Most Watched Actors – The Early 2010s

Movie_Reel_22Many 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 this decade.

2011

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Natalie Portman 4

2011 was a big year for Natalie Portman films, as I took in nearly a quarter of her starring roles that I’ve seen overall thanks to The Other Woman, Black Swan, Thor, and No Strings Attached.

2012

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Jonah Hill 3

Jonah Hill scored the top spot with starring roles in Moneyball, The Sitter, and 21 Jump Street.

2013

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
James Franco 3
Joseph Gordon-Levitt 3
Jennifer Lawrence 3

A 3 way tie for 2013 thanks to the stunning work of James Franco, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Jennifer Lawrence.  Franco hit with roles in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Spring Breakers, and This Is The End.  Gordon-Levitt made a splash with Looper, Premium Rush, and 50/50.  Lawrence more than doubled her starring roles to date in Silver Linings Playbook, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and House at the End of the Street.

2014

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Emily Blunt 3
Scarlett Johansson 3
Liam Neeson 3
Shailene Woodley 3

For the first time in a decade, we have more than a 3-way tie for the top spot.  Emily Blunt leads things off with her roles in Edge of Tomorrow, Your Sister’s Sister, and The Five-Year Engagement.  Scarlett Johansson makes the list thanks to Don Jon, Captain America: Winter Soldier, and Under The Skin.  Liam Neeson utilized his particular set of skills in Unknown, Non-Stop, and Taken 2.  Shailene Woodley finishes things off Divergent, The Spectacular Now, and The Fault in our Stars.

2015

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Jason Bateman 2
Ashley Bell 2
Tom Cruise 2
Karen Gillan 2
Kevin Hart 2
Leslie Mann 2
Paul Rudd 2
Sharon Stone 2
Aaron Taylor-Johnson 2
Shailene Woodley 2

A 10-way tie for the top spot as nobody managed to star in more than 2 films that I saw last year.

Most Watched Actors – The Early 1990s

Movie_Reel_22Many 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 decade of the 1990s, corresponding with the end of high school and the transition into college.

1991

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Raymond Burr 4

Gosh darn that Perry Mason and its ongoing dominance in this particular category.

1992

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Raymond Burr 3

Guh

1993

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Raymond Burr 3

GUH!

1994

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Bridget Fonda 4

A very busy year for Bridget Fonda as she breaks Raymond Burr’s stranglehold, mostly due to his death in 1993.  Fonda starred in Bodies, Rest & Motion, Point Of No Return, Leather Jackets, and It Could Happen To You.

1995

Films Per Actor Per Year
Name Films
Billy Crystal 3
Michael Douglas 3
Michael Keaton 3
Sharon Stone 3

Our first tie of the 90s, each coming in with 3 movies apiece.  Crystal made it with the critically maligned Mr. Saturday Night, Forget Paris, and City Slickers II.  Douglas scored with Disclosure, Basic Instinct, and Coma.  Keaton earned his place with Speechless, One Good Cop, and The Paper.  Sharon Stone nabbed the only 3 starring roles that I’ve seen, with Basic Instinct, The Specialist, and Sliver.