A small sampling of awesome

[smonsterbite]

Friday Meme: What are 10 of your most favorite actors' portrayals of characters in movies or television? ( ganked from apetslife)

In no particular order:

1. Katee Sackhoff as Starbuck on BSG - Well, yes, duh. I have frequently waxed eloquent about the character of Starbuck and her kickassedness. Katee is one of the most believable tough chicks on tv, and a big part of that is her athletic body. But it's also the snarl, the loud obnoxious laugh, the body language, and a million other things.
2. Connie Britton as Tami Taylor on FNL - okay, it's hard not to include the entire FNL cast here. But I love love LOVE Tami Taylor. Number one tv mom EVAH. She's a mom and a counselor and a loving wife and a sexy lady and so much more. She will give you a hug or kick your ass or talk you into doing something you didn't want to do, b/c you love her. I've got a picture of her smiling at me right now, behind my computer at work. Connie Britton plays Tami with an incredible amount of nuance and heart and verisimilitude.
3. David Boreanaz as Seely Booth in Bones - Bones is my carefree fandom. It just makes me happy (well, except for when it makes me cry, but you know what I mean). And I'm just so damn PROUD of DB for how far he's come since s1 Buffy ("Why you ridin' me?) in his acting skillz. And I love the dynamic that Booth and Bones have going on.
4. Angelina Jolie as Joan in Playing By Heart - I've been an AJ fan since Foxfire, that's no secret. There's something about Joan that just kills me. One of my favorite moments is when Ryan Phillipe's character makes a comment about her drinking and she immediately lets the glass fall from her hand and the liquid from her mouth. She dismisses or demolishes every objection and obstacle he raises with glee. "We are right for each other and you know it and I will not allow you to pretend otherwise."
5. Lee Pace as The Piemaker on Pushing Daisies - I have a hard time saying anything more coherent than SMISH. Pace was in the background for most of Wonderfalls but started to catch my notice near the end with his line readings on things like, "I'm somebody's brother." Hello there, stealth hottie. As Ned he does adorably awkward very, very well. I really want to see The Fall. Hey, both P. Weezy and my boss' boss recommended it.
6. Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth in Elizabeth - Incendiary. I will always and forever be bitter that she lost the Oscar to Gwyneth Paltrow that year.
7. Ben Mackenzie as Ryan Atwood in The O.C. - The woobie, the caretaker, the thrower of the first punch.
8. Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain - Kind of a gimme, but that doesn't detract from the greatness.
9. Alexis Denisoff as Wesley Wyndham-Price on Angel - Wesley's evolution from bumbling anal-retentive Watcher to pratfalling rogue demon hunter to loyal and capable member of Angel Investigations to HOLY SHIT DARK AND SEXY was one of the most brilliant things I've ever watched. I want AD to get back on my tv pronto.
10. John Cameron Mitchell in Hedwig and the Angry Inch - The first time I watched this, I thought Hedwig was the coolest thing ever. Since then I've seen Hedwig live twice and the movie again, and I realized how damaged and cruel s/he is. This is one of my favorite films.

Honorable mentions: Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda; the entire cast of Beautiful Thing; Jean Reno in The Professional; Johnny Depp in just about anything.