15 over 50: Older actors still hot in Hollywood
Who says you have to be young in Hollywood?
Fifty is fantastic, 60 is sweet and 70 is just darn impressive for actors and actresses who are not only aging gracefully on the big screen but showing whippersnappers how it's done. Paste BN's Bryan Alexander, Claudia Puig and Brian Truitt pick 15 over 50 who continue to kill it in 2015.
TOM CRUISE, 52
What's next: Another go-round as secret agent Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible 5 (July 31).
Why we still love him: He's Tom Cruise. Plus, he's still game for throwing his all into action movies: He scaled tall buildings in Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol so sky's the limit on what he might jump off of in the new one. (Probably not a couch.)
HARRISON FORD, 72
What's next: Immortality romance The Age of Adaline (April 24) with Blake Lively, J.J. Abrams' much-anticipated Star Wars installment The Force Awakens (Dec. 18).
Why we still love him: Ford is blasting back off into space and reprising the role that made him famous in the new Star Wars, which looks to be the biggest in franchise history. Plus, who else other than Han Solo could survive a gnarly plane crash?
BILL MURRAY, 64
What's next: Cameron Crowe's romantic comedy Aloha (May 29), the Barry Levinson American Idol-tinged satire Rock the Kasbah (Nov. 13).
Why we still love him: Murray might be the most eccentric dude in show business, but, boy, do we love him for it. He has no actual publicist or agent, events are overshadowed just by the possibility of his presence, and he makes a habit of crashing engagement photo shoots and bachelor parties — with no complaints in sight.
SAMUEL L. JACKSON, 66
What's next: High-school adventure comedy Barely Lethal (spring), superhero sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1), president-in-danger flick Big Game (June 26) and Quentin Tarantino's Western The Hateful Eight (Nov. 13).
Why we still love him: Many folks are entering retirement and kicking back in their mid-60s. Not Jackson, who seems to have found the cinematic fountain of youth — he likes keeping busy, and Hollywood is only too happy to oblige the man who made spouting Bible verses cool.
MERYL STREEP, 65
What's next: She plays an early feminist in British drama Suffragette, co-starring with Helena Bonham Carter and Carey Mulligan (fall). She'll also star with daughter Mamie Gummer and Kevin Kline in Jonathan Demme's family drama Ricki and the Flash (Aug. 7).
Why we still live her: Do we even need to ask? Everyone adores La Streep, who has the most Oscar nominations under her belt of any actor in history (19) and is widely admired as the world's greatest living actress. She's in her own class — call it the A+ list — and never lets it go to her head. Smart as they come, she's down-to-earth, funny and impassioned, gives the best acceptance speeches at awards shows (with or without her glasses) and genuinely seems to admire her fellow actors.
ANGELA BASSETT, 56
What's next: Political thrillers London Has Fallen (Oct. 2) and Survivor (Nov. 11).
Why we still love her: Ever since the 1980s, Bassett has been the go-to actress for roles with watchable gravitas, many connected to real-life African-American women. Plus, she's taking more chances these days, such as hopping in the director's chair for the first time with her recent Lifetime biopicWhitney.
J.K. SIMMONS, 60
What's next: The Detroit-born actor will co-star in Terminator Genisys (July 1) with Arnold Schwarzenegger and lend his deep voice to animated comedy Rock Dog (July 24).
Why we still love him: It's increasingly clear he can do anything: comedy, drama and horror. Plus, who can forget his wonderful Oscar acceptance speech — a loving son thanking his mom, a grateful husband appreciating his wife and a sentimental dad urging kids to call their parents? Now that's lovable.
JOHN LEGUIZAMO, 50
What's next: Family drama Meadlowland (April), raucous Amy Poehler and Tina Fey comedy Sisters (Dec. 18) and psychological thriller Experimenter, a Sundance hit about a seminal 1961 investigation into human behavior (fall).
Why we still love him: The Colombian-born actor/producer/writer is the classic multi-hyphenate. He's a Broadway star who can voice animated characters like Sid the Sloth in Ice Age as nimbly as he plays a car chop-shop owner drawn into the underworld in action thriller John Wick or a witty Cuban cook who launches a popular food truck in Chef. And he's outspoken about the stereotyping of Latinos in Hollywood.
ALFRE WOODARD, 62
What's next: Indie gambling drama Mississippi Grind opposite Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn (fall), dramedy Knucklehead as the abusive mother of a mentally disabled man (2015).
Why we still love her: You've got to adore an actress as willing to star in an important film such as 12 Years A Slave as she is scary doll horror film Annabelle and TV's Desperate Housewives. Currently playing the U.S. president in TV's State of Affairs, she moves effortlessly between the big and small screens, bringing her blend of intelligence and grace to every role.
BRAD PITT, 51
What's next: He'll star with wife Angelina Jolie in her next directorial feature, By the Sea, expected in 2015.
Why we love him: Those blue eyes still have that mischievous sparkle, even when he's riding tanks (Fury) or killing zombies (World War Z). Pitt and Jolie provide Hollywood's most formidable, and glamorous, one-two punch even when they don't share the same screen — and when they do, look out. With his Plan B Entertainment production company firing on all cylinders, Pitt will be behind-the-scenes and onscreen for the next generation.
HELEN MIRREN, 69
What's next: First up is Woman In Gold (April 1), opposite Ryan Reynolds and Daniel Bruhl, as an octogenarian Jewish refugee who takes on the government to recover artwork taken from her family by the Nazis. She's Hedda Hopper in Trumbo, a biopic about blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, played by Bryan Cranston (2015). She'll also play a colonel in Eye in the Sky, a thriller about drone warfare, opposite another Breaking Bad co-star, Aaron Paul (winter).
Why we still love her: She's acting royalty. A fabulous actress who bring intelligence and wit to every role, she's also a fashion icon who knows how to age gracefully and gorgeously. Like Meryl Streep, she never takes herself too seriously, which makes us love her all the more.
JULIANNE MOORE, 54
What's next: Moore steps back into President Alma Coin mode with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2 (Nov. 20). She'll also star as a dying lesbian New Jersey police detective in Freeheld alongside Ellen Page (2015).
Why we love her: The afterglow from Moore's Oscar 2015 spotlight shows an actress who continues to pull in plum parts, as well as one willing to work in the pop-culture arena. Same caliber of work, but Moore has never been more culturally relevant.
GEORGE CLOONEY, 53
What's next: Disney's highly anticipated Tomorrowland (May 22), with Clooney as a former boy genius inventor.
Why we love him: He's more powerful and sought-after than ever with his gorgeous new wife, Amal Alamuddin, at his side. We've loved Clooney's Old Hollywood swagger as the consummate bachelor — and look forward to the next chapter.
MORGAN FREEMAN, 77
What's next: Freeman goes medieval thriller with Last Knights (April 3), plays Diane Keaton's husband in the comedy 5 Flights Up (May 8) and a civil rights lawyer in the comedy Ted 2 (June 26). He's even filming a new Ben-Hur.
Why we love him: Forget slowing down; Freeman is everywhere. He brings emotional warmth and instant moral authority to every part he takes on, which is why his services are constantly required.
SANDRA BULLOCK, 50
What's next: Bullock voices the world's first female supervillain in Despicable Me spinoff The Minions (July 10). She has also completed the upcoming political drama Our Brand Is Crisis.
Why we love her: Bullock has emphasized priorities such as motherhood to her adopted child Louis and selective roles since her prime days as America's sweetheart. But her Oscar-nominated performance in 2013's Gravity shows she can still give us a true ride.
Contributing: Donna Freydkin and Andrea Mandell