2. Aaron Rolston - 127 Hours
People do a lot of stupid things in movies; they pass up the perfect girl, or they go off into the woods alone when they know a psycho killer is at large. In the majority of films, the audience finds themselves shouting "don't do that, you idiot" at the characters onscreen. What Aron Ralston does in 127 Hours is incredibly stupid. If you're going to go into the vast expanses of Utah to bike through canyons, go with somebody else, or at least let someone know. But while the audience initially pegs Aron as simply an irresponsible adventurer, Franco plays him so charmingly that we quickly forgive his brief lapse in judgment. In a film that is largely only Franco himself on screen in one static location, he manages to give Aron such vivaciousness with a desire to live and free himself from the rock he's lodged himself under that the entire 127 hours of his journey never feel stale.