Reflective of his artistry: Ben Foster names his five favourite movies of all time
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While the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Austin Butler and Jacob Elordi might hog the Hollywood limelight, there are countless actors behind the scenes who never get the praise they deserve, often even surpassing the quality of their supposed industry ‘superiors’. Ben Foster is one such star, an American performer who has never received his plaudits despite starring in some of the modern century’s finest movies.
Rising to fame at the turn of the new millennium, appearing as one of the lesser-known many who found fame on the TV show Freaks and Geeks, Foster steadily built his profile in the following years, with his stock rising dramatically when he appeared as Angel in the superhero sequel X-Men: The Last Stand. From 2006, any door was open for Foster in the industry, yet he consistently chose the most interesting route to stardom.
Favouring indie cinema over large blockbusters, following his time in the Marvel universe, Foster has proven himself as one of contemporary cinema’s most underrated dramatic actors, providing absorbing performances in such films as David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, David Mackenzie’s Hell or High Water and Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace.
His list of favourite movies he shared with Rotten Tomatoes reflects such eclectic tastes, too, choosing a range of films from different genres, tones and more, including John Cassavetes’ 1970 film Husbands. Critically beloved, Foster points to the “male camaraderie” in the film as one of his favourite aspects, with the movie telling the story of three married men who travel to London after the death of a shared friend.
From an indie classic to one of the late 20th century’s most celebrated comedy movies, Foster also mentions his love for 1979’s The Jerk, starring Steve Martin. “It’s wild. It’s a wild film,” Foster says of the film, “It’s the great American dream gone wrong. It’s Citizen Kane on its ass”. Subverting the ego of the American consciousness, Carl Reiner’s film follows a young man from the country who decides to experience life in the city.
Clearly a lover of Kubrick, Foster opts for his 1964 wartime satire Dr. Strangelove, starring Peter Sellers, as well as one of the director’s all-time favourite movies, Bob Fosse’s 1979 film All That Jazz. The existential semi-autobiographical musical about the life and career of Fosse himself was described by Kubrick as being the “best film I think I have ever seen”, according to Stanley Kubrick: A Biography by John Baxter.
And now for something completely different. Foster finishes his list of favourites off with Brad Bird’s 1999 animation The Iron Giant, starring the gruff voice work of Vin Diesel. An emotional favourite of young millennials across the world, Foster calls the film “pretty terrific”, adding: “When you’ve been on the road for a while, and you’re lonely… yeah, that film makes me cry. I love that movie”.
Ben Fosters’ favourite movies:
- All That Jazz (Bob Fosse, 1979)
- Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
- Husbands (John Cassavetes, 1970)
- The Iron Giant (Brad Bird, 1999)
- The Jerk (Carl Reiner, 1979)
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