2. Matthew Fox
Before the current season of Lost, I would not have nominated Fox for this list, but I think I was guilty of associating the actor too closely with the character. Jack Shepherd has been pompous, self-righteous, and insensitive for years, and Fox played him to a T. This year, however, Jack has displayed a humble, more tender side, and, again, Fox has captured every nuance, which is a reminder that he did under appreciated, yeoman work as “the responsible one” on Party of Five. He appeared in two movies last year: he was lost (no pun intended) in the crowd in Vantage Point, and Speed Racer woefully underperformed at the box office. Still, he has bright prospects for the future. An indie comedy might be just the thing for him.
5. Ken Leung
I’ve sung the praises of this fine actor before, and I will continue to do as long as he continues to deliver the goods. Since my original article appeared, Leung has taken on the prickly Miles Straume on Lost, and has demonstrated his comic chops and intense dramatic persona in a fairly small role (next week’s episode will reportedly focus more on his character). Since Lost is filmed in Hawaii, his availability for other roles may have been somewhat limited, but I certainly hope he will get to do more and bigger parts in movies.
6. Lance Reddick
Really, the entire list could have been filled to overflowing with any number of marvelous actors from The Wire, but I’m picking Lance Reddick because his two most notable post-Wire jobs (Lost, Fringe) haven’t shown his range. As he demonstrated as Cedric Daniels in The Wire, Reddick can ramp it up from restrained to explosive in a heartbeat; he can also play warm, charming, and romantic. He’s played plenty of authority figures, so we know he can do that with aplomb, but I’d love to see him in a comedy: he’d be a great, beleaguered father with misbehaving children and a bemused look in his eyes.
