Call them the New Reliables — the screen performers we’ve come to count on through thick and thin (or “through thin,” as Mel Brooks used to say), in good films and bad, in leading roles as well as supporting turns. Like their old studio-system counterparts, they’ve spent enough hours in front of a camera to keep their heads above water when the scripts threaten to drown them in mediocrity. And they can rise to the occasion when the quality’s there.
The old joke about acting suggests sincerity’s the key, and once an actor learns how to fake that she’s all set. But many of the best talents working today have something else going for them, something to do with being themselves, or a version of themselves, when it serves the character they’re playing. This isn’t fakery; it’s learning to relax in the most artificial of circumstances.
Here are 10 of my favorite New Reliables. I’m sure you have a few of your own. And you might want to e-mail me about them at mjphillips@tribune.com.
Amy Adams
Lucky break: “Catch Me If You Can” (2002), as the candy-striper in braces smitten with Leonardo DiCaprio
Proof of durability: Survived early miscasting as brittle, horrible twentysomething vamps. And she single-handedly made “Night at the Museum 2” worth seeing
Why she’s good: Her Oscar nomination for “Junebug” was dead-on: Adams, currently onscreen in “Julie & Julia,” connects with open-hearted characters like few others
Patricia Clarkson
Lucky break: “The Untouchables” (as Eliot Ness’ wife) in 1987
Proof of durability: Knocked around for nearly two decades, doing solid work on TV, the stage and in the movies, before people started putting a name with the face
Why she’s good: Excels in Woody Allen films, bringing life and spontaneity to supporting roles in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Whatever Works”
Zooey Deschanel
Lucky break: “Elf” in 2003
Proof of durability: Bounced back nicely after being dragged down to the silliness level of M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening”
Why she’s good: Deschanel’s screen presence, quirky but ingratiating, has worn well across a variety of romantic comedies, and she can sing.
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Lucky break: “Dirty Pretty Things” in 2002
Proof of durability: The revenge programmer “Four Brothers” wasn’t much, but the ensemble — Ejiofor chief among the ranks — made it work.
Why he’s good: In supporting and leading roles, his quiet concentration helps focus every scene he’s in.
Michael Fassbender
Lucky break: TV’s “Band of Brothers” in 2001
Proof of durability: Even with Christoph Waltz stealing the show in “Inglourious Basterds,” Fassbender stands out with his George Sanders-like turn as a film critic-turned-Allied spy.
Why he’s good: Stalwart, charismatic, versatile
Rachel McAdams
Lucky break: “The Notebook” (2004), romantic sea-foam lent substance by McAdams’ fervent commitment
Proof of durability: In most guy-centric comedies you never notice the half-baked “love interest.” In “Wedding Crashers,” you noticed.
Why she’s good: Winning (but not pandering) mixture of vulnerability and toughness
Simon Pegg
Lucky break: The British TV star snared a wider American audience with the zombie spoof “Shaun of the Dead” (2004).
Proof of durability: Consistently funnier than his material in things like “Run Fatboy Run”
Why he’s good: Bright-eyed, energetic but capable of deadpan wonders — see the first 20 minutes of “Hot Fuzz” sometime, for example. Also, he made for a ripping Scotty in “Star Trek.”
Seth Rogen
Lucky break: TV’s “Freaks and Geeks” in 1999
Proof of durability: He got through “Observe and Report” by keeping his head down and actually acting.
Why he’s good: Rogen is wearing well for someone who has made so many films in so short a time, and his comic timing is matched by an increasing subtlety.
JK Simmons
Lucky break: After a decade of screen work, his turn as J. Jonah Jameson in “Spider-Man” (2002) won this sterling character man a wider audience.
Proof of durability: He got out of “New in Town” alive.
Why he’s good: Crack timing and a terrific instinct for underplaying, as in his scenes with Ellen Page in “Juno.”
Stanley Tucci
Lucky break: Doing “The Daytrippers” and “Big Night” in the same year (1996)
Proof of durability: If he can survive doing a voice for “Space Chimps,” he can survive anything.
Why he’s good: Exceedingly droll in “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Julie & Julia,” the actor also has a steely edge and a way of drawing audiences into his web.
