Here's what Judi Dench, Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Denzel Washington have in common

It would be a spectacular party should Judi Dench, Brad Pitt, Samuel Jackson, Denzel Washington, and Anthony Hopkins come together to celebrate their birthday month under one roof. We’re down to December and it’s time for a movie list that celebrates the stellar actors born this month. Featuring a host of spectacular Sagittarians as well as cool Capricorns, here’s a list that features the best. It’s time to hit the play button!

Judi Dench (December 9)

There are stars and then there are actors; and Judi Dench, who has left us in awe of her acting chops for more than 50 fantastic years, is certainly an actor, and a brilliant one at that. One of her roles that we truly cherish is her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love. She might have come on screen only for a little less than 10 minutes, but it was more than enough for Dench to win her first Academy Award for her supporting role. She exudes royalty and never fails to show her disgust towards her subjects who try their best to suck up to her. Safe to say, it is a performance that reminds us why she continues to be at the top of her game. 

It’s hard to imagine the James Bond franchise without M, 007’s superior at MI6. Legend says that Dench only took up the role because her late husband told her, “I long to live with a Bond woman”. Starting with Golden Eye in 1995, to Skyfall in 2012, Dench has played M in as many as eight movies. Maybe M needs her own spin-off series, because, to be honest, that’s how awesome Judi Dench is. 

Jennifer Connelly (December 12)

While we all remember Russell Crowe as the brilliant mathematician in A Beautiful Mind, one couldn’t help but notice Connelly, who played the role of his wife, Alicia Nash. Despite being a supporting character, her performance was impressive enough for her to bag the 2002 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. While Crowe is the brains, Connelly is all heart in this film as she brings immense depth to her character.

However, the film that made the world really take notice of the actor and realise that she’s more than just a pretty face, is Requiem For A Dream, where she plays the role of a drug addict who’s in a relationship with an addict, whose life is spiraling. We see how her collapse leads her down the world of prostitution, as she tries to support her habit. She truly has given it her all. 

Jamie Foxx (December 13)

Ray is the crown jewel in Foxx’s filmography. A performance that makes you believe that no one, but him could have played the role of the blind singer Ray Charles. This biopic brings out the best in Foxx as it showcases the musician’s drug habits and failed relationships in its entirety. No prize for guessing that Foxx, who, we think, was born to play this role, deservedly won the award for Best Actor, his very first Oscar, at the 77th Academy Awards.

Another film that has Foxx’s imprint all over it is Django Unchained. If you want to see the actor at his most heroic and badass best, watching him as a slave who’s on a mission to slay a plantation owner is a thrilling watch to say the very least. 

Brad Pitt (December 18)

Where does one even begin when it comes to the brilliant Brad Pitt? With his charm and talent, he truly is a sight for sore eyes. I think most cinephiles would certainly rank Fight Club and Inglorious Basterds at the top of the list. The former is a cult film, and Pitt is one of the reasons for it. He, as Tyler Durden, is charming, and violent and unhinged at the same time. Such is his aura that Jack (Edward Norton) wishes that he could be Tyler (no spoilers here), and he isn’t the only one, to be honest, for we all wish that we could be as awesome as Pitt.

Just like in Fight Club, Pitt’s swag is in full display in Inglourious Basterds. He, as the Nazi-killing Aldo Raine, with his Southern accent and cigar in mouth, is an absolute treat from the start to the end. Be it his first dialogue—‘We’re gonna be doin’ one thang, and one thang only. Killin’ Nazis!’ or his last—‘I think this just might be my masterpiece’, as he slices a Swastika into the enemy’s forehead, Pitt is an absolute scene stealer. 

Samuel Jackson (December 21)

Action, comedy, uniting the Avengers, Samuel Jackson can do it all. At 73, the man’s still going strong giving one memorable performance after another. Our favourite films of him include A Time to Kill, one of the best legal thrillers ever made. Jackson played Carl Lee, a coloured man who takes matters in his own hands and gets himself a verdict away from death. Despite knowing exactly what happened, getting an insight into his mind and the reason for his deeds makes one realise his helplessness and why he’s on the right side of the law. It’s a powerful film that features a very powerful performance.

But the Jackson film that takes the cake is Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece Pulp Fiction. Playing the hitman-turned-philosopher Jules Winnfield with the jerry curl and handlebar moustache, Jackson aces every scene he’s in with a host of iconic dialogues and monologues. 

Denzel Washington (December 28)

Since his debut in the 80s, Denzel Washington has delivered some of the most iconic films of all time. It has been an absolute treat to watch him. Each performance makes you marvel how effortless he is. Malcom X, a biopic that sees him as the civil rights leader, remains his finest work till date. We can’t help watching him, the underdog, transform from a prisoner to a preacher, leader and eventually a martyr. It’s a story that shows us how magnetic and powerful this actor can be in front of camera. 

While the world marvels at the countless real-life and fictional heroes played by Washington on screen, it was his role of a villain (Detective Alonzo Harris) in Training Day that earned him his first Academy Award for Best Actor. Set over a 24-hour period, the film revolves around Ethan Hawke as Jake, a young LAPD narcotics officer assigned to Harris. Jake discovers that Harris is corrupt and he is forced into committing crime that he doesn't want to. If there was a way to display his acting range, Washington, as the corrupt, yet charming and confident, Alonzo Harris in the police force, shows exactly how it’s done. 

Anthony Hopkins (December 31)

The last day of the year sees the world celebrate the birthday of one of the greatest actors alive. He is indeed a name synonymous with excellence and perfection. Thanks to him, we have one of the most iconic cinematic villains of all time in the form of Hannibal Lecter, the cannibalistic serial killer, in The Silence of the Lambs. His terrifying demeanour, along with the stellar direction and script, is why this film is a cut above the rest in its genre. The film won an Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and, you guessed it right, Best Actor. Each time you watch it, you’ll see a different side of Lecter that you never saw before. 

Another one of his films that stands out and also sees him win another Oscar for Best Actor is The Remains of the Day. Here, he plays a hardworking and loyal butler at an English country estate during the beginning of World War II, only to realise that his loyalties may lie elsewhere. It’s a reserved, yet powerful performance by an actor who is a bonafide legend in the world of cinema.