Just in case someone forgot that he's a bad motherfucka, Samuel L. Jackson's New Years' resolution in 1998 was to "continue to kick ass." In the decade since, he's appeared in the quintessential badass role in basically every movie he could fit into: a fast-action FBI agent in Snakes on a Plane, a no-bullshit man of God in Black Snake Moan. 1994's Pulp Fiction was likely the start, and the continuing source, of his reputation; when he took down Darth Sidious in Star Wars: Episode III, audiences everywhere half-expected him to break into reciting Ezekiel 25:17.
Steve Buscemi A director unsure of how to interpret his screenwriter's creepy, criminalist character can just hire Steve Buscemi and leave him to his devices. Buscemi's typecasting might be less the result of what acting gigs he's landed incidentally and more the consequence of how he naturally looks and behaves - in Fargo, his character is described as "kinda funny-lookin'" in a "general kinda way." An exception must be made for The Big Lebowski, where Buscemi's is unrecognizable as the na've and chatty bowler Donny. Keira Knightley There must be something in Keira Knightley's contract that prohibits her from acting in anything set after 1950. Either that, or her slight figure is sensitive to oxygen and she must be dressed in a corset at all times. In any case, it remains almost as challenging to find Knightley outside of period-specific Britain as to find her eating a sandwich. If you took a shot every time Keira Knightley acted brooding, self-righteous or anti-traditionalist, you'd pass out 30 minutes from the end of Pride and Prejudice. And let's not forget Pirates of the Caribbean, where she displays her full versatility as an actress by playing a defiant, well-to-do British girl out at sea instead of a defiant, well-to-do British girl on land.
Will Smith Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Well, first you're gonna play a comedic cop with a hotshot attitude, and then you'll play another comedic cop with a hotshot attitude, ad infinitum. Smith's acting career can, perhaps, be imagined as the experiences of the same cop on different days - sometimes he's gang-busting on the streets of Miami, sometimes he's dealing with one kind of alien and sometimes he's dealing with a different kind of alien. Smith occasionally breaks the mold with dramatic pieces like The Pursuit of Happyness, but will he be remembered for his versatility as an actor? Aw HELL naw!
Hugh Grant No matter what character Hugh Grant plays, he always gets laid. This is because he possesses a charming British accent that makes whatever he says sound instantly appealing, even if he has just committed adultery with a co-worker. Whether an asshole in Bridget Jones's Diary or a bookshop owner in Notting Hill, Grant has perfected the art of doing virtually nothing on screen - except spit out enchanting one-liners.
Daniel Radcliffe No matter what movie he's in, he always plays Harry Potter. How has no one noticed?
