Rewatching Rome - I watched a great acting moment from Ray Stevenson. Titus Pullo observes and puts together that Niobe was cheating on Vorenus, and goes through a bunch of emotions, then just smiles and asks Niobe for water.
Another that comes to mind is from Heat, when Charlize Theron loves, regrets, and smiles, then gives Val Kilmer the subtle “not clear, drive off” sign from the balcony.
And the scene where Teena Brandon breaks down and tells the Cops she has an identity crisis most definitely won Hillary Swank the Oscar…but I’d like more unknown scenes that you guys liked.
On Seinfeld, when George and The Bubble Boy are arguing over “Moops,” Susan Ross silently picks up the Trivial Pursuit rules sheet and starts studying it to see if there’s anything about what to do in case there’s a misprint.
In The Last of the Mohicans when Jodhi May (who plays Alice), watches Uncas’ body fall off the cliff and, shot in slow motion, decides that suicide by leaping is preferable to staying with Magua.
So many in Outlander, but I will go with the episode “Faith” when Claire (Catriona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan) say goodbye to their baby daughter by her grave.
Heart-wrenching.
There was a made-for-TV movie called Rehearsal for Murder, where a playwright writes a play to find the killer of his fiancee. Most of the people in the cast play actors, but William Daniels plays the play’s producer. When the others are reading their lines, they read them realistically.
Daniels, since he’s not playing an actor, reads them hesitantly, and with little sign of real emotion. They come off as someone who has never been on stage before.
That’s pretty impressive acting in my book: making the audience believe you’re never acted before.
Two of Slim Pickens’ greatest scenes aren’t that well known. Most people are familiar with him riding the bomb in Dr. Strangelove. Fewer people are familiar with his character dying in his wife’s arms in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid ( “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” was written for this scene; he called is wife “Mama”, hence " Mama take this badge off me. " I also found his scene on the Japanese sub in 1941 where they were trying to get him to crap out the Cracker Jack compass he’d swallowed.
The Phantom of the Opera (1925) – Lon Chaney, Sr. unmasked.
Lolita (1962) – While drinking in the bathtub following the accidental death of his wife (Shelley Winters), a supremely understated James Mason interacts with consoling neighbors.
Hud (1963) – Any scene with Patricia Neal.
Space Amoeba (1970) – Haruo Nakajima’s performance as Gezora set a high standard for man-in-giant-squid-suit portrayals.
*One Deadly Summer* (1983) – As her father reveals a terrible family secret, Isabelle Adjani is locked out of his room and goes to pieces.
Jimmy Stewart’s slow take toward the camera in It’s a Wonderful Life, when he suddenly realizes that he has no identity and that he is not simply having a bad dream. The look of horrified realization is perfect.
The fact Catriona Balfe hasn’t won at least one Emmy is good evidence of how things sometimes just get overlooked for no clear reason. “Faith” is one of the truly great episodes in television history. I mean it.
Acting moments I notice:
Harrison Ford as Han Solo when Princess Leia reveals Luke is her brother. His reaction goes from sadness, surprise, relief, to joy. All in his face. Great job and great directing from Richard Marquand.
Cillian Murphy in Inception when he finds out his father had his childhood artwork in the safe. It’s a dream in the movie, but his acting is amazing.
When Edward James Olmos(Adama) realizes Laura Roslin is dead in the BSG finale. Astonishing and emotional. It felt completely real.
All of Kyle Maclachlan in the third season of Twin Peaks this year. He was gripping, funny, terrifying, and the whole season depended on him. He played two roles, but kind of three in a way.
Speaking of Rome, I thought James Purefoy has never acted better than his portrayal of Marc Antony. There is a scene where Octavian 2.0 has pretty much finished Marc Antony and mocks him as a cuckold. He realizes this is no longer the same kid he used to beat the crap out of when he got out of his place- Octavian truly has all the power. He goes from his usual bullying self to almost speechless over realizing he has been almost totally ruined.
The OP asked for unknown scenes…oh, I’ll give you an unknown scene alright.
Just please be forewarned, this is NOT work-safe. It is filled with profanity and racial language.
There’s an obscure movie called Short Eyes, based on a play by the Puerto Rican playwright Miguel Pinero. It is basically a series of vignettes of life inside the New York city jail, called “The Tombs”, in the mid-70s, which if you know anything about New York history, would have been a crazy time to be in that jail, to say the least.
The whole movie is on Youtube, and it’s full of amazing acting, but the scene I’m referring to begins at :20 seconds in this clip. A child molester gets humiliated at the hands of a convict named “Longshoe Charlie Murphy”, all the while a “Greek chorus” of inmates in the background holler out a call-and-response style commentary that invokes the complex racial rules of mid-70s New York prison.
The molester is played by Bruce Davidson, who has been in a million character-actor roles since then. “Longshoe” Murphy is played by a guy named Joseph Carberry who as far as I can tell had only a handful of very minor roles after this movie. And that is a goddamn shame, because he’s frickin’ spectacular here. The combination of intimidation and flippant sarcasm just kills me.
“Hey man, don’t leave!”
“A gold chain!”
“FOUR-TEEEEEEN!”
“Me, take? Who said anything about taking anything?”
And my absolute favorite part, the way he says “we both gotta look out for each’a’nother” - is that even a word? I’ve never in my life heard anyone say “each-an-other” when they mean “each other.” But I just love the way he says it!!!
Towards the end of Green Pastures when God (Rex Ingram) sees the hope in humanity. Basically just his face as he talks but the range of feeling he managed to get into it was incredible.
Way of the Dragon (U.S. title Return of the Dragon)
During the climactic fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris, there is a brief pause, in which the two men communicate with their eyes. Norris’ character makes a request. Lee’s character refuses. It’s a moment of silly machismo in a low-budget kung fu flick, but is is an excellent bit of Acting by both men.
Return of the Mummy
The moment when Imhotep realizes that his girlfriend has betrayed him. The actor does not say a word, but the audience can tell what the character is feeling.
