Weekend Top Ten #731
Top Ten Ensemble Casts
Hello, friends, and welcome to another list, and another of my weird little themes. For, you see, very shortly it’s the Oscars, and I’m going to do three weeks to sorta-celebrate the ceremony. As you may or may not be aware, the Oscars are going to start getting even longer – but it’s a good thing, because it means they’ll be adding categories that have long been overlooked. Next year sees the introduction of the Best Stunt Design Oscar, awarding films that have, well, the best stunt. Stuntwork and action filming has been ridiculously ignored by the Academy throughout most of its history, with their focus obviously being on the “serious” and “important” films, like Chicago or Driving Miss Daisy, rather than pieces of populist filth like Raiders of the Lost Ark or Avengers: Endgame. So it’s great that the incredibly difficult, dangerous business of making fights, falls, and explosions compelling is finally getting recognised. Even if it’s sort of amusing that they waited until after Tom Cruise stopped making Mission movies.
Anyway, before that, we have the debut of a brand-new category this year: Achievement in Casting. This will recognise casting directors who have the all-important job of making sure we get the right Michael J. Fox for the role, and not the wrong Eric Stoltz (no shade to Eric). And this made me think of all the films that simply excel because they’re so well-cast. And – wouldn’t ya know it? – that brings us neatly on to this list.
For just as “best stunts” is surely to come up in a couple of weeks, for now we’re going to celebrate those aforementioned great casts by ranking, er, the greatest casts. Now, I’m not just going to do this like “Matt and Ben were certainly well-cast in Good Will Hunting”. No, there needs to be a bit of order and decorum around here. So I’m looking at large ensembles here; big casts with multiple moving parts. Oh, sure, some of these definitely have a designated lead; but in general they’re films that feature many great characters, a deep bench of talent. Some of it, of course, is brilliant actors; but there’s also the brilliant matching of actor and role. And then there’s an alchemy that can come both from a huge star fitting a great role like a glove; and the similar but different thrill of a relative unknown being allowed to blossom, defining both a role and – perhaps – themselves in the process. This list contains all sorts.
Ten: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
ALTIn a film that’s based around a lover, his beloved, and her seven evil exes, it stands to reason that you need at least nine solid actors. And, yes, Scott Pilgrim benefits from well more than nine really great performers, all filling quirky niches in the ensemble, and finding grace notes in their performances. Perhaps unsurprisingly, future Oscar winner Kieran Culkin is the standout as blithe roommate Wallace; but it’s the “stars of tomorrow” vibe of the cast that continues to be a delight as time goes on, featuring as it does a Superman, a Captain America, a Captain Marvel, and a Huntress, as well as proper stars like Alison Pill, Aubrey Plaza, and Anna Kendrick in relatively minor roles.
Nine: Little Women (1994/2019)
ALTCheating already! That’s my go-to. But I find it amusing how both (relatively) recent Little Womens (Littles Women?) serve as a snapshot of the up-and-coming female performers of the day. The ’94 vintage stars Winona Ryder as Jo, with support from the about-to-be-huge likes of Claire Danes and Kirsten Dunst as her sisters, and no less than future Batman himself Christian Bale as spurned suitor Laurie. Flash forward a couple of decades, and Greta Gerwig’s adaptation stars Saoirse Ronan, with the likes of Emma Watson and about-to-be-huge Florence Pugh as her sisters, and swaps out Susan Sarandon for Laura Dern as their mum, with a pre-megastardom Timothee Chalamet as Laurie. In both cases, they feel like era-defining cast lists, which is a heck of a feat.
Eight: The Avengers (2012)
ALTIs this also a cheat? Because whilst I feel the solidity of the MCU cast list is undeniable – especially this early on – you could argue that, rather than an ensemble, it’s a collection of individual roles. Nevertheless, I feel the overall casting should be celebrated. Obviously RDJ as Tony Stark is one of those lightning-in-a-bottle, era-defining pieces of casting that we’ll talk about for decades; but the core Avengers all feel so perfectly suited that it’s crazy to imagine someone else as Steve Rogers or Thor. Ruffalo stepping into the Hulk shoes is pitch-perfect, and Hiddleston as Loki is just another all-timer of a casting selection. And, as well as the other Avengers, we’ve got Jacko being all grumpily stoic as Nick Fury, stepping off the pages of The Ultimates and into the movie theatre. Absolutely perfect.
Seven: The Magnificent Seven (1960)
ALTNow, you might look at this list and say, “David, you’ve only put The Magnificent Seven at seven because you find it funny to do so,” to which I would reply, “and?” However, that doesn’t change the fact that this is a cracking cast (Gromit). But this is another one of those slice-of-Hollywood cast lists that serves as a snapshot of the time. Yul Bryner was super-hot off his Oscar for The King and I; Steve McQueen was on the verge of megastardom; Charles Bronson was an established supporting actor on his way to becoming a leading man; the likes of Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, and Eli Wallach were still pretty early in their careers. They fit into their ensemble roles very well, and looking back it’s like a cool Hollywood time capsule. The same could be said, to be honest, of disaster movies like Earthquake, The Poseidon Adventure, or The Towering Inferno. But I picked Mag Seven instead. So there.
Six: Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
ALTIn a way, its like a millennial Magnificent Seven, in how it showcases a slice of Hollywood at that time and place. At its core are three million-wat megastars: Clooney, Pitt, and Roberts. Surrounding them are absolutely solid supporting actors like Don Cheadle; long-established pros such as Elliot Gould; top-class comic supporters like Bernie Mac; and, in Matt Damon, an actor already established (he’d won an Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting by this point), but not quite the proper superstar he’d become after The Bourne Identity surpassed all expectations. And that’s before we look at the likes of Andy Garcia, linking the film to the lineage of Coppola and DePalma. And it’s got that cool cameo-studded poker game, featuring people like Topher Grace and Joshua Jackson as themselves.
Five: Predator (1987)
ALTOn the one hand, this is basically Arnie’s show; his biceps are plastered all over the poster. But the film is more subversive, progressive, and interesting than it could appear at first glance, and a core part of that is the strength of its ensemble. Partly it’s the tough-guy depth of the group, with the likes of Bill Duke, Carl Weathers, and Jesse Ventura playing some of Schwarzenegger’s fellow mercenaries: these are actors used to action (Duke had recently been killed by Arnie in Commando), so much so that the set became host to some gym-based one-upmanship and pranking. The inclusion of the decidedly less beefy Shane Black, ostensibly hired as an on-set script doctor, adds both a touch of humour and a bit of interesting complexity to the steroidal mix. All in all, these are actors who excel in supporting roles, tough-guy performances, baddies and soldiers, but who have a little spark of something extra that always makes them stand out; filling the cast with such actors gives the entire ensemble a dose of vitality. And that’s before we factor in Peter “Optimus Prime” Cullen as the voice of the Predator.
Four: Tombstone (1994)
ALTThe bench of Tombstone is ridiculously deep and filled almost exclusively with either genuine movie stars or the sorts of supporting actors whose appearance enlivens any film they show up in; the fact that they encompass virtually the entire cast is something to be marvelled at. The Earp brothers are played by Kurt Russell (arguably at the height of his fame), Sam Elliot, and Bill Paxton, with Val Kilmer giving a career-best performance as Doc Holliday. The outlaws are led by Powers Boothe and Michael Beihn, because why have one Aliens alum in your film when you can have two? There are also smaller roles for (deep breath) Michael Rooker (Yondu!), Billy Zane (the Phantom!), Thomas Haden Church (Sandman!), Dana Delaney (Wonder Woman!), and Charlton Heston, for cryin’ out loud. I dunno if Chuck ever played a superhero, but still, fair dos.
Three: JFK (1991)
ALTOliver Stone apparently had a strategic motive when casting JFK. He knew the story was dense and potentially confusing, with absolutely tons of characters; so he figured if he cast known actors in even the smallest roles, then the audience would remember them. So outside of Kevin Costner as the lead, we get Gary Oldman as Oswald, Tommy Lee Jones as Clay Shaw, Joe Pesci as David Ferrie, and then further supporting turns from the likes of Sissy Sapcek, Kevin Bacon, John Candy, and especially Donald Sutherland as the mysterious informant “X”, a character I assume had a big influence on Chris Carter. So extensively starry is the cast, in fact, that watching the film is almost like playing whack-a-mole with famous faces.
Two: Heat (1995)
ALTWhen you start your ensemble cast with Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, you’re in for a good time. This cast is sublime, not just for its depth and its quality, but for how it encompasses so much of Hollywood at that time. Pacino and DeNiro – who’d never shared a screen before, so it was instantly iconic – as well as Jon Voight represent the New Hollywood from the seventies who’d reached their apex abilities by the mid-nineties. You then have Val Kilmer, at the height of his powers and charm, as well as on-the-up roles for Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, and Danny Trejo, with more than capable support from the likes of Wes Studi and Ted Levine, and quite early appearances for people like Xander Berkley and Hank Azaria. And then there’s Natalie Portman, only a year after Leon, in the small but powerful role of Pacino’s stepdaughter. It’s basically an all-timer cast of absolute superstars – even the ones who aren’t superstars are phenomenal actors, all operating at the top of their games. What could top this?
One: The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)
ALTI cheat again because I’m counting three films, but it was all one production so I think it should count. Because has an ensemble ever excelled like this? Have we ever seen so deep a cast, so perfectly embody a story that was all-but-unembodiable? Elijah Wood and Sean Astin might have had their child-actor chops, but two Americans coming in to play the oh-so-British-coded hobbits was a wild swing; but then again, the entire trilogy was one wild swing after another. Ian McKellen – second choice after Sean Connery turned them down – is utterly perfect as Gandalf, and it has become his most defining on-screen role. Christopher Lee as a twisted reflection is equally perfect, channelling his Hammer past. And where do we stop? The Fellowship is just sublime, with Vigo Mortensen stepping firmly into the limelight, Sean Bean delivering the right amount of braggadocio, John Rhys Davies giving us some comedy, and the hitherto unknown trio of Orlando Bloom, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd all blowing us away. And then. And then. Hugo Weaving! Cate Blanchett! Liv Tyler! Bernard Hill! Brad Dourif! Ian Holm! Karl Urban! Andy Serkis! It feels like they all knew the assignment, they all understood that this would probably define them from now on (very few of them will have a film before this on their obituaries), and they all delivered. More than delivered. Everything about The Lord of the Rings is a once-in-a-lifetime miracle (we know this, because they couldn’t quite recreate it with The Hobbit) – and that includes the fantastic cast.
