Wherein I proclaim my affection for Matthew Lillard

Top 5 Favorite Actors
Not best actors. Favorite actors.

1. John Cusack
   
2. Matthew Lillard
3. Heath Ledger
4. Ryan Gosling/Johnny Depp/Christian Bale
   (one of them, I'm still deciding who)
   
5. Joseph Gordon-Leavitt
   

The motivation behind compiling this list is a long time intent on completing this list and the fact that this morning I decided that Matthew Lillard was my second favorite actor of all time. If you know who he is, you're probably wondering wtf? If you don't know who he is, trust me, you actually do know who he is. He's this guy:

We have free Showtime for a few months (Yessssss.) and my dad was watching this odd looking movie called In The Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Story. I didn't stick around long enough, but from all of the comedic actor cameos I can only imagine it was a medieval hero movie parody. Like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, only less British and probably less funny. The important thing is that one particular knight un-helmeted and out popped a scruffy, British-accented Matthew Lillard. "I love that guy!" I exclaimed.

And that's when I knew.

Matthew Lillard is certainly not a name that would (or should) pop into anyone's head during a favorite actors conversation. His only generally recognizable credit is his accurate and lovable portrayal of Norville "Shaggy" Roberts from the movie adaptation of Scooby Doo, he isn't married to anyone more famous than him, and he hasn't won any awards worth any mainstream merit: an obscure film festival Best Actor win in 1999 and a nomination for a Teen Choice Best Comedic Actor Award (damn that Chris Tucker, but Rush Hour was just so funny). Essentially, to the less learned audience he's an all-around that guy. The actor that doesn't carry the movie, has a notable moment or two, but by the time credits roll you've forgotten who he is.

Yet every time he shows up in a movie, whether I flip to it, happen upon it or choose it, I always blurt out the same mantra: "I love that guy!" because I do.

I love Matthew Lillard but I didn't realize it until today. Upon this realization I placed him right under John Cusack (whom I already knew was my favorite actor) and decided to make it a list. I asked myself about number three and Heath Ledger immediately popped into my head, but things got rough when a definitive four did not come to mind, so I analyzed the first three and came to a conclusion.

I realized that there are three cinematic genres that I discovered my love for entirely on my own: the indie film, the teen movie and the slasher flick. Apparently, it is necessary for a top favorite actor to participate in all three in order to be on the list.

Matthew Lillard successfully achieves all three with great flair. Though his resume is padded with numerous other comedies and notable teen movies, these nuggets easily explain my complete and total enthrallment with Matthew Lillard. I only speak highly of these movies and refuse to hear any negativity surrounding them. I'd consider it sacrilege.

• Indie Film: SLC Punk
• Slasher Flick: Scream
  (Aside: This is my absolute favorite scary movie. Simply because it purged me of my fear of scary movies and ignited a love affair with slashers and suspense thrillers)
• Teen Movie: She's All That

AND on top of that he's friends with Seth Green. If that's not an epic win, I don't know what is.

John Cusack achieves this feat as well, the difference being that he is top billed in each movie:

• Indie Film: Grace is Gone
  
• Slasher Flick: Identity
  
• Teen Movie: Say Anything...
  

Though his indie film and slasher flick are enjoyable, they would never reach the inside of my DVD player by my choice. (Unless I was having a John Cusack marathon.) John Cusack also pretty much created the "unconventional leading man" archetype that I would fawn over manifested in various movies and main characters. But above all, he's got the High Fidelity (the movie version of my favorite book) trump card, which rights any and all wrongs in my mind that potentially cause me to question his status at the top, like 2012. (*sigh*)

WATCH and I'll do it again with Heath:

• Indie Film: Candy
  
• Slasher Flick: The Order (I guess...)
  
• Teen Movie: 10 Things I Hate About You

I actually placed Heath on this list for his role in Lords of Dogtown, it changed my perspective of him as an actor and got me to accept the news that he would be portraying The Joker. Originally he was below Lillard because I didn't want two incredibly well-known actors to 1-2 finish on my list and I find the "I love that guy!" factor to be incredibly endearing and part of what makes him so great to me. But now that it's in front of me I think my subconscious knew that Heath Ledger's "slasher" flick was The Order.

Here's where it's tricky. The fourth spot is a three-way tie because three actors came to mind but didn't stick. When subjected to the criteria, each one falls short:

I adore every independent film Ryan Gosling has ever touched. He amazes me. (I was also absolutely infatuated with him during his sparse appearances on The Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and most importantly as Young Hercules, but I restricted my judgment to film only.) When it comes down to it, Ryan Gosling hasn't done a proper slasher. Though a charming sociopath in Murder By Numbers, Sandra Bullock has him in handcuffs before he can commit another one which rules out the possibility of serial killer. There is no slasher without a serial killer. Actually, he hasn't done a proper teen movie either, but he did Remember The Titans and I love that movie.

Christian Bale achieves serial killer status brilliantly in American Psycho, but he lacks a proper teen movie to his credit. With that said, I sort of offer Newsies, Swing Kids and Pocahontas as extra credit to make up for the teen movie. Nevertheless, it's not the same. Indie cred goes without saying. Ohhhhhhh but the cons. Oh dear the cons. On the con side, his Batman voice is annoying and there was that whole "You and me, we're through professionally" incident. It'll take awhile before I can take him seriously again.

Johnny Depp doesn't actually fall short. He's got The Libertine (Indie Film), Nightmare on Elm Street (Slasher Flick) and Crybaby (Teen Movie, with extra credit as a musical!), but Tim Burton totally killed it for me.

...and then there's Joseph Gordon-Leavitt. I saw the (500) Days of Summer preview and went "OMG it's Zooey Deschanel and Cameron from 10 Things!" Right then and there presents a strong running. I definitely like 500 Days and Brick more than The Libertine or anything indie Christian Bale has done, and 10 Things I Hate About You just might top of my best teen movie list (I haven't thought about it yet but it's in the top 5 for sure). After imdb research, we know that JGL dies in Halloween: H20 which, to my excitement, more than fulfills the slasher flick credit! (Halloween is one of the definitive slasher flick franchises.) Also, I can't think of anything to negate his spot. So mathematically, he would be number four, right? Here's the secret: slot number five is actually reserved for whoever I happen to be particularly infatuated with at the moment while I wait to decide whether they have staying power on the list.

I suppose having this rotating fifth spot defeats the purpose of an all-time list but hey, we're playing by my rules.