Some stars have a glamour so enduring, we count on it lasting forever. Christie is one such star. From her early defining roles in 1965′s Darling (Oscar for Best Actress) and Doctor Zhivago she radiated an ageless intelligence, superiority and spikiness. Since then, audiences and Academy members have asked Christie to check in every decade or so, just to assure that those beautiful bones are still in the right places. She was Oscar-nominated for Afterglow in 1998; and she took the Best Actress award for Sarah Polley’s 2006 Canadian drama, where she played a woman who is suffering from Alzheimer’s but still manages to attract a new lover. And why not? She’s Julie Christie.
Most felony convictions by a major actor? That award might go to Downey, who was arrested at least a half-dozen times for drug use and related offenses, and logged many months in prison or rehab. As he explained to one judge: “It’s like I have a loaded gun in my mouth and my finger’s on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gunmetal.” During this stretch, Downey’s 1993 Oscar nomination for playing Charlie Chaplin seemed like ancient history for a man who didn’t see much of a future in movies or on earth. But his performances were always shrewd, energetic and knotty; movie people usually thought him worth taking a chance on, even if insurance companies didn’t. Now apparently drug-free, Downey has entered the most potent part of his career: carrying a high-IQ action film as Iron Man‘s arms merchant and earning a Golden Globe nomination as Tropic Thunder‘s Method actor in blackface. Everyone’s favorite character actor looks poised to become a flat-out star.
As we prepare for the Game of Thrones finale, we recognize Joffrey and nine other baddies who showed us that terrible, horrible things can come in small packages
