Here are my top ten, with quotes from some of the best moments in their performances. There are some fairly significant
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meso97ts — 16 years ago(February 17, 2010 02:39 PM)
I can't narrow it down to a top 10, but here is a list of the 20 performances that, for whatever reason, have stayed with me through the years. The list is chronological.
- Eli Wallach - The Good The Bad And The Ugly - 1966
- Rod Steiger - In The Heat Of The Night - 1967
- Maggie Smith - The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie - 1969
- Dustin Hoffman - Midnight Cowboy - 1969
- George C. Scott - Patton - 1970
- Peter Sellers - Being There - 1979
- Ben Kingsley - Gandhi - 1982
- Al Pacino - Scarface - 1983
- F. Murray Abraham - Amadeus - 1984
- Whoopi Goldberg - The Color Purple - 1985
- Robin Williams - Dead Poet's Society - 1989
- Tom Hanks - Forrest Gump - 1994
- Burt Reynolds - Boogie Nights - 1997
- Johnny Depp - Pirates Of The Caribbean - 2003
- Jamie Fox - Ray! - 2004
- Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote - 2005
- Helen Mirren - The Queen - 2006
- Ioan Gruffudd - Amazing Grace - 2006
- Sean Penn - Milk - 2008
- Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight - 2008
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treedcub — 16 years ago(February 21, 2010 05:14 PM)
Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice
Charlize Theron in Monster
Hillary Swank in Boys Don't Cry
Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary People
Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People
Jack Nicholson in The Shining
Ben Kingsley in Ghandi (Or House of Sand and Fog)
Viggo Mortenson in Eastern Promises
Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane
Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront -
treedcub — 16 years ago(February 21, 2010 05:15 PM)
Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice
Charlize Theron in Monster
Hillary Swank in Boys Don't Cry
Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary People
Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People
Jack Nicholson in The Shining
Ben Kingsley in Ghandi (Or House of Sand and Fog)
Viggo Mortenson in Eastern Promises
Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane
Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront -
treedcub — 16 years ago(February 21, 2010 05:21 PM)
Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice
Charlize Theron in Monster
Hillary Swank in Boys Don't Cry
Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary People
Jack Nicholson in The Shining
Ben Kingsley in Ghandi (Or House of Sand and Fog)
Viggo Mortenson in Eastern Promises
Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane
Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront
Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
Honorable Mention:
Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People -
saybow69 — 16 years ago(February 21, 2010 06:27 PM)
I agree Hoffman great actor NO QUESTION! But i cant give him one of the best outstanding perfomances for this role, when pretty much unknown Toby Jones played him better or as good, i know you disagree. But many dont, so if you can have arguements over who he was played by better. That right there shows shouldnt be in top 10 let alone #3. Plus Daniel Craig was 100 times better as Perry Smith, so movie wasnt even better.
Penn in I Am Sam? Being a hyporite if i said Hanks was better then Penn in Forrest Gump, but just shows as with D. Hoffman also playing with a handicap and "My Left Foot" "Ray" etc. could go on and on, seems to be roles were you are handicap (blind), retarded (loony like Nicholson in "One Flew Over Cuckoos" WITCH BY FAR IS #1! HOW YOU THAT ROLE LEFT OFF? NO IDEA! But also played wierd in "As Good As It Gets", not even close to "Cukoos Nest" though) or gay man "Philadelphia" "Milk" etc awarded every yr as Tropic Thunder finally made fun of. Thank god!
So you gotta see the common theme in most of these great perfomances, 1 of those 3. Not all your list is like that, but alot on there and agree on a few. But no way "As Good As It Gets" ("Cuckoos Nest" way better!) and "I Am Sam" maybe if he played that role 30 yrs ago, but that bit was beat by then (Gump, Rainman, Awakenings etc) and movie sucked and not realistic at all, teachers or neighbors would have put a stop to that long ago, loved Forrest Gump (favorite movie) so not sure if thats why i think Hanks was better, cause movie so much better. So not sure if thats why? Will be honest, but threw out whole movie i didnt see Hanks, i saw Forrest and that`s all you can ask for. But those 3 roles are beat to death and awarded every yr? So cant be that hard if almost every big acter who plays that way is always being nominated. Deniro in "Awakenings" also good. Think Cruise was just as good as Dustin Hoffman, Hoffman was not that impressive nor was Penn, better in "MILK" (Gay, 1 of the 3 again). Cruise in "Born on 4th of July" should be on there (again handicap? ha, but he was great) we all just give to much credit to those 3 roles, and its not right, Cruise was brilliant though.
Dont know if this just male roles, but Kathy Bates in "Misery" or "Doloris Claibourne" (i liked better) deserve to be on list, but maybe just male list though. But gotta have Nicholson for Cuckoos Nest and Cruise for 4th of July more credit. Loved "Green Mile" but leaving off a Pacino (Godfather) and Deniro in any movie, but i loved him in "This Boys Life" (Great Movie and no credit) just hard to see M.C. Duncan in his 1st movie, even though good movie and neither one of those guys on list? But like i said i love P.S. Hoffman, but Capote was played just as good or at least darn close to same role, no way can he be #3? And Toby Jones isnt a huge star. Good list and all got different opinions, just find it odd its always 1 of thos 3 roles though, but "I Am Sam"? Fake and movie blew no matter how good he was, movie has to least be good. Agree on a few, but you gotta put Jack on there for "Cuckoos Nest" thats #1! and Nurse Ratched by Louise Fletcher might have been #1 for womens? So cant pass up that movie. Still good list though. -
abraz1-1 — 15 years ago(April 14, 2010 03:06 PM)
Great topic. This is kind of hard, but for now (IMO):
- Daniel Day Lewis- Gangs of New York
- Edward Norton- American History X
- Tom Cruise- Collateral
- Johnny Depp- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Bill Nighy- Pirates of the Caribben: Dead Man's Chest
- Edward Norton- Fight Club
- George Clooney- O' Brother Where Art Thou?
- Javier Bardem- No Country for Old Men
- Christoph Waltz- Inglourious Basterds
- Michael Keaton- Beetlejuice
Honorable mentions:
Geoffrey Rush- Pirates of the Caribbean
Christoph Waltz- Django Unchained
Daniel Day Lewis- There Will Be Blood
Russell Crowe- Gladiator
Joaquin Phoenix- Gladiator
Robert De Niro- Heat
Jack Nicholson- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Dustin Hoffman- Rain Man
Liam Neeson- Batman Begins
Christian Bale- Batman Begins
Denzel Washington- Training Day
Casey Affleck- The Assassination of Jesse James
Movies I still need to see (not limited to):
Saving Private Ryan
Magnolia
Capote
I Am Sam
The Green Mile
Traffic
Hotel Rwanda
Ray (2004)
The Aviator (2004)
Malcolm X
The Hurricane
A Beautiful Mind
Schindler's List
The Godfather
Raging Bull
Memento
Amistad
Mystic River
Miller's Crossing
Mulholland Dr.
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chicomary — 15 years ago(May 02, 2010 04:59 PM)
Some of the greatest performances:
Gary Sinise - Forrest Gump
Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man
Gregory Peck - To Kill a Mockingbird
Kurt Russell - Miracle
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
Jamie Foxx - Ray
David Strathairn - Good Night and Good Luck
Gary Sinise and John Malcovich - Of Mice and Men -
jeremysuckz — 15 years ago(July 10, 2010 12:13 PM)
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Marlon Brando - The Godfather
Jack Nicholson - The Shining
Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over The Cuckoo''s Nest
Brad Pitt - Fight Club
Edward Norton - American History X
Annette Benning - American Beauty
Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Ellen Burnstyn - Requiem For A Dream
Sean Penn - Milk -
bloodshot_sky — 15 years ago(July 22, 2010 11:52 AM)
1.Marlon Brando-On The Waterfront
2.Robert Deniro-Raging Bull
3.Daniel Day Lewis-There Will Be Blood
4.Jimmy Stewart-Mr.Smith Goes To Washington
5.Peter Otoole-Lawrence Of Arabia
6.Jack Nicholson-One Flew Over The cuckoos nest
7.Dustin Hoffman-Rain Man
8.Tom Hanks-Forrest Gump
9.Al Pacino-Heat
10-Tom Cruise-Collateral
The end of the world doesn't seem so bad now that you're here. -
blue-man44 — 15 years ago(August 15, 2010 10:14 AM)
In no particular order:
-Meryl Streep - Sophies Choice
-Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
-Ellen Burstyn - Requiem For A Dream
-Forest Whitaker - Last King of Scotland
-Philip Seymor Hoffman - Capote
-Emily Watson - Breaking the Waves
-Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man
-Jane Fonda - Klute
-Charlize Theron - Monster
-Marlon Brando - The Godfather
-Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose
-Holly Hunter - The Piano
-Jodie Foster - The Silence of the Lambs
-Patty Dukes - The Miracle Worker
-Kevin Spacey - American Beauty
-William Hurt - Kiss of the Spiderwoman
-Elizabeth Taylor - Who's Afraif of Virginia Woolf?
-Julie Christie - Away From Her
-Hilary Swank - Boys don't cry
-Julianne Moore - The Hours
-Christoph Waltz - Inglorious Basterds -
mckenna_eoghan — 15 years ago(August 30, 2010 09:43 PM)
Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood / Gangs of New York / My Left Foot
Al Pacino - Godfather I/II
De Niro - Godfather II Taxi Driver
Christian Bale - American Psycho / The Machinist
Jack Nicholsen - Chinatown / One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Casey Affleck - The Assasination of Jesse James / The Killer Inside Me
Guy Pearce - Memento
Peter Sellers - Dr. Strangelove
Orson Welles - Citezen Kane / The Third Man
Michael Madsen - Reservoir Dogs
Christoph Waltz - Inglorious Basterds
Clint Eastwood - Unforgiven
Steve Buscemi - Fargo / Reservoir Dogs
Bill Murray - Lost In Translation
Scarlett Johanson - Lost In Translation
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Magnolia / Doubt
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Sharon Stone - Casino
Brian Cox - Manhunter
Ian McShane - Al Swarengen
Viggo Mortensen - The Road
Joseph Gordon Levitt - Mysterious Skin
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
The whole cast of Glengarry Glen Ross, especially Jack Lemon.
And I think Di Caprio deserves an honourary mention with many great performances as Shutter Island, The Aviator, The Departed, Catch Me If You Can, Blood Diamond and Revolutionary Road. -
mustafa-ali-jani — 15 years ago(September 08, 2010 06:08 AM)
Here it goes
Adrien Brody - The Pianist
Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Anthony Hopkins - Silence Of The Lambs
Robert De Niro - Raging Bull
Sean Penn - Milk
Ben Kingsley - Sexy Beast
Jack Nicholson - The Shining
Dustin Hoffman - Wag The Dog
Marlon Brando - The Godfather
Nicolas Cage - Adaptation -
psychonoir89 — 15 years ago(September 23, 2010 09:45 AM)
Based on the films I've seen up to this point in my life, here are my Top 10:
- Vivien Leigh- Gone with the Wind
- Gloria Swanson- Sunset Boulevard
- Vivien Leigh- A Streetcar Named Desire
- Meryl Streep- Sophie's Choice
- Marlon Brando- The Godfather
- Daniel Day Lewis- My Left Foot
- Anthony Hopkins- The Silence of the Lambs
- Jack Nicholson- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Holly Hunter- Broadcast News
- Cate Blanchett- The Aviator
"I am big! It's the pictures that got small!"
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Samme7 — 14 years ago(April 24, 2011 09:50 AM)
In no particular order, top 10 leading male roles are:
Marlon Brando in "The Godfather",Robert De Niro in "Raging Bull", Paul Newman in "Cool Hand Luke", Al Pacino in "Dog Day Afternoon", Jack Nicholson in "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest", Edward Norton in "American History X", Robert De Niro in "Taxi Driver", Philllip Seymour Hoffman in "Capote", Daniel Day- Lewis in "My Left Foot", Terrance Howard in "Hustle & Flow".
Honorable Mentions as well as fantastic Cast Performances:
Cast of "Doubt"
Cast of "Dr. Strangelove"
Matt Damon and Robin Williams in "Goodwill Hunting"
Christian Bale in "Harsh Times"
Cast of "Apocolypse Now"
Cast of "The Godfather I and II"
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood"
John Travolta in "Blow Out"
Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler"
Anthony Hopkins in "The Silence of The Lambs"
Nicholas Cage in "Leaving Las Vegas"
Marlon Brando in "On the Waterfront"
Denzel Washington in "Training Day"
3 actors Are always good in almost every movie, but dont have many roles that stand out:
Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman, Johnny Depp.
Keep in mind There are a lot of very old performances I left out, because they somehow don't compare.