Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime. The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since. So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at the most prolific actors that have starred in the movies that I have seen in the first half of the first decade of the new millennium, the 2000s.
2001
| Name | Films |
|---|---|
| Rachael Leigh Cook | 3 |
| Russell Crowe | 3 |
| Tobey Maguire | 3 |
3 actors tied for the lead in 2000 with 3 movies each, starting with Rachael Leigh Cook, who appeared in the classics AntiTrust, Josie and the Pussycats, and The Hi-Line. The mentally stable Russell Crowe starred in Mystery, Alaska, The Insider, and the tremendous L.A. Confidential. Finally, Tobey Maguire made his mark with Wonder Boys, The Cider House Rules, and Ride With The Devil.
2002
| Last Name | Films |
|---|---|
| Freddie Prinze Jr. | 3 |
| Renee Zellwegger | 3 |
2002 was a big year for Freddie Prinze Jr. and Renee Zellwegger, who both starred in 3 films that I saw that year. Prinze appeared in the hits Scooby-Doo, Summer Catch, and Head Over Heels. Zellwegger, meanwhile, made her mark in Bridget Jones’s Diary, Me, Myself & Irene, and Nurse Betty.
2003
| Last Name | Films |
|---|---|
| Ben Affleck | 3 |
| Richard Gere | 3 |
Ben Affleck and Richard Gere were the 2 top actors in my film consumption of 2003. Affleck led the way with The Sum of All Fears, Daredevil, and Changing Lanes. Gere appeared in Unfaithful, The Mothman Prophecies, and Dr. T and the Women.
2004
| Last Name | Films |
|---|---|
| Ben Affleck | 2 |
| Drew Barrymore | 2 |
| A.J. Cook | 2 |
| John Cusack | 2 |
| Robert DeNiro | 2 |
| Cameron Diaz | 2 |
| Kirsten Dunst | 2 |
| Anna Faris | 2 |
| Katie Holmes | 2 |
| Angelina Jolie | 2 |
| Ashton Kutcher | 2 |
| Martin Lawrence | 2 |
| Jason Lee | 2 |
| Lindsay Lohan | 2 |
| Mandy Moore | 2 |
| Eddie Murphy | 2 |
| Christina Ricci | 2 |
| Billy Bob Thorton | 2 |
| Liv Tyler | 2 |
For the first time since 1985, we have a long list of actors tying for the top spot, with nobody taking a commanding lead.
2005
| Last Name | Films |
|---|---|
| Anne Hathaway | 3 |
| Angelina Jolie | 3 |
Ladies ruled the roost in 2005, thanks to former Disney princess Anne Hathaway, who starred in Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement, Ella Enchanted, and Havoc, where she doffed her top to show the world she was ready for non-princess roles. Angelina Jolie joined the fray with her roles in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, and Taking Lives.
