# Best Acting performances **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 6, 2000, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368 "2000-12-06T20:35:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lucie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed8c4c/32.png) [@lucie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucie)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/1 "2000-12-06T20:35:51Z")
In the spirit of the many movie threads out there right now, what are some of your favorite individual performances in the movies? You know, one of those times when the perfect actor has the perfect role and creates a really seminal character and raises the bar for everyone else, completely apart from anything else in the movie. These are some of my favorites: Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in “Silence of the Lambs” Ian McKellen as Richard III in “Richard III” Humphrey Bogart as Sam Slade in “The Maltese Falcon” Bette Davis as Margo Channing in “All About Eve” Peter Lorre as the murderer in “M” Rosalind Russell as Mame in “Auntie Mame” ---
**Author:** ![dustMagnate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/fbc32d/32.png) [@dustMagnate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dustMagnate)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/2 "2000-12-06T21:25:28Z")
Brando “Last Tango in Paris” Like a documentary Tommy Lee Jones “Fugitive”(badly caricatured ever since) R. Lee Ernie “Full Metal Jacket” The director’s power? Jack Nicholson “Chinatown” rare low-key non-scenery chewing Faye Dunaway “Network” Ice ---
**Author:** ![McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19adc/32.png) [@McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/3 "2000-12-06T21:49:08Z")
I could Go on all day… Kevin Spacey - Swimming with Sharks / The Usual Suspects / American Beauty. Robert De Niro - Raging Bull / Taxi Driver R. Lee Ermey - Full Metal Jacket. Sean Penn - Dead Man Walking / State of Grace Ed Harris - The Truma Show / State of Grace Gary Oldman - State of Grace Jim Carrey - The Truman Show / Man on the Moon Haley Joel Osmont - The Sixth Sense. John Turtorro - Everything he’s ever been in, the man’s a genius, namely Quiz Show and Millers Crossing. Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney - Reservoir Dogs. Tom Cruise - Born on the Fourth of July / Magnolia Anthony Hopkins - Remains of the Day / Silence of the Lambs / Legends of the Fall And loads more I can’t remember at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Danimal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Danimal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danimal)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/4 "2000-12-06T22:44:22Z")
Best single performance: Denzel Washington as Trip in _Glory._ Awe-inspiring. Best ensemble performance: Guy Pearce as Ed Exley, Russell Crowe as Bud White, and Kevin Spacey as Jack Vincennes, _L.A. Confidential._ Honorable mentions: Humphrey Bogart as LTC Philip F. Queeg, _The Caine Mutiny._ Burt Lancaster as Ernst Janning, _Judgment at Nuremberg._ Emma Thompson as Beatrice, _Much Ado About Nothing._ Alan Rickman as The Interrogator, _Closet Land._ Mel Gibson as Tom Mullin, _Ransom._ Angela Bassett as Mace Mason, _Strange Days._ Claude Raines as Louis Renault, _Casablanca._ Lou Gossett, Jr. as Fiddler, _Roots._ (No one specified theatrical performances). Peter Ustinov as Captain Vere, _Billy Budd._ George C. Scott. No need to mention the role, everybody knows it. Henry Fonda as Frank, _Once Upon A Time In The West_ Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson, _Double Indemnity._ Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth, _Schindler’s List._ Peter O’Toole and Peter Strauss, _Masada_ (TV again). Whoopi Goldberg as Celie, _The Color Purple._ I second others’ choice of Anthony Hopkins, Bette Davis, and Rosalind Russell. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2000, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/5 "2000-12-06T23:47:31Z")
Naturally, I can’t avoid having repeats of others’ choices: Bette Davis in All About Eve Kevin Spacey in Wiseguy and Swimming with Sharks Ralph Fiennes in Schindler’s List Robert De Niro in The Godfather, Part II, and Taxi Driver Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man John Hurt in The Elephant Man and I, Claudius Derek Jacobi in I, Claudius Nancy Marchand in The Sopranos Anthony Hopkins in The Remains of the Day and The Silence of the Lambs ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/6 "2000-12-07T03:27:32Z")
Rosalind Russell in “Auntie Mame”. Ian Mckellan in “Richard III”. Anthony Hopkins in every movie I’ve ever seen with him. Basil Rathbone in his Sherlock Holmes movies. The entire cast of “Dr. Strangelove”. The guy who played Merlin in “Excalibur”. Oddly enough, one of the best pieces of acting I have ever seen was in a low-budget kung-fu flick. In the final fight sequence in “Return of the Dragon”, There is a scene where Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris pause and exchange glances. Neither one says a word, but you know exactly what both characters are thinking. ---
**Author:** ![hypergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@hypergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hypergirl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/7 "2000-12-07T03:53:52Z")
Leonardo DiCaprio in any of his roles (particularly Gilbert Grape and Basketball Diaries) Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man Jim Carrey in Liar Liar, Man on the Moon, and The Truman Show Kevin Spacey in American Beauty ---
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/8 "2000-12-07T04:19:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Best ensemble performance: Guy Pearce as Ed Exley, Russell Crowe as Bud White, and Kevin Spacey as Jack Vincennes, L.A. Confidential. Absolutely. Also: Gwyneth Paltrow in _Shakespeare in Love_. Robert De Niro in _Awakenings_. Meryl Streep in _Sophie’s Choice_. Wes Bentley in _American Beauty_. Audrey Hepburn in _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_. Tom Hanks in _Sleepless in Seattle_. Patrick Swayze in _Dirty Dancing_. (Bite me. A sexy man who can dance and make sweet love until the roosters crow? Sign me up!) [Edited by slythe on 12-12-2000 at 10:53 PM] ---
**Author:** ![Lexicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ac8455/32.png) [@Lexicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lexicon)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/9 "2000-12-07T04:52:47Z")
Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting (didn’t he win like an award for that or something?) Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Good Will Hunting Mel Gibson, Braveheart Richard Dreyfuss, Always Michael Keaton, My Life and Desperate Measures Ed Norton, American History X Tom Hanks, Philadelphia Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator (I know, everyone else hated him because of the character he played. But that speaks volumes for how well he brought Commedus to life.) John Cusack, High Fidelity and Say Anything (One of my all time favorites. Lloyd Dobler? That’s me. Only not in High School) Billy Bob Thornton, Sling Blade Michael Douglas, Falling Down and similarly, Kathleen Turner, Romancing the Stone Rodney A. Grant, Dances With Wolves. Man, what a powerful performance as Wind in His Hair. More later… maybe. ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/10 "2000-12-07T07:56:59Z")
[sub]just checking to see if y’all were’ paying attention…[/sub] Derek Jacobi or Robert Duvall in anything they’re in. Anthony Hopkins, too (even in blackface as Othello). ---
**Author:** ![OrcaChow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e47c2d/32.png) [@OrcaChow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OrcaChow)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/11 "2000-12-07T08:44:33Z")
Duvall, anything, yep. DeNiro, Taxi Driver, yep. Anthony Hopkins, Silence of the Lambs, yep. Linda Hunt, The Year of Living Dangerously. Tim Roth, Reservoir Dogs. Samuel Jackson, Pulp Fiction. (Christopher Walken deserves mention for simply keeping a straight face during his own scene in Pulp Fiction.) Paul Newman, Cool Hand Luke. Angela Bassett, What’s Love Got to Do With It. Several folks mentioned R. Lee Ermey, Full Metal Jacket. The role was great but not much of a stretch for him. He _had been_ a USMC drill instructor. ---
**Author:** ![Danimal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Danimal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danimal)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/12 "2000-12-07T15:58:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mbh \* > \*\* The guy who played Merlin in “Excalibur”. > \*\* That would be Nichol Williamson. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Lexicon_ > **Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator (I know, everyone else hated him because of the character he played. But that speaks volumes for how well he brought Commedus to life.)** I agree that was a very good performance. The thing that appeals to me is that Phoenix seemed to understand _how_ Commodus became evil, and express it in the movie. Envy has just eaten away at his soul until there’s not much human left in it. [quote] _Originally posted by Lexicon_ \*\* > [@](#): > > Michael Douglas, Falling Down \*\* IMO, far and away Douglas’ best performance. I liked him in several other '80s movies also, like _The Star Chamber,_ and _Wall Street_. But judging by _The Ghost and the Darkness_ and _A Perfect Murder,_ he just sleepwalks through his roles now. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2000, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/13 "2000-12-07T16:16:58Z")
Louise Fletcher - One Flew over The Cuckoo’s Nest DeNiro - Awakenings and Cape Fear Ray Liotta - GoodFellas Pacino - The Devil’s Advocate & Scent of A Woman Russell Crowe - Everything I’ve seen him in (hubba hubba) Tom Hanks - Apollo 13 Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First Tom Cruise - Born on the Fourth of July & Interview with the Vampire Brad Pitt - Kalifornia John Malkovich - Dangerous Liaisons & Con Air John Lithgow - Raising Cain Ed Harris - The Rock Anthony Hopkins - DUH! Silence of the Lambs Jodie Foster - The Accused and Silence of the Lambs Matt Damon - The Talented Mr Ripley Giovanni Ribsi - Boiler Room ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/14 "2000-12-08T06:43:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Danimal \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by mbh \* > > \*\* The guy who played Merlin in “Excalibur”. > > \*\* > > That would be Nichol Williamson. > \*\* Nichol Williamson was AT LEAST as good in the BBC’s production of Macbeth as he was in Excalibur. I highly recommend that anyone who likes either Nichol Wiliamson’s acting or Shakespeare, check out the BBC version of Macbeth. [Excalibur hijack] As to Excalibur, having seen it numerous times, I remember writing a letter to someone and having it on in the background and hearing THAT VOICE. No, not Williamson’s. Patrick Stewart’s. I hadn’t seen the movie since Star Trek:TNG debuted, and the previous times I’d seen Excalibur, I didn’t even know who Patrick Stewart was! [/Excalibur hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Screwtape](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Screwtape](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Screwtape)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2000, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/15 "2000-12-11T16:33:40Z")
Brad Pitt in _Twelve Monkeys_ ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2000, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/16 "2000-12-11T19:29:57Z")
Jack Lemmon in **GlenGarry GlenRoss** , in a movie filled with great acting his stands out. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2000, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/17 "2000-12-11T20:31:40Z")
John Travolta in “Get Shorty”. ---
**Author:** ![BunnyGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BunnyGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BunnyGirl)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2000, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/18 "2000-12-11T21:11:38Z")
Johnny Depp in “Don Juan DeMarco”. I know, you think its cheezy, but its the first movie I remember seeing and realizing what an art acting can be. /hijack/Besides that, he’s got that dark, dangerous look that I always go for./end hijack ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/19 "2000-12-12T00:30:42Z")
In addition to the above mentioned: Frances McDormand in _Fargo_ Katharine Hepburn in _The African Queen_ Daniel Day-Lewis in _My Left Foot_ Jimmy Stewart in _Harvey_ Sidney Poitier in _Raisin In The Sun_ Alec Guiness in damned near anything Same with Anthony Hopkins And in the category for surmounting their type-casting: Marilyn Monroe in _Stagecoach_ John Wayne in _True Grit_ Veb ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368/20 "2000-12-12T02:25:29Z")
Anthony Hopkins for all the movies he’s already been mentioned in. John Hurt in The Elephant Man and Scandal Derek Jacobi in most everything, but yes, I Claudius and the narrator in Henry V. Limited role, the latter, but great. Kenneth Branagh in the title role of Henry V. I used Henry’s before battle prayer as an audition piece after seeing the movie. “Oh God of battles, steel my soldiers hearts…” Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs. That movie is only one of two to win all five top Academy Awards. Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Producer. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-acting-performances/44368.md?page=2)