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 this decade.
2011
| 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
| Name | Films |
|---|---|
| Jonah Hill | 3 |
Jonah Hill scored the top spot with starring roles in Moneyball, The Sitter, and 21 Jump Street.
2013
| 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
| 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
| 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.