We all have our much loved actors and our favorite movies. It is simply an opinion and nobody is more right or more wrong we just all know what we enjoy. But there are actors that we watch who are amazingly talented and there are others that are pretty boys and then there are the few that fit into both categories. There are also actors who along with being great entertainers they are also great men who use their fame and notoriety to help the planet.
It’s pretty amazing to think that Tom Hanks started out on a small and kooky TV show called “Bosom Buddies”. Who would have thought that he would boast the talent to pull off such great roles as Andrew Beckett, a gay lawyer who is infected with AIDS, who is fired from his conservative law firm because of the fear that they may also contract the disease. He won his first Academy Award for that role in 1993 and it was well deserved.
His second Academy Award came just the next year making him only the second actor in history to win back-to-back Oscars with Spencer Tracy being the first back in 1937 and 1938. In 1994 Tom Hanks again took home the Oscar for his moving portrayal of Forrest Gump. He also has a list of other great movies but it is too lengthy to cover here.
Brad Pitt has been known for his pretty boy good looks since he first came on the scene in the 1991 film “Thelma and Louise”. Although he hasn’t always played the role of the pretty boy. If you remember “Seven” and “Twelve Monkeys” both from 1985 you know what I mean. While the tabloid press seems to take his personal life and overshadow his movie roles, what is the most admirable thing about Brad Pitt is his vow to humanitarian causes throughout the world. He endlessly donates sizeable sums of his wealth to help people that are less fortunate.
While Hurricane Katrina practically wiped out the whole city of New Orleans, Brad Pitt started the “Make it Right Foundation”. The foundation was created to aid in the redevelopment of the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. They build affordable and sustainable homes that are true to the diverse culture of the city of New Orleans. The goal was to complete the building of the homes quickly so that the residents could return to their homes as soon as possible. These things have been Brad Pitt’s true achievements.
Which reminds me of one more great actor who we lost just this past year. Paul Newman passed away on September 26, 2008. Through his life he entertained us with numerous great movies including the “Road to Perdition” in 2002, “The Color Of Money” from 1986 and “Absence of Malice” from 1981. He also had the leading role in the well-known favorite “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” from clear back in 1969. Needless to say, he was also in many other wonderful movies, too.
However it is his philanthropy that we can all admire. In 1982 with a associate he created a line of food products that he dubbed “Newman’s Own”. It started with simply a salad dressing and rapidly expanded to other products including pasta sauce, lemonade, popcorn, salsa and more. When he started the company he established that all of the earnings generated after taxes would be donated to charity. In early 2006, Newman’s Own had donated over $250 million.
We will always have our favorite movies and our favorite actors and actresses. We may adore them because of their talent or for other reasons but now that we can download full-length, high quality movies immediately on the Internet at least we won’t have to miss any of their movies.
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