A-List: TV Actors Who Should Be In More Movies
By Josh Spiegel
September 24, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com

$*@%!! &*%$$#@
For the most part, the common thought is that most actors who strive to jump from the small screen to the big screen do so at their own peril. For every George Clooney (and let's be honest, there's only the one in terms of his meteoric rise to popularity), there's a David Caruso, who stands as the best example of why any actor with such hopes to jump to movie stardom should curb their enthusiasm. That is, unless you're a big fan of Jade. However, there's a long, long list of actors whose work is primarily being seen on television, yet should be more familiar to the connoisseur of something bigger than a widescreen television.

This week's A-List is inspired, then, not by the upcoming list of movies opening this weekend (I was tempted to rail against the strange resurgence of 1980s-era film trends, as with the upcoming remake of Fame, but thought better against it), but by the onslaught of new fall television. I can, of course, promise you that Jay Leno won't be showing up here, even if he's been dominating the airwaves as of late. Instead, this week's list highlights five actors and actresses from some of the best shows of the past decade. Anyone familiar with their shows will know these actors' names; unfortunately, they'll also know how many movies they're not in.

I grant you, with the evolution of television, whether on such groundbreaking network shows as Lost or on cable programs such as Battlestar Galactica, it's not so bad to be working on a TV show. That said, the big bucks remain with movies. Thus, this is just a list of those who should be able to move on from great TV shows to great movies. If it were possible, some of these actors wouldn't have had to come to prominence past the age of 40, but such is the life of some character actors, or those who come from across the pond. If these actors have healthy careers on TV, so be it, but there is no justice in this world if they don't find success in film.

January Jones

True, Jones has been in a fair few films, including American Wedding, Love Actually, and the upcoming Pirate Rock. However, it wasn't until her starring role in the hit AMC drama Mad Men, which just walked away with an Emmy for Best Drama Series that it became clear she was far more than a beautiful blonde with a charming smile. As Betty Draper, the wife of the lead character, Jones manages to deliver a fascinating and complex performance each week. Moreover, Jones is great as someone who has never been easy to like or, at times, sympathize with. True, Betty has to deal with a philanderer of a husband who, for the majority of the first two seasons, was never home to deal with their children, but she has managed, in the new season, to be just as temperamental, childish, and flighty as ever.

But Jones has yet to get a huge starring role, something that will be as worthy as that of Betty Draper. It is so often bemoaned that Hollywood can't write for women, and that women can't get hired in solid roles. Here is an incredible young actress with a lengthy career ahead of her; there must be writers as smart and savvy as Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, right? Can she only hope to ascend to stardom with the help of only a few waters? I can hope that it's not the case; unlike some of the other actors on this list, Jones has a lot of time to become a star, and her weekly performance on Mad Men proves that, despite being in an admittedly impressive ensemble, she is a standout.

Michael Emerson

Talk about standouts. Here is an actor who, before 2006, was best-known to eagle-eyed TV viewers as a creep on "The Practice" or a guest spot on "Law and Order: Criminal Intent". His most recent major film role was in the first Saw film, and he has just over 30 credits on the Internet Movie Database. Even more, one-fifth of those credits are all tied to the show that just got him an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: "Lost". As Ben Linus, the enigmatic mystery man who's got his hands in everyone's business, Emerson is easily the show's MVP. All this is quite shocking for an actor who, per his own acceptance speech, was signed on for a two-episode guest spot on the show. It was solely based on Emerson's immense creepiness as Ben, first introduced as a lost balloonist named Henry Gale, that got him a permanent spot in the show.

Much could be said, and much has been said, about how frequently awesome Emerson is as Ben. What makes the performance so impressive is that Emerson, specifically in the most recent season, has been called on by the show's writers to lack power. Considering that Ben's always been used to power, to see Emerson play the character as weak and helpless is fascinating; his success at the role is almost scary. Despite his humility, Emerson is an incredible actor; true, he may be typecast as a creep, thanks to his bug eyes and sometimes hypnotically slow delivery, but the man needs some work on the big screen. Even if it's in character roles, Michael Emerson will need some work a year from now, so I hope some movies can fit in a spot for him.

Katee Sackhoff

In the recently ended "Battlestar Galactica," which aired on the Sci Fi Channel (seeing as the idiotic network name change came after the show ended, I refuse to use its new moniker), Katee Sackhoff played one of the iconic roles from this remake of the 1970s sci-fi show, Starbuck. As a prickly hotshot pilot dealing with being one of the survivors of a mass attack against the human race, Sackhoff plays a frequently unlikable character fantastically. One minute, she's falling into bed with her fellow pilot, Apollo Adama; the next, she's pushing him away to deal with her family, or even sleep with someone else. Starbuck, at times, seems to be a character made solely of raging id; other times, the amount of emotion she feels is so crushing it threatens to loom over us.

No matter how frustrating Starbuck was on this modern classic of a cult TV show, Sackhoff's performance was outstanding, and when such a performance stands out amongst an impossibly strong ensemble, that's saying something. If you can make yourself stand out aside Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell, kudos. Sackhoff, though under 30, needs to break away from the cult shows (such as her upcoming role on "24") and get some meaty leading roles. I can imagine that the road won't be rough, though; I can almost imagine the horror of seeing Sackhoff as someone's loving wife in an action movie, not as the heroine. Hopefully, someone will sit up and take notice of this stunning, brilliant actress.

Hugh Laurie

Only five years ago, there were not millions of people across this country who could point out Hugh Laurie in a lineup of ten men. Then, his first starring role in an American TV show came in the form of "House", a medical procedural whose lead is an angrier, meaner version of Sherlock Holmes. Once "House" got placed after "American Idol" on the Fox network, the show skyrocketed to fame, making Laurie a familiar face to many of those who wouldn't have known him from Adam. So why can't the guy get a movie role? Here's how bad it is: Bryan Singer had wanted Laurie to play Perry White, grumpy newspaper editor, in his Superman Returns reboot. However, Laurie's schedule on "House", where he is not only the lead and title character, but has to work almost every day of the week from morning till night, precluded him from appearing. When Bryan Singer - one of the executive producers of "House", by the way - can't get you for his movie, things aren't going well.

The most prominent roles in film Laurie has had are as Mr. Little in the Stuart Little films and as one of many characters in the 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility; in essence, he hasn't had much success on the big screen in a role as deserving of his talents. Anyone unsure of Laurie's magnetism, charisma, and humor should only turn to this week's two-hour premiere of "House", in which he once again had the show to himself among his fellow actors, dealing with potentially being insane. One day soon, as popular as it is, "House" will have to shut its doors, and when it does, I hope that Laurie doesn't have the same issues in finding movie roles.

Ian McShane

Yes, in the past few years, this English actor has had success with films, from his supporting voice role in Coraline to his role as Coach in Death Race. But...come on. Though I've only recently caught up on the show, do I need to remind you that we are talking about Al F*ing Swearengen here? McShane's role on the now-deceased HBO drama "Deadwood" brought him a new level of prominence in the States, despite having been in many TV productions in the United Kingdom. As the profane saloon owner who has control over the mining camp in what would become a part of South Dakota, McShane is electrifying. The man manages to be as villainous, capable of truly hateful things, but someone you want on your side, to be sure. There is evil, and there is evil; Al is terrifically terrifying, but the kind of terrifying you want to keep on your good side.

McShane, unlike the others on this list, is far older than most actors looking for solid film work; being over 60 may have its advantages for certain types of roles, but not a lot of films have men of a certain age as their leads. Still, "Deadwood" proved that actors of any age can become successful, and an actor like McShane can dominate even among younger actors. Most recently, he found no success in the ill-fated NBC drama "Kings", but one hopes he'll soon find something to do, some way to prove to the right people that his talent knows no bounds.