Last week, we kicked off the 2009 Fanboy Awards with the top 10 women of the year. This week it's the men's turn.
10. Robert Pattinson: I'll be straight with you. I have a serious dislike for anything "Twilight." But there's no denying the impact that Pattinson has had on Team Edward. (His character in the series.) Granted it's mostly teens and soccer moms, but still.
9. Matt Damon: Garnering critical acclaim for his role as a pathological liar and government whistleblower in "The Informant!," Damon also is turning heads in the recently released "Invictus."
8. Alec Baldwin: In a year when Baldwin won his second Emmy in a row for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Jack Donaghy on NBC's "30 Rock," Baldwin made the biggest news when he announced that he could be done with acting. "I don't have any interest in acting anymore," he told Men's Journal. "I'm not young, but I have time to do something else." We'll miss ya, Alec.
7. Conan O'Brien: On May 29, the red-headed Irish giant that is Conan took over "The Tonight Show" duties from a departing Jay Leno. Since then he has gone on to do quite well against his late night opponent David Letterman and has drawn much better ratings than Leno's new 10 p.m. show. But in fairness, Leno was also beaten by a SpongeBob special a few months back.
6. Seth MacFarlane: After launching a new series on Fox, "The Cleveland Show," getting his own primetime special and continuing his animation domination with "Family Guy," MacFarlane is one step away from owning the network.
5. Joel McHale: There's no way that NBC's "Community" isn't the best new show on TV. A lot of the reason for that is because of McHale. The former stand-up comic and current host of the E! Network's "Talk Soup" is terrific as disgraced lawyer Jeff Winger in this top notch community college comedy.
4. Harvey Levin: Since its inception in 2005, uber-gossip site TMZ has been consistently breaking the biggest celebrity news. Managing editor Levin saw TMZ scoop everyone on stories from Tiger Woods' "transgressions" to Rihanna's domestic dispute to the death of Michael Jackson. It was a busy year in celebrity land and Levin's gang had it well in hand.
3. Tony Shalhoub: Strange to have someone on this list who gets there by stopping something but with our favorite obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk, strange comes with the territory. Shalhoub leaves USA's "Monk" behind after eight seasons, drawing the biggest exit ever with 9.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched adieu ever on basic cable. We'll miss you Mr. Monk.
2. James Cameron: Mega-director James Cameron spent 2009 perfecting one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, ("Avatar," out in theaters today) and along the way invented an entirely new form of special effects. The "Avatar" technology could be the best thing in film since the invention of CGI.
1. Don Draper: Everywhere you turn, retro is in. At the bars, martinis are all the rage. The suit is the most fashionable piece of clothing for even younger generations. We can keep going. It's for these reasons that a fictional character, the star of AMC's "Mad Men," is number one on this list since it's mostly because of him and AMC's Emmy winning series that those other things are happening. (I guess we have to thank Jon Hamm too since he is the actual human who plays him.)
Next week, we wrap things up with the top TV shows and films of the year.
10. Robert Pattinson: I'll be straight with you. I have a serious dislike for anything "Twilight." But there's no denying the impact that Pattinson has had on Team Edward. (His character in the series.) Granted it's mostly teens and soccer moms, but still.9. Matt Damon: Garnering critical acclaim for his role as a pathological liar and government whistleblower in "The Informant!," Damon also is turning heads in the recently released "Invictus."
8. Alec Baldwin: In a year when Baldwin won his second Emmy in a row for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Jack Donaghy on NBC's "30 Rock," Baldwin made the biggest news when he announced that he could be done with acting. "I don't have any interest in acting anymore," he told Men's Journal. "I'm not young, but I have time to do something else." We'll miss ya, Alec.
7. Conan O'Brien: On May 29, the red-headed Irish giant that is Conan took over "The Tonight Show" duties from a departing Jay Leno. Since then he has gone on to do quite well against his late night opponent David Letterman and has drawn much better ratings than Leno's new 10 p.m. show. But in fairness, Leno was also beaten by a SpongeBob special a few months back.6. Seth MacFarlane: After launching a new series on Fox, "The Cleveland Show," getting his own primetime special and continuing his animation domination with "Family Guy," MacFarlane is one step away from owning the network.
5. Joel McHale: There's no way that NBC's "Community" isn't the best new show on TV. A lot of the reason for that is because of McHale. The former stand-up comic and current host of the E! Network's "Talk Soup" is terrific as disgraced lawyer Jeff Winger in this top notch community college comedy.
4. Harvey Levin: Since its inception in 2005, uber-gossip site TMZ has been consistently breaking the biggest celebrity news. Managing editor Levin saw TMZ scoop everyone on stories from Tiger Woods' "transgressions" to Rihanna's domestic dispute to the death of Michael Jackson. It was a busy year in celebrity land and Levin's gang had it well in hand.
3. Tony Shalhoub: Strange to have someone on this list who gets there by stopping something but with our favorite obsessive-compulsive detective Adrian Monk, strange comes with the territory. Shalhoub leaves USA's "Monk" behind after eight seasons, drawing the biggest exit ever with 9.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched adieu ever on basic cable. We'll miss you Mr. Monk.2. James Cameron: Mega-director James Cameron spent 2009 perfecting one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, ("Avatar," out in theaters today) and along the way invented an entirely new form of special effects. The "Avatar" technology could be the best thing in film since the invention of CGI.
1. Don Draper: Everywhere you turn, retro is in. At the bars, martinis are all the rage. The suit is the most fashionable piece of clothing for even younger generations. We can keep going. It's for these reasons that a fictional character, the star of AMC's "Mad Men," is number one on this list since it's mostly because of him and AMC's Emmy winning series that those other things are happening. (I guess we have to thank Jon Hamm too since he is the actual human who plays him.)
Next week, we wrap things up with the top TV shows and films of the year.
