9. Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper can thank the 2009 mega-hit comedy, The Hangover, for launching his career into the stratosphere. Until then, he had been kicking around the movie sidelines for nearly a decade, playing best friend style bit parts in rom-coms like Failure to Launch (2006) and Yes Man (2008). After The Hangover, Brad continued to keep it light for a couple of years, cashing in on his new found leading man status in action flick The A-Team (2010) and the so-bad-we-wish-we-could-forget-it-existed All About Steve (2009), which also featured fellow comic to dramatic transitioner, Sandra Bullock. What were they both thinking? But then, in 2012, Brad got serious, taking on the role of Pat Solitano, a bi-polar teacher in recovery and trying to win back his estranged wife in David O Russell's touching, Oscar winning film Silver Linings Playbook. The role earned an Oscar nomination for Bradley too and he followed up this success swiftly with further dramatic roles in Place Beyond the Pines (2012), American Hustle (2013) and of course, the stellar The Hangover III (2013). That was a joke about The Hangover III not being funny. Sorry.