Finally, we've reached the Top 20! All the names here are more than capable of getting a Top 10 ranking and indeed some of them have belonged to the Top 10 already the last time... As we said back then...
Almost there! These guys have it already- starring roles, amazing projects and multiple chances to work with some of the industry's cutting edge filmmakers. They are more than just 'matinee idols', they rock!
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# 20 - Ben Barnes: I think Ben Barnes is one of the most promising young actors today. While I am not particularly impressed with the Narnia series, it was an important role for Barnes and it gave him the opportunity to explore acting like never before. He was quite impressive in the indie film, Bigga than Ben and I expect a lot when Dorian Gray, where he played the lead role, hits the big screen.
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Brooke Barnes wrote this earlier piece describing Ben's initial foray into movies:
Barnes is a polite 26-year-old who, until Walt Disney Pictures came calling in February 2007, was struggling in all the typical ways fledgling actors struggle. Despite the splashy outdoor advertising campaign, he is in many ways still living that life. He crashed at a friend's apartment during a recent visit to Los Angeles. He has no publicist. Arriving for an interview at the Sunset Tower Hotel, he parked his rental car on the street because he was leery of leaving it with the valet. Despite being blessed with more than his share of tall, dark and handsome - and starring in a summer blockbuster - he frets that a woman he has a crush on is "utterly unattainable."
His low-key life will change no doubt with the arrival this summer of the lavish "Chronicles of Narnia" sequel. Barnes' character is the swashbuckling descendant of pirates who must battle his evil stepfather for control of the magical kingdom.
I just love some of Ben's scenes in Easy Virtue, one of his more recent films.
Get to enjoy Barnes (I was reminded of Rupert Graves in A Room With a View) in this period piece:
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Barnes is on the verge of completing his portrayal of Dorian Gray, based on the horror classic written by Oscar Wilde. He was recently asked about the film, excerpt follows:
In the movie, Barnes plays a 50-year-old man living in the body of a 20-something-year-old, having maintained his youth with the help of a painting that has the magical properties to take on his natural aging process. Even though there have been many adaptations and versions of Wilde's tale, we asked Barnes if this new version was going to be a very different take on the story than we've seen in previous films and TV movies.