Just like fine wine
Some actors seem to get better with age
Will Smith: Early rapping led to his breakout role on the TV sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-air, which led to leading roles in comedies (the Men in Black and Bad Boys franchises), action movies (I, Robot, I Am Legend) and even serious dramas (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness, Concussion). In 2007, Newsweek called him “the most powerful actor in Hollywood.” And he’s still up there.
George Clooney: From handyman on ’80s sitcom The Facts of Life to doctor on ’90s TV medical drama ER (not to be confused with the short-lived 1984 sitcom E/R) to leading man (The Perfect Storm, the Ocean’s franchise) to director (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Catch-22 series), Clooney keeps expanding his roles both in front of and behind the camera — including increasingly as an advocate for human rights.
Donald Sutherland: From early comedy hits, such as MASH and Start the Revolution Without Me, the New Brunswick-born Sutherland expanded into drama (Klute, Ordinary People and, most recently, American Hangman) and a wide range of other roles. Younger fans now know him from the Hunger Games movies.
Antonio Banderas: After roles in his native Spain and Hollywood movies including Desperado and Evita, Banderas starred as the swashbuckling hero in The Mask of Zorro. Voicing Puss in Boots in the Shrek franchise allowed him to gently mock his own status as an exotic romancer. In the TV miniseries Genius, he shows a genius of his own in portraying artist Pablo Picasso.
Christopher Plummer:
Toronto-born Christopher Plummer has won accolades on the Stratford Festival stage, Tonys on Broadway and finally, in 2012, a best supporting acting Oscar for his work in the movie Beginners. After once saying he despised his most famous movie role as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, in his later years he has come to terms with the part. His most recent success has come as mystery writer Harlan Thrombey in the Rian Johnson whodunit Knives Out.