I didn’t see The Cat’s Meow until after I saw Spiderman so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Kirsten Dunst could act.
Moulin Rouge did it for me for Nicole Kidman too. I never really liked her in anything until that movie.
Tom Cruise in Born on the Fourth of July… it was the first film of his that I saw in which I had to acknowledge that his performance gave the film all the depth and humanity it had. Cruise still takes shit roles 70-80% of the time (though he’s getting better about that too), but this was the first one that I saw where he really broke out and acted.
Robin Williams in Dead Poets’ Society… though now he’s well-known as a good dramatic actor, there was a time when Williams was still “just a comedian.” This movie completely changed my mind on that score.
And I will third Hugh Grant’s performance in About a Boy. I’ve liked him in other movies, but this was the first one where I felt he completely captured a character (or it captured him).
Archergal, have you seen Sinise’s version of Of Mice and Men? One of his most compelling performances, because he’s not a good guy or a bad guy. He pulled off his performance so well that, even if you know what’s coming in the end, it’s still shocking. I love all of his work.
Jerry Lewis - until I sawThe King of Comedy I though he was just a dork. His performance in this film is, I think, very honest, and I didn’t think he had an honest bone in his body.
I’m still trying to like Johnny Depp, but I can’t quite get over his smarmy, pretty-boy years.
I think my opinion of him as a mere ‘face’ crystalized in the early '80s. Although I liked Fast Times well enough when I was thirteen, it didn’t really do anything to endear Sean to me-- and I guess the type of role he was steered toward after that was just basically repellent to me. I’m thinking Bad Boys, Carlito’s Way, Shanghai Surprise, that sort of thing. To be fair, they weren’t roles that offered a lot of room for an actor. I’ve been avoiding films with him in them for a long time – no doubt he’s done work that I’m going to enjoy a great deal now that I’ll allow myself to give it a chance.
I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve avoided great talents for even less tangible, (even prejudicial,) reasons before. Wouldn’t watch anything with Billy Bob Thornton for quite a long time, for no other reason than I was making assumptions about what he must be about as an actor based on his trailer-park name. Yes, I am profoundly embarrassed by this.
This thread is going to give me viewing material for months. Thanks, everyone.
Mark Wahlberg in Traveller.
I’ll agree with everyone else on Brad Pitt, after seeing him in Seven and especially 12 Monkeys. Then he went on to make Fight Club and Snatch, which were even better. I love all four of those movies. The guy is good. He’s cool, and he can act–he just happens to be a very good-looking dude, but there’s more to him than that.
Before Seven, I dismissed him as the long-haired pretty-boy from Legends of the Fall, like he was Fabio or something.
Jim Carrey in The Truman Show
Eugene Levy in A Mighty Wind. In everything other movie I’ve seen him in - even the other Christopher Guest ones, which I like - he just annoys the hell out of me. His schtick just grates on me. But in this movie, he was reasonably funny, and gave a very human, touching performance. But his next movie is Dumb and Dumererer, and it looks like he’ll be back to the annoying, goofy schmuck. Oh well.
The Outsider and Russell Crowe.
Not sure why, but although Gladiator was a huge hit, critical and commercial success, gave pleasure to millions etc., it didn’t do all that much for me. And I wasn’t even sure that Crowe’s performance was all that extraordinary or different from what anyone else would have done.
Then I rented The Outsider. Great movie, terrific story, and one stellar performance from RC.
You mean The Insider, right?
What convinced me that Johnny Depp was a great actor was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. But then, that whole movie was just… g’fah.
Yeah, I don’t get th OP either. I thought Sean Penn had a reputation as a talented actor who stuck mostly to independent films. I didn’t know he had a bad reputation anywhere.
If anything his performance in I am Sam@made me like him less. Anyone who wants to can get accolades for playing a retard. The annoying Beatles references put me off too. (Though I confess that I cried at the end.)
Adam Sandler’s performance in Punch Drunk Love gets my vote for this list.
Ever since I saw George of the Jungle, which I thought was hilarious, I’ve had an eye on Brendan Fraser. Yes, he can be a big doofus, but he’s good with comedy. I enjoyed him a lot in Blast from the Past. But he can do action hero, too, as in The Mummy, and serious drama - The quiet American.
I’ll agree with everyone else, that Brad Pitt is a good, if not outstanding actor. With time, he’ll turn be what Robert Redford is. Pitt’s wife is the same, good, but not outstanding. Jennifer Anniston gets my respect, because (since she’s making truckloads of money from ‘Friends’), spends her time off doing nice little indie-movies. Check out ‘Office Space’ and especially The Good Girl, if you don’t believe me. In the latter, she’s very good as a woman past her youth, stuck in a dead-end, Wal-Mart type job.
Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, and Leonardo Dicaprio are all guys I considered just pretty boys until seeing 12 Monkeys, The Brave and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, respectively.
Now, I’ll go see movies because Depp or Pitt are in them. Dicaprio’s still iffy on my list, but he was great in Catch Me if You Can.
David Arquette in The Grey Zone. I didn’t realize how good he was until I realized I wasn’t being distracted by how good he was, if you follow me. And I second Jennifer Aniston in The Good Girl.
Almost forgot about Donnie Wahlberg. I was surprised it was him in The Sixth Sense, but what really impressed me was his performance in Band of Brothers. He’s not too shabby on Boomtown either.
Totally makes up for New Kids on the Block. 
Seeing Madonna in Swept Away profoundly changed the way…heh, heh, just kidding.
Probably the biggest turnaround for me, albeit a temporary one, was Melanie Griffith’s performance in Nobodys Fool. A small role and yet I thought she was just perfect in that underappreciated film.
A lot of the actors already mentioned, but in different films.
Denzel Washington in “Training Day.” I had no idea he could play a bad guy.
Mel Gibson in “Conspiracy Theory.” Not a great film, or even a great performance, but definitely different. And interesting.
Bruce Willis in “12 Monkeys.” I always figured Willis’ intensity in the Die Hard films was a purely artificial contrivance. It wasn’t.
Vin Diesel in “XXX,” but unfortunately for the worse. I had thought that “Boiler Room” pointed in a much more artistically promising direction for him. I liked “XXX,” and I still like Vin Diesel, but I was disappointed to him settle for something so . . . . unsophisticated. He has the ability to be more than just an action hero.
Elizabeth Shue in “Leaving Las Vegas.” Keep in mind, I hadn’t seen her in anything since “Cocktail,” made about 10 years earlier. All I could think was boy, she’s sure grown up.
Both Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney in “Out of Sight.” They re the very definition of onscreen chemistry. Before I saw this film (which is now one of my all-time favorites) I was about ready to think Clooney would never really break out of television.
Oh, and Larry Mudd? “Carlito’s Way” is a very underrated film. It’s well worth your time. In fact, it changed my opinion of John Leguizamo.
Since George Clooney has been mentioned, I want to pop in with my take on him. He was in the forgettable movie The Peacemaker, and I thought was just plain bad as Batman, and Out of Sight he was ok, but I didn’t think anything special about him in that. What got my attention was Clooney’s performance in Oh Brother Where Art Thou.
I was also never much impressed with Richard Gere until Chicago and although he flip-flops on my list from guys to look for and guys to avoid, I thought Kevin Costner was great in Clint Eastwood’s A Perfect World.
And going into the past a ways, I had seen Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind and Mutiny on the Bounty and while I thought he gave solid performances, I wasn’t overly impressed by him until I saw his comedic turn in It Happened One Night.
I never had respect for Richard Gere until I saw Red Corner, which is an amazing film everyone must rent.
I didn’t think John Goodman was much to write home about until I saw him in The Big Lebowski; the same can be said for Jeff Bridges, although I had like Bridges since The Fisher King(which had also changed my opinion about Robin Williams). Their comedic timing is PERFECT in that movie.