Stars Are Fans Too: How Their Colleagues' Work Inspired Their Careers

Quentin Tarantino cited Rocky. “Stallone’s whole experience of writing the screenplay and insisting on playing the lead” guided him on his career path.

For Jennifer Jason Leigh Dog Day Afternoon “changed my thinking as to what a film could do and what acting can be.

For Cate Blanchett it was Woman Under the influence. She had never seen a performance by an actress - Gena Rowlands- as “raw. I felt out of control watching it."

Ironically, Gugu Mbatha-Raw cited Blanchett’s performance in Elizabeth. “It was the first time I'd really seen such a multi-faceted performance from a woman playing a historical figure.” And that’s why she became an actress.

For Christian Bale it was David Thewlis’ performance in Mike Leigh’s Naked.

For Bob Odenkirk it was Jack Nicholson in director Hal Ashby's The Last Detail .

For Paul Bettany it was director Bob Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces. “I was a young wannabe actor, and I was blown away by Jack Nicholson.”

For Helen Mirren it was Antonioni’s L’avventura. “It made me think of film in a different way and Monica Vitti made me want to be a certain kind of film actress.”

For Bobby Cannavale it was Rebel Without a Cause. “Watching James Dean, I didn’t know that actors could act like that.”

For Leonardo DiCaprio it was Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver. “To watch that film as a young man was one of the more immersive experiences in the psyche of another individual.”