentials by Actor: Clint Eastwood  From the Man with No Name to Dirty Harry Callahan, Clint Eastwood has proven that no one plays the cool-headed hero better. Time and again, Eastwood's laconic presence has been detailed in exquisite performances ranging from romantic comedy to contemporary drama.
›Essentials by Actor: Clint Eastwood Essentials by Actor: Harrison Ford  Few actors have managed to slip as effortlessly from boyish charm to masculine gravity as Harrison Ford, a cinematic Everyman who has matured from cocky hero in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises to a solid, often subtle dramatic actor. The protagonists of his biggest hits are often ordinary men grappling with extraordinary situations who rise to the occasion, embodying grace and courage under pressure.
›Essentials by Actor: Harrison Ford Essentials by Actor: Robert Mitchum  After Robert Mitchum received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for The Story of G.I. Joe (1945), he soon established himself as the perfect film noir leading man. Through the '50s and '60s he took on more varied roles, from romantic leads to chilling villains, demonstrating with every scene that there was much more to a Mitchum performance than learning lines and following orders.
›Essentials by Actor: Robert Mitchum Essentials by Actor: Dustin Hoffman  Bursting onto the scene in Mike Nichols's The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman redefined accepted perceptions of the screen hero, and in so doing paved the way for other actors of "unconventional" appearance and exceptional skill. A character actor with the capacity to command leading roles, Hoffman is both a gifted chameleon (as in Tootsie) and one of the finest contemporary actors in the history of American film.
›Essentials by Actor: Dustin Hoffman Essentials by Actor: Steve McQueen  Steve McQueen took James Dean's rebel image one step further, updating it with a beatnik swagger and infusing it with an individual Western frontier spirit. His acting was extremely physical rather than emotive and never sentimental: he brings to action films such as Bullitt and The Getaway a lean muscular energy. Not to say he couldn't be charming--a little-boy laugh and a restless intensity set many a moviegoer aswoon.
›Essentials by Actor: Steve McQueen Essentials by Actor: Jet Li One of the most graceful action stars, Jet Li emerged from China, where he was a wushu world champion, into the film industry with Shaolin Temple in 1982. While his stage name implies his lightning-fast speed, it's actually a shortened version of his real first name, Liang-Jie, because it wouldn't fit on a marquee. He entered the Hollywood movie scene in 1998's Lethal Weapon 4, and introduced a whole new audience to his fists of fury. Check out our Essential Jet Li movies.
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