Lena Olin

Alias had everything I look for in a tv show; fighting, espionage, costumes, world travel, awkward tension, secret lives...I didn't even realise that season 1 was missing something until season 2 came around and they added the psychotic Irina Derevko aka Laura Bristow or spy-mom to the true alias geeks over at twop *cough*. How did they introduce her you ask? Oh like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2cR71nx9fU

Yes, that would be Sydney. Her daughter. Lena Olin as the most badass Russian double agent to appear on tv made season 2 of Alias some of the best tv ever. EVER. Later family scenes between Irina, Sydney and Jack were classic, and even when the show lost all sense of what it was trying to do in the later seasons, any episode with Lena Olin in it was immediately awesome.

Like say... when she kills people with no hesitation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8jzs2oaTPw

Bad. Ass.

I'm focusing on Alias here because that's where I know her, and I would completely typecast her as Irina-esque characters because why waste greatness like that? That said, her imdb page is extensive and she is no doubt a great actress.

She's also 53 and I don't hate her. That's right, her greatness even combats my 'I hate old people' agenda. One of the few Olin, one of the few.

Holly Robinson Peete

I only know her from her role as Vanessa in Hangin with Mr Cooper in the 90's, but she was obviously a good enough actress to be included on the Cast List otherwise I wouldn't remember her. She had great comic timing, and I always thought she made the other lead woman that lived in the house (her name had something to do with Switzerland...Geneva?) appear really poor acting-wise in comparison. This may have been because the other woman was meant to be really uptight in contrast to Vanessa, I dont know. Either way Holly Robinson (she wasn't Peete back then) was the best actor out of the cast. Raven Symone was also in this show, but the less said about her the better. Looking at her resume...she's out of work- her last two projects were for TV, one of which was called Football Wives.

Sarah Buxton

Otherwise known as the Queen of Sunset Beach. I'm actually surprised Mojo didn't beat me to adding her, because I possess nowhere near the level of appreciation for Sarah Buxton that Mojo does. Having said that, I did watch a dodgy film with Buxton and someone who appeared to look like Alyssa Milano. The film may have been dodgy, but at least it showcased Buxton's acting skills- I will say they were comparable to Famke's in Model By Day, but even more cringeworthy. Despite that, Buxton is included in the Cast List for her pantomime villain expertise and not actual acting ability. Surprisingly she actually starred in a film this year called Japan, and she'll be in a film with Ashton Kutcher in 2009 called Spread. But her resume is looking pretty sparse, and judging by photo's of her on IMDB she definitely needs to shift back into the mainstream.

Mark Paul Gosselaar

The Jonathan Taylor Thomas entry got me thinking about my own favourite childhood shows, and reminded me of the one and only Zack Morris from Saved By The Bell! I preferred the original cast which included AC Slater, Kelly Kapowski, Jessie Spano, Screech and Lisa (I don't remember their surnames). I didn't have to google the cast by the way, its all stored in my memory. Impressive, I know. Anyway Zack was the best, despite his character being more comedic than dramatic I'm sure fellow watchers of Saved by the Bell will agree that Mark Paul Gosselaar did display genuine acting ability. Last I heard he was in NYPD Blue, which I believe is quite a solid acting gig but checking his recent stuff its all TV movies and a few appearances in various shows. I've thought about it and no other SBTB alumni are good enough to be on the Cast List, and no one else from shows such as Sister Sister, Hang Time, City Guys, Sweet Valley High, Clarissa Explains It All or California Dreams will make it either. An honourable mention does go out to Sly from California Dreams however.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Ah JTT... Home Improvements Randy Taylor, the very first of my TV boyfriends. I'm fairly ashamed to admit that Home Improvement was considered quality viewing when I was growing up, and that not only did we watch it weekly, but we laughed with Tim 'the Tool-man' Taylor and my brother and I knew no greater excitment than to see the eyes and hat of Wilson Wilson Jr. and claim we knew what he looked like. We did not.

What I do know though, is that Jonathan Taylor Thomas was not only enough of a fox to appeal to my 5-12 year old self (the show ran from 1991 - 1998; I can't pinpoint exactly when we started dating, but it happened) but that when JTT left to make horrible movies (you know who you are...) I watched them. And then I told myself that I liked them, and honestly, I think I liked JTT enough that I really did like them.

Then JTT left my television and went to Harvard. Harvard. To study history and philosophy which you know... meh.

His return to my life came through Ally McBeal, then some years later in Smallville and finally proving he really was just doing it for me, Veronica Mars. The Ally guest spot should have secured his place on the list all on its own, but come now, the voice of young simba should never be unemployed. Never.

Welcome to the cast JTT!

Famke Janssen

The Cast List Database had to kick off with the inclusion of Famke Janssen. Although her only leading role that I can think of is in Turn The River, I think her best performance was as Ava Moore in S2 of Nip/Tuck. She is included in the list on the basis of the X Men trilogy, Love and Sex, Eulogy, Dont Say a Word and The Treatment. The not yet released 100 Feet and Taken also look good, but I'll ignore The Wackness.

I am not going to specify a show that Famke will appear in because she can have starring/ recurring parts in everything everything renee that the production house of The Cast List makes. She is not actually out of work at the moment, and her stock may go up after Turn The River so maybe she wont want to work for us anyway.

To remind us all of the progress Famke has made as an actress, we need to watch this: