People of 2009: Actors

25 December 2009

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2009 has been a great year for movies with the likes of Slumdog Millionaire, The Wrestler and Avatar being just some of the films that have made a huge impact.

But along with good movies come great performances and breakthrough turns and we look back at some of the actors who have stood out.

Sam Worthington

Aussie actor Sam Worthington has slowly built up his career over the last few year with roles in the likes of Hart's War and Rouge, as well as working in TV.

But 2009 has really be THE year for the actor with two major blockbusters under his belt. This summer saw him star alongside Christian Bale in Terminator Salvation, the fourth movie in the franchise.

Set in post-apocalyptic 2018, Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators.

But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row.

Despite the mediocre reviews from the critics and a disappointing box office performance Worthington's star was finally on the rise.

And he has cemented this with his central role in James Cameron's sci-fi epic Avatar in which he plays Jake Sully, a former Marine confined to a wheelchair. Despite his broken body, Jake is still a warrior at heart. 

He is recruited to travel light years to the human outpost on Pandora, where corporations are mining a rare mineral that is the key to solving  Earth’s energy crisis.

Reborn in his avatar form, Jake can walk again. He is given a mission to infiltrate the Na’vi who have become a major obstacle to mining the precious ore. But a beautiful Na’vi female, Neytiri, saves Jake’s life, and this changes everything.

This movie is set to revolutionise the way we watch movies, seriously see this in 3D it will blow your mind. 

And the work just keeps on rolling in as he returns to the blockbuster in the new year with Clash of the Titans. The Debt and Tell Me are also on the horizon.

Mickey Rourke

Until this year Mickey Rourke's career was down and out until a certain role in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler came along.

Back in the late '80s, Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centres around New Jersey.

Estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and unable to sustain any real relationships, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans.

However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life, trying to reconnect with his daughter, and strikes up a blossoming romance with an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei).

To say that Rourke puts in the performance of his career is one hell of an understatement he is quite simply superb as his performance carries the whole movie.

A stubborn and broken man who has destroyed every relationship he ever had, except that with his adoring public, really does tug at the heart strings and you can't help but feel sorry for the fighter who cannot let go.

And with this one Oscar nominated performance Rourke has turned his entire career around as he has now become one of Hollywood's most in demand actors.

And the big budget blockbuster has come knocking as he landed a role in next year's Iron Man 2, which looks set to be the biggest movie of the summer.

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