Amy's Best Actor/Actress List

On this list, I have LIVING actors.  This is leaving out the Audrey Hepburns and Jimmy Stewarts.  This is a modern list, y'all.

Actors (in no particular order)

1. George Clooney -- I think I underestimate him at times because he's so darn handsome, but he blows me away in just about every performance.  I just saw him in "The Descendants," and he's even good as a sad-sack Hawaiian-shirt wearing man.  He proved that he doesn't have to be slick to be good.

2. Ryan Gosling -- Aside from my major boner for this guy, Ryan Gosling is an amazing, amazing actor.  He is especially good at playing brooding, sexy, slighty-scary dudes, but he can also be so incredibly charming.  I will see just about any movie he's in.

3. Philip Seymour Hoffman -- Quite possibly the most versatile actor I have ever seen.

4. Jon Hamm -- YES, I might be going through a huge "Mad Men" phase right now, but I am amazed at a man who can be so brooding and pensive sometimes, while charming and silly at others.  And he looks like a Disney prince.

5. Patrick Wilson -- While my feelings for him might not be as strong as they are for the first four guys, I would really like to see Patrick Wilson do more things.  Sure, he may always play the slightly stifled wholesome-but-not father/husband role, but I think there's a lot more in him.

6. Matt Damon -- Like Seymour Hoffman, this guy can (and DOES) do anything.  

Actresses

1. Michelle Williams -- She impresses me in all that she does, and I think she's the best young actress right now.

2. Carey Mulligan -- Another cute girl with big cheeks and a pixie cut, she has emerged in the last few years, and I hope it stays that way.

3. Kate Winslet -- She's gonna be off the list if she doesn't do something impressive soon!

4. Meryl Streep -- Well, duh.

5. Emma Thompson -- Always heartbreaking, whether she wants to be or not.

6. Charlize Theron -- Equally pretty and talented, but "Young Adult" was a big ol' flop.

7. Gabourey Sidibe -- JUST KIDDING.

Ladies I want to see so much more of!

1. Elisabeth Moss -- SO good on Mad Men, so cute in Get Him To the Greek.  More!

2. Elizabeth Olsen -- the twins' little sis.  She was so good in Martha Marcy May Marlene.

3. Jessica Chastain -- Had three lead roles this year!  The Help, Tree Of Life, and Take Shelter.  Keep it coming!

4. Mia Wasikowska -- Amazing in "The Kids Are All Right."  Seems like a real wunderkind.

5. Shailene Woodley -- Knocked my socks off in "The Descendants" tonight.

6. Marion Cotillard -- Her acting and heartbreaking beauty were the highlights of "La Vie en Rose" and "Midnight In Paris."