Actors / Actresses definitive roles

[madsci]

What are some actor greatest ever roles (what character, which film or TV episode) in film or television?


My list.


(1) Harrison Ford - Indiana Jones (Raiders of The Lost Ark) - Han Solo may be the greatest pilot in the galaxy, but this guy's crazy! AND he never has a plan, he just does what comes naturally. [I](I would have said Han Solo, but ROTJ leaves a bitter taste in the mouth).

(2) Arnie - Termintor (1 only) - Only he could play a 6ft 3' killing machine sent back to 'blend in' to the crowd, and not make it completely outrageous.

(3) Bruce Willis - Die Hard (1 only) - Yippee Kiyay M***********s!

(4) Christian Bale - American Pyscho - He may be Batman, but he'll always be known for this.

(5) Sean Connery - James Bond (Goldfinger) - His best ever performance, never to be topped.

(6) Jodie Foster - Silence of the Lambs - Ever wonder why she didn't come back for Hannibal - she already played the character perfectly once, here.

(7) Uma Thurman - The Bride (Kill Bill Vol. 1) - enough said.


IN TV (mostly Doctor Who)

(8) Tom Baker - Genesis of The Daleks - no-one else could have made that Davros-Doctor confrontation work.

(9) Chris Eccleston - Tie - Dalek and Parting of the Ways - David Tennant could NEVER have played those episodes with the same emotional resonance.

OTOH,

(10) David Tennant - The Girl in The Fireplace - Eccleston's northern accent and leather jacket would never have worked with this episode.

Other shows...

(11) Sarah Michelle Gellar - Buffy (Chosen) - That was HER episode, and she made it work.


(12) Martin Sheen - President Bartlet (Two Cathedrals) - only he could swear in church, and make it look cool.

[Atom_basher]

Jennifer Lopez.........Selina
Denzel Washington....Training day
Demi Moore: Ghost
Eddie Murphy: Coming to america
Johnny Depp: Edward scissorhands
Halle Berry: Monsters Ball
Will Smith: Independence day

[EZMOHR]

Actors:

1.) Arnold Schwarzaneggar(whatever)- Terminator 2- Quite frankly, this is the only time he ever showed range and emotion. Why T2 should be consider a national treasure.

2.) Bruce Willis- 12 Monkeys- He was asked to be more than Bruce Willis, and he nailed it. Sure, Brad Pitt gets all the accolades for that movie, but Bruce made it work.

3.) Johnny Depp- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- What's amazing is I think this is a terrible film. Yet, his performance alone makes it watchable and enjoyable. I like Sleepy Hollow better, but this was his role.

4.) Denzel Washington- Training Day- Amazing that the role that won him the Oscar, and his best acting performance, is one villian role of substance.

5.) Russell Crowe- The Insider- I like Bud White in LA Confidential better, but Russell Crowe showed he can play any part in this movie.

6.) Christian Bale- Empire of the Sun- To be honest, until between this movie (his best) and Batman Begins (favorite movie ever), he was absolutely a guy I could care less about. I never got the cult of Bale. I thought he was boring, and was always just playing broody, or oily car salesman. I would tell anybody not familiar with him to watch just Empire of the Sun and Batman Begins to appreciate him.

7.) Will Smith- The Pursuit of Happyness- It's weird, this movie should have been sappy, but Will keeps it pretty much believable. That's a good actor.

8.) Eddie Murphy- Beverly Hills Cop- God, he once mattered. To see what he was pre 1992, and what he is now....it's just sad. Big Time Sad.

9.) Uma Thurman- Kill Bill Volume 2- Whereas she had to play a cartoon in the fun Volume 1, in Volume 2, she had to play a human being, and she was great.

10.) George Clooney- O Brother Where Art Thou- Just cause the guy looks like he can sell you a used car, he was great in this movie as an oily con.

11.) Mark Whalberg- The Departed- To be honest with you...I think he might be the only human on earth that could have played that particular part.

12.) Tom Cruise- Collateral- Again, like Denzel, the man has played a sub-human twice (Collateral and Magnolia) and they are his two best performances. Weird.

13.) Jodie Foster- Contact- I liked her in this better than her Oscar movies, and before her current Mom in perril movies.

14.) Mel Gibson- Lethal Weapon 2- He was the ultimate action hero in this movie.

15.) Harrison Ford- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom- While I like Raiders better, Ford was at his ultimate action hero/smarm/awesomeness in this one.

[Wenatchee the Hatchet]

Hmm. I'm kinda winging this one.

1. Peter Lorre, Hans Beckert (sic).
I know he was great in all sorts of other roles but this guy set the bar for deranged psychotic child molesting killers and it seemed to typecast him for the rest of his life. When I finally saw him in M I thought he might make a good Joker if we could just cast someone from any time period. Not a jokey Joker, a cold twisted raging bastard Joker.

2. Peter O'Toole, Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia
This is just the greatest role I've seen him in and I'll just leave it at that.

3. Alec Guinness, Col Nicholson (?) in The Bridge on the River Kwai

It's hard to pick just one role for him but there you go, I figured I had to pick one.

4. Chow Yun Fat, Jeff in the Killer

He's done other stuff that's good but this is pretty much the role that has defined his career as I know it. When Pirates 3 comes out I don't care if his character is a good guy or a bad guy, I ask only that Chow be a badass.

That's all I got for now. Oh, Brigit Helm's defining role was obviously in Metropolis. :)

I think Morgan Freeman is going to be remembered for The Shawshank Redemption. Tommy Lee Jones seems to be remembered for The Fugitive (he isn't going to be for U.S. Marshalls),