Answer for Mince Meat

Mince Meat writes:

Growing up, some of my favorite comedic actors were Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Ben Stiller and Chris Rock. A new crop of actors are starting to come in and make consistently funny movies. Who do you think the top 5 comedic actors are right now? Obviously some of the ones I listed are still current and can be used if you feel they're still in the top 5. Thanks, Bod

I wouldn't consider any of these actors the top 5 comedic actors any more. Jim Carrey is still great, but he mostly does for-realsies movies now and hasn't been in a good comedy in quite some time (crossing our fingers for The Three Stooges). Adam Sandler is a joke. Perhaps Funny People will be good, but that's his only chance at getting back on top of the comedy game without screaming, "Yippidy Doo" at people. Chris Farley is RIP. Mike Myers did The Love Guru. Ben Stiller knows what funny is, but he himself is not all that funny. And I don't know why Chris Rock is still so angry, he's really rich. Comedy is a game that is hard to stay on top of. The top comedian actors go in and out like a revolving door (thanks Crazy Town), and it is rare for the same actor to be the best for a long period of time. With that in mind, I give you my current top 5.

5. Will Ferrell. As little as a year ago he probably would have been higher on this list, but he hasn't made much as of late. However, he helped bring about a whole new bunch of comedians into the game, and The Land of the Lost looks fantastic. He consistently plays the same character, but he plays that character down to the t, and it never gets old.

4. Danny McBride. Like a younger, more white trash version of Will Ferrell, his stock has been on the rise since Will Ferrell saw The Foot Fist Way. Since then he has had terrific roles in Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder, as well as being the lead in the hilarious HBO show Eastbound and Down, of which he is also a writer. Coming up, he is a co-star in the aforementioned The Land of the Lost, and I also hear we may be seeing him fight a minotaur sometime in the future. That sounds fantastic.

3. Seth Rogen. The ubiquitous comedy actor has been on a role lately, and everything he is in is hilarious and a box-office success. However, now that he is thin in preparation for his role in The Green Hornet, he is not nearly as funny. Fat is way funnier than skinny, and you can take that to the bank and cash it.

2. Jason Segel. I've enjoyed the work of Jason Segel ever since his role as a sex-feend in Slackers, and although there was a rather large gap between that role and his current streak of successful movies and television shows, he has only gotten stronger. He was terrific in Knocked Up. He was terrific in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. And he was terrific in I Love You, Man. Plus, anyone who is willing to show their fat naked body to millions of people is ok by me.

1. Paul Rudd. Although Paul Rudd has only recently become an A-list comedic actor, his dues have long been paid and he is now reeking the benifits. He is not only #1 on this list because he is indeed hilarious, but because of his ability to work with all the different big comedy factions. He is able to go seemlessly between smaller films and "gigs" with the boys of Wet Hot American Summer (not including Wain's Role Models, which was indeed big), to movies with the Ferrell squad, and now more recently with the Apatow gang, and he is terrific in them all.

I probably didn't think of some people, so if you have additions or would like to argue the order of my top 5, feel free to do so in the comments section.