Where did the time go? We are already two days removed from February and my tribute to Black History Month is still stuck on #17. As with most things, life just kind of got in the way. My apologies. For those of you that are really pining to see the rest of the list, then the following will hopefully be satisfying. Here we go, with an abbreviated look at my top 17 Black Actor/Actress Performances.
#17 - Cuba Gooding Jr. as "Radio" in "Radio" - Didn't go full retard and after you get a look at the real Radio at the end of the movie, you realize how well of a job Cuba did in his portrayal.
#16 - Will Smith as "Chris Garnder" in "The Pursuit of Happyness" - This earned him an Academy Award nomination (his 2nd), and cemented him as one of the top actors of our generation.
#15 - Jamie Foxx as "Ray Charles" in "Ray" - Since we all know Ray Charles you can imagine the difficulties it would present to an actor. However, Foxx was excellent and picked up an Oscar for Best Leading Role in 2005.
#14 - Ray Allen as "Jesus Shuttlesworth" in "He Got Game" - This was a personal selection because Allen wasn't spectacular and this movie didn't receive any accolades. But I loved Ray Allen at UCONN, so I'm putting him on my list.
#13 - Michael Jordan as "Himself" in "Space Jam" - My favorite athlete of all-time stars in a movie, you better believe it's going to be on this list. Actually thought Jordan did a decent job, especially when you consider he was acting mainly in front of a green screen.
#12 - Cuba Gooding Jr. as "Frank Sachs" in "As Good As It Gets" - It's a top-ten movie (maybe even top-five) for yours truly, and Cuba was hilarious in his limited time on screen.
#11 - DeWayne Warren as "G-Baby" in "Hardball" - I always try to include Matt Barnes in these lists somehow, and this year this was the best I could do. He loves Hardball and G-Baby is the most memorable character in the film, so here we are.
#10 - Will Smith as "Bagger Vance" in "The Legend of Bagger Vance" - 2nd appearance for Will Smith as he tries to repeat from his 2009 BHM crown. Golf, Will Smith, and Matt Damon add up to a great movie
#9 - Whoopi Goldberg as "Sister Mary Clarence" in "Sister Act/Sister Act II" - 2nd female, and the first to ever crack the top-ten in my BHM lists. She is funny, smart, witty, and perfect for these films.
#8 - Doug E. Doug as "Sanka Coffie" in "Cool Runnings" - Favorite movie of all-time, it's a shame I didn't get around to dedicating an entire post to Sanka. (Head to the 3:30 mark for some great Sanka moments)
#7 - Eddie Murphy as "Prince Akeem" in "Coming To America" - One of those great 80's comedies that will never not be funny. Too bad Eddie got further away from these movies and more towards the Daddy Day Care variety.
#6 - Robert Downey Jr. as "Kirk Lazarus" in "Tropic Thunder" - He was absolutely hilarious in this film, and he deserved the Academy Award nomination he received. Yeah I know he's not actually black, but he played a black dude.
#5 - Cuba Gooding Jr. as "Rod Tidwell" in "Jerry Maguire" - Three appearances for Cuba, but this one is by far his best. He won the 1997 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, which ultimately led to lots of people showing him the money.
#4 - Denzel Washington as "Coach Herman Boone" in "Remember The Titans" - Denzel did not get nominated for any major awards with this performance, but it's one of my personal favorites. I loved the movie, and thought Denzel was an excellent high school football coach.
#3 - Will Smith as "Muhammad Ali" in "Ali" - My favorite Will Smith performance, as he does an absolute amazing job portraying the greatest heavyweight champion of all-time. He lost out on the Oscar for Best Actor, but as you will soon find out, he lost to another epic performance.
#2 - Denzel Washington as "Det. Alonzo Harris" in "Training Day" - Will Smith lost out on that Oscar to this performance by Denzel. It's the perfect role for Denzel and he knocked it out of the park.
It was very difficult putting these final three in order, but at the end of the day, I had to give the nod to ...
#1 - Morgan Freeman as "Red" in "The Shawshank Redemption" - It's my 2nd favorite movie of all-time and boasts the best Black Performance I've ever seen. He lost out on the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but like that entire Academy Awards, something tells me if they re-voted right now, Freeman would walk away the winner. As for now, he stands tall as the champion of this very prestigious list.
Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."
