The New York Times - USA (2020-12-07)

A2 N THE NEW YORK TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020

There are few better ways to court the internet’s ire than to publish a list ranking the 25

greatest actors of the 21st century so far that does not include the words “Meryl” or

“Streep.” But Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott, The Times’s co-chief film critics who over

the past six months compiled the nearly 12,000-word list of standout performers, have no

regrets. Recently, after the list published online, Ms. Dargis and Mr. Scott discussed some

of their notable decisions, that Meryl Streep exclusion and the importance of represent-

ing performances from around the globe. SARAH BAHR

What has reader reaction been like?

A. O. SCOTT:I’ve been surprised by the

intensity of the Meryl Streep loyalty. I

thought people might be upset about Tom

Hanks, but we haven’t heard a word

about him.

For the record, why is Ms. Streep not on this

list?

DARGIS:I’m not going to say anything

bad about Meryl Streep — we love her!

Maybe if we’d had 26 slots, she’d be on it.

SCOTT:Meryl Streep has given some very

fine performances in the past 20 years,

but she’s also given some not very good

ones that are showy and overdone. I’m

thinking of her portrayal of Violet Weston

in “August: Osage County” or even as

Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady,”

which she won an Oscar for in 2012.

Those didn’t knock her out of contention,

but they show she has more of a mixed

record than her fans might acknowledge.

DARGIS:Similar situation with Daniel

Day-Lewis, who was amazing in “There

Will Be Blood” but terrible — or not very

good, at least — in “Nine.”

This list is nearly 12,000 words long. When

did you start working on it?

SCOTT:We started brainstorming in May.

We were originally going to do the 25 best

performances of the century, but that was

just too titanic — conservatively, there

have probably been between 15,000 and

20,000 movies released in the past 20

years — so we instead chose to focus on

people’s bodies of work. Our initial lists

had hundreds of names — we wanted to

make sure we didn’t overlook anyone —

and then we each made a list of 25 names

and switched to see where we over-

lapped.

DARGIS:We would get on the phone and

go through the list, sometimes talking for

hours at a time, weighing each actor one

by one.

Were there any fisticuffs?

SCOTT:One of my first lists had Will Fer-

rell, and I got a one-word response from

Manohla: “No.”

DARGIS:It wasn’t quite “Over my dead

body,” but I was emphatic that it wasn’t

going to happen.

Anyone you didn’t debate?

DARGIS:Denzel Washington was always

No. 1 on both of our lists.

What do you hope people take away from the

list?

SCOTT:Just because you haven’t seen a

film doesn’t mean it isn’t worthy of inclu-

sion. We didn’t just want this to be famous

movie stars. There are lots of wonderful

character actors who are consistently

outstanding in smaller roles.

DARGIS:Some people have said, ‘I don’t

recognize any of these people” or “These

are all foreign people.” Well, they aren’t

foreign in their country! Expand your

horizons and get beyond Joaquin Phoenix

in “Joker.”

Any final thoughts?

DARGIS:People keep yelling at us about

how many Oscar nominations Streep has,

as if that’s a metric Tony and I ever paid

attention to. This is not a list of people who

have been nominated for Oscars; this is

our list of people we really, really respect

and love. But we will be doing a 25,000-

word ode to Meryl Streep at the end of the

year, just so everyone knows.

Inside The Times

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

Readers found omissions from a Times list of the 25 best actors of the 21st century (so far).

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: DAVID LEE/LIONSGATE; PARAMOUNT PICTURES; FOCUS FEATURES

Inside Our Best Actors List

To see our critics’ entire ranking, go to

nytimes.com/movies.

December 7, 1964.“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” debuted 56 years ago and is the

longest-running annual television holiday special. Following the first “Rudolph” broad-

cast on NBC, The Times wrote in its review that the stop-motion animation “radiated a

gentle spirit of make-believe,” and the children’s story about an outcast reindeer who

helped guide Santa’s sleigh during a snowstorm was “a charming and tuneful hour of

fantasy.” Of note was Sam the Snowman, voiced by the folk singer Burl Ives, “who made

the adventure seem warm and real,” The Times wrote.

Subscribers can browse the complete Times archives through 2002 at timesmachine.nytimes.com.

On This Day in History

A MEMORABLE HEADLINE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

RED-NOSED RUDOLPH A FIGURE OF CHARM

CORRECTIONS A

CROSSWORD C

OBITUARIES D7-

OPINION A18-

WEATHER A

CLASSIFIED ADS D

The Newspaper

And Beyond

VIDEO

A capsule from Japan’s

Hayabusa2 spacecraft re-entered

Earth’s atmosphere Saturday

after being launched in 2014 to

explore and collect samples from

an asteroid named Ryugu. It

landed and was recovered in the

Australian outback.

nytimes.com/video

Contact the Newsroom

[email protected]

Share a News Tip

[email protected] or nytimes.com/tips

Contact Customer Care

nytimes.com/contactus

or 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637)

AUDIO

David Sedaris joined the “Book

Review” podcast to discuss his

latest collection, “The Best of Me,”

and his career as an essayist.

nytimes.com/tbrpodcast

EVENT

The stars of “Ma Rainey’s Black

Bottom,”Viola Davis, Colman

Domingo, Michael Potts and

Glynn Turman, will talk with the

Times reporter Reggie Ugwu

about adopting August Wilson’s

play to the screen. This event is

for subscribers and will stream on

Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. E.T. For more

information, go to

timesevents.nytimes.com.

LEARNING NETWORK

Students, are you a good conver-

sationalist? What does it take to

be one? Read an assigned article

and fill out a prompt with the

Learning Network.

nytimes.com/learning

The New York Times (ISSN 0362-4331) is published

daily. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and

at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send ad-

dress changes to The New York Times, P.O. Box 8042,

Davenport, IA, 52808-8042.

Mail Subscription Rates* 1 Yr. 6 Mos.

Daily and Sunday.......................$1040.00 $520.

Monday-Saturday ........................936.00 468.

Sunday only ..................................520.00 260.

Times Book Review.................................. 1 Yr.$208.

Large Print Weekly.................................. 1 Yr. 114.

Higher rates, available on request, for mail-

ing outside the U.S., or for the New York edi-

tion outside the Northeast: 1-800-631-2580.

*Not including state or local tax.

The Times occasionally makes its list of home deliv-

ery subscribers available to marketing part-

ners or third parties who offer products or ser-

vices that are likely to interest its readers. If you

prefer that we do not share this information, please

notify Customer Service, P.O. Box 8042, Davenport,

IA, 52808-8042, or e-mail [email protected].

All advertising published in The New York Times is

subject to the applicable rate card, available from the

advertising department. The Times reserves the right

not to accept an advertiser’s order. Only publication of

an advertisement shall constitute final acceptance.

© 2020, The New York Times Company. All rights

reserved.

A. G. Sulzberger, Publisher

Meredith Kopit Levien, President

and Chief Executive Officer

R. Anthony Benten, Treasurer

Diane Brayton, General Counsel and Secretary

THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018-

A. G. SULZBERGER

Publisher

Founded in 1851

ADOLPH S. OCHS

Publisher 1896-

ARTHUR HAYS SULZBERGER

Publisher 1935-

ORVIL E. DRYFOOS

Publisher 1961-

ARTHUR OCHS SULZBERGER

Publisher 1963-

ARTHUR OCHS SULZBERGER JR.

Publisher 1992-

NEWS

DEAN BAQUETExecutive Editor

JOSEPH KAHNManaging Editor

REBECCA BLUMENSTEINDeputy Managing Editor

STEVE DUENESDeputy Managing Editor

MATTHEW PURDYDeputy Managing Editor

CAROLYN RYANDeputy Managing Editor

ELISABETH BUMILLERAssistant Managing Editor

SAM DOLNICKAssistant Managing Editor

MONICA DRAKEAssistant Managing Editor

MATTHEW ERICSONAssistant Managing Editor

ALISON MITCHELLAssistant Managing Editor

SAM SIFTONAssistant Managing Editor

MICHAEL SLACKMANAssistant Managing Editor

EDITORIAL

KATHLEEN KINGSBURYEditorial Page Editor

BUSINESS

MEREDITH KOPIT LEVIENChief Executive Officer

ROLAND A. CAPUTOChief Financial Officer

DIANE BRAYTONGeneral Counsel and Secretary;

Interim Executive V.P., Talent & Inclusion

WILLIAM T. BARDEENChief Strategy Officer

R. ANTHONY BENTENChief Accounting Officer, Treasurer

STEPHEN DUNBAR-JOHNSONPresident, International

ABRIEFHISTORYOFTIME

GETSANEWCHAPTER

“I have wondered about time all my life.”

Professor Stephen Hawking

501MadisonAve,NewYork

Helpingyoulivebetter.

No matter where you are.

Read, watch and listen to the stories.

nytimes.com/modernlove

Modern Love

The joys.

The tribulations.

The twists.