In our lifetimes, the only turn of a century we’ve witnessed is the move from the 1990s to the 2000s. It was an exciting time in the world of Hollywood, between superhero franchises like the Spider-Man and X-Men trilogies making comic books mainstream and adaptations of book series like Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter films becoming some of the biggest blockbusters of the decade. But, many of the best movies of the 2000s wouldn’t have been possible without the star power of several actors of the time.
In celebration of an incredible decade in movies, we chose the quintessential film of 32 actors of the 2000s. Check it out:
Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl)
Johnny Depp was unquestionably one of the biggest stars of the 2000s after previously making a name for himself throughout the 1990s, most notably with his work with Tim Burton and in the independent film space. Looking back, the No. 1 movie of his was his debut as Captain Jack Sparrow in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie in 2003. The actor helped create the best fumbling pirate we’ve ever seen before, going on to make four more of its kind. Fans are still talking about this movie and even writing and signing petitions for the actor to reprise the role.
Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge!)
Nicole Kidman was one of the most in demand actresses of the 2000s, so much so that she did an average of three movies a year across the first half of it. Her greatest movie of the decade is actually the first of them from that time period: Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! The jukebox musical was a commercial success, award season darling and we’ll always go back to her role as Satine.
Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man)
After Robert Downey Jr. was in the public eye for addiction-related setbacks, he found a way to make a comeback throughout the 2000s with a ton of great movies like Zodiac, Good Night and Good Luck and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. But the best of the best was his turn as Iron Man in 2008.
Samuel L. Jackson (Unbreakable)
Samuel L. Jackson was a major fixture of the 1990s, between saying “Hold onto your butts!” in Jurassic Park, starring in Pulp Fiction or starring with Bruce Willis in Die Hard with a Vengeance. His prominence as an actor remained strong in the 2000s with all sorts of roles, including as Mace Windu in Star Wars, but his greatest is in M. Night Shyamalan’s unique superhero film, Unbreakable.
Scarlett Johansson (Lost In Translation)
Scarlett Johansson was a major star in the 2010s, especially as an Avenger, but she really blossomed into this throughout the 2000s, between movies like Ghost World, Match Point, The Island or The Prestige. The performance that really carried the audience’s love for her throughout the decade was in Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation alongside Bill Murray, where they play unlikely friends who meet in Tokyo.
Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)
After Will Smith had a hugely successful decade in the '90s between Bad Boys, Independence Day and being The Fresh Prince, Smith notably took his career a step further in the 2000s. He took on a number of more dramatic roles like Ali and Seven Pounds during this time that deserved the actor an Oscar, but there’s no movie more special than 2006’s The Pursuit of Happyness. In the film, he helped tell the true story of a homeless salesman and his son.
Reese Witherspoon (Legally Blonde)
“What, like it’s hard?” Of course, the defining Reese Witherspoon movie of the 2000s is Legally Blonde! The 2001 movie continues to be one of the most quotable comedies and Elle Woods is a beloved heroine in modern pop culture. As a whole, Witherspoon was serving throughout the decade by also starring in things like the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line or the rom-coms Sweet Home Alabama and Just Like Heaven.
Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds)
The 2000s was a huge decade of career expansion for Brad Pitt after his heartthrob beginnings in critically-acclaimed '90s flicks such as Interview with a Vampire, Seven, Fight Club. The cream of the crop for a very busy Pitt during this time has to be Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, where he played Lt. Aldo Raine in an alternate history story about World War II.
Jim Carrey (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind)
The stardom of Jim Carrey was deep in the fixture of 2000s movies through a ton of big movies like How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Bruce Almighty or Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. But one of the actor’s most dramatic roles, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, stands as his best of the decade. The sci-fi romance imagines a world where one could have a procedure to forget their ex, and asks big questions about memory and love.
Kate Hudson (Almost Famous)
Kate Hudson has called Almost Famous “the beginning of everything” for her, and it really was career-wise for the actress. When the movie came out in 2000, it started a massive decade for her that would have her in flicks like How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days, The Skeleton Key and Nine among a ton of roles. The Cameron Crowe movie had Hudson playing Penny Lane, a groupie of a '70s band.
Tom Hanks (Cast Away)
The 2000s marked Tom Hanks third decade as a movie star and it was another solid time for the actor, particularly for more serious roles. While there are a lot of close contenders like Road To Perdition, Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal, his greatest movie of that time was Cast Away. Hanks gives an all-time performance as a man who gets stranded on an island alone. We never knew we could cry over a volleyball before the 2000 movie.
Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia!)
Meryl Streep turned 50 in 1999. While that historically has spelled bad news for female actors in Hollywood, Streep proved she could still be one of the biggest stars in her middle-aged years with a ton of performances in the 2000s. From Adaptation to The Hours, The Devil Wear Prada, Lions For Lambs, Doubt, Julie & Julia, Fantastic Mr. Fox and It’s Complicated, this time was an embarrassment of riches for the actress, but if we had to pick one, the iconic Mamma Mia! is the one we’re still singing all the words to.
Denzel Washington (Training Day)
Denzel Washington’s place as one of the most impressive living actors was apparent in the 2000s through a productive decade full of critically-acclaimed performances. The ultimate Washington movie of the time we’ve chosen is 2001’s Training Day, which in turn earned him his second Oscar win. But, the actor made a ton of great hits during this time like Remember The Titans, Antwone Fisher, Man on Fire, Inside Man, American Gangster and The Great Debaters.
Tom Cruise (Minority Report)
After Tom Cruise starred in movies like Rain Man, Top Gun, the first Mission: Impossible and Magnolia in the '80s and '90s, he continued to be a major actor into the 2000s with a ton of fresh roles. His best of the decade is arguably one of his two collaborations with Steven Spielberg, Minority Report. The sci-fi flick has Cruise’s character on the run for a crime he has not committed in an imagined 2054.
Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich)
Julia Roberts made a string of romantic comedies in the ‘90s, but when the new century came along, she diversified her career with a lot more dramatic roles. Her best movie during this time was in 2000’s Erin Brockovich. The biographical movie from Steven Soderbergh about groundwater contamination also earned Roberts an Oscar for Best Actress.
Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity)
It felt like Matt Damon was in all the movies back in the 2000s after he and Ben Affleck wowed Hollywood with Good Will Hunting in 1997. The actor was in 20 movies across this decade, but the best of them was 2002's action thriller The Bourne Identity. He would go on to star in an entire trilogy as Jason Bourne.
Leonardo DiCaprio (Catch Me If You Can)
Leonardo DiCaprio became a verified movie star when he said “I’m king of the world!” in 1997’s Titanic. As he moved into his mid-twenties and thirties in the 2000s, he started working closely with Martin Scorsese in a series of movies (Gangs Of New York, The Aviator and The Departed). However, his best comes from Steven Spielberg with Catch Me If You Can. The biographical crime comedy had DiCaprio playing a con man alongside Tom Hanks.
Kirsten Dunst (Marie Antoinette)
Kirsten Dunst got her start as a child actor in the '90s in movies such as Jumanji and Interview with a Vampire before starring in films like The Virgin Suicides and Drop Dead Gorgeous at the tail end of the '90s. Dunst officially became an adult in the 2000s and made tons of movies, from being Mary-Jane Watson in the Spider-Man movies to being in Bring It On. Her second collaboration with Sofia Coppola as the famed French archduchess is her best work of the decade.
Adam Sandler (Punch-Drunk Love)
Even though the 2000s didn’t quite top Adam Sandler’s amazing Saturday Night Live star into movie star turn, he was in all sorts of memorable movies in the 2000s. The one that sticks out the most is his collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson with 2002’s Punch-Drunk Love. Unlike his screwball comedies, it’s an earnest rom-com that may not have been popular, but it is unforgettable.
Will Ferrell - Anchorman
Will Ferrell’s acting career really took off in the 2000s in a massive way. He left Saturday Night Live in 2002 after seven seasons on the sketch show and became one of the funniest Hollywood movie stars. His most hilarious leading role has to be in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, where he played a 1970s news host.
George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven)
It’s not easy to choose the best George Clooney role of the 2000s given the sheer amount of solid movies he starred in at the time. From his Coen Brothers’ movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? to his Oscar-winning role in Syriana. But, it simply wouldn’t have been the 2000s without Clooney leading the pack in Ocean’s Eleven (and the trilogy it became). He’s effortlessly cool as the master plotter of a casino heist.
Gwyneth Paltrow (The Royal Tenenbaums)
Paltrow was in a load of films during this decade, coming off her Oscar win in Shakespeare In Love. But, among a cast including Owen Wilson, Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston and Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Margot stole the show and therefore finds a spot as her No.1 2000s role.
Halle Berry (Monster's Ball)
The 2000s was an iconic moment for Halle Berry, who became Storm in X-Men and starred in Catwoman and as a Bond girl in Die Another Day. Her best role is her Oscar-winning lead in 2001’s Monster’s Ball. The movie is about a widower who unknowingly begins a relationship with a corrections officer who assisted in the execution of her late husband.
Christian Bale (The Dark Knight)
Christian Bale started the 2000s as the star of American Psycho and ended it as the star of Michael Mann’s Public Enemies alongside Johnny Depp. But unquestionably, Bale’s performance in one of the most seminal movies of the 2000s, The Dark Knight, is our pick. His second outing as Bruce Wayne/Batman is elevated when Heath Ledger’s haunting Joker struts into Gotham.
Jennifer Garner (13 Going On 30)
During the 2000s, Jennifer Garner became famous for starring in the TV show Alias. But at the same time, she established herself as a movie star, too. What caught our hearts the most was her role in 13 Going On 30 alongside Mark Ruffalo. It’s a blast to see the actress play a teen in an adult’s body.
Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder)
The 2000s had Ben Stiller becoming a movie star in his own right, between the hilarious Meet The Parents in 2000, to Zoolander and Along Came Polly. His best movie of this era was one he wrote, directed and starred in. Tropic Thunder is a hilarious satirical action comedy with a star-studded cast that we’re still laughing about over a decade later.
Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind)
After becoming a familiar face for his roles in the '90s, Russell Crowe became an all-time great actor of the 2000s by starring in Gladiator, Cinderella Man, American Gangster, Master and Commander and 3:10 To Yuma. If you’ve seen his performance in 2001’s A Beautiful Mind, you likely never forgot Crowe’s inspired performance as schizophrenic mathematician John Nash.
Nicolas Cage (Adaptation)
Nicolas Cage’s third decade in movies was a busy one that had him in more big-budget movies than ever between National Treasure and Ghost Rider, but Spike Jonze’s Adaptation takes the prize as he played twin brothers, one struggling with writer’s block and the other deciding to copy his brother’s ambitions.
Keira Knightley (Pride & Prejudice)
Keira Knightley turned fifteen when the 21st century began, but it wasn’t long before she became a movie star – leading movies like Bend it Like Beckham, Pirates of the Caribbean and Love, Actually. The defining Knightley performance of her first decade as a big-screen actress was in the film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Jack Black (School of Rock)
Jack Black had a massive decade in movies in the 2000s, but one cannot forget how perfect he was in the role of Dewey Finn in School of Rock. The 2003 movie allowed the actor to flex his musician muscles and unique charm as he played a failed rock star turned imposter substitute teacher.
Drew Barrymore (50 First Dates)
Drew Barrymore had the chance to come into her own as a movie star in her adulthood in the 2000s following being a child actor in films like E.T. and Firestarter. She had an awesome decade that included Charlie’s Angels, He’s Just Not That Into You and Whip It, but her role with Adam Sandler as a forgetful love interest remains one of her best and most hilarious (yet heartwarming) roles.
Hugh Jackman (The Prestige)
Hugh Jackman started his career in theater in the '90s, but in the 2000s he quickly became a big star. Sure, he became Wolverine for the first time in the X-Men movies, played Van Helsing and starred in Kate & Leopold, but it was particularly special to see his role in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige. He’s amazing as a magician who feuds with Christian Bale’s character over the ultimate magic trick.
Anyone else feeling nostalgic for the decade of the 2000s, now? It was an amazing time for great movies and the movie stars we saw everywhere like the people above.
