Today’s Finest Young Actors

It seems to me that even still some of today’s biggest stars and finest actors were actually yesterday’s biggest stars and finest actors. Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton are decades into their respective careers, yet still headlining movies. The quality of the movies they star in these years may pale in comparison to their previous work (particularly in the case of De Niro), but they are still churning out movies the way they were in their 20s and 30s. This kind of staying power is rare to say the least, especially for women. There are so many variables in a young actor’s career that make it hard, and hard to predict who might eventually have it. Not to be morbid, but some might have predicted that Heath Ledger would have such an industrious career, given his short yet transcendent filmography. What we can do, however, is pinpoint those young actors who have already displayed a solid track record and contain marvelous potential. So who are the best film actors that are currently in their 20s? My initial instinct for creating this list was to throw Ryan Gosling straight to the top. However, it turns out that this remarkable actor has attained the ancient age of 31, so he is ineligible. His luminous co-star from the 2011 film “Drive,” Carey Mulligan, is eligible though. At 26, she has already displayed the phenomenal talent and grace of an old pro. Her breakthrough film was 2009’s “An Education,” a whimsical film wherein she played Jenny, a precocious schoolgirl with ambitions of studying at Cambridge who suddenly takes up with a charming and mysterious older man. Mulligan effortlessly explores Jenny’s insecurities, yet she never lets them overwhelm. She uses the language with sharp aplomb, and possesses a charm rarely seen Audrey Hepburn had herself a “Roman Holiday.” Mulligan’s skills have been used to great effect in the aforementioned “Drive,” “Shame,” and “Never Let Me Go.” Despite being a critical darling, Mulligan remains under the radar to most general audiences, do to her adherence to independent cinema. Emma Stone, 23, has taken the opposite approach, by starring in more mainstream fare. That doesn’t mean her talents are any less however. In the 2010 hit “Easy A,” Stone plays nerdy high school student Olive, who charges the eager to impress boys in her class to claim that they have had sex with her. Without Stone, the material for this film would have bordered on tedious and conventional. Thanks to Stone’s unrivaled charisma and wit, it became a must see. Her deadpan delivery and husky voice make her an anomaly for modern actresses, but she uses both to great ends. Her turns in 2011 films like “Crazy Stupid Love” and “The Help” only solidified her status as a star to watch. It’s not just the young women who are making noise. In 2011, Jesse Eisenberg scored an Oscar nomination for playing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network.” It was the opinion of many, including myself, that the 28 year old should have won for his complex, sinister and oddly hilarious turn. With a character that lesser actors would have made one note, Eisenberg seemed to approach the character from eight different directions, all distinct, all seemingly accurate. His Zuckerberg was strong and weak, secure and insecure, funny and grim. While Eisenberg is mostly a comedic actor (“Adventureland,” “30 Minutes Or Less”), he has displayed dramatic versatility in both “The Social Network” and his 2005 breakthrough “The Squid and the Whale.” Are there more actors in their 20s showing great potential for the future? Sure. I didn’t mention Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield or Mia Wasikowska. But these are some of my current favorites. Hopefully, for them and us, they will be entertaining audiences for decades. Movieroomreivews.com has great info on movies such as Drive and actors such as Jack Nicholson.