Favourite/Greatest acting performances

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

John Malkovich in that jewel thief movie

 

[PhatBoy]

To throw a non-dramatic role into the mix.

Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura. The film would not have worked without his briliiance

This.

And amidst all the brilliance in his delivery, I still find his montage after he realises he's kissed a bloke, to be some of the best physical comedy I've ever seen.

 

[flashmanvc]

Finished The Handmaid's Tale a few weeks back and thought Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia and Yvonne Strahovski as the Commander's wife were both bloody brilliant. Difficult roles too, I reckon.

 

[DaveyBoy123]

There are a couple of scenes in 'Glory' (just the 7th film of his career) that made viewers know that Denzel Washington was going to be a huge star!

 

[vast]

I think the OP nailed it, F. Murray Abraham delivers one of the greatest I've ever seen. Others:

- Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon and The Godfather I and II
- Casey Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James and Manchester By the Sea

Forgetting heaps here I think...

Great call Casey in that Film.

Also John Cazale was great in Dog Day Afternoon.

What a great career he had despite passing away and only being in 5 or 6 films which are pretty much all classics.

Godfather 1 & 2
Deer Hunter
Dog Day Afternoon
The Conversation

 

[footyfan1978]

Robert Downey Junior as Charlie Chaplin is another good one.
Not seen it for years but just remember it was a ripper performance.

 

[Schraderbrau]

After some thought:

Tony Soprano obv.

Samuel L jackson - pulp fiction

Pacino - Godfathers

Ledger - the Joker

Daniel Day Lewis was so sick as Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York York that it actually detracted from the rest of the movie. He was also awesome as Lincoln and pretty much everything tbh.

Clint Eastwood - Unforgiven

Kevin Spacey - Amrican Beauty.

Gary Oldman as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Martin Sheen in apocalypse now

 

[Richard Cranium]

Larson in Short Term 12
Blanchett in Blue Jasmine

 

[Percel]

Clint Eastwood - Unforgiven

Great shout;

Little Bill Daggett: You'd be William Munny out of Missouri. Killer of women and children.

Will Munny: That's right. I've killed women and children. I've killed just about everything that walks or crawled at one time or another. And I'm here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you did to Ned.

 

[Schraderbrau]

Great shout;

Little Bill Daggett: You'd be William Munny out of Missouri. Killer of women and children.

Will Munny: That's right. I've killed women and children. I've killed just about everything that walks or crawled at one time or another. And I'm here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you did to Ned.

"you, Fat Man, speak up"

and the "duck of death"

 

[PhatBoy]

Saw Samuel L mentioned above for Pulp Fiction. There are literally a dozen great performance in that movie but Travolta’s is f***ing amazing IMO.

Everything he says or does is just perfect.
Even down to his reaction to Uma Thurman talking about old mate who ‘fell out the window.’

VINCENT
That's one way to say it. Another
way is, he was thrown out. Another
was is, he was thrown out by
Marsellus. And even another way
is, he was thrown out of a window
by Marsellus because of you.

 

[RobbyRoy]

Decent list.
Glad someone mentioned Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke as that is one of the special one from before our times that crossed my mind yesterday.
Dicraprio like Winslet and De Niro is special in so many of them.
Most amazing ones to me and maybe also the most disturbing at same time are De Niro in Taxi Driver and Sheryl Lee in Fire Walk With Me. They played both roles so on the edge and just compelling the whole movie.

As good as Newman is in CHL, I consider Hud his peak.

DiCaprio is an interesting one in my eyes. His best (The Aviator and The Departed) is excellent, but when he's not doing "big" he's not that flash. Plus he's been acted off the screen by Winslet (Revolutionary Road), Walken (Catch Me If You Can) and DDL (Gangs of New York).

 

[JackNah_8]

After Titanic I think anything Leonardo Di Caprio has done is phenomenal.

Leonardo was great in what's eating Gilbert's grape

 

[footyfan1978]

Who did eat his grape btw ?

 

[Hard Ball Get]

Who did eat his grape btw ?

Have you seen the mum?

 

[Shell]

If anyone says Dicaprio in The Revenant I will punch them in the face.

Daniel Day Lewis

My Left Foot and In the Name of the Father.

 

[Plugger35]

If anyone says Dicaprio in The Revenant I will punch them in the face.



My Left Foot and In the Name of the Father.

Leo was pretty good in The Revenant but I didn't think it was Oscar worthy, Tom Hardy playing the bad guy was better imo, Leo was more deserving of an Oscar for his performance in Wolf of Wall Street where I thought he was fantastic.

Speaking of Tom Hardy he's been in great in everything I've seen him in, thought he did a great job stepping into the shoes of Mel Gibson as Mad Max.

Some other favourite performances that have already been mentioned are Daniel Day Lewis as Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York, Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained, those films were at their best when they were on screen, mesmerising performances.

One of my favourite performances that I don't think has been mentioned yet is Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, he's one of the reasons it's my favourite film, De Niro and Ray Liotta are great as well but Pesci steals the show imo.

 

[footyfan1978]

One of my favourite performances that I don't think has been mentioned yet is Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, he's one of the reasons it's my favourite film, De Niro and Ray Liotta are great as well but Pesci steals the show imo.

Not sure about steals the show but Ray Liotta and Pesci certainly share it with De Niro there.

Chris Walken in True Romance, Catch Me If You Can and Communion is one of those actors I love from the era too. He is just mesmerising to watch with his mannerisms and way of talking.

 

[Kram]

Michael Douglas in Falling Down.

 

[footyfan1978]

* yeah, great nomination.

 

[footyfan1978]

Sherrilyn Fenn.
Two Moon junction.

 

[Plugger35]

Not sure about steals the show but Ray Liotta and Pesci certainly share it with De Niro there.

Chris Walken in True Romance, Catch Me If You Can and Communion is one of those actors I love from the era too. He is just mesmerising to watch with his mannerisms and way of talking.

He also played a great cameo in Pulp Fiction.



Then of course there was this memorable performance on SNL.




Denzel Washington is another actor that's great in most things he's in but he was especially great in Flight.

 

[footyfan1978]

He also played a great cameo in Pulp Fiction.

Forgot he was even in it.

This is so bad it is good.
ha ha

 

[WireHawk]

Some performances that I love are:
Christophe Waltz in anything:especially 'Inglorious Basterds'
Andy Robinson in 'Dirty Harry'
Michael Shannon in 'Revolutionary Road'
John Turturro in 'Miller's Crossing'
Jon Finch in 'Frenzy' & 'Macbeth'
Michael Fassbender in 'Shame'
Stephen Rea in 'The Crying Game', my favourite of them all.

 

[charcoalchicken]

Not sure about steals the show but Ray Liotta and Pesci certainly share it with De Niro there.

Chris Walken in True Romance, Catch Me If You Can and Communion is one of those actors I love from the era too. He is just mesmerising to watch with his mannerisms and way of talking.

Walken is also really good in The Dead Zone