Spring Break
Celebrities to keep an eye on this year
Paresh Jha
Issue date: 2/3/09 Section: Focus
The first decade of the new millennium is nearly over and with that comes a new ruling class of Hollywood. George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon have had their golden age (not to say they will not continue doing very well) and the time has come to usher in the ones waiting for the true limelight. These actors and actresses will undoubtedly move to prominence over the next few years as they do more films, win more awards and get more exposure.
Ryan Phillippe
We all remember him from 1998's "Cruel Intentions." Similar to Heath Ledger, Phillippe has stepped away from the teen beat films to avoid being typecast and that has proven to work very well for him. He has proven his top notch acting skills in recent films like "Stop-Loss," "Breach" and "Flags of our Fathers." "Breach," in particular, shows that he could handle his own with a master actor like Chris Cooper. Clint Eastwood also handpicked Phillippe for his role in "Flags of our Fathers" and they maintain a great working relationship today. Part of it may be their similar attitudes toward their profession. "People keep trying to make me a movie star but they just don't understand," Pillippe says. "I'm not a movie star, I'm an actor."
James Franco
Not playing Peter Parker in "Spider-man" may have been the best thing that ever happened to Franco. The last thing we needed was for this talent to fall to the wayside like that crybaby Tobey McGuire's. Franco really showed his true range as an actor in the recent stoner comedy "Pineapple Express." He was able to perfectly inhabit that character; at time he was even funnier than Seth Rogen. He recently starred opposite Sean Penn in the critically acclaimed film "Milk" and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Emile Hirsch
Who knew that this forgettable little guy from "The Girl Next Door" would become such a capable actor at such a young age? He's barely 24 years old and he has already co-starred with actors like Heath Ledger, Josh Brolin, Bruce Willis, and Sean Penn. Sean Penn also directed Hirsch in a great movie called "Into the Wild." He most recently was seen in "Milk" with Penn and James Franco and in "Speed Racer" with Christina Ricci. If you want to see some of his untapped potential, check out "Lords of Dogtown", "Milk", and "Alpha Dog." When Penn was asked in an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle about why he chose such a young actor to take the lead in his movie he simply replied, "I knew he had the talent for it, the intelligence for it." Strong words coming from a living legend.
Ryan Phillippe
We all remember him from 1998's "Cruel Intentions." Similar to Heath Ledger, Phillippe has stepped away from the teen beat films to avoid being typecast and that has proven to work very well for him. He has proven his top notch acting skills in recent films like "Stop-Loss," "Breach" and "Flags of our Fathers." "Breach," in particular, shows that he could handle his own with a master actor like Chris Cooper. Clint Eastwood also handpicked Phillippe for his role in "Flags of our Fathers" and they maintain a great working relationship today. Part of it may be their similar attitudes toward their profession. "People keep trying to make me a movie star but they just don't understand," Pillippe says. "I'm not a movie star, I'm an actor."
James Franco
Not playing Peter Parker in "Spider-man" may have been the best thing that ever happened to Franco. The last thing we needed was for this talent to fall to the wayside like that crybaby Tobey McGuire's. Franco really showed his true range as an actor in the recent stoner comedy "Pineapple Express." He was able to perfectly inhabit that character; at time he was even funnier than Seth Rogen. He recently starred opposite Sean Penn in the critically acclaimed film "Milk" and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Emile Hirsch
Who knew that this forgettable little guy from "The Girl Next Door" would become such a capable actor at such a young age? He's barely 24 years old and he has already co-starred with actors like Heath Ledger, Josh Brolin, Bruce Willis, and Sean Penn. Sean Penn also directed Hirsch in a great movie called "Into the Wild." He most recently was seen in "Milk" with Penn and James Franco and in "Speed Racer" with Christina Ricci. If you want to see some of his untapped potential, check out "Lords of Dogtown", "Milk", and "Alpha Dog." When Penn was asked in an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle about why he chose such a young actor to take the lead in his movie he simply replied, "I knew he had the talent for it, the intelligence for it." Strong words coming from a living legend.
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