While the older end of Hollywood, including Bruse Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Michelle Pfeiffer and John Travolta, have all enjoyed box office success in 2007 there have also been some great breakthrough performances.Ben Foster kicks off our Breakthrough actor series after his great turn in Western box office hit 3:10 to Yuma.The twenty seven year old actor has an extensive resume since he dropped out of high school at the age of sixteen to move to Hollywood and pursue an acting career.Foster's progress was steady in the late nineties landing small roles in Kounterfeit and I've Been Waiting For You as well as the television series Flash Forward.His break came in 1999 when he was cast alongside Adrien Brody in Liberty Heights.Set in 1950 Liberty Heights is a semi-autobiographical account of writer/director Barry Levinson's childhood.
A string of movies followed including role in teen flick Get Over It, Big Trouble, Bang Bang, You're Dead and Hostage alongside Bruce Willis.
He then landed the recurring role of Russell Corwin in hit American television series Six Feet Under, appearing in twenty two episodes. He was part of the cast that won the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2004 at the Screen Actors Guild and nominated for the same award in 2005.
Bigger roles have come his way in the last couple of years as comic book hero Angel in X-Men: The Last Stand and more notably as a drug addict in Alpha Dog.
However it was his role in 2007's 3:10 to Yuma that really caught the audience's attention.
Foster starred alongside Christian Bale and Russell Crowe as the sociopathic Charlie Prince who leads Ben Wade's gang to rescue Wade after he is arrested.
Foster's performance was called 'mesmerising' by the Boston Globe and the cast pf 3:10 to Yuma have been nominated for the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Ben Foster will next be seen in Birds of America alongside Hilary Swank and Matthew Perry.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw