Most Memorable Acting Performances

[nateslate8]

Just some thoughts on some of the most unique movie roles ever created. I'm talking about the type of performances that are so unique and so defined by that actor that if ever redone, it will always be compared to that original performance. It's the kind of performance that turns a good movie into a great movie. I'm just basing it on movies I've actually seen and not on the reputation of certain movies. And it has to be parts I actually enjoyed.

And there is a tendency to exclude female performances in many of these "all-time lists" I've read, so I am making an attempt to include female performances, although admittedly I am weaker in that area. Here is my top ten in no particular order:

1. Val Kilmer- Doc Holiday, Tombstone
2. Johnny Depp- Jack Sparrow, Pirates..
3. Jack Nicholson- Jack Torrence, The Shining
4. Al Pacino- the devil, The Devil's Advocate (best Devil ever)
5. Joe Pesci- Tommy Devito, Goodfellas
6. Nicole Kidman- Satine, Moulin Rouge
7. Audry Hepburn- Eliza Doolittle, My Fair Lady
8. Christopher Reeves- Clark Kent/Superman, Superman movies (he IS Superman)
9. Ian Mckellen- Gandalf, Lord of the Rings
10. Harrison Ford- Han Solo, Star Wars trilogy


Honorable Mention and reason why they aren't on the list:
Lee Cobb, Juror #3, 12 Angry Men (didn't make the list because he was almost overshadowed by other great acting performances and then George C. Scott did a great job in that role in the remake, so it's not completely unique.)
Caroll Burnett, Mrs. Hannigan, Annie (Again, overshadowed by equally good performances)
Henry Fonda, the President, Fail Safe (not a big enough part)
Al Pacino, Joe Montana, Scarface (he's already on the list)
Jack Nicholson, Col. Nathan Jessep, A Few Good Men (already on the list)

Hadden Christensen, Anikin Skywalker, Star Wars
Halle Berry, Catwoman, CINO
J/K

So, what do you think?

[CaptainAwesome]

Ellen Burstyn- Chris MacNeil, The Excorcist
Kevin Spacey- Det. Sgt. Jack Vincennes, LA Confidential
Michael Cain- Alfie, Alfie
Jude Law- Jerome Eugene Morrow, GATTACA
Clint Eastwood- Harry Callahan, Dirty Harry

[rick]

Some outstanding performances by some great actresses.......

Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker in Bonnie & Clyde, plus she proably should be up there for Milady DeWinter, Evelyn Mulray & Joan Crawford too

Madeleine Khan as Lili Von Shtupp in Blazing Saddles

Diane Keaton as the doomed Theresa Dunn in Looking for Mister Goodbar


Some truly memorable performances for actors....

Roy Scheider as Joe Gideon in All That Jazz

Clint Eastwood as Josie Wales in the Outlaw Josie Wales

Peter Sellers as Clare Quilty in Lolita

[Armless Penguin]

Personally, I think Nicholson should be put on it for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest over The Shining, but that's just me.

I would like to nominate a couple younger perfomers and newer films and will throw out Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Mysterious Skin and Evan Rachel Wood in Thirteen. They were especially memorable performances.

[nateslate8]

some other honorable mentions:

Brando, Godfather (would have put him in top ten, but he's in EVERYONE'S top ten)

Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive (he was what made the movie, in my opinion- not Ford, although Ford was good)

Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump

Jaquin Phoenix, Gladiator

Robert Preston, Music Man


Alicia Sylverstone, Batgirl, Batman & Robin
Marlin Wayans, Dungeons & Dragons
again, joking, joking...

And I can see penguin's point about Jack in One flew... but honestly, I can see other actors playing that role just as well. Jack was also good in As Good As It Gets. But, I am a bit bias- I think Jack is the best actor ever.

[nateslate8]

Some outstanding performances by some great actresses.......

Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker in Bonnie & Clyde, plus she proably should be up there for Milady DeWinter, Evelyn Mulray & Joan Crawford too

Madeleine Khan as Lili Von Shtupp in Blazing Saddles

Diane Keaton as the doomed Theresa Dunn in Looking for Mister Goodbar


Dunaway! good call...

Also, can't forget Glenn Close, Alex Forrest, Fatal Attractions

[ragnarok_2012]

Off the top of my head:

Bogart as Rick in Casablanca.

Orson Welles as Harry Lime in the Third Man.

Samuel L. Jackson as Jules in Pulp Fiction.

Pacino as the Godfather (esp. for the scene where he shoots the guys at the restaurant).

Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart.

I'd have to really think about a top ten list, but I think these are all incredibly memorable performances.

[nateslate8]

Off the top of my head:

Bogart as Rick in Casablanca.

Orson Welles as Harry Lime in the Third Man.

Samuel L. Jackson as Jules in Pulp Fiction.

Pacino as the Godfather (esp. for the scene where he shoots the guys at the restaurant).

Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart.

I'd have to really think about a top ten list, but I think these are all incredibly memorable performances.

I thought about some of these as well. Samuel L. is an excellent choice. Jules is such a unique character that I doubt anyone will come close to it again- at least without being accused of ripping off his performance.

[Dark Galaxy]

1. Val Kilmer- Doc Holiday, Tombstone


One of my all-time favorites as well! Good call.

I'm your Huckleberry.

[Iron Maiden]

I like to go farther back and a bit off the beaten path....

If you ever see it, Peter Lorre in the German film "M" as the child murderer that stalks Berlin. Even though you have to rely on subtitles, his scene facing a tribunal composed of the criminals of the city, is riveting. Probably the earliest example of the psychotic killer in cinema.

Bette Davis in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane".


Robert Shaw for "Jaws" I mean, doesn't everyone know the Indianpolis scene by heart by now? :D

Peter O'Toole for "Lawrence of Arabia"

George C Scott for "Patton"

And since Halloween is coming, Karloff for "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein" for making the creature both frightening and sympathetic

[Hush Little Batman]

I'm talking about the type of performances that are so unique and so defined by that actor that if ever redone, it will always be compared to that original performance. It's the kind of performance that turns a good movie into a great movie.

Using that criteria, here are my choices for actors who "ruined" roles for everyone who follow them (not in preferential order):

Anthony Hopkins - Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs
Hopkins has essentially ruined the role of Lecter for anyone else, ever. No matter who plays him, be it on film, stage or TV, 10 or 50 years from now, they will always be in the shadow of Hopkins performance - that's how great it was.

Sylvester Stallone - Rocky Balboa, Rocky
Five films, countless jokes/parodies and a new sequel on the way. Stallone is Rocky as much as anyone has ever been anything.

Johnny Depp - Jack Sparrow, POTC
I've never seen a pirate portrayed the way Depp plays Sparrow. This has ensured his place in cinema history.

Jack Nicholson - Jack Torrence, The Shining
Not a chance in hell his slow decent into madness can be topped. When people think of 'The Shining', they don't think of the Stephen King book, they have images of Jack Nicholson going crazy.

Christopher Reeves - Clark Kent/Superman, Superman
Reeves was Superman. He looked so much like the character it's scary. From this point on, whether it's animated or drawn, there's always going to be a slight resemblance to Reeves. In that way, he'll live on as long as Superman does.

Al Pacino, Joe Montana, Scarface
It's too classic and over the top to be redone.

Alan Rickman - Hans Gruber, Die Hard
Changed the way villains are portrayed in modern action films. He was as smart as the hero and had just as many great lines. He was refined, well-spoken, witty, arrogant and a cold blooded murderer. No one else has come close to matching Rickman's combination since.

Arnold Schwarzenegger - T-800, The Terminator
There are other model Terminators in the mythology (T-1000, T-X), but for most, there's only one that matters.

Linda Blair - Regan MacNeil, The Exorcist
Just about every major possession film since has wisely avoided having a child as its lead out of fear it would be compared to Blair.

Marlon Brando - Don Corleone, The Godfather
More than 30 years later, people still parody this performance. That should tell you something.

Tom Hanks - Forrest Gump, Forrest Gump
Hanks is so spot-on that no one will ever be able to improve on what he did.

James Earl Jones - Darth Vader (voice), Star Wars
If I were George Lucas, I'd pay Jones $50-100 million dollars to record every single known word in history and if I ever needed to use Vader in future media, I could digitally put his dialogue together using the pre-recorded samples. That's how engrained Jones' voice is with Vader.

Bruce Lee - Bruce Lee, Martial Arts Movies
You cannot hear the words "Martial Arts Movie" without thinking of Bruce Lee. He died in 1973 but to this day, all martial arts actors get compared to him in some form. Lee didn't just define a role, he defined an entire genre. Now that's memorable!

Honroable Mentions:

John Travolta & Olivia Newton John - Danny & Sandy - Grease
'Grease' isn't the greatest film ever made, but it's certainly one people remember and the film version more than any other.

Samuel L. Jackson - Jules Winnfield, Pulp Fiction
The part that shot him from supporting actor to leading man. Since then he's played variations of Jules throughout his career and when producers want a loud, angry black man who can stop on a dime and wax philosophical, they call Sam to channel Jules.

Kurt Russell - Snake Plissken, Escape from New York
Can't be remade while Russell's alive.

Julia Roberts - Vivian Ward, Pretty Woman
The film title became her nickname in the media. That's how connected she is with the role.

Carrie Fisher - Princess Leia, Star Wars
A sarcastic attitude, a famous hairstyle and the sexist bikini ever are engrained on the public mind. Neither time (30 years) nor a young new lead (Natalie Portman) made people forget about Leia.

[Ontir]

Brian Cox, the original "Hannibal Lecter," in Manhunter

Vera Farmiga in Down to the Bone

Chloris Leachman in the Last Picture Show

Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca

Olympia Dukakis in the Partty

The entire cast of the Hanging Garden

Sarah Polley in My Life Without Me

Imelda Staunton in Vera Drake

The cast of the Departed

Jennifer Jason-Leigh in Mrs. Parker & the Vicious Circle

Orson Welles in a Touch of Evil

[Hush Little Batman]

Brian Cox, the original "Hannibal Lecter," in Manhunter

Heh, you do realize the fact that Anthony Hopkins played Lecter after Cox and made the role his own has negated your choice, right? :D

[nateslate8]

Heh, you do realize the fact that Anthony Hopkins played Lecter after Cox and made the role his own has negated your choice, right? :D

I was just going to say the same thing. Sorry, for this list, you may have liked Cox better than Hopkins, but he will always be compared to Hopkins. It will never NEVER be the other way around.

Which, by the way, that is one role and actor that could have easily been on my top ten:

Anthony Hopkins, Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs

[nateslate8]

Using that criteria, here are my choices for actors who "ruined" roles for everyone who follow them (not in preferential order):


Nice list! Well thought out and mentioned some roles that weren't mentioned yet that needed to be on this thread.

[Julusnc]

Cary Grant in North By Northwest

Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the Trilogy

Robert Shaw in Jaws

Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects

Gary Cooper in High Noon

John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn

Errol Flynn as Robin Hood

[Dennis K]

Jack Nicholson: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Shining, As Good As It Gets, A Few Good Men, The Departed

Humphrey Bogart: Casablanca, The Desperate Hours, Treasure of Sierra Madre, African Queen, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep

Clint Eastwood: Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, Heartbreak Ridge, Unforgiven, Outlaw Josey Wales, High Plains Drifter

Tom Hanks: Philadelphia, Apollo 13, Forrest Gump, The Road To Perdition

[Ontir]

Heh, you do realize the fact that Anthony Hopkins played Lecter after Cox and made the role his own has negated your choice, right? :D

My choice is in no way negated, as Cox was the better "Lecter." I'm also far from alone in my opinion. Check out reviews for Manhunter's DVD Re-release a few years ago. The comparison WAS Hopkins to Cox.

Hopkins was quite good; but Lecter was actually, realistically, scary. I've a cousin who IS a sociopath, psychopath, and schizophrenic. Cox is the only person to play someone like that who really brings out the fundamentally disturbed nature of such a person. Hopkins' Lecter could turn it on and off at will. That's not how it works, in my experience.

[Lord of Denial]

My choice is in no way negated, as Cox was the better "Lecter." Hopkins was quite good; but Lecter was actually, realistically, scary. I've a cousin who IS a sociopath, psychopath, and schizophrenic. Cox is the only person to play someone like that who really brings out the fundamentally disturbed nature of such a person. Hopkins' Lecter could turn it on and off at will. That's not how it works, in my experience.


I agree. With Hopkins to me at least it always seemed like a guy trying to be creepy. With Cox it was understated and natural it came across much more real and creepier for it.

[BoosterBronze]

I think Ben Affleck's somewhat creepy intensity took Dogma from being a fun comedy into a real work of art.

[nateslate8]

My choice is in no way negated, as Cox was the better "Lecter." I'm also far from alone in my opinion. Check out reviews for Manhunter's DVD Re-release a few years ago. The comparison WAS Hopkins to Cox.

Hopkins was quite good; but Lecter was actually, realistically, scary. I've a cousin who IS a sociopath, psychopath, and schizophrenic. Cox is the only person to play someone like that who really brings out the fundamentally disturbed nature of such a person. Hopkins' Lecter could turn it on and off at will. That's not how it works, in my experience.

Point well taken. But, who is going to be remembered for their portrayal of Lecter, Cox or Hopkins? Remember, this is "most memorable performances".

[nateslate8]

Errol Flynn as Robin Hood

Another good call. All other Robin Hoods will always be compared to Flynn, including Kostner's version which was supposed to be a realistic portrayal of him. (I like what Mel Brooks said about Prince of Thieves- he said he never laughed so hard at a movie that was not meant to be funny because it was the only movie he's ever seen where an englishman loses his british accent by the second scene.)

[nateslate8]

I'm surprised nobody has said this one yet:

Yul Brynner, King Mongkut, The King and I.

I remember Phil Hartman did a skit on SNL one time where he played a B-rated actor who went crazy during an interview because he got tired of everyone comparing his version of the King to Yul Brynner.

[Ontir]

Dan Butler in Fixing Frank. He's not a simply evil man, he really believes he's doing good, and his ego is, as he knows large enough, that he can't help but be drawn into an un-winable situation. If you only know him as "Bulldog" on Frazier, you have to see this performance to understand the scope of the man's abilities!

[Corrina]

Rosalind Russell in "His Girl Friday." They tried with Kathleen Turner in a remake but even she couldn't pull it off.

But...Kathleen Turner in "Body Heat," yes.

Katherine Hepburn in "Bringing Up Baby."

Patrick Swayze in "Dirty Dancing." Don't laugh. They've tried for years to find another actor to do the same thing and failed. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

Peter Sellers in "Dr. Strangelove."

[Ontir]

How about ?Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame...

"Auntie Mame, what's a heterosexual?"
"My my, what an inquistive little boy!"

...and then on a completely opposite side, in the Trouble With Angels, as the Mother Superior?

[Chiasm]

Jim Carrey - Ace Ventura Pet Detective

The movie that brought him and his style to the masses. Its not great acting in terms of great art but it is memorable.

[nateslate8]

Jim Carrey - Ace Ventura Pet Detective

The movie that brought him and his style to the masses. Its not great acting in terms of great art but it is memorable.

See, I don't know about this type of performance. Yes, it's memorable and unrepeatable, but, as you said, it's not great acting. Neither is Arnold in Terminator. Nobody can repeat his performance just because it was the movie that made his career, but it's not like he had to do much. In the first terminator movie, he was still learning english.

[ragnarok_2012]

See, I don't know about this type of performance. Yes, it's memorable and unrepeatable, but, as you said, it's not great acting. Neither is Arnold in Terminator. Nobody can repeat his performance just because it was the movie that made his career, but it's not like he had to do much. In the first terminator movie, he was still learning english.

I've been thinking about this, too.

I think charisma and presence is part of a truly great acting performance. Arnold certainly has both of these qualities.

IMHO, Arnold has found roles that play to his strengths. Which is just fine by me. What he does, he does very well.

[Trystenn]

John Hurt In Elephant Man, he really brought the tragedy to the character, the tragedy from his deformity yet being so intelligent and gentle, incredible role and character and performance.

[Ontir]

Jim Carrey - Ace Ventura Pet Detective

The movie that brought him and his style to the masses. Its not great acting in terms of great art but it is memorable.

It's not great acting by any stretch, and not really one of Carrey's best, either.

I still think his greatest part was as the alcoholic son in Ken Olin's TV Film Doing Time on Maple Drive. It's a very subdued and moving performance of depth.

Ed Harris also gave a great performance adjacent to Carrey in the Truman Show, which despite him being too young for the part, was quite good.

Another great Harris performance was in the Hours.

[Armless Penguin]

Carrey's greatest perfomance, for me, was as Joel in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which I still think was one of the best films of 2004. Of course, I haven't seen the film to which Ontir is referring, so that could very well be better (though that in and of itself would be astounding).

[Motormouse]

Forest Wittaker ~ "Bird"

Michael Douglas ~ "The Game"

Bruce Willis ~ "Twelve Monkeys"

Brad Pitt ~ "Twelve Monkeys"

Rutger Hauer ~ "Blade Runner"

John Belushi ~ "Animal House"

Denzel Washington ~ "Glory"

Mel Gibson ~ "Braveheart"

Temura Morrison ~ "Once Were Warriors"

Audry Tatou ~ "Amilie"

Masanobu Ando as Kazuo Kiriyama ~ Battle Royale



:eek:

[meethraa]

I was very impressed with James Woods in GTA San Andreas, and became a fan after that.

The police chief in Infernal Affairs was an incredible performance that caught me by surprise, especially considering how typical the character was.