5 Most Prolific Actors of 2013

There’s always those names that seem to be attached to every movie in any given year. Last year we saw Bryan Cranston appear in seven different movies while balancing his duties as Walter White over on the AMC network. Lately, it has seemed like Benedict Cumberbatch has been in every single movie (more on this later), which prompted me to look into this year’s most prolific actor.

It got a little hazy when I did my research because movies are sometimes categorized differently, but I am trying to base the results on U.S. theatrical releases. Therefore, I did my best to wade through the release dates and come up with the five actors with the most credits in 2013.

Here are the results:

I felt like I needed to include Melissa Leo in order to include a woman and to give her credit for something that almost was. Since her role in Lee Daniels’ The Butler was deleted, she appeared in a Lifetime movie (Call Me Crazy: A Five Film), and both The Angriest Man in Brooklyn and I Fought the Law were pushed to 2014, she was so close to having 7 credits. Still, she managed to appear in 5 movies (Olympus Has Fallen, Oblivion, Prisoners, A Single Shot, and Charlie Countryman), making her an admirable candidate.

I’m actually surprised Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t number 1 on this list. I loved his turn as (spoiler coming) Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness and felt like I was continually reporting his name in every news post this year. That’s probably because he had two different movies (12 Years a Slave and The Fifth Estate) release on October 18th with two more coming out between those two and Christmas (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and August: Osage County). If you count his narrating gig for Jerusalem, his credits would climb to 6. Overall, I think he’s had the biggest roles in each of the movies, making his year still in contention for the number 1 overall.

Forest Whitaker has had a similar year to Cumberbatch in that his schedule has been very backloaded. He was credited in one movie early in the year (The Last Stand) with three from October to December (Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Black Nativity, and Out of the Furnace). He also appeared in a movie you probably haven’t heard of (me neither) in Pawn. If I counted his French movie Zulu, his number would reach to 6; however, it hasn’t released in the U.S. so I didn’t deem it eligible.

Paul Giamatti’s name was another one that popped up in my head before I started actually doing the research. Giamatti’s roles have been both leading (All is Bright) and supporting (Parkland), but his 7 credits are very impressive. He’s also appeared in John Dies at the End, Turbo (as a voice obviously), Romeo and Juliet, 12 Years a Slave, and the upcoming Saving Mr. Banks. The unfortunate part has been the critical reception to his movies, with most of them appearing to be duds. Still, Giamatti is an underrated actor and deserves a significant amount of praise.

Now that I know James Franco is the winner for Most Prolific Actor of 2013, it makes a whole lot of sense. Not only has Franco appeared in 8 movies with releases in the U.S. this year, but he’s also credited as director in 2 of them (As I Lay Dying and Sal). His other credits include the well-known turns in Oz: The Great and Powerful, Spring Breakers, and This is the End. He also has appeared in The Iceman, Lovelace, and the upcoming Homefront. If you count his projects without a release date (Interior. Leather Bar., Child of God, and Third Person), his total would be even larger.

Others worth mentioning are: Woody Harrelson, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Nick Offerman, Zoe Saldana, Louis CK, and Terrance Howard. Who else do you think has had a good year in 2013?

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