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. Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 107 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.
We continue today with the six actors that have starred in exactly 19 movies that I have seen, even from 3 years ago.
Jennifer Aniston
The former Friends star first burst through onto my movie screen in 1997, with a double feature of She’s The One and Leprechaun. In years since, she was a pretty steady contributor until 2014, with multiple films in 1997, 1998, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2013, with a high-water mark in 1998, when I saw her in three starring roles. Her most recent entry came in 2014, when I saw 2013’s We’re the Millers.
John Cusack
Local boy done good John Cusack entered my movie-watching consciousness in 1988 when he portrayed disgraced White Sox third baseman Buck Weaver in Eight Men Out. After a nine-year dry spell, Cusack came back with a vengeance with three films in 1997 which started a run of eight films in four years. Aside from 1997, he notched multiple films in 2000, 2004, and 2010. His most recent film that I’ve seen remains 2012’s The Factory, which I watched in 2015.
Matt Damon
In 1994, Matt Damon made his first appearance on my personal movie screen with his role in 1992’s School Ties. He disappeared for a while until reappearing in 1999 with three different films. From that point on, he has been a pretty regular entrant in my watched films, including a four-year run from 2005-2008. The last film of his I’ve seen was in 2019, when I saw 2017’s Downsizing.
Robert DeNiro
My first experience with Robert DeNiro was back in 1988, when I saw Angel Heart. He then went quiet to me for eight years, coming back in 1996 with Sleepers. 2000 was my high-water mark with his work when I saw three of his films, while he showed up twice in 2004, 2011, and 2016. My most recent experience with him was in 2020, when I saw 2008’s Righteous Kill.
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves slinked on to my movie screens in 1988 in a small film called Permanent Record. The following year, he became huge thanks to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. 2020 stands out as my best Reeves year, when I managed to see three of his films. His most recent appearance came in 2022, when I watched the 2020 sequel Bill & Ted Face the Music.
Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington first appeared in my life in a starring role as Tom Hanks’ homophobic attorney in Philadelphia. There have been four years, starting in 2000, where I have seen two of his films. 2002 started a five-year run where I saw secen of his films. After a six-year absence, he returned to my screen in 2020 thanks to Ricochet, released in 1991.