PICSPAM : top actresses of 2009 { for picspammy }
Anna Friel
I only began watching Pushing Daisies properly this year. I had previously seen the first episode, but that was it. I already liked Anna from the film Me Without You, but seeing her in Pushing Daisies, I fell in love. Later on in the year, I got to see her in Breakfast at Tiffany's on the West End and it was then that I realized what a versatile and talented actress she really is. She can go from humor to a scene that will bring you to tears in 2 seconds flat. She is the queen of accents, officially. She has brought her own interpretation to Holly Golightly, and I love her for it. And then we got to meet her afterward, and despite the press hounding her, and various sources saying she's crazy, she took the time to sign everything, have pictures, chat with her fans, and tell the paparazzi where to shove their cameras (in politer terms) on several occasions.
Gillian Anderson
I have always liked The X Files. My mum never let me watch it when it was first on because she claimed it was too scary, but I watched it anyway. It was only this year,
when I had the chance to see Gillian in the play A Doll's House at the Donmar Warehouse in London that I really realized just how incredible she is. Her portrayal of Nora was not only spot-on, but gave me shivers, as well as bringing me to tears twice. It is not often that I am left absolutely speechless by a performance, but she did it. And I was lucky enough to meet her after, and she was truly lovely. I just love Gillian as a person. She does all these things for charity, and is clearly a wonderful mother. She is hilarious too, as anyone who has ever seen bloopers with her in will tell you.
Jewel Staite
Jewel is basically the definition of adorable. She's amazing at what she does, and I think seeing her in Firefly (the first or second show I saw her in - I can't remember if I saw her episode of X Files before or after), where she's sorta bimbo-ish at times, and then seeing her as this really smart but often scared doctor in Stargate, really shows how diverse an actor she is. And she brings something to every character she plays that you can't quite put your finger on but is just her. Idk how to explain it more than that. Even as a child actress, she had such talent that it isn't surprising that she keeps getting work. Having met her, I can also say that she is absolutely LOVELY, very chatty and giggly and very down to earth. Her twitter also makes me laugh because she loves food so much, and always has something to say about everywhere she goes. She also obviously appreciates her fans, which is really nice to see. She has a wonderful attitude towards everything and her sarcastic comments always make me giggle XD
Kelly Reilly
It is so wonderful to see an actress who really knows what she is talking about, and reads up on the parts she's playing. Whenever Kelly talks about her job, her intelligence shows through right away, despite what most might think. And she obviously loves what she's doing. Every part she plays is completely different to the one before it. She has shown that she can be amazing in just about any genre, and she gives some of the most heart-felt performances I've ever seen. My absolute favorite role of hers is in Mrs Henderson Presents where she plays the beautiful and tragic Maureen. She's funny one minute, defiant the next, and the next thing you know you're in tears because she's in tears, or she's being carried away as a dead body. I basically love everything about Kelly. And she waved at me once, so that's always a plus LOL.
Elizabeth Mitchell
Ever since seeing her in ER, I've loved Liz. Then she went into this tiny little show called Lost and blew everyone's socks off. Forgetting anything else, her performance in the season finale is proof alone of how ridiculously talented an actress she is. Not only that, but she loves what she does, approaches everything with a cheeriness that should be actually impossible to maintain, and seems genuinely warm and welcoming. It is no wonder she was accepted into the Lost cast with such ease. Plot aside, she manages to lighten up any tv show or film she's in, create scenes with such an atmosphere that it is impossible not to smile or cry or whatever it is you're supposed to be doing. And her career just continues to flourish.
Jessica Capshaw
If Jewel Staite does not fully define adorable, then Jessica does. Arizona is hands down the greatest character Grey's Anatomy has ever had, and that is most definitely partly due to Jessica. All the cheeriness of Arizona, I'm sure, is Jessica. She always seems to be happy or giggly or just smiley. But that's not to say she can't do sad scenes, because she aces those too. Who didn't want to hug her in that scene where her patient died on her birthday? Not gonna lie, the fact that she is also BFFs with Sasha Alexander pretty much blows my mind and makes Jessica even more awesome. She just seems like such a lovely person and someone who would always makes you smile no matter what.
Rebecca Mader
For starters, Rebecca Mader is hilarious. She has the most intoxicating laugh, the brightest smile I've ever seen, and is thoroughly entertaining in every public appearance she attends. However, seeing her as Miss Bitch, aka Charlotte on Lost, you would never guess any of those things were true. She manages to come across as strong-willed and, well, downright rude, and you completely believe her. And her death scene was some of the best acting I think I've ever seen on the show, which is saying something when we have so many talented actors in one place. Rebecca also makes a really big effort with her fans, which is pretty awesome. She's down to earth and basically just a completely normal girl, despite the fact she was on one of the world's biggest TV shows (even if it was only for a season and a bit).
Keeley Hawes
Keeley is my absolute favorite actress of all time. I first saw her in a TV movie called After Thomas, but I didn't really know who she was. It was only after watching Ashes to Ashes that I was hooked on her as an actor, despite the reviews for the show saying she overacted and basically taking every fault in the show out on her. Soon after this, I went on IMDB, and realized I had in fact seen her in loads of shows and films before and not known it was the same actor. That's something great about Keeley, her ability to reinvent herself for different roles. Besides her acting, I also really admire her attitude towards everything. She couldn't care less what the newspapers write about her. She and her husband (Matthew McFadyen for anyone stupid enough not to know ;) jk jk) take it in turns to work so that one of them is always at home with the children (rather than them having to have a nanny - something I really think is amazing). And she is amazing with her fans. At comic con, she got told off for taking too long in the signings because she was busy chatting away to everyone. At the premiere I saw her at, she ran out of time and ended up going in late because she insisted on signing things for everyone there. <3
Kathryn Prescott
It takes a lot to portray a realistic lesbian relationship between two teenagers on a television show, and actually pull it off perfectly, but Kathryn does it. It's not just the writing that makes Emily and Naomi so damn believable, it's the acting. I would have put Lily in this too, but she just missed the cut. Kathryn plays Emily with the right amount of awkwardness, making so many people able to identify with the character. She's adorable too, and you can see exactly what Emily feels for Naomi in her eyes every time she's on screen. Plus she's totally sweet in real life, which is always a major plus.
Katie McGrath
Katie and the character of Morgana are two completely different people, yet she manages to make her absolutely believable. It's a real shame she didn't get more airtime this series, but when she was there, she was wonderfully tragic and you really did believe that there was an inner struggle going on without her even speaking. Plus, it helps that Katie is ridiculously gorgeous. It amazes me that she never intended to go into acting, when she's so damn good at it. And apparently she's a complete geek, which is always great to know <3