# Best Film Debut for actor **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151 "2003-06-20T13:33:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/1 "2003-06-20T13:33:26Z")
How many actors come out with a bang and just own their part and acheive virtual screen immortality on their first try? Or their first major role outside of the standard Horror/Teen flick. [Sydney Greenstreet](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Greenstreet,+Sydney) first role: \*\*Kaspar Guttman \*\* in the classic **Maltese Falcon**. I don’t think many can beat this. Her first big role in \*Jerry Maguire \* really turned me on to [Renee Zellweger](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Zellweger,+Ren%E9e) . Even though it isn’t her first film, she glowed. ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/2 "2003-06-20T13:46:33Z")
Edward Norton was superb in his debut in _Primal Fear_. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/3 "2003-06-20T13:48:18Z")
James Dean in “East Of Eden” ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/4 "2003-06-20T13:48:22Z")
Harold Russell won Best Supporting Actor for his debut role in _The Best Years of Our Lives_ (1946). ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/5 "2003-06-20T13:58:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > **How many actors come out with a bang and just own their part and acheive virtual screen immortality on their first try?** One thing I’ve noticed is that actors who “owns their parts” in their first films often have a hard time later in their careers. Sometimes it’s because an actor gets typecast. Other times it’s because the actor just has a very limited range–they may play that one role perfectly but can’t do anything else. For example, consider [Haing S. Ngor](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Ngor,+Haing+S.). He won an Oscar for his very first film role in _The Killing Fields_ and it’s hard to imagine anyone playing the character of Dith Pran much better. Unfortunately, Dr. Ngor had an extremely limited range. Nothing but roles in martial-arts crapfests until his tragic murder. A similar example, is [R. Lee Ermey](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Ermey,+R.+Lee). He burned up the screen in _Full Metal Jacket_, but let’s face it: he’s not a versatile actor. ---
**Author:** ![Skijumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Skijumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skijumper)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/6 "2003-06-20T13:59:09Z")
I thought Kate Winslet’s debut in ‘Heavenly Creatures’ was pretty amazing. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/7 "2003-06-20T14:05:22Z")
A rather obvious choice here would be F. Murray Abraham’s debut performance in “Amadeus.” And he continued to have a decent career. ---
**Author:** ![Sikander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Sikander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sikander)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/8 "2003-06-20T14:13:13Z")
Natalie Portman in Luc Besson’s Leon. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/9 "2003-06-20T14:16:02Z")
Orson Welles in **Citizen Kane** trumps Greenstreet. Kenneth Branagh in **Henry V**. Especially impressive because Lawrence Olivier already owned the part and Branagh took it from him. Since they only appeared in one silent film (which only had one public screening), Groucho and Chico Marx in **The Cocoanuts** should count. (Harpo appeared in a silent film without the other two). ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/10 "2003-06-20T14:20:28Z")
Brad Dourif in _One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_. Sigourney Weaver in _Alien._ Malcolm MacDowell in _Clockwork Orange._ ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/11 "2003-06-20T14:26:25Z")
Richard E. Grant in _Withnail and I_. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/12 "2003-06-20T15:09:10Z")
Russell won the Academy Award, and then didn’t appear in anything else until 1980 and then appeared in only one other film. I don’t even know if that counts as a career. Leonardo DiCapprio got very, very high marks for “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.” ---
**Author:** ![shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/13 "2003-06-20T15:23:13Z")
I thought Helen Slater was fantastic as both Billie Jean Davy in _The Legend of Billie Jean_ and as _Supergirl_, her two debut films. Sure, Supergirl is cheesy, but can you imagine anyone else playing the part? I can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/14 "2003-06-20T15:26:05Z")
Tons of peple in **M_A_S\*H** ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/15 "2003-06-20T15:35:28Z")
How about Glenn Close in **The World According to Garp**? I gotta agree that Orson Welles will be hard to top, though. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/16 "2003-06-20T15:36:46Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Mahaloth \* > \*\*Tons of peple in \*\*M_A_S_H\*\* \*\* and more tons in \*\* American Graffiti \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/17 "2003-06-20T15:45:14Z")
I was going to say Ben Kingsley in _Gandi_, but it turns out it was his second movie. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/18 "2003-06-20T16:21:13Z")
> [@](#): > > _RickJay said:_ A rather obvious choice here would be F. Murray Abraham’s debut performance in “Amadeus.” And he continued to have a decent career. Except that Abraham had been making movies for a decade before _Amadeus_. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/19 "2003-06-20T16:23:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > **Kenneth Branagh in _Henry V_. Especially impressive because Lawrence Olivier already owned the part and Branagh took it from him.** _Henry V_ made [Branagh’s](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Branagh,+Kenneth) name for him, but it was the 16th movie he had appeared in, not the first. I knida agree about the ‘took’ though. DD ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151/20 "2003-06-20T16:32:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DesertDog \* > **but it was the 16th movie he had appeared in, not the first** D’oh! My bad. Those were all TV movies or series. 'Enry was, indeed, his first _feature film_ which I think is the intent of the OP. DD [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-film-debut-for-actor/183151.md?page=2)