If all goes well, Hustle & Flow could do for Terrence Howard what Ray did for Jamie Foxx. And he’s one of five actors who have submitted the most prominent breakthrough performances so far this year.
1. Terrence Howard
Where Have I Seen Him Before?: Even after more than a decade of hard work, and intensely intelligent performances as Hart’s War’s on-trial POW and Crash’s on-edge buppie, Howard remains a familiar face whose name eludes you.
Breakthrough Role: Tired of rappers who think they can act? In Hustle & Flow, Howard proves actors can drop rhymes like Dr. Dre or Jay-Z , playing a pimp out to make it as a rapper.
Up Next: Reuniting with Hustle & Flow producer John Singleton for Four Brothers (Aug. 12), a revenge yarn led by Mark Wahlberg, and helping 50 Cent to Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (Nov. 11) as he leaves behind a life of crime for a career in rap. Sounds familiar.
The Bottom Line: Howard’s patience looks set to finally pay off. He’s not the star of Four Brothers and Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. But Hustle & Flow should open doors, and an Oscar nod would bring forth the leading roles that have regrettably eluded him for years.
2. Kevin James
Where Have I Seen Him Before?: As CBS’s The King of Queen, he’s TV sitcom royalty.
Breakthrough Role: He owned Hitch with his sweet and cheerful demeanor. In fact, James was so perfectly paired with Will Smith that when they accidentally kissed on the doorstep, they seem to be a much better love match than Smith and Eva Mendes.
Up Next: James and pal Ray Romano get Grilled (TBA) as meat salesmen unable to put food on their plates. He’s also lending his voice to Barnyard (Jan. 13) and Monster House (July 21, 2006).
The Bottom Line: He’s so busy you wonder how much longer he can continue doing his sitcom. Smith clearly didn’t mind James stealing Hitch: he will produce Monster House, with James as a child psychologist able to see things that go bump in the night. James also plans to undertake a comical Field Trip and pose as A Man in Uniform. Cuddly and affable like the dearly departed John Candy, James seems more certain to enjoy movie stardom than Romano.
3. Tyler Perry
Where Have I Seen Him Before?: If you’re a fan of urban theater, chances are you caught Perry in drag for his signature role as the loudmouthed know-it-all grandma Madea Simmons in his self-penned stage shows.
Breakthrough Role: Where Perry goes, Medea follows. His outrageous comic antics as the gun-toting, chainsaw-wielding senior didn’t click with Diary of a Mad Black Woman’s gravely earnest but dramatically inert examination at divorce African-American style. But the presence of the stern say-it-like-it-is Madea made this a Christian-driven crowd-pleaser.
Up Next: Getting dressed up again for Madea’s Family Reunion (Feb. 24).
The Bottom Line: The actor-writer risks pigeonholing himself so early in his career. If he’s not careful, audiences may not accept him in a role other than that of Medea. So after this sequel, Perry needs to distance himself from Medea. The best way would be get his post-World War II pet project, A Jazz Man’s Blues, off the ground.
4. Chris Evans
Where Have I Seen Him Before?: Hanging on the telephone with damsel-in-distress Kim Basinger in Cellular.
Breakthrough Role: So Evans is terribly miscast as the Fantastic Four’s hotheaded Human Torch. But there’s no denying he’s got energy to burn as the showboating superhero. He’s also getting all the laughs.
Up Next: Crossing the paths of Fierce People (Oct. 21), a coming-of-age drama with Diane Lane and Donald Sutherland, and encountering more trouble in space in Sunshine (2006), the new sci-fi chiller from 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle.
The Bottom Line: X-Men made Hugh Jackman an overnight sensation. Expect the same for Evans if Fantastic Four doesn’t flame out. But as a student of the Keanu Reeves Academy of Whoa! Dude Acting, Evans should study the sudden rise and falls of fellow grads Chris Klein and Josh Hartnett. They prove that good looks only take you so far–a total lack of charisma and an inability to plumb emotional depths will be the ruin of you.
5. Daniel Craig
Where Have I Seen Him Before?: His Ted Hughes exchanged poetry with Gwyneth Paltrow‘s Sylvia Plath in Sylvia. In Road to Perdition, he conspired to whack his foster brother, hit man Tom Hanks.
Breakthrough Role: Setting up one last deal as a hotshot drug dealer in the cracking Brit crime caper, Layer Cake.
Up Next: In Steven Spielberg’s untitled drama (Dec. 23), Craig finds himself embroiled in the Mossad’s hunt for the Palestinian extremists responsible for the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre.
The Bottom Line: Spielberg’s only just started shooting his Olympics opus, but Craig’s likely landed himself as an Oscar frontrunner. His fondness for playing true-life characters also sees him star as killer Perry Smith in Douglas McGarth’s untitled account of the writing of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. And then will Craig start ordering his martinis shaken, not stirred? The chisel-jawed Brit’s one of many tipped to be the next James Bond. Judging by the wit, intellect and killer instinct he gave Layer Cake, Craig would make a perfect 007 in the mold of Sean Connery.
|
|
|
|
This is the year Howard finally achieves greater fame and glory. And if he doesn’t land an Oscar nod for Hustle & Flow, bank on him contending for Crash. Regardless, by the time the Oscars nominations are announced, audiences would have finally put a name to Howard’s face. | |
|
||
