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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.

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