They SHOULD be Household Names...

94.

Angela Bassett



Despite her Oscar-nominated performance as Tina Turner in What's Love Got to do with it? and work in films like Waiting to Exhale, Boyz in the Hood, and How Stella Got her Groove Back, most people who saw this picture would not know the name of this richly talented actress.

93.

Jonathan Jackson



This star on the rise actually made the last list I did as well. Jackson won five daytime Emmys for playing Lucky Spencer on General Hospital, had featured roles in films like The Deep End of the Ocean, Insomnia, Tuck Everlasting, and Camp Nowhere and is currently heating up Wednesday nights on ABC as Avery Barkley on Nashville. This guy definitely has the acting chops to be a household name.

I know what you've said about the theme of this countdown, but some of these people are starting to seem kinda close to "household names."

Viggo Mortenson, Angela Bassett, Donnie Wahlberg.... I get it, but they seem closer than a lot of other people previously featured.

Yeah, i think Viggo and Bassett are pretty well known. I know they were just examples but from your opening post, i know more people who know who Viggo is and have no clue who Fred Astaire or Bette Davis is, same for a few others. I guess it depends on age groups and how many of your friends/family are film buffs.

Anyway difficult list to make especially when it is over 100 names, so good work so far . Enjoying the write ups.

Yeah, they're getting close and they're going to get closer, but they are not household names. Go ask your next door neighbor right now if he knows who Viggo Mortenson is and see what he says or ask him to name one Viggo Mortenson movie...my bet is your neighbor will be unable to do it.

As i said i know for a fact most of my friends would know who Viggo is thanks to LOTR and to a lesser extent A History of Violence. Those same friends would have know idea who Taylor, Astaire or Davis (from your opening post) are, maybe they would have heard their names (i doubt that even except with Taylor) but there is no way they could name any of their movies.

Doesn't really matter though since it is your list and presumably not many you know would know Viggo by name. As i said it really depends on what age group everyone is in and/or whether the people they know are film buffs or not.

Angela Bassett should have been Storm in the early X-Men movies.
(How they could have Storm without an African accent is beyond me. But they dropped the ball on Piotr Rasputin also by not giving him a Russian accent.)

92.

Richard Jenkins



This gifted character actor made his film debut in Silverado and has mounted an impressive resume since then with roles in Hannah and her Sisters,The Manhattan Project, The Witches of Eastwick, Blue Steel, Rumor Has it, Friends with Benefits, Step Brothers, Blaze, Wolf, Undercover Blues, Flirting with Disaster, Intolerable Cruelty, North Country, and received his first Oscar nomination for The Visitor. An actor who always delivers the goods, no matter the size of the role or how well it's written.

91.

Bonnie Hunt



This funny and talented actress has graced both movie and television screens since her film debut in the Oscar winning Best Picture of 1988, Rain Man. She also made an impression as Renee Zelwegger's sister in Jerry Maguire and also had roles in Dave, Beethoven, Jumanji, The Green Mile, Only You, and Cheaper by the Dozen. Her television credits include Davis Rules, Life with Bonnie, and The Building. She can be the screen-commanding leading lady or the wisecracking best friend, this actress can do it all.

90.

David Strathairn



This underrated actor has the ability to move from leading roles to character roles with an enviable ease. He made his film debut in Return of the Secaucus Seven and also appeared in Silkwood, The Brother from Another Planet, At Close Range, Eight Men Out, Dominic and Eugene, A League of their Own, The Firm, Losing Isaiah, and LA Confidential. He probably made his strongest cinematic impression as Edward R. Murrow in Good Night and Good Luck. This is an actor whose versatility is only exceeded by his graciousness as an actor..he always knows when to step back and let a scene partner take the lead.

89.

Ron Rifkin



One of Hollywood's most recognizable faces that most people probably can't put a name to. Television audiences might remember him from shows like Adam's Rib, When Things were Rotten, Husbands, Wives, & Lovers, One Day at a Time, Falcon Crest, The Trials of Rosie O'Neill, Alias, and Brothers and Sisters. Moviegoers might remember him in The Big Fix, The Chosen, The Sting II, Husbands and Wives, Manhattan Murder Mystery, LA Confidential, Keeping the Faith, Boiler Room, and The Majestic. I also loved his performance as Johnny Hyde opposite Mira Sorvino's Marilyn Monroe in the HBO movie Norma Jean and Marilyn. A versatile actor with an extremely likable screen persona.

88.

Michael McKean



Most people probably think of this talented actor and writer as Lenny on Laverne and Shirley, but opened up a new career for himself when he accepted the role of David St. Hubbins in Rob Reiner's classic This is Spinal Tap, which led to roles in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Clue, Coneheads, Earth Girls are Easy, Airheads, Best in Show, Teaching Mrs. Tingle, and A Mighty Wind. McKean has proven himself to be one of the industry's most versatile artists.

87.

Chiwetel Ejiofor



The charismatic actor with the impossible-to-pronounce name made his film debut in Amistad and has been featured in films like Dirty Pretty Things, Love, Actually, Melinda and Melinda, Inside Man, Kinky Boots, Children of Men, Salt, Four Brothers, and American Gangster. This guy is a very talented actor, but if he wants to become a household name, he needs to change his.

86.

Frank Langella



This intense actor first impressed audiences on Broadway in Dracula and recreated the role in the film version in 1979. His film credits include Diary of a Mad Housewife, Those Lips Those Eyes, The Men's Club, And God Created Woman, Body of Evidence, Dave, Junior, Breaking the Faith, Good Night and Good Luck, Superman Returns, and the film that finally earned him his first Oscar nomination Frost and Nixon, in which he played Richard M. Nixon. After more than 40 years in the business, this is an actor worthy of household name status.

85.

Peter Sarsgaard



An actor who always brings more to a role than what's in the screenplay, Sarsgaard made his film debut in 1995's Dead Man Walking and followed it with roles in The Man in the Iron Mask, Another Day in Paradise, Boys Don't Cry, The Cell, Kinsey, The Skeleton Key, Garden State, Jarhead, and Ladygrey. Sarsgaard has been knocking on the door of household name status for a minute now and he is due.

Another Great List, thanks Gideon!

115. Billy Zane

He was the coolest, snobbiest and evilest bad guy I've ever seen in Titanic. He looked better with hair!


114.Alan Ruck

I see him from time to time in films and recognize him even though he's much older now than that photo...but I never recognize his name.

111.Sam Elliott

I watch a lot of westerns and Sam Elliott turns up in them. He's really good at doing his colorful gruff Sam Elliott character.

105.Cynthia Nixon

I actually recognize her name but not her face! Probably because of Nixon...as in the President.

100.Jennifer Jason Leigh

I like her too. I seen her the other night in Welcome to Me (2014). She had a tiny, tiny role and it was nothing special. I was saddened to see her take such a nothing part in a small film. But oh well, she must love to act!

Welcome to Me, my short review

84.

Dylan Baker



This gifted character actor has been gracing the large and small screens for years in films like The Long Walk Home, Delirious, Life withMikey, Radioland Murders, Disclosure, Requiem for a Dream, Hide and Seek, and Revolutionary Road. His TV work includes memorable recurring roles on Damages, The Pitts, Life as we Know It, The Good Wife, and the mini-series Drive. This is a gutsy character actor who can be explosive on the screen in the right role.

Hi Citizen...was wondering when you were going to check in...if you're interested in looking at more of the work of Jennifer Jason Leigh, may I recommend Single White Female, Short Cuts, Georgia, and Delores Claiborne.

Loved Georgia! what a great film, I need to see it again. Delores Claiborne, also liked that one, very dark and powerful. I might have seen Single White Female, but I will take your advice and add it to my watch list. Short Cuts sounds interesting maybe I'll give that a whirl (so far I have not liked Robert Altman movies, but who know this one might strike pay dirt)

Have you seen The Hudsucker Proxy? that was a good one. So was The Road to Perdition.

If we're recommending JJL films, then two HK 100 favourites I must mention are Flesh + Blood and The Hitcher. Also, Rush, Washington Square and, for her performance alone if nothing else, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.