Joseph Gordon-Levitt: 2012 Entertainers of the year

Nothing speaks to the heart of movies more than those first glimpses of a new star — a performer you’ve never seen before owning a scene in a way that gently whispers ”potential.” Whether he’s sitting quietly, gradually letting his words penetrate the heart of his bond with Bruce Wayne or using his extraordinary physical grace to fight in zero gravity or to effortlessly channel Bruce Willis’ every gesture, Joe is a performer who embodies the very idea of potential: Even as you’re wrapped up in his latest feat, there’s some part of your brain already wondering what he’ll do for his next trick. You can’t imagine what that might be — you’re waiting to find out, and you’re enjoying the first blush of a relationship with a performer who you feel will last and last. In Joe you’ve met a star who’s going to be your guide through emotional experiences for years to come, and that’s the magical human element that keeps us looking to the big screen with optimism and excitement. I’m told the girls think he’s pretty cute, too. —Christopher Nolan

Gordon-Levitt on
Starring in The Dark Knight Rises, Looper, Lincoln, and Premium Rush this year
”They all came out close to each other, but I didn’t make them close to each other. It’s sort of coincidental that two years of work ended up coming to movie theaters in the span of five months. I just do ’em one at a time.”

His crowdsource creative operation, hitRECord.org
”Whenever I’m in a movie, it brings exposure to hitRECord, and the contributions we get to our collaborative projects rise. This year, that effect was way more intense than it’s ever been. The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories Vol. 2 is out, and it has twice as many stories in it — because we got a ton more.”