1. Daniel Day-Lewis
My love for DDL stems from his portrayal of John Proctor in The Crucible. Instead of reading the play, we watched the movie in 11th grade English, and I was like, "Whoa, this is really good." Luckily, Katie already liked it, so my love for The Crucible was nurtured and grew.
Loving DDL in one role is one thing, but when you realize he's the most intense method actor on the planet, you have to love him even more. Did you know he almost became a cabinetmaker instead of an actor? Imagine how good his cabinets would be.
In 2012, he played the titular role in Lincoln. I was already predisposed to love that movie, and DDL's portrayal was amazing and earned him his third Academy Award for Best Actor.
Lately, I saw DDL in his final role, Phantom Thread. I loved every line on his face, his wry smile, his caustic manner. I wanted him to win Best Actor for that role because he is, in every situation, the BEST ACTOR.
2. Leonardo DiCaprio
When I was a kid in the 90s, Katie had a middle grades biography of Leonardo DiCaprio. I was unimpressed by his feminine face back then, and scorned older girls that fawned over him.
My love blossomed for Leo when I saw him in Catch Me If You Can. His face and body had filled out, and he was smart and sly and broken. His wikipedia bio lists his trademarks as "often plays conflicted, tortured-by-their-own-demons characters, who need to deal with their past." Does he actually play anything else?
I love that he uses his fame to further environmental causes. I love that I used to hate that about him when I was younger and more conservative. I love that I like him more the older he gets.
3. Jason Segel
I started loving Jason Segel when I watched Freaks & Geeks. His character Nick is a babe. Between his floppy hair and his dopey crush on Lindsay, he was definitely the one my inner teenager had a crush on. (Not to mention the time he gets into disco dancing!)
Since that show is only a season, I started watching How I Met Your Mother, mostly for Jason Segel. I love him for being the everyman. For being huge and having a dad bod and bringing that adorable eager nerdiness into all his characters. And for being hi-larious. In real life, no question, Jason Segel is the one you want to be with.
Females
1. Winona Ryder
No surprise, I also love Winona because of The Crucible. It probably didn't hurt that we also watched The Age of Innocence in that same English class, which somehow ALSO starred Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder.
I love Winona for being versatile. I think she can do freaking anything. She can be sickly sweet or evil to the core. She did the over-the-top hysterics of Joyce in Stranger Things with so sympathetically.
Seriously, when I turned on Stranger Things for the first time, like a year after it came out, I was like, "Why did no one tell me Winona Ryder was in this? I would have watched it a lot sooner!"
2. Saoirse Ronan
Maybe this isn't fair, because Saoirse's only been on the scene for a little while, but I love her so much. Again, my love for her stems a lot from her role in Lady Bird, which I've watched 3 times in the last month. #sorrynotsorry
Saoirse is crazy talented, though. She has the maturity to play someone who is young, but complex. I think of her as the anti-Jennifer Lawrence, who is cast in roles that are too old for her on account of her complexity and maturity. I see Saoirse as having the maturity to play young characters with a lot of dignity.
Plus, she's someone I want to hang out with in real life. I feel like she's my friend. I feel like she'd like me if she knew me.
Honorable Mention:
Domnhall Gleeson
Tom Hanks
Elizabeth Banks
Rachel McAdams
