Ben Foster: Actor Extraordinaire

I realized today that Ben Foster is one of the youngest, most underrated actors that's been acting within the past 15 years. I will even go as far as to say that he may be one of the best actors today. I watched a film called The Messenger today where Foster plays an Army Staff Sergeant, returning from Iraq, assigned to the Casualty Notification service. The film depicts his inner strife at losing friends on the battlefield, and his newly assigned role as the one to shatter the worlds of soldiers' families and loved ones as the bearer of the grievous news. He soon begins a relationship with a young widowed mother he notifies about the death of her husband.

Foster possesses such strong onscreen presence and a dynamic acting range that only gets better with every role. I believe that the core of his outstanding acting lies in his dedication to whatever character he is portraying and his ability to constantly and flawlessly physically alter himself for various roles. In Alpha Dog, he put glaucoma drops in his eyes in order to look like a drug user, while in The Punisher, he is incredibly thin with numerous facial piercings. Ironically enough, Foster simply shines on screen, especially in his darker roles; and he's had a few dark toned films. In 30 Days of Night Foster is almost unrecognizable as a tormented, weathered stranger who has a sick obsession with aiding the evil vampires that seek to wipe out the town. In Hostage, Foster plays a dark and twisted serial killer with long dark hair, and a sinister and piercing stare. 

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