… and then we check it out on youtube (or whatever).
I start:** Robert Downey Jr **as Chaplin.
PS. Something happened with my title, but I’m sure you get the message.
Umm…not completely.
I think this is pretty thoroughly covered (in terms of just listing great acting performances) in tvtrope’s entry for Crowning Moments of Awesome.
However, what kind of surprises me is how much the build-up matters. CMoA’s rarely happen in a vacuum, such as when Deniro kills Fanucci in the Godfather part 2. I was surprised at the power of the scene in Kick Ass where the protagonist protects a victim from 3 attackers, yet how little of this power came from the acting but more from the writing, the situation, and the dismal failures that came before it.
I’ll toss an example from left field: Walter Brennan as the villainous head of the Clanton family in John Ford’s MY DARLING CLEMENTINE. Especially knowing who the actor is, how he usually is comic, it’s amazing to watch him just drip of evil. In some scenes, he just moves his head slightly (his eyes shining out under the shadow of the brim of his hat) and radiates malice.
Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds is probably the greatest antagonist I’ve ever seen.
Oh thank you, I’m supposed to be packing but now I’m going to be spending my entire evening with this. Dammit. 
Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross.
Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs.
But IMO without peer, especially as it’s a cameo, is Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast.
R. Lee Ermey as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket. Of all the famous performances on film, this is the one you will never see anybody on the internet riffing on, parodying, or satirizing.
The only possible response to Hartman is awed acceptance, because to anyone who considers himself both an American and a man, Stanley Kubrick is saying, “This is what God looks like to you.”
Here’s the thing. Nominated for an Oscar that year–
o Robert Downey, Jr. – Chaplin
o Stephen Rea – The Crying Game
o Denzel Washington – Malcolm X
o Clint Eastwood – Unforgiven
And the winner?
* Al Pacino – Scent of a Woman
Yeah, figure that shit out.
Oh, my nominee for monster performance? Laurence Fishburne as Jimmy Jump in King of New York. YouTube link 1,YouTube link 2.
Al Pacino is a world class scenery chewer, but as John Milton (aka Lucifer, Beelzebub, or Dad) in Devil’s Advocate makes a way-too-long and way-too-Keanu movie watchable. His big scene at the end (NOT SAFE FOR WORK 2:00 of it) was worth the price of admission.
If we’re going to be gnawing on the set, I nominate Peter Ustinov for his cat-loving Logan’s Run performance. Thankfully, I couldn’t find a good YouTube link, so here’s the Muppet Show instead.
F. Murray Abraham as Salieri in Amadeus.
Steve Martin in All of Me.. The first time I saw it, I actually wondered how they got Lily Tomlin into Steve Martin (oh, grow up!).
Emma Thompson in “Wit”
Along those lines, Henry Fonda as Frank in Once Upon a Time in the West was utterly brilliant casting against type.
Don Cheadle is amazing in Hotel Rwanda.
If the point of the OP is playing against type, John Cleese is one of the few reasons to watch Kenneth Branagh’s version of Frankenstein. He played Professor Waldman, Frankenstein’s mentor in reanimating dead flesh, and it’s a completely ‘straight’ role and he’s great, though he does look like Billy Connolly with his long hair and beard.
Speaking of, Billy Connolly’s romantic-ish and dramatic lead in Mrs. Brown- a movie about the relationship twixt Scotsman John Brown and the widowed Queen Victoria (Judi Dench)- is very touching.
Just so it gets mentioned: Dennis Hopper in True Romance assisted admirably by Christopher Walken.
I’ve actually been working on a list of my 100 favorite performances. Here are my top 10:
- Laura Dern, Inland Empire
- Volker Spengler, In a Year with 13 Moons
- Gena Rowlands, Opening Night
- Isabelle Huppert, The Piano Teacher
- Judy Davis, Husbands and Wives
- Lili Taylor, I Shot Andy Warhol
- Maggie Cheung, Clean
- Doris Day, The Man Who Knew Too Much
- Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
- Anne Carlisle, Liquid Sky
Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday: “I’m your huckleberry…”
