I totally agree. I just re-watched Black Narcissus two days ago and Sister Ruth scared me silly all over again.
My favorite Charles Laughton role: Hobson in Hobson’s Choice.
I’ll add:
Jack Lemmon
Alec Guinness
Bette Davis
Michael Hordern
On reflection I have to add two who never gave a cliched or predictable performance:
Diane Venora —her name may not be familiar but you may have seen her without IDing her: Diane Venora - Wikipedia
Steven Hill —more television than movie credits, but in everything he did, he defied the comfortable conventions of acting.
Felicity Kendal
Diana Rigg
Yeah, he was amazing in Hobson’s Choice. But I’ll always love him best in Island of Lost Souls.
For all the unhappy souls who have never seen Black Narcissus, here’s the penultimate scene with Bad Kathleen and Good Deborah Kerr —
My list of actresses (some of whom I have every movie or series they’re appeared in) is too long and all Asian anyway. But here’s two Asian actresses that have completely disappeared and wish did more work.
With the exception of *Samaritan Girl *and The Bow, you’re unlikely to find these actresses movies and series, but if you do, I firmly believe you’ll wish they continued on with their careers.
Haruna Amari- This child actress appeared in only two movies in 2008, then completely disappeared. I’ve talked about both of these movies before.
Don’t by worried by the title and storyline. In Child By Children, Haruna plays a 10 year old girl who while playing doctor with her friend “puts their privates together” and ends up pregnant. This is no coming of age movie, but tells the story of how Haruna and her schoolfriends work together in a world of adults oblivious to what’s going on.
In School Days With a Pig, she plays a supporting role in the tale (based on a true story) of a class of 6th grade children given a pig to raise as a lesson about where their meat comes from. The children get into some deep emotional and philosophical debates about what to do with the pig at the end of the school year. Leave it to the next year’s class to take care of it, send it to a farm or send it to slaughter as part of its purpose in life.
Han Yeo Reum - Made her debut in controversial, but absolutely brilliant director Kim Ki Duk’s *Samaritan GIrl * and The Bow in which she doesn’t utter a word, but gives a breathtaking performance. I won’t give a synopsis since they’re well known Korean movies. She played lighter roles in her follow up movies and series, then completely disappeared in 2010.
Was going to say this. Or almost this; I’m not sure about Zulu. But usually he’s great. His performance in Little Voice was one of my favorites.
Also I feel that Kurt Russell has vastly improved every movie he was in. As soon as he appears the movie gets better. Or at any rate, more interesting.
There are a lot of actors that would make my list but are a;ready mentioned in this thread. The first one to come to my mind when opening the thread has not been mentioned. Certainly not the best actor but one I will want to see a movie if he’s in it is Woody Harrelson.
He just seems to enjoy himself in every movie he makes and it shows. Best example is Zombieland which I enjoy every moment of but watching the glee on his face as he performs it’s obvious he’s loving what he’s doing and that’s the most fun thing about the movie for me.
I don’t consider him overly talented as an actor ( every role he’s generally playing Woody Harrelson ) but seeing someone I like having a good time is fun and he doesn’t just mail in any performances that I’ve seen.
Yes. Especially Charlotte. I’d even sit through *Zardoz *again to see her.
William H Macy. I’d been a fan of his since I first saw him in Fargo, but I’m currently binging “Shameless,” which I’ve never seen before. And he’s mesmerizing as Frank.
David Attenborough. I know, he’s not even a voice actor, but I really like his narration of those nature documentaries.
In the “top 10 actors” thread, one of my picks is M. Emmet Walsh. I started noticing him in the 1990s and have since realized that I’ve been watching him most of my life. IMDB shows what appear to be over 200 film and TV acting credits since 1968. I remember only a handful of those performances and have to suppose they’re not all as good as, for example, his interpretation of the out-of-control PI in Blood Simple, the unsympathetic swim coach in Ordinary People or the clueless governor in The Milagro Beanfield War. It seems to me that he gets deep into his roles and doesn’t show for a second that he’s just some guy doing his job. Convincing and engrossing.
One of my favorite roles by Walsh was as Madman in “The Jerk.”
Thanks to this post, I am reminded of what a great actor Harry Dean Stanton was and I have to say he would be one of the actors I would include on my list.
For those people who have never seen Farewell My Lovely (1975), Stanton plays a sleazy detective and I really enjoyed his performance. It was far too brief. I would like to recommend this film to everyone who might enjoy a movie in the private detective genre. I love this film and I consider it to be one of the very best private detective films.
It stars Robert Mitchum and IMHO, it is his finest film. It also stars Charlotte Rampling and I remember seeing this film for the first time when I was a very young man. The primary thought that kept running through my head was, “Wow! Look at those gorgeous legs!” For anyone who particularly enjoys the sight of a lady’s beautiful legs, I believe this film showcases those legs as one of the most gorgeous sites I had ever seen in a movie.
Zooey Deschanel. Got most of her movies on DVD, filling in the gaps online.
I suspect that you and I can’t get enough of Zooey Deschanel for different reasons.
Good singer, good actress, manic pixie dream girl… what reasons do you have?
Paul Newman. Gotta admit, though, who pays attention to the movie when Paul Newman is in it?
Tom Hanks. Easily one of the most versatile actors around!
As a little aside-- if you are a fan of the old TV series Golden Girls, you’ll remember there were a couple of “flashback” episodes of Dorothy as a young woman, and her interactions with Sophia. The younger Sophia was played by Estelle Getty, with a different wig and no glasses. The young Dorothy was played by an actress named Lyn Green. Every single time I watch those episodes, I continue to be blown out of the water by Lyn Green’s performance. She mimics Bea Arthur’s mannerisms and gestures PERFECTLY. She uses the same voice inflections, and you find yourself wondering, “Is that somehow Bea Arthur?” Lyn Green is an amazing credit to her craft. Pity I have never seen her anywhere else.
~VOW
I’ll watch anything with Matthew Lillard in it.
I’ve got a couple of odd TV character actors:
Jere Burns
Enver Gjokaj
They both bring a whole lot to everything they’ve been in.