Top ten Greatest Actor Performances
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lazerblitz — 18 years ago(December 13, 2007 10:05 PM)
WellI'm really of the opinion that Worst Performances belongs in a completely separate thread, but I'll bite this time:
(once again, in no particular order)
John Wayne - The Conqueror (I agree 100%. One of the worst performances EVER in the history of filmdom, IMO.)
Jeff Goldblum - Earth Girls Are Easy
Nicolas Cage & Angelina Jolie - Gone In Sixty Seconds (I'm still not sure whose acting was the worst amongst the two, so both of them get a Razzberry for this turkey of a film. See the original Gone In Sixty Seconds instead, if possible. The 40+ min. car chase scene at the end of film is breathtaking.)
Wings Hauser - The Defense of Firebase Gloria
Casper Von Dien - Shark Attack
Kevin Costner - Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves (Makes me want to drive 12 inch needle spikes into my eyes & ears)
Keanu Reeves - Bram Stoker's Dracula (an emu with birth defects could out-act Reeves.)
Jean-Claude Van Damme - Double Impact (A double helping of crappiness!)
Burt Reynolds - Stroker Ace
John Travolta - Battlefield Earth
I'm really trying my best here to keep from speaking ill of the dead. There are lots of other performances from older actors that came to mind, but I'm just far too polite to list them here.
Honorable Mentions:
Matthew McConaughey - The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (three words: remote control leg)
Mario Van Peebles - Heartbreak Ridge
Everett McGill - The People Under The Stairs
Arnold Schwarzenegger - The Running Man (Did ANYONE making this film EVER bother to READ THE #@$%@#% SHORT STORY!?!)
Kate Beckinsale - Van Helsing
Bill Cosby - Leonard Part 6
Ice-T - Johnny Mnemonic
William H. Macy - Wild Hogs
Rutger Hauer - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Tom Laughlin - The Trial of Billy Jack
Booty TimeBooty TimeAcross The U.S.AAAA!
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HelloCarol509 — 18 years ago(February 17, 2008 09:02 PM)
For the 10 Best in no particular order:
- Paul Newman (The Hustler)
- Al Pacino (The Godfather Part II)
- Clint Eastwood (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)
- Peter Finch (Network)
- Martin Landau (Crimes and Misdemeanors)
- Peter Sellers (Dr. Strangelove)
- George C. Scott (Patton)
- Edward Norton (American History X- 25th Hour- Fight Club)
- Robert Duvall (Lonesome Dove)
- Robert Deniro (Taxi Driver)
"Walk down the right back-alley in Sin City, and you can find anything."
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andy-todd-1 — 17 years ago(April 17, 2008 03:58 PM)
Pyro - great call on Robert Duvall. That is a great mini-series based on a fantasic book. Many great performances but Duvall's is the most exceptional.
Many great actors listed in these posts. Sometimes hard to pick their best performance.
I'll nominate:
Liam Neeson for Rob Roy (liked Schindlers List better, but his performance in RRoy seemed more memorable).
Another poster had William Hurt for A History of Violence. I think he has had better performances in Body Heat, Broadcast News or Children of a Lesser God.
Russell Crowe for A Beautiful Mind. He won an Oscar, I think, for Gladiator. But I thought his performances were better in Beautiful Mind and The Insider. -
kag2-1 — 17 years ago(August 09, 2008 09:43 AM)
Haven't seen enough movies (particularly oldies) to pick a top ten, but here are some good leads from oldies (pre-1970) and more recent films in no particular order.
Leading Actor - Oldies
1-Marlon Brando (Streetcar Named Desire)
2-Frederick March (Inherit the Wind)
3-Spencer Tracy (Inherit the Wind)
4-Paul Newman (The Hustler or Cool Hand Luke)
5-Rod Steiger (Heat of the Night, The Pawnbroker)
6-Peter Sellers (Dr. Strangeglove)
7-Humphrey Bogart (Treasure of Sierra Madre)
8-Ray Milland (Lost Weekend)
9-Burt Lancaster (Elmer Gantry)
10-Frank Sinatra (Man with a Golden Arm)
Leading Actor - since 1970
1-George C. Scott (Patton)
2-Dustin Hoffman (Rainman)
3-Robert Duvall (The Apostle)
4-Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest, Chinatown)
5-Jack Lemmon (Glengarry Glen Ross, Save the Tiger)
6-Jamie Foxx (Ray)
7-Robert DeNiro (Raging Bull)
8-Al Pacino (Godfather II)
9-Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
10-Roberto Begnini (Life is Beautiful)
Also, some great Supporting Actors: Robert DeNiro (Godfather II), George C. Scott (The Hustler), John Houseman (Paper Chase), Martin Landau (Tucker), John Casale (Godfather II), Alec Baldwin (Glengarry Glen Ross), Joe Peschi (Goodfellas), Walter Huston (Treasure of Sierra Madre), George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke), Al Pacino (Dick Tracy)
Of course, the subject is highly debatable. -
anicavictor — 17 years ago(April 07, 2008 01:03 PM)
David Carradine - Kill Bill
Henry Fonda - 12 Angry Men
Gene Hackman - The Conversation
Marlon Brando - Apocalypse Now
Gregory Peck - To Kill A Mockingbird
Clint Eastwood - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Marcello Mastroianni - 8 1/2
Roberto Benigni - La Vita E Bella
Morgan Freeman - Shawshank Redemption
Kevin Spacey - American Beauty -
TylerDD — 17 years ago(October 04, 2008 11:59 PM)
my top 10:
Marlon Brando - Last Tango in Paris
Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's nest or The Shining
Robert De Niro - Taxi Driver
Al Pacino - Dog Day Afternoon
Dustin Hoffman - Straw Dogs
Steeve McQueen - Papillon
Paul Newman - Cool Hand Luke
Kirk Douglas - Paths of Glory
Emily Watson - Breaking The Waves
Peter Sellers - Dr. Strangelove
Honorable mention:
Michael Caine - Sleuth
Vincent D'Onofrio - Full Metal Jacket
Max Von Sydow - Hour of The Wolf or Three Days of Condor
Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Isbella Huppert - The Piano Teacher
Henry Fonda - Once Upon A Time in the West
Cline Eastwood - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly or Dirty Harry
Gene Hackman - The Conversation or The French Connection
John Malkovich - Being john Malkovich
Toshiro Mifune - Throne of Blood
Takashi Shimura - Ikiru
Peter FInch - Network
Ellen Burstyn - Requiem For A Dream
Matthew Broderick - Ferris Bueller's Day Off or The Election
Amrish Puri - Ghatak -
jimmy_miller — 17 years ago(October 06, 2008 01:49 PM)
I don't feel I've seen enough to make a list of the greatest ones, so I'll give some sort of an honored list, or maybe a few that just haven't been mentioned yet.
Mickey Rourke - The Pope of Greenwich Village (Hearing good things about The Wrestler, too)
Viggo Mortensen & David Morse - The Indian Runner (Penn's greatest film)
Ed Harris - A History of Violence (Hurt was great, but Harris was even better)
James Coburn - Cross of Iron / Affliction (Didn't see his name yet, intense guy)
Warren Beatty - Bugsy/Bulworth (Two whacky, wild performances from this heart-throb)
John Goodman - The Big Lebowski (Shut the F up, Donnie! Best comedic performance maybe of all-time)
Jack Nicholson - Reds (The ultimate Nicholson can be found in much more energetic performances, but the subdued portrayal of O'Neal is one of his most interesting)
Kris Kristofferson - Heaven's Gate (No comment)
Robert Redford - All the President's Men (I believe this is Redford's best work)
Charles Grodin - Midnight Run (Co-starring Robert De Niro, highly recommended)
There were a couple of actors where I couldn't decide between a performance so I gave both a nod.