# Greatest Film Performance Ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057 "2004-10-19T17:00:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/21 "2004-10-20T03:56:21Z")
Let me spin the old “best performance ever” wheel and see where she lands … zzzzzzzzzzingggggggggggggggggg … ding ding ding … ding ding … ding … **Dustin Hoffman** in **Papillion**. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/22 "2004-10-20T04:57:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Bette Davis: Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? Ooh, good one. ---
**Author:** ![Revedge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecae2f/32.png) [@Revedge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revedge)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/23 "2004-10-20T04:58:26Z")
Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in “Remains of the Day.” Neither character puts into words how they feel, but you know exactly what they are thinking and feeling. Brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Waccoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Waccoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waccoe)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/24 "2004-10-20T09:32:49Z")
I thought Ben Kingsley was pretty good as Gandhi. Bette Davis in _All about Eve_…George was good too. Dustin Hoffman in _Rain Man_ - yeh, I know, it’s an easy part but I liked it anyway. Meryl Streep in _The Hours_ ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/25 "2004-10-20T09:44:12Z")
Argh, I really thought I’d get to be the first to say Paul Newman in **The Hustler**. Just a brilliant one-man performance (athough George C. Scott is also fabulous in the film, as is Piper Laurie.) Clint Eastwood in \*_Unforgiven_, then, a director/actor performance without pulling a Costner. A film as commentary on a career, without sacrificing the integrity and complexity of the individual role. Robert Duvall in **The Apostle** , maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/26 "2004-10-20T10:36:06Z")
Peter Finch in _Network_, from old-school newsman to mad prophet of the airwaves. (Now that I think about it, William Holden was in _Network_, _The Bridge on the River Kwai_, and _Sunset Blvd._, did he make an entire career out of playing opposite complete and utter loons?) To complete the trifecta, George C. Scott in _Dr. Strangelove_. And Peter Sellers in the same film. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/27 "2004-10-20T10:41:10Z")
Pretty much everyone in _Glengarry Glen Ross_, but Jack Lemmon stands out. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/28 "2004-10-20T10:58:46Z")
We’ve pretty much covered a lot of the basics, so I’m going to nominate **Goldie Hawn** in **Overboard**. She had to nail three very distinct roles — the spoiled rich bitch, the sweet and kind-hearted poor girl, and the reformed wealthy matron. She also had to segue them seamlessly. She did the whole job perfectly. I’m also going to second the nomination of **Billy Bob Thornton** in **Sling Blade**. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/29 "2004-10-20T13:30:21Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Anthony Hopkins in “The Silence of the Lambs” is an obvious choice - yes, I know he won the Best Actor award, but he really was a supporting actor. But man, he was something, wasn’t he? And he was only in it for about fifteen minutes total. I’ll throw in Malcolm McDowell in **if…**. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/30 "2004-10-20T14:47:45Z")
Another vote for **Sellers** in _Dr. Strangelove_! “Hello, Dimitri…” “Do you know what will happen to you and your way of life if you disrupt a phone call to the President Of the United States?” “Animals can be bred and _slaughtered_…” ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/31 "2004-10-20T15:05:04Z")
I would cast three votes. First place for me goes to Robert Mitchum in **The Night of the Hunter**. I was mesmerized by the greates depiction of evil ever put on screen. It is a crying shame that Charles Laughton didn’t direct many more films, as he could be remebered as one of the greats. Second would go to the great character actor Peter Lorre. His performance in **M** is astonishing. This was barely a talkie, in that it is nearly dialogue free until Lorre’s great speech in his defense. I wouldn’t say that I sympathized with him, but I understood him. A great achievement from an unlikely lead actor. Third is Kanji Watanabe in Akira Kurosawa’s **Ikiru**. Kurosawa was a great director, but he also had some of the best actors at his disposal. Watanabe conveyed the pain of a simple man’s failings and I was just heartbroken for him the first time I saw the film. I have many more honorable mentions, three alternates. Stephen Rea in **Citizen X** Robert Walker in **Strangers on a Train** William H. Macy in **Fargo** ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/32 "2004-10-20T15:45:12Z")
> [@fruitbat](#): > > First place for me goes to Robert Mitchum in **The Night of the Hunter**. Oh, you just reminded me: **Lillian Gish** in _Night of the Hunter_. And Lillian Gish in _The Whales of August_. ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/33 "2004-10-20T15:55:09Z")
Good call Eve. If there was one movie that is under-watched and under-appreciated it is that one. Hell even the kids could act. That scene as they float down the river managed to make owls and frogs scary. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/34 "2004-10-20T15:55:11Z")
> [@fruitbat](#): > > William H. Macy in Fargo Hear! Hear! Spectacular performance! ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/35 "2004-10-20T16:14:14Z")
[Peter O’Toole](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000564/) in [Lawrence of Arabia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056172/). ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/36 "2004-10-20T16:34:49Z")
George C. Scott in **Patton** was the first thing I thought of. Although there are scores of great nominations here as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/37 "2004-10-20T16:51:49Z")
> [@drm](#): > > Al Pacino in **The Merchant of Venice** and **Scent of a Woman** Scent of a Woman loses a lot of luster considering that Pacino has now played that exact same role in every subsequent movie. I’ll vote Tom Hanks in **Cast Away** simply for carrying the majority of a movie as the sole actor on the screen and thoroughly owning the part. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/38 "2004-10-20T17:00:25Z")
I don’t know how anyone could argue with my fiancee Charlize Theron’s performance in _Monster._ But I think supporting roles usually have more meat to them than the leads. Frex, Brad Pitt was just amazing as the crazy guy in _Twelve Monkeys_ and that he’s never been that good in any of his starring roles. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/39 "2004-10-20T19:13:21Z")
I was tempted to go with **Bill Clinton** in “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” but you said film and I believe this was exclusively on tape. Seriously, \*\*Orson Welles[i/], but not in the expected _Citizen Kane_ instead in _The Third Man_. He is a villian who is seldom on screen but is hypnotic and dynamic and very real. In _Citizen Kane_ he is very good. In the _Third Man_, he is great ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057/40 "2004-10-20T19:36:35Z")
**Helen Morgan** in Applause **Joan Crawford** in Rain **Billie Burke** in Dinner at Eight **John Barrymore** in Counsellor-at-Law **James Cagney** in The Public Enemy **Paul Muni** in I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang **Barbara Stanwyck** in Baby Face **Lyda Roberti** in Million Dollar Legs . . . there’s more, but I’m all out of breath . . . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-film-performance-ever/270057.md?page=3)