Who are Hollywood’s biggest stars from this locality?
October 1, 2008 at 4:04 pm by Curt Holman in A&E
Before this year’s Best of Atlanta fades from our memories, I wanted to share the results of a discussion that came up regarding “Best Local Actor with a National Platform.” In the past, this category has often appeared on our ballot as “Best Local Actor Who Is Not Julia Roberts,” because whenever we’d ask our readers to vote for the “best local actress,” they’d pick the toothy Smyrna native – as they did this year. So frequently we make the distinction between local stage actors like Chris Kayser and Courtney Patterson vs. Hollywood television and movie stars with local backgrounds like Julia Roberts or “The Office’s” Ed Helms.
This year the obvious critic pick for “Best Local Actor with a National Platform” seemed to be Jack McBrayer, originally from Macon, who steals virtually his every scene on NBC’s Emmy-winning sitcom “30 Rock.” Plus, McBrayer plays a Georgian — albeit a hilariously stereotypical one — so he won extra points. A couple of months ago, when I was trying to narrow it down, I solicited suggestions of local actors on the national stage from the Atlanta Theatre Mailing List group, and received a great many suggestions. The term “local” is pretty loose, encompassing virtually all of Georgia and including actors who spent most, but not all, of their childhood here. A list follows the jump: if you can think of more who belong on the list, or would like to suggest that some be stuck, please offer suggestions:
Tyler Perry
Holly Hunter
Dakota Fanning
David Cross
Ryan Seacrest
Josh Holloway
Steven Soderbergh
Keenan Thompson (SNL, Fat Albert)
Chris Tucker
Alyson Hannigan
Kim Basinger
Brian Baumgartner (”The Office”)
Jan Hooks
Ray McKinnon
Walton Goggins
Wayne Knight (”Seinfeld”)
DeForest Kelly
Bert Parks
Ty Pennington
Nipsey Russell
Keith Robinson
Andre Benjamin
Justice Leak
Lance Krall
Jeff Daniels (Athens)
Spike Lee
Alan Ball
Jeff Foxworthy
The above list includes some filmmakers and deceased people, and does not include many Broadway actors with Atlanta roots, like Young Frankenstein’s Shuler Hensley. Some great actors with Atlanta connections never lived here long enough to qualify as “local.” Jennifer Garner, for instance, interned at Georgia Shakespeare in 1994, but that probably doesn’t “count.”
(Photo courtesy of NBC/Universal)
October 1st, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Kenneth on 30 Rock isn’t just from Georgia, he’s specifically from Stone Mountain. Stereotypical, sure, but I *love* the show and never felt like they were trying to make a point that all Southerners are dumb (unlike so many other TV shows and movies.)
I’d be interested in narrowing down the list to those who still seem to have some kind of connection to their Georgia roots. For example, I loooooved David Cross on the late, lamented Arrested Development, but I’ve never really thought of himself as a “Georgia Actor/Comedian”. On the other hand, Tyler Perry — for better or worse — really plays up his Atlanta connections.