by Ashley Smith

Created on: January 07, 2010   Last Updated: January 08, 2010

The best films and best TV programmes are those where you lose yourself in the story and where you empathise with the characters. They will make you laugh at the right times or cry if that's what's required, you will worry what happens to them. No matter how well the story is told and the filming is controlled, it's nothing without actors to tell the story. They need to make sure that you believe in what they say and the person they portray, you must believe the emotions and the way they show how this character acts. Personally,  I believe many of the biggest actors in the world can not act for toffee or have only acted well on rare occasions. I don't think that Tom Cruise is any good for example, every character seems the same and he plays them all the same, he is not believable in any of them.

1/ Paul Newman-A very good actor and above all one you can believe in. Whether a cowboys, a hustler or a happy husband in Barefoot in the park he looks and sounds the part. An actor often seen with Robert Redford in things like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, he always came across as a very natural actor, he always engrossed himself in the part. To compare him to the aforementioned Tom Cruise see him in the colour of money, the sequel to the classic Hustler.

2/Michael Madsen-he is a big and solid actor who plays big and solid people.It could be called type casting but its more a case of being very, very good at the jobs he takes on. He is best known as a hard case killer or thug inn general, classic roles include those in Sin City and Reservoir Dogs. The Sin City is a particular test of an actor's skill as it is a film made almost entirely with green screen technology, this is because its a comic book story made with comic book backing. He simply looks menacing, sounds menacing and looks like someone you wouldn't want to meet in the proverbial dark alley.  In Reservoir Dogs he is involved in the most notorious scene in the notorious film. After a bodged bank raid the gang have a policeman as a hostage, it's the Michael Madsen character who decides to chop off the coppers ear, while singing his favourite song.

3/Brad Pitt, this may seem a strange choice after going against Tom Cruise, a fellow heart throb actor. The difference being that in my experience is that Pitt can act, look at his incredible performance in Twelve Monkeys as an example. This was ironically the next film after an equally high standard performance in Seven, a high tension thriller with equally high class performances from Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman. He is heartthrob actor and is the subject of many a young' and not so young' women's fantasy but he does act. He even showed he looked good in a toga for one of his best performances in Troy, a biblical epic.

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