Yay, first post! (maybe^^)

I like Emma Watson as well, Val. I also really like Romola Garai--I don't know much about her as a person, but she's been in many good period movies and she's always so lovely.

Recently I fell in love with Russel Crowe in A Beautiful Mind. Absolutely flawless acting in that movie.

As for Japanese actors/actresses I like Hiroyuki Sanada (smoky good looks and subtle acting), Ken Watanabe (magnetic and warm-hearted), Kyouhei Shibata (conveys emotion very movingly), Nao Omori (something fascinating about that doleful moon-face of his), and Tatsuya Nakadai (one of my favorite "golden age" 60s stars). Rie Miyazawa is always gorgeous and sweet, and Kuriyama Chiaki's icy looks are particularly eye-catching.

...on the whole, I don't noticed actresses as much as actors for some reason, but I like very few American actors.

Hmmm. I have very few favourite modern day actors simply because I don't watch many newer movies or because their standards and life styles aren't always ones of which I approve or would personally really want in "favourite" actors and actresses, which probably makes me sound like bad, or something, but I hope you all know what I mean. But I do still have some favourites- such as Kirk Cameron. Also too, they may make one movie I'd see, such as Keira Knightley in Pride & Prejudice, but I wouldn't go watch the rest of her (or whoever's) films as I'm not sure if they would be movies that I would want to see due to content and storylines.

Older actors and actresses, most of which are now dead, are mainly the ones that I like, and my favourites include:

(Actors)
Roy Rogers- Well, simply put, I like his movies and acting, and even more so, I really appreciate how his lifestyle was clean and God honouring, and how he and Dale Evans Rogers used their popularity and fame to reach many many young people and adults for the Lord. I think that's even more important than if their movies were of high quality or pristine acting.

Gene Autry: I think he was a pretty good actor and for the most part another good role model for kids to look up to.

Tex Ritter
Johnny Mack Brown
Buck Jones
Hoot Gibson
George "Gabby" Hayes
(the rest of these I'm not listing reasons for because the reasons why I like them are pretty much the same as the reasons I gave above.)
And lastly Jimmy Stewart, 'cause he was all around a good actor and neat person.

(Actresses)
Dale Evans Rogers: I like her for pretty much the same reason I like Roy Rogers, because she wasn't afraid to stand up for the truth and what was right, and once she gave her life over to the Lord she was uncompromising in her morals and lifestyle. A pretty good role model I think!

Mary Hart/Lynne Roberts: I'll admit most people probably wouldn't know who she actually was, but she starred in b-westerns from the early 1930s to the late 1940s before retiring, and in most of those roles in the early '30s she was only seventeen or eighteen, and a mighty good actor at that!

And, er, I think that's about it. I'll probably think of many more later on, so I may edit this post later.

Well, there are many actors that I really like, but my top three favorites are Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sean Penn. All three are amazing dramatic actors who are able to complete immerse themselves and disappear into the roles they are playing. I could go on and on about them, but some of the performances I admire the most from these actors are:

Brad Pitt- Fight Club, The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford, and Twelve Monkeys

Leonardo DiCaprio- Blood Diamond, Revolutionary Road, The Departed

Sean Penn- Milk, Mystic River, 21 Grams

A few other actors who never fail to amaze me are Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Franco (not so much in the Spider-Man films, but is brilliant in Milk and Pineapple Express), and Sam Rockwell (If you've seen Moon, you'll understand why I like him so much)

Actresses, I don't have quite as much an opinion on. I think Kate Winslet is outstanding in everything she does (I recently saw both Revolutionary Road and The Reader and she blew me away in both.) I'm also a big fan of Natalie Portman, Rachel McAdams, Kristen Stewart (and not because of Twilight), and Cate Blanchett.

kotwcs, I can't believe I forgot Romola Garia! I edited my original post to add her.

I think Kate Winslet is outstanding in everything she does (I recently saw both Revolutionary Road and The Reader and she blew me away in both.)

Agreed! I haven't seen the latter but I've seen the former and she was just...wow.

Most of my favorite actors/actresses are from by-gone years of old. Also, I have not seen nor plan on seeing everything that the following people have done, but what I have seen of their work I really like. Also, this is in no particular order. Here we go.......

------------------------

Actors of yesteryear:

Bob Hope
Henry Fonda
Gregory Peck
Cary Grant
James Sterwart
James Mason
Humphrey Bogart
Christopher Lee
John Wayne
Ward Bond
Charleston Heston
Peter O'Toole
Laurence Olivier
Sean Connery
Clark Gable
Basil Rathbone
Errol Flynn
Michael York

Modern actors:

Christian Bale
Liem Neeson
Morgan Freeman
Michael Cain
Gary Oldman (I just got the entire main cast for Batman Begins )
Harrison Ford
Robert Downey Jr.
Johnny Depp
Bill Nighy
Colin Firth
Hugh Jackman
------------------
Actresses of yesteryear:

Ingrid Bergman
Julie Andrews
Grace Kelly
Audrey Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Maureen O'Hara

Modern actresses:

Natalie Portman
Amy Adams
Kate Winslet
Kate Beckinsale
Anne Hathaway
Saoirse Ronan (one of the few good things about City of Ember)
Sigourney Weaver (have only seen her in The Village and Aliens, but she was FANTASTIC in both films!)

-----------------------------

Whew! I think that gets everyone. There are probably a few more that I like that I did not mention.... Also, I know that some of the actors/actresses that I put under ".. of yesteryear" are still going strong today, but they came from the older days of Hollywood (pre-1970), so I put them in with the greats. Besides, to me they are great.

my favorite actresses:

Georgie Henley
Anna Popplewell
Anita Breim
Abigail Breslin
Annasophia Robb

favorite actors

Josh Hutcherson
Brendan Fraser
Skandar Keynes
William Mosely
Kirk Cameron

I only recently got to know actors/actresses so my list is pretty short here it goes...

Actors:
Harrison Ford
Sean Connery
Robert Downey Jr.
Sean Bean
Sean Astin (I liked him first for LotR, then saw him in "Rudy" and he was amazing)
Orlando Bloom (well... pretty much because he played Legolas )
Rufus Sewell (I've only seen him in Amazing Grace, but he was great)
Logan Lerman
Ewan McGregor
Cary Elwes

Actresses:
Romola Garai
Tilda Swinton

And I can't think of any others at the moment

I've seen all these actors/actresses in a movie, but most only one, but I though they're acting was excellent so they're on this list. I wouldn't necessarily watch everything they're in...

Romola Gaira
Keira Knightley
Amy Adams
Annasophia Robb
Georgie Henley
Anna Popplewell
Saoirse Ronan

Johnny Depp
Kirk Cameron
William Moseley
Josh Hutcherson
Skandar Keynes
Shia LaBeouf
Orlando Bloom

I have four women and four men who are classed, in my family, as 'The Eight Greats'. And they are;

Cate Blanchett - Self-explanatory
Tilda Swinton - The only woman who has made me curl up in my couch more than once because I was scared of her character
Geoffery Rush - Fanatstic in every way!
Nicole Kidman - She has done some seriously phenomenal pieces of acting
Johnny Depp - The most verstile actor in the world.
Meryl Streep - The most versitile actress in the world (tied with Cate the Great)
George Clooney - Only he could make his charcater in 'Up in the Air' likeable.
Heath Ledger - Ah-mazing. May he Rest in Peace.

My other favourites include:
Liam Neeson
Emma Watson
Keira Knightly
AUDREY HEPBURN (I adore her!)
Toni Collette
Hugo Weaving
Georgie Henley
David Wenham
Viggo Mortensen
Sophie Lowe (Most of you won't know her, but she is a fantastic young Australian actress)
Tina Fey
Skandar Keynes
Julie Andrews
Orlando Bloom
Sean Bean
Morgan Freeman
Shia LeBeouf
William Moseley
Jeremy Irons
Bryan Brown (Aussie actor, amazing)
Saoirse Ronan
Anna Popplewell
Natalie Portman
Miranda Otto
Bernard Hill
Anna Kendrick
Erroll Flyn
Hugh Jackman
Elijah Wood
Sean Astin
Anne Hathaway

And may many more! I am quite the movie freak and look up to these people.

emma is 20/19(she was born in 1990) val(i always remeber because she is the same age as my brother)

actors:

billy west(well he is a carton voice actor but he acted in 2 or 3 movies in person)
Orlando Bloom
johnny depp- i love tim burten movies

actresses:

Emma watson
Georgie henly-
anna popwell
Anne Hathaway

I have four women and three men who are classed, in my family, as 'The Eight Greats'. And they are;

Oh, I like that idea! And I love your top name on that list If I was going to do "Greats", it would probably be the two Great Kates. Cate Blanchette, and Kate Winslet.

Interesting that just by looking at the lists of all our favorite actors/actresses you can get an idea of what our favorite movies are, too...

Tom Hanks is the best , also Guy Pearce, Ben Stiller, Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Carrey, Chris Farley, Jamie Lee Curtis, Robert De Niro, and Joan Allen.

As for Japanese actors/actresses I like Hiroyuki Sanada (smoky good looks and subtle acting), Ken Watanabe (magnetic and warm-hearted), Kyouhei Shibata (conveys emotion very movingly), Nao Omori (something fascinating about that doleful moon-face of his), and Tatsuya Nakadai (one of my favorite "golden age" 60s stars). Rie Miyazawa is always gorgeous and sweet, and Kuriyama Chiaki's icy looks are particularly eye-catching.

I don't know if you count him, but I've always liked James Shigeta.

Favorite Actors

Tom Hanks by a country mile. There's very little that he's been in that I haven't liked his character in. While a film like Castaway is one that really divides the movie-going crowd (you either love the movie or hate it) I just couldn't see spending 2 hours on that island with anyone else. I honestly don't think anyone else could have pulled it off.

Runners-up: Gary Sinise has been a favorite of mine ever since I saw Of Mice and Men way back in the day. The man has a special gift for acting and strikes me as one who doesn't let the fame of Hollywood go to his head. Morgan Freeman is another one I very much enjoy movies of. I've been seeing him on my TV screen ever since he was in the kids PBS program The Electric Company back in the 1970's. He became a favorite of mine when I saw The Shawshank Redemption. Gene Hackman is phenomenal in everything he's in...I've been a fan of his since the original Poseidon Adventure back in the early 70's.

Favorite Actresses

Once upon a time it was Meg Ryan, but nowadays I don't really have anyone I can point at and say "she's my favorite!". I always liked Dame Judy Dench (very much so) and Helen Mirren (she won me over in 2010). Back in my long ago single days I thought the sun rose and set with Phoebe Cates (yes, I'm that old ). Dittos Jennifer Connelly, who I thought was the cat's pajamas when I first watched Labyrinth for the first time many years ago.

From the "classic era" my favorite actor was always Errol Flynn. Growing up he was the guy I wanted to be most of all, especially when he's at a full gallop in Charge of the Light Brigade or a roguish pirate in Captain Blood. Favorite actress from that era is and always will be Olivia DeHavilland. Period. Beautiful, graceful, and forever wonderful in front of a movie camera. Too bad she and Flynn never got together...I really think Flynn might have found happiness at last.

^^ Helen Mirren is an awesome actress!