A Superb Performance!

What makes a movie or TV show memorable?

There are various factors that all coincide to make a movie or show possible but maybe it's the acting that has one of the strongest impacts.

Here are 3 of my favorite actors / actresses whose work I have thoroughly enjoyed:

Morgan Freeman

There are many people out there that have a particularly distinctive voice. The tone of their voice and the over all way they speak seems at many times to be a gift.

Their voice might be comforting and soothing or sharp and persuasive. Or one that’s simply ideal for narrating.

There have been many times in which I have been envious of such talent.

Perhaps, one of the most recognized voices in the cinematic sphere is none other than that of actor Morgan Freeman. Wouldn’t it be an honor to have him narrate our life story? With such a distinctively deep, calm, and dynamic voice, Freeman has the talent to make the most ordinary sound as thrilling as any action movie out there.

Bio

Morgan Freeman — American actor, producer, and narrator was born on June 1, 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee — the youngest of five children.

Being an actor, maybe quite surprisingly, was not part of Freeman’s original career plans. Instead, he had dreams of being a fighter pilot.

However, that career path did not work out and so he sought to be an actor instead.

Freeman had served in the U.S. Air Force from 1955–1959 where he was a mechanic.

Morgan Freeman got his start acting by taking on small roles in musicals. His debut acting performance was in the all African American production of the Broadway musical, Hello Dolly in 1967. Other plays / musicals Freeman acted in include: The Mighty Gents (1978), Mother Courage and her Children (1939), Driving Miss Daisy (1987), and the Clifford Odets’ drama, The Country Girl (1950).

The beginning of his acting career proved to be the most challenging in which he struggled to land the acting roles he hoped to — particularly more prominent movie roles.

It would taken a little bit more time and consistent effort before that all began to change.

Freeman's Acting Breakthrough

Starting in the late 80’s, he finally received the break he had long waited for. In the film, Street Smart (1987), he won an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Not long after, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor as well as a second Oscar nomination for his role in the film, Driving Miss Daisy.

While he typically plays the character with a calm authoritative personality, Freeman has taken on the role of a very diverse list of characters over the course of his acting career. He has also acted in a wide range of movie genres from crime and psychological thrillers to comedies.

Films

Just a few notable films he has starred in include: Bruce Almighty (2003) in which he play the role of God, the film version of Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Lean on me (1989) Oblivion (2013) in which he co starred with Tom Cruise.

Morgan Freeman was inspired by the actor, Gary Cooper.

Some films and TV shows Freeman has narrated include: Steven Spielberg’s The War of the Worlds (2005), The Atlanta Child Murders (1985), the documentary, March of the Penguins (2005), Morgan Freeman’s Through the Wormhole (2010), and History’s Greatest Escapes With Morgan Freeman (2021)

Though he has had a rather rocky start in his acting career as many actors and actresses do, Morgan Freeman has proven to have a natural talent for acting and has become one of the most well-known and likable actors out there.

Meryl Streep

Bio

Mary Louise “Meryl” Streep, known as “the best actress of her generation”, was born on June 22, 1949.

When Streep first became interested in the performing arts, it wasn’t acting that she initially wanted to do, but opera. When she was a student at Vassar, she became especially interested in acting. After Vassar, she attended the Yale School of Drama where she earned her Master’s Degree in the fine arts. It didn’t take long for her to discover her passion and incredible talent for acting.

Meryl Streep uses music, specifically classical, to get into character for the role she’s playing.

Films

Streep has taken on quite a diverse and extensive number of roles.

Streep’s debut film was Julia (1977) a film about a friendship between writer Lillian Hellman and a girl named Julia in the midst of the holocaust.

Just some of her other films include:

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Ironweed (1987) Before and After (1996), Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) The Devil Wears Prada (2006), The Iron Lady (2011) Little Women (2019), Don’t Look Up (2021) and the recently released The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026)

Streep has acted in a diverse genre of films throughout her acting career. Perhaps, surprisingly she has taken on acting in a few comedies such as Postcards From the Edge (1990) and The River Wild (1994). However, it was her more serious dramatic films that were better received and therefore what she has become most known for as an actress

Mads Mikkelsen

I was introduced to Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen through the James Bond movie, Casino Royale (2006) in which he played the role of Bond villain, Le Chiffre. Prior to seeing this film, I was not at all familiar with the actor. Intrigued with the character he portrayed in Casino Royale, I decided to read up more about the Danish actor and see what over films he was in.

Bio

Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen (the “d” in Mads is silent), born November 22, 1965, is from Osterbro, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Mikkelsen did not start out his career as an actor nor did he grow up with any acting influences (his mother was a nurse and his father was a banker) although his older brother, Lars Mikkelsen, is also an actor.

In fact, rather, as a kid, he started out as a gymnast and shifted his interest to become a professional dancer. He spent about a decade studying dance in which he conducted his studies at the ballet academy of Gothenburg as well as the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York.

During the time he did dancing for eight years, he also participated in numerous musicals such as Chicago and West Side Story.

It seems that his interest and participation in musicals ignited his interest in the acting field. Shifting his studies to acting, he studied at the Arhus Theatre School in Denmark. This would be only the start of an eventually successful career as an actor in film and television.

Films

Mikkelsen’s debut film was the Danish crime thriller Pusher (1996) in which he played the role of a drug pusher named Tonny. This film was a success in Denmark and led to a trilogy — Pusher II (2004) and Pusher III (2005).

The Danish actor’s success in Pusher opened the door to even more acting opportunities.

A few other films that Mikkelsen starred in include:

Casino Royale (2006), The Hunt (2012), Marvel’s Doctor Strange (2016), Arctic (2018), Polar (2019), Another Round (2020), Fantastic Beasts — The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023).

While he has become a well-known actor in Denmark, it wasn’t until 2006 with the film, Casino Royale that he became more widely known.

One of his most well known roles would undoubtedly have to be in the NBC series, Hannibal in which he played the role of none other than the chilling Dr. Hannibal Lecter (2013–2015).

As an actor, he has taken on a plethora of diverse roles although he usually plays the role of the villainous character (Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal, Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts — The Secrets of Dumbledore).

He was also in pop star Rhianna’s music video, “B*tch Better Have My Money” in which he played the role of the accountant.

Despite his huge success, Mikkelsen has given off the impression of a very humble person who just has a passion for acting.

He has catapulted from an actor that I’ve hardly even heard of to becoming one of my all time favorite actors.