Amazon Asks the Actors: What's an Essential DVD From Your Career? I think one of the great characters was the Marquise De Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons. Truthfully every movie, even the ones that weren't so much fun, have informed me tremendously. And each one represents some real learning experience of some sort. It's a great luxury to be an actor to be able to explore so many landscapes of human behavior. --Glenn Close›More essentials
Essentials by Actress: Lucille BallYour favorite TV shows might not ever have existed if Lucille Ball had never decided to become an actress. Her groundbreaking series with husband Desi Arnaz, I Love Lucy, became one of the most popular and beloved TV shows of all time. She and Arnaz pioneered the three-camera technique now the standard in filming TV sitcoms, and introduced the concept of syndicating television programs, paving the way for dozens of sitcoms that have since become television classics. With the success of her TV shows, it's easy to forget that Lucille Ball, a one-time Ziegfield Girl, also had a rich movie career preceding her TV days, costarring with legends like Henry Fonda and Bob Hope. A movie star, a TV legend, and one of the first women to head a major studio with "Desilu," Lucille Ball wasn't just a star, she was truly an American entertainment icon. ›Essential Lucille Ball DVDs Essentials by Actress: Maggie Cheung 
After she came in 2nd place in the 1983 Miss Hong Kong beauty pageant, Maggie Cheung was typecast as just another pretty girl and used only as "eye candy" for film sets. But in 1988, she stunned critics with her powerful performance in Wong Kar-wai's As Tears Go By. Since then, Cheung has shown an astonishing dramatic range, playing roles from martial arts diva to a recovering drug addict. Cheung cemented her legend in 2004 when she became the first Asian woman to win a prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
›Essentials by Actress: Maggie Cheung Essentials by Actress: Michelle Yeoh 
Many action film fans will be surprised to learn that Michelle Yeoh is not a formal student of the martial arts, but rather is classically trained as a ballet dancer. Despite her lack of kung fu credentials, she has the singular honor of being the only person to ever upstage Jackie Chan when she played an unstoppable Interpol inspector in Supercop. Like Chan, Yeoh does her own stunts, and her action scenes are often just as spectacular. Yeoh also happens to be a superb actress, bringing a sense of gravity and modest charm to all her roles, whether she is playing a tough cop or a gentle botanist.
›Essentials by Actress: Michelle Yeoh Essentials by Actress: Cate Blanchett 
Australian actress Cate Blanchett is a chameleon. Whether she's playing Queen Elizabeth or Katherine Hepburn, she completely transforms herself into every role and is continually fascinating to watch. She's racked up multiple awards and nominations in a relatively short period of time and has a long career ahead of her - no doubt to be filled with more compelling and tranformative performances.
›Essentials by Actress: Cate Blanchett Essentials by Actress: Jennifer Jason Leigh 
After starring in the 1980's teen classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Jennifer Jason Leigh has made a career out of playing often troubled but thoroughly multi-dimensional women. A critic's darling, Leigh is always fascinating and always innovative, whether she's portraying a pregnant teenager, a psychopathic stalker, a prostitute, a drug addict or the poet and intellectual Dorothy Parker. It seems she's capable of anything.
›Essentials by Actress: Jennifer Jason Leigh |
