I thought Noah Taylor was frighteningly charismatic in Max. (As in the “raving megalomaniac” sense.)
On the same note, if voice actors count…I once found myself charging a machine gun nest and a Panzer armed only with a pistol and an SMG that had 10 rounds between them, just because an AI with the prerecorded voice of Steven Jay Blum told me to.
When Roger Smith screams "I don’t care WHAT it takes, just GET IT DONE!", by god, you DO it.
There’s about 15 different definitions of “charisma” banging around in here.
I like Evil Captor’s version, though, which is an actor whose presence overwhelms the movie. Robin Williams is like that sometimes; he can turn it off when he wants to, but when he doesn’t he’s tiresome.
How about someone who is so obviously better at acting and has such personal charisma that whenever they are in a scene, the focus always just shifts to them?
Sir John Gielgud was like that. (That reminds me - I have to watch Arthur again, just to see him)
There are times when others have risen to those heights temporarily. DeNiro in his prime. James Dean and Marlon Brando.
Then there are those who are just bigger than life: Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne. The sheer force of who they were as humans tended to overshadow the characters they played. Part of that might have been a lack of acting chops on their part, but also, just, how are you going to hide the personality of John Wayne?
Dakota Fanning should get the Oscar in the catagory of “child actors who steal the show.”
James Woods in his OTT-apoplectic mode (the one that’s perpetually cranked up to eleven) – although I happen to enjoy watching the spectacle. He was easily the most entertaining thing in The Specialist, for example.
Abe Vigoda.
^:d
John Wayne was a character played by Marion Michael Morrison.
I have kind of a crush on Pauley after having seen her on NCIS. I used to feel guilty about it, until I realized that she’s actually older than I am, if IMDB is to be believed. She sure as hell doesn’t look 37. And yeah, she’s a little scary.
The crush abated after I read some of her poetry on her site. Yeesh, it’s awful :rolleyes:
How about Sean Connery and Alan Rickman?
How about Aleksei Batalov? He’s a Russian actor, possibly best known to western audiences as Gosha in “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears.” He plays an ordinary guy, and steals the show. I’ve been told that there was a movie where he played the villain, and was so charismatic that the film couldn’t be released. (Soviet film had rules about these things.) He isn’t beautiful to look at, but he steals every scene he’s in.
Bruce Dern
In a positive way.
Zero Mostel stole all the attention.
Walken scene stealer
Dennis Hopper
Billy Barty. Is he still alive?
Well, Brando managed to make a Streetcar Named Desire all about Stanley rather than Blanche, so I’d say he’d have to be on the list.
I read an interview with Tom Cruise where the writer noted how much more pleasant he was when he wasn’t trying to be “Tom Cruise- movie star and all-American guy”. So, perhaps when he’s not jumping on sofas and mouthing off about mental illness he can be ok. The rest of the time, he sets my teeth on edge.
There is fine line between “scene-stealing charisma” and “hammy acting and scenery chewing”. Some of the British luvvie actors tread that line constantly. Gielgud, Olivier, MacKellan, Burton, Callow- all of them have their little hammy moments.
Jack Nicholson is someone I’d definitely put in the “too much Charisma” bracket- from the Joker in Batman to The Shining, to As Good as It Gets, he always dials his performance up to maximum.
Hehe, 1980 calling, wants it 'script back.
Sarah Jessica Parker. Will someone just give her a downer, already?