Sunday, May 31, 2009

See Several Of The Greatest Actors

By Janice Ward

It's fun to swap opinions on favorite movies and favorite actors. Each person has an opinion and none is more right or wrong but everybody has their own favorites that they enjoy. Some actors surprise us with their huge talent, some actors are pretty to look at and then of course some are both of those things. Every so often we admire an actor more for what he does away from the movie set as for what they do onscreen since some actors are just impressive people who use their fame and fortune to aid others who are less fortunate throughout the world.

It's pretty amazing to think that Tom Hanks started out on a little and kooky TV show called "Bosom Buddies". Who would have thought that he would boast the talent to pull off such great roles as Andrew Beckett, a gay lawyer who is infected with AIDS, who is fired from his conservative law firm because of the fear that they may also contract the disease. He won his first Academy Award for that role in 1993 and it was well deserved.

Tom Hanks is only the second actor ever to win back-to-back Academy Awards as he once more took home the Oscar the next year 1994 for his moving portrayal of Forrest Gump. The only other actor to do that was Spencer Tracy in 1937 and 1938. Tom has also entertained us with other fantastic movies but the list is too extensive to cover.

Brad Pitt has been recognized as a pretty boy since he first charmed us all in "Thelma and Louise" back in 1991. Nonetheless, Brad hasn't always played the pretty boy roles. Back in 1995 he played a couple of disturbing characters in both of the movies "Seven" and "Twelve Monkeys". While his private life sometimes seems to outshine his movie roles the most impressive thing about Brad Pitt is his support to humanitarian causes all through the globe. He has donated hefty sums of capital to help many causes.

After Hurricane Katrina almost wiped out New Orleans, Brad Pitt started the "Make It Right Foundation" to assist in the redevelopment of the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. The foundation builds homes that are inexpensive, sustainable and true to the diverse culture of New Orleans. The aim was to achieve the building of the homes fast so that the residents could return home as soon as possible. That has been his true success.

And that brings us to another great actor who is also known for his philanthropy. Paul Newman left us as he passed away this past year on September 26, 2008. During his life he entertained us with many great movies such as "Road to Perdition" in 2002, "The Color Of Money" in 1986, "Absence Of Malice" in 1981. He also played the leading role in the well known and much loved favorite "Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid" from clear back in 1969. Of course he played in a lengthy number of other notable movies too.

But we also remember him for his charity. In 1982 he created a line of food products called "Newman's Own". It began with a salad dressing and then expanded to include pasta sauce, lemonade, popcorn, cookies, salsa and more. He established a policy that all of the profits generated from Newman's Own, after taxes of course, would be donated to charity. As of 2006, the company had donated in excess of $250 million.

Our favorite movies and favorite actors and actresses may change from time to time. We may love them for their talent or for other reasons but now that we can download full length, high quality movies from the Internet instantaneously we don't have to miss any more of the movies that we want to see. - 23815

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