As usual.
This was going to be my vote as well. I’ve never seen anyone so totally and completely own a role and a character.
I could have said the same for Daniel Day-Lewis in ***My Left Foot ***and Gangs of New York.
But luckily, I rarely have a problem suspending disbelief. Only a really TERRIBLE performance will prevent me from buying into even silly premises. An actor doesn’t have to be nearly as talented as Daniel Day-Lewis to get me to buy in.
Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia. After about five seconds of astonishment, I never doubted that I was watching Julia Child come to life again. And now, when I picture episodes of Julia’s cooking show, in my mind’s eye I see Meryl Streep as Julia standing in front of the stove.
Practically anything Gary Oldman has ever done. His transformation to Dracula years ago was, makeup aside, amazing.
Agreed.
That guy was Batman???
Well, Christian Bale for me disappeared more thoroughly in The Machinist. Briefly he appears as himself (ie, not weighing 9 pounds) and I was confused because I had no idea who that guy was. Through the whole movie I had no idea it was Christian Bale playing the lead role. I saw his name and forgot about him.
I saw Monster long enough after its release to know Charlize had done an incredible job. Therefore I kept looking to ‘find’ her in the role. I was still amazed by her performance and the movie in general, but I didn’t get the benefit of being shocked and consumed by the transformation as early watchers did.
And of course it’s been years ago, but Jaye Davidson in The Crying Game is pretty much the standard-bearer for disappearing into a role.
My contributions are both more than ten years old, but I submit Jack Nicholson in As Good as it Gets, and Kevin Spacey in American Beauty. Kevin Spacey disappeared into Lester when he threw the vegetables against the wall during the family dinner scene, and Jack disappeared when he, Helen Hunt, and Greg Kinnear embarked on their road trip. Both performances were mesmerizing.
Heck, Kevin Spacey disappears into Frank Underwood in House of Cards.
I’ll have to bring up another Tom Cruise role - the movie producer in Tropic Thunder. It’s just unreal.
Absolutely give Tom props for that one. What was weird for me was, a guy I went to high-school with is that guy’s twin. It’s as if Tom studied him and modeled the character off him, and used a photos of him to get the look just right.
There’s a handful of actors that seem to play themselves in everything but ocassionaly have a roll they disappear into.
Tom Cruise seems to play himself except for maybe Collateral or Tropic Thunder.
Tom Hanks is the same way but hid pretty well as Forrest Gump.
Samuel L. Jackson seems to always be himself but I liked that he tried to play an actual character in Django.
There’s a scene later in the movie where he’s singing and I thought, “Man, this guy can really sing! Oh wait, that’s Jack Black, of course he can sing.”
TOTALLY agree with this!
I would add Cruise as Frank T.J. Mackey in Magnolia. He seemed perfect as the smug, arrogant, sexist scammer because, well, he’s Cruise and he’s very familiar with such people. Where he really shows his talent is later, when his anger disintegrates into grief for what he’s lost and will lose.
I’m sorry I didn’t mention Jack Black in Bernie too! I’m beyond delighted that he’s been mentioned so many times. Also in the “who’da thunk?!” category, Jim Carrey in I Love You, Phillip Morris, and Adam Sandler in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love.
And yeah, duh, Daniel Day Lewis in everything but especially There Will Be Blood and Lincoln.
There’s a great scene in High Fidelity. Back when the movie was made, Black was still a relative unknown. Throughout the movie he’s played a typical hyperactive goofball character. But then in a scene late in the movie, he and his band perform and he unexpectedly gives a sincere performance of “Let’s Get It On”.
Jack Nicholson in “About Schmidt” (2002). IMO, he did a good job taking it down a notch for his character’s meek and reserved personality.
This.
The only thing that bothered me about that movie was Jen Garner…but, then again, I can’t seem to warm up to her in any role.
I can’t find Heath Ledger in the Joker, but I can never find Gary Oldman in anything. THAT guy was Commissioner Gordon/Dracula/Drexl?!
If some people are going back 12 years, then I’ll nominate Nicolas Cage and Nicolas Cage in Adaptation. They were two great, immersive performances.
It’s enough to make me forgive, oh, say 20 of the crap films he’s made. Unfortunately that still leaves a whole lot of crap.
Had it been shown to me in a blind screening I’d have never guessed in a million years Heath Ledger the pretty boy from brokeback mountain was the joker.
Daniel Day Lewis changes at will, as does Gary Oldman. Look at him crazy in the Professional and sedate as George Smiley and Philip Seymore Hoffman as Capote vs. anything else as a fat middleage guy.
Lewis, Oldman and Hoffman I nominate but Ledger wins for becoming a character. Watch the scenes where he asks; "You want to know how I got these scars?’ giving a different answer every take and you’d never know he was a handsome leading man from another era.