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Top 10 Julianne Moore

Hot on the heels of her performance in Tom Ford's debut, A Single Man, we pay tribute to Julianne Moore. She has had lead and supporting roles in some truly era-defining films and has enjoyed uniterrupted critical and commercial success ever since Boogie Nights. Always choosing great projects, she's clearly got an eye for a great script. We salute this most consistent of actresses.

Her Top 10 Films

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

It may not have had the awards success of its predecessor (Jurassic Park racked up 3 Oscars) but this 1997 blockbuster cemented Moore’s Hollywood status. Steven Spielberg originally approached Juliette Binoche for the role of Sarah Harding but when she turned it down Moore won the part.

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Boogie Nights (1997)

Moore picked up her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Boogie Nights. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood) the film is a fictional look at the porn industry in the 70s and 80s. After considering the likes of Patricia Arquette, Melanie Griffith, Meg Ryan and Brooke Shields, the role of porn star Amber Waves ultimately went to Moore.

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The Big Lebowski (1998)

It took Julianne Moore just two weeks to film her role of Maude Lebowski, The Big Lebowski's daughter. Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, the film wasn’t a commercial success (it made just$17 million in the United States from a budget of $15m). However, it has become a cult classic, largely thanks to Jeff Bridges iconic character, The Dude

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The End Of The Affair (1999)

Originally Miranda Richardson and Kristin Scott Thomas were considered for the role of Sarah Miles, but Julianne Moore wanted it so badly that she wrote to director Neil Jordan asking for the part. It did the trick. Her performance won her a second Oscar nomination, this time for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Based on the 1951 novel by Graham Greene, the film also stars Ralph Fiennes and Stephen Rea.

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Magnolia (1999)

During the editing of Boogie Nights, director Paul Thomas Anderson began working on Magnolia. He wrote the part of Linda Partridge for Julianne Moore and enlisted his usual cast of actors (John C Reilly, Philip Seymour Hoffman) and also persuaded Tom Cruise to star as a troubled motivational speaker (after Cruise originally said he was nervous about taking the part). The film was nominated for three Oscars.

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Hannibal (2001)

When Anthony Hopkins confirmed his involvement in Hannibal, all eyes were on Jodie Foster to see if she would reprise the role of Clarice Starling. When she declined, competition was inevitably fierce. Julianne Moore beat the likes of Gillian Anderson, Cate Blanchett and Hilary Swank to get the part. Critically the film failed to live up to its past successes, but it did go on to take $350million dollars worldwide.

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The Hours (2002)

Even though the star of The Hours was Oscar winner Nicole Kidman (and her prosthetic nose) ,. Julianne Moore’s performance also earned her an Oscar nod for supporting actress. Originally an older actress played Moore’s character, Laura Brown. However, director Stephen Daldry didn’t like the outcome and Moore was drafted in and aged with make-up to re-shoot the scenes.

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Far from Heaven (2002)

Writer and director Todd Haynes (Velvet Goldmine) made Far from Heaven in the style of a 50s films, by filming with angles and colour palettes from that era. The role of Cathy Whitaker – a 1950s housewife whose perfect life starts to fall apart – got Julianne Moore her fourth Oscar nomination. Moore – who is married to director and scriptwriter Bart Freundlich – was pregnant with her second child during filming.

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Children Of Men (2006)

For the role of Julian Taylor, director Alfonso Cuarón looked for an actress who had ‘credibility of leadership, intelligence and independence.’ He certainly got that with Moore, who plays the ex-wife of Clive Owen. Watch out for the innuendos and political references in the film, including graffiti by Banksy and certain song choices for the soundtrack.

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A Single Man (2010)

Based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood, A Single Man marked the directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford and sees Moore playing a lonely, needy and borderline alcoholic divorcee. Her onscreen character believes heterosexual marriage has more value than any gay partnership, yet Moore herself is a long-time supporter of gay marriage and parenting. The actress received a Golden Globe nomination for this supporting role opposite Colin Firth’s grief stricken English Literature Professor, George Falconer.

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Tegan Kniveton