4. Timothy Spall As Jonathan Rosenbaum
Another US critic who has major clout wherever he finds himself now, Jonathan Rosenbaum was the head critic for the Chicago Reader for over 20 years. Trailblazer for diversity in films that he is, in response to AFI's 1998 list of the 100 Greatest American Movies, he listed his own version which included underdogs like John Cassavetes and Jim Jarmusch. The next time AFI posted their list, they included 5 from Rosenbaum's. When Ingmar Bergman died, Rosenbaum went against the grain and wrote an Op-Ed piece in The New York Times titled "Scenes from An Overrated Career". Moving around in Paris and London, Rosenbaum inhaled everything film and even worked as an assistant director for Jacques Tati. For a critic whom Godard called one of the best film critics in the States, I choose the criminally underrated Timothy Spall to portray him. While you may recognize Spall as Wormtail from the Harry Potter movies, or Beadle from the Johnny Deep Sweeney Todd version, Spall is like Toby Jones when it comes to the acting world. His physical appearance prevent him from getting much forefront attention in appearance-obsessed Hollywood movies, even though his acting can be nothing short of brilliant. Watch the Mike Leigh movies Secrets & Lies or Life Is Sweet, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Spall's next appearance is in the upcoming Mike Leigh movie Mr. Turner where he plays the title character, and I've got no doubts that he'll be stupendous. He could be Rosenbaum's twin but Spall would do just as nicely as Rosenbaum himself.