My friend Tara and I recently had a conversation about how Patricia Clarkson makes any movie she's in a little bit better simply by the allure of her presence and the magnitude of her talent. See Pieces of April (and my review), a movie so slight, so whispy so not there that Clarkson's performance is the only thing keeping it earthbound.

So I posed the question to my buddies Dave, Josh and Justin. What other actors can you say this about? Who else makes a movie better simply by showing up? This is what they said....

Josh:

Philip Seymour Hoffman
William H. Macy
John C. Reilly

Justin:

Johnny Depp
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Steve Buscemi

Dave:

Dan Hedaya

I also threw in Frances McDormand as she's the only thing I like about Fargo and outsexes even Kate Beckinsale in Laurel Canyon.

Who would you include?

Comments

[Eric Rice]

Geoffrey Rush
Alan Rickman
Nathan Lane

[dansays]

Looks like Josh is a PT Anderson fan. All excellent answers, though.

I'll add Christopher Walken to the list.

[Kevin Smokler]

Eric, I don't think even Nathan Lane could have saved "Mouse Hunt."

Dan: I know Dave will probably agree with you. He's a big Walken fan. Me, I think he tends to chew the scenery a bit.

[JerH]

I would second Josh's William H. Macy, and also add J.K. Simmons (hasn't been in much, but is always excellent) and Vincent Schiavelli (who's my favorite "Hey! It's that guy!" actor).

[Eric Rice]

Well, hm, okay Kevin you got me on Mousehunt... Not the first movie I was thinking of... then again, I'm a Birdcage/Lion King fan.

To make up for it, I'll absolutely second Dan's vote for Christopher Walken. Two items to note: The Fatboy Slim music video for "Weapon of Choice" and the ending of "America's Sweethearts".

[Kevin Lawver]

Jon Polito (the short, miserable bald guy in Miller's Crossing)
Chris Cooper (watch Lonestar)
Paul Giamatti (Saved Man in the Moon)

[Kevin Smokler]

All good one's from Kevin. Jon Polito also killed in "Barton Fink" and Chris Cooper in well, everything. Paul G. Also saved "Private Parts."

And Jer, J.K. Simmons! Tell me he didn't take his 5 minutes as the newspaper editor in "Spiderman" and run away with the movie!

[Dave]

I also wanna give a shout out to Joey Pants, Joe Pantoliano, who recently got his props winning an emmy for his work on "The Sopranos" (I'm tempted to just netflix whatever season he's in, since I haven't really watched the show). Thus "Running Scared" with both Dan and Joey, is character actor heaven.

[Kevin Lawver]

Amen to J.K. Simmons. He was the whole reason to watch Oz (Ok, Chris Meloni was really good as well). He played Shillinger perfectly. He played a bad guy on Homicide once and was just unbelievable (Homicide, there's a show that deserves its own post).

[Kevin Smokler]

You're in the right place, Kevin. I happen to be the world's biggest Homicide fan. Well, behind you and Dave.

[roman mars]

I have lots of favorite actors, but Mark Ruffalo (most notable for "You Can Count on Me") is probably the most natural actor I can think of. He makes laid back riveting. That's a talent.

Others whose presence usually means something good is going to happen:
Alan Arkin
Jeremy Piven
Jack Black
Sam Rockwell
Tony Shalhoub
Benicio Del Toro
and I fucking love Dan Hedaya, too.

("Running Scared" is my absolute favorite good bad movie. I can quote it from beginning to end. I have friendships built on mutual love for that film.)

[ari]

Judy Davis
Joan Allen
Allison Janney

[Kevin]

Ohh good list, Ari, my objections to "Pleasentville" nothwithstanding :)

[Rob]

Walken is an excellent choice. One of my favorite movie scenes is the one with Walken and Dennis Hopper in Tarintino's "True Romance". The chemistry between Walken and Hopper is amazing, and their nuanced performances makes for one of the most memorable scenes in the history of cinema.

[James]

Jack Kehler (who played the Dude's artsy landlord in Big Lebowski and was hilarious in Love Liza, not a hilarious film), Joan Cusack (I'd love to see a film with her as the romantic lead), Julianne Moore, John Turturro, David Thewlis (betraying my Big Lebowski fetish here, but all three are amazing actors).

[roman]

Judy Davis is God's gift to brown lipstick. I love her.

[Al]

Alan Rickman and Gene Hackman for sure.