by Anamika Sengupta
As the world celebrated thanksgiving on the twenty-second day of the month of November, I was sitting with a group of friends talking about what we were grateful for apart from our lovely families, happy homes and a wonderful life. One said, I am thankful for Snoopy, the other said I am thankful for turkey. Another said I am grateful for the colour black, and then one more said “Helena Bonham Carter! Yes, her. I am absolutely grateful that she exists.” And I realized so was I! Absolutely eccentric, completely awe-inspiring, this woman has portrayed a myriad of roles, each better than the other. So then I decided to compile a list of 5 actors/characters from Hollywood that I was extremely grateful for, and it looked something like this :-
5) Vivian Ward ( Pretty Woman)
‘Pretty Woman’ begins with Vivian as a social pariah and ends with her as the girl who wins the heart of the country’s most eligible bachelor. Miss Ward is gorgeous, bold, frisky & vivacious. (And her exquisite smile and glorious red hair don’t hurt either!) Vivian dares to dream. She changes people’s opinions. She surprises herself. She makes you love her. When she looks at Edward (Richard Gere) and tells him “I want a fairy tale”, we all realize that so do we. And for this very line, I am thankful for having watched Julia Robert’s charming performance as ‘Vivian Ward’.
5) Vivian Ward ( Pretty Woman)
‘Pretty Woman’ begins with Vivian as a social pariah and ends with her as the girl who wins the heart of the country’s most eligible bachelor. Miss Ward is gorgeous, bold, frisky & vivacious. (And her exquisite smile and glorious red hair don’t hurt either!) Vivian dares to dream. She changes people’s opinions. She surprises herself. She makes you love her. When she looks at Edward (Richard Gere) and tells him “I want a fairy tale”, we all realize that so do we. And for this very line, I am thankful for having watched Julia Robert’s charming performance as ‘Vivian Ward’.
4) Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was and always will be the epitome of grace, charisma & beauty. She charmed thousands as ‘Holly Golightly’ in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, inspired many more as ‘Eliza Doolitle’ in My Fair Lady and she positively glowed as the beautiful ‘Princess Ann’ in ‘Roman Holiday’. Ranked as the 3rd greatest female screen legend by American Film institute, she was known for her impeccable sense of fashion. One of my most favourite scenes is the one where she croons ‘Moon River’ in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, lost in thoughts, graceful in her solitude…
Audrey Hepburn was and always will be the epitome of grace, charisma & beauty. She charmed thousands as ‘Holly Golightly’ in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, inspired many more as ‘Eliza Doolitle’ in My Fair Lady and she positively glowed as the beautiful ‘Princess Ann’ in ‘Roman Holiday’. Ranked as the 3rd greatest female screen legend by American Film institute, she was known for her impeccable sense of fashion. One of my most favourite scenes is the one where she croons ‘Moon River’ in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, lost in thoughts, graceful in her solitude…
3) Heath Ledger
As Patrick Verona in ’10 things I hate about you!’ he made girls swoon. In ‘Casanova’, his lasciviousness made hearts flutter. In ‘Brokeback Mountain’ he proved he was a force to be reckoned with. But he achieved greatness as ‘The Joker’ in ‘The Dark Knight’. He was dashing, talented, quirky, and absolutely brilliant and watching him on the silver screen is something that I am sure millions of fans are thankful for.
As Patrick Verona in ’10 things I hate about you!’ he made girls swoon. In ‘Casanova’, his lasciviousness made hearts flutter. In ‘Brokeback Mountain’ he proved he was a force to be reckoned with. But he achieved greatness as ‘The Joker’ in ‘The Dark Knight’. He was dashing, talented, quirky, and absolutely brilliant and watching him on the silver screen is something that I am sure millions of fans are thankful for.
2) Robert Downey Jr.
This man…..sigh! His countenance makes you swoon, his wit dazzles you, his sense of humour leaves you in stitches and his sarcasm…(oh,his sarcasm!!)…well that makes him brilliant…simply & utterly brilliant (yes even though people believe that he is completely ‘cuckoo’ :P)! Each and every character portrayed by him (emphasis on the zany ones!) has proven time & again that he is one of the best actors to grace the silverscreen. After thoroughly enjoying his portrayal of ‘Tony Stark’ aka ‘IRONMAN!’ how can I be anything but grateful that he exists…!?
This man…..sigh! His countenance makes you swoon, his wit dazzles you, his sense of humour leaves you in stitches and his sarcasm…(oh,his sarcasm!!)…well that makes him brilliant…simply & utterly brilliant (yes even though people believe that he is completely ‘cuckoo’ :P)! Each and every character portrayed by him (emphasis on the zany ones!) has proven time & again that he is one of the best actors to grace the silverscreen. After thoroughly enjoying his portrayal of ‘Tony Stark’ aka ‘IRONMAN!’ how can I be anything but grateful that he exists…!?
1) Captain Jack Sparrow
The Pirates of the Caribbean series is magnificent in itself but Captain Jack Sparrow, well he is phenomenal. From his “Why is all the rum gone?”….to “This is the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow”….I have loved every single frame that had Jack in it. Johnny Depp is completely eccentric, incredibly gifted, extraordinarily charismatic and exceptionally accomplished in the act of witty repartee…and all this and more makes Captain Sparrow the character I am MOST thankful for!
The Pirates of the Caribbean series is magnificent in itself but Captain Jack Sparrow, well he is phenomenal. From his “Why is all the rum gone?”….to “This is the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow”….I have loved every single frame that had Jack in it. Johnny Depp is completely eccentric, incredibly gifted, extraordinarily charismatic and exceptionally accomplished in the act of witty repartee…and all this and more makes Captain Sparrow the character I am MOST thankful for!