# She/He Stole The Movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 8, 2010, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952 "2010-07-08T12:57:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/41 "2010-07-08T20:44:45Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I have to go with Will Smith in Independance Day. He actually doesn’t have a very big part, but it’s very memorable. IIRC, Anthony Hopkins is only on-screen for maybe 15 minutes in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, but he won Best Actor instead of Best Supporting Actor for a reason. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/42 "2010-07-08T21:25:20Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > Warren Oates in **Two Lane Blacktop**. He should have got an Oscar for that role. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/43 "2010-07-08T22:36:16Z")
**Mae West** made her screen debut in a bit part in the film [Night After Night](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023266/). In one of only three scenes she’s in, she delivers this famous bit of dialogue: Coat-check girl: Goodness that’s a beautiful mink coat! Mae: Goodness had nothin’ to do widdit. Nowadays, “Night After Night” is remembered as Mae West’s debut film, and hardly anyone remembers who the ‘stars’ of the film were, or even most of the plot outside Mae’s scenes. (Not even me, and I’ve seen the flick three times.) ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/44 "2010-07-08T22:49:20Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday stole every scene he was in in _Tombstone_. This is exactly what I came in to say. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/45 "2010-07-08T22:50:17Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Elaine May in **Small Time Crooks** > Christoph Walz in **Inglourious Basterds** That part and that movie were written for Walz, so he wasn’t technically stealing. ---
**Author:** ![jrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@jrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrepka)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/46 "2010-07-08T23:09:38Z")
Kevin Kline in _ **A Fish Called Wanda** _. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/47 "2010-07-08T23:17:29Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > That part and that movie were written for Walz, so he wasn’t technically stealing. I believe that the role was originally supposed to go to Leonardo DiCaprio (of all people!), until Tarantino decided that it should be a native-German-speaking actor instead. Not saying that the script wasn’t revised after Walz was cast, but neither character nor movie was concieved around the idea that he would be in them. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/48 "2010-07-08T23:23:17Z")
> [@](#): > > **Icerigger** : Tommy Lee Jones stole The Fugitive from Harrison Ford, IMHO. That is exactly what popped into my mind the instant I read the question. I can still hear his reading of just three words that would have done it for him if nothing else did: “I don’t care.” I can’t write it the way he said it. But for an actor to put a twist on three words to make them stand out so was absolute genius. I love Harrison Ford, but he didn’t give this one away. TLJ just took it. I think that Robert Redford somewhat stole the show in _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid._ Newman and Redford were such a great teacm and certainly Newman held his own. But you have to consider that Redford really wasn’t all that well known in 1969. I remember going to see the film because of Newman and leaving the theater with a huge crush on Redford that has lasted over forty years now. Maybe he didn’t steal the show, but he held his own against Newman. Redford will be 73 in August. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/49 "2010-07-08T23:35:44Z")
Jack Nicholson in _Easy Rider_. He was not in it for very long, but that performance made Jack the star he is still is today, and turned a movie that would otherwise have been a formless, incoherent mess into a classic. ---
**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:** [July 8, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/50 "2010-07-08T23:45:48Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > I think that Robert Redford somewhat stole the show in _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid._ Newman and Redford were such a great teacm and certainly Newman held his own. But you have to consider that Redford really wasn’t all that well known in 1969. > > I remember going to see the film because of Newman and leaving the theater with a huge crush on Redford that has lasted over forty years now. Maybe he didn’t steal the show, but he held his own against Newman. Redford will be 73 in August. If that’s true, Newman stole it back in _The Sting_. The beginning is good, but it becomes great when Newman’s Henry Gondorff shows up. When I think back on that movie, almost all the great lines and memorable scenes are his. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/51 "2010-07-09T00:04:34Z")
**Will Ferrell** in **Wedding Crashers** ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/52 "2010-07-09T00:25:27Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > That is exactly what popped into my mind the instant I read the question. I can still hear his reading of just three words that would have done it for him if nothing else did: “I don’t care.” > > I can’t write it the way he said it. But for an actor to put a twist on three words to make them stand out so was absolute genius. Yeah, he managed to convey all the cynicism of a weary lawman who has heard every excuse from a criminal, and that “even if you are innocent, that is not my job. My job is to catch your ass.” > [@](#): > > I love Harrison Ford, but he didn’t give this one away. TLJ just took it. From what I understand, Jones basically re-writes whatever part he gets (with the obvious exception of _No Country For Old Men_ - you don’t re-write the Coen Brothers). One of my all time favorite of his lines is from _Men In Black_: **Jay:** You know what they say. It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. **Kay:** Try it. > [@Spoke](#): > > **Will Ferrell** in **Wedding Crashers** Seriously? I thought he brought the film to a crashing halt and I usually skip over his scene when I watch it. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/53 "2010-07-09T00:46:01Z")
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, in Twister. Though it still sucked. Pullman was horrendous, as always. Jack Black, in High Fidelity. Heath Ledger, in Batman, The Dark Knight. Though it wasn’t a bit part, he did steal that movie. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/54 "2010-07-09T00:51:46Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Phillip Seymour Hoffman, in Twister. Though it still sucked. You might even say it was… in the _suck zone_. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/55 "2010-07-09T00:54:18Z")
Bronson Pinchot in Beverly Hills Cop. Harvey Firestein in Independence Day. Lauren Holly in Any Given Sunday. These are personal scene stealers. When I think of these movies, these are the people who pop out in my memory. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/56 "2010-07-09T02:14:51Z")
Matthew Lillards good for this no matter the size of the role. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/57 "2010-07-09T02:57:27Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Jack Nicholson in _Easy Rider_. > > He was not in it for very long, but that performance made Jack the star he is still is today, and turned a movie that would otherwise have been a formless, incoherent mess into a classic. Excellent choice, although I would argue that Jack’s brilliant performance was the only redeeming feature in what was nonetheless “a formless, incoherent mess.” I thought ER was ridiculously overhyped and overrated when it was released, and age hasn’t improved it. . ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/58 "2010-07-09T03:02:32Z")
A couple more: - Joan Plowright in “I Love You To Death” - Marty Feldman in “Young Frankenstein” Discuss. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/59 "2010-07-09T03:16:54Z")
Here’s a dark horse… [Absence of Malice](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081974/) The movie was convoluted and talky, and about 100 minutes in the 116 minute long film, was nowhere near being resolved. Then **Wilford Brimley** of all people comes in as Judge, Jury, and Executioner, wraps everything up (in what was easily the most electric scene in the movie), departs, and after a goodbye scene between Paul Newman and Sally Field, ROLL CREDITS. It was _Deus Ex Brimley_, especially since he’s tenth-billed on the film. That one scene was the only time you saw his character. Another one who stole the movie is **Angela Lansbury** , fourth-billed in the original [Manchurian Candidate](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056218/), especially in her scenes with Lawrence Harvey. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952/60 "2010-07-09T03:31:25Z")
**Romany Malco** in _The 40 Year Old Virgin._ You know, [this guy.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_DrLRJ_5dc&feature=related) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/she-he-stole-the-movie/545952.md?page=4)