Your favourite acting performances?

[Ace of Knaves]

I'm surprised there isn't a thread like this already to be honest.

What are some of your favourite performances by an actor or actress?

I do have a few favourites but one that has really stood out recently is Tom Hardy's performance in Bronson.

This is truly outstanding. He literally carries the movie, seeing as it is basically a one man show. The movie doesn't really have a engaging plot either to be fair. But his performance alone makes it worth watching.

The performance is just so engrossing, I literally couldn't take my eyes of him. Subtle, extravagant, insane, calm, explosive, simmering, thoughtful, mindless.

Such a varied performance, truly one of the greatest acting performances I have ever, ever scene. No hyperbole. I urge everyone to watch this movie. It won't appeal to a lot of people I imagine, but the actual performance by Hardy is honestly ****ing stunning.

 

[gwynplaine]

 

[Wiseman]

Kevin Kline in Life As A House

 

[Rukus]

Joe Pesci - Goodfellas
Jack Nicholson - The Shining
Al Pacino - Scarface
Robert Deniro - Raging Bull - Taxi Driver

 

[Johnny Drama]

Robert Deniro - Taxi Driver / Cape Fear / Raging Bull/ Deer Hunter

Leonardo Dicaprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape / The Departed

Christian Bale - American Psycho / Harsh Times

Johnny Depp - Ed Wood / Dead Man / Finding Neverland

Al Pacino - Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, Scarface, The Godfather, The Godfather II

Kate Winslet - The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Finding Neverland, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

Daniel Day Lewis - The Boxer / There Will Be Blood

Natalie Portman - The Professional / Garden State

Jack Nicholson - Batman, The Shining, One Flew Over The Cukoos Nest, As Good As It Get's, About Schmit

Meyrll Streep - Deer Hunter / Kramer Vs Kramer / Adaptation / Rendition / Doubt

Sean Penn - Mystic River, I Am Sam, Milk, Bad Boys (original), Carlitos Way, Dead Man Walking, 21 Grams and of course Fast Times At Ridgemont High (for sentimental value)

Kevin Bacon - A Few Good Men, The Woodsmen, Mystic River, Apollo 13

Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain, Lords Of Dogtown, Ned Kelly, The Dark Knight.

Kevin Kline - The Big Chill, A Fish Called Wanda, Soapdish, The Ice Storm

Robert Downey Jr - Chaplin, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Heart and Souls, The Singing Detective

 

[gwynplaine]

^Good list.

Heath Ledger was also great in Candy imo.
And Daniel Day Lewis in In the name of the father.

 

[weezerspider]

Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Clint Eastwood- Gran Torino, The Good The Bad and The Ugly
Jackie Earle Haley- Watchmen
Johnny Depp- Public Enemies
Joe Pesci- Goodfellas
Al Pacino- The Godfather, The Godfather II, Heat
Robert Denrio- Taxi Driver, Heat
Russel Crowe- Gladiator, 3:10 to Yuma, A Beautiful Mind
Christian Bale- 3:10 to Yuma, Rescue Dawn
Denzel Washington- American Gangster, Man On Fire, Remember The Titans
Tom Hanks- Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan
Leonardo Decaprio- The Departed
Matt Damon- The Departed
Jack Nicholson- Batman, The Shining, The Departed
Tom Cruise- Collateral
Edward Norton- American History X
Robert Downey Jr- Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man
John Belushi- Animal House, Blues Brothers
Dan Akroyd- Blues Brothers
Adam Sandler- Click, Funny People
Sacha Baron Cohen- Borat
Christopher Mintz-Plasse - Superbad
Mel Gibson- Braveheart

 

[Johnny Drama]

Christopher Mintz-Plasse - Superbad

 

[gwynplaine]

I'm surprised there isn't a thread like this already to be honest.

What are some of your favourite performances by an actor or actress?

I do have a few favourites but one that has really stood out recently is Tom Hardy's performance in Bronson.

This is truly outstanding. He literally carries the movie, seeing as it is basically a one man show. The movie doesn't really have a engaging plot either to be fair. But his performance alone makes it worth watching.

The performance is just so engrossing, I literally couldn't take my eyes of him. Subtle, extravagant, insane, calm, explosive, simmering, thoughtful, mindless.

Such a varied performance, truly one of the greatest acting performances I have ever, ever scene. No hyperbole. I urge everyone to watch this movie. It won't appeal to a lot of people I imagine, but the actual performance by Hardy is honestly ****ing stunning.

Looking forward to Bronson, I don't know much about it but it kind of looks like the british answer to Chopper, which i really liked.

 

[Johnny Drama]

Ones I forgot

Robert Downey Jr - Tropic Thunder

Tim Roth - Reservoir Dogs

Jake Gyllenhaal - Jarhead, Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain

Harvey Keitel - From Dusk Till Dawn (very underrated performance by Keitel as a former preacher and father of two. He is conflicted, and is having a crisis of faith, denouncing everything he has ever known. Then he is kidnapped by George Clooney and Quentin Tarentino and they fight vampires. The end.

 

[Dr Strange]

Jack Nicholson in almost every film, but one in particular - Five Easy Pieces.

 

[Schlosser85]

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter

Heath Ledger as The Joker

Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List

Liam Neeson as Michael Collins

Ian McKellen in The Lord of the Rings and Apt Pupil

also Sean Bean, Ian Holm, and Andy Serkis in Lord of the Rings

Gary Oldman and Natalie Portman in The Professional

Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain

Cate Blanchett in The Gift

Denzel Washington in Glory

Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, The Green Mile, and Road to Perdition

Tim Roth in Rob Roy

Edward Norton in Primal Fear

Brian Cox as Hermann Goering in Nuremberg

Morgan Freeman in just about everything

 

[weezerspider]

Oh, Forgot Andy Serkis in LOTR

 

[Jack O Lantern]

I always loved Burt Lancaster as the Doctor in Field of Dreams. He brings so much warmth to that character in such a short amount of screen time that it breaks your heart that he has step off the field.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell, Bill Paxton and Sam Elliot-Tombstone.

Gary Oldman-Bram Stoker's Dracula

Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher-One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe-LA Confidential

Russell Crowe-Gladiator, Master and Commander and Cinderella Man.

 

[OctaviusINC]

James Dead- East of Eden
Clint Eastwood- Gran Torino
Viggo Mortenson- Appaloosa
Heath Ledger- The Dark Knight
Harrison Ford/Paul Freeman-Raiders of the Lost Ark
Robert DeNiro- Taxi Driver
Jack Nicholson- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

 

[Hound55]

Joe Pesci exploded onto the screen in GoodFellas.

Eric Bana put in a career performance in Chopper.

Of course the elite character performance would have to be Bob DeNiro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver though...

 

[Wesley Dodds]

Anything Kevin Spacey did before he won the Best Actor oscar.

Anything Mickey Rourke did before he began his boxing career.

Anything Samuel L. Jackson did before Shaft.

Every SINGLE actor in The Wire.

 

[Bim]

A few come to mind:

Al Pacino - The Godfather movies, Scarface
Robert Deniro - Taxi Driver, The Godfather II
Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Shinning, A Few Good Men
Anthony Hopkins - Silence of the Lambs
Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth
Ewan McGregor - Trainspotting, Big Fish
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight, Brokeback Mountain
Ralph Fiennes - Schindler's List
James Caan - The Godfather
Jean Reno, Gary Oldman and Natalie Portman - The Professional
Edward Norton - American History X, Primal Fear
Mel Gibson - Braveheart
Harrison Ford - Indiana Jones
Nicole Kidman - The Others, Moulin Rouge
Kate Winslet - Finding Neverland, Revolutionary Road, Sense and Sensibility
Johnny Depp - Donnie Brasco, Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands (i could list most of his movies, to me the man is awesome!)
Haley Joel Osment - The Sixth Sense
Christian Bale - American Psycho
Russel Crowe - L.A. Confidential, Gladiator, The Insider
Marlon Brando - The Wild One, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now
Tom Hanks - Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Philadelphia
Charlize Theron - Monster
Michael Clarke Duncan - The Green Mile
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed, Revolutionary Road, Titanic, Blood Diamond
Eric Bana - Black Hawk Down, Munich
Djimon Hounsou - Amistad, Gladiator, Blood Diamond
Sir Alec Guinnes - Bridge on the River Kwai, ANH, A Passage to India, Lawrence of Arabia
Jodie Foster - The Accussed, Taxi Driver, Silence of the Lambs
Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable - Gone with the Wind
Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose

 

[The Chairman]

Actors:

Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Shining, As Good As It Gets, Terms Of Endearment, Batman, Carnal Knowledge
Heath Ledger - The Dark Night
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler, The Pope Of Greenwich Village, Sin City, The Pledge, Body Heat
Samuel L. Jackson - Pulp Fiction
Gary Oldman - True Romance (My favorite Oldman role, he owns what little screen time he has), The Professional
George Clooney - Out Of Sight
Joe Pesci - Goodfellas, JFK
Robert De Niro - Raging Bull, Taxi Driver
Anthony Hopkins - Silence of the Lambs
Gregory Peck - To Kill A Mockingbird
Al Pacino - The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, Scarface, Carlito's Way
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Frank Sinatra - The Manchurian Candidate
Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man
Jeff Bridges - The Big Lebowski
Bill Murray - Ghostbusters, Groundhoug Day
Marlon Brando - On The Waterfront, The Godfather
Anthony Perkins - Psycho
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed
Kevin Spacey - Se7en
Gary Cooper - High Noon
Eddie Murphy - Trading Places, Coming To America
Morgan Freeman - The Shawshank Redemption
Tim Curry - The Rocky Horror Picture Show
James Dean - Rebel Without A Cause

Actresses:

Kate Hudson - Almost Famous
Michelle Pfeiffer - Batman Returns
Natalie Portman - The Professional
Kathy Bates - Misery
Whoopi Goldberg - The Color Purple
Audrey Hepburn - Breakfast At Tiffany's
Jennifer Lopez - Out Of Sight
Marilyn Monroe - Some Like It Hot
Jodie Foster - Taxi Driver, Silence Of The Lambs
Sigourney Weaver - Alien, Aliens
Patricia Arquette - True Romance
Kathleen Turner - Body Heat, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (yes, I count it as performance)
Ann-Margret - Carnal Knowledge
Grace Kelly - Rear Window
Janet Leigh - Pyscho
Ingrid Bergman - Casablanca, Notorious
Linda Hamilton - The Terminator, T2: Judgement Day
Lee Remick - Anatomy Of A Murder
Kim Novack - Vertigo
Julia Roberts - Steel Magnolias, Erin Brockovich
Sally Field - Steel Magnolias, Forrest Gump
Barbara Stanwyck - Double Indemnity

 

[shopaholic10]

The terminal -Tom Hanks

 

[[A]]

I do have a few favourites but one that has really stood out recently is Tom Hardy's performance in Bronson.

I wanna see that movie so bad -- but only got subtitles for the first half and I can only understand american english That thick british accent, I cannot understand

 

[Johnny Drama]

Tom Green - Freddy Got Fingered

Jason Biggs - Saving Silverman, American Pie 2

Chris Kattan - Monkey Bone, A Night At The Roxbury

Shaquille O'neal - Steel, Kazaam

John Cena - The Marine

Kat Williams - Friday After Next

Hulk Hogan - Suburban Comando

Pauly Shore - Jury Duty, In The Army Now

 

[Ace of Knaves]

I wanna see that movie so bad -- but only got subtitles for the first half and I can only understand american english That thick british accent, I cannot understand

Yea he doesn't talk the Queens English I'll give you that.

 

[Swordmaster]

Christian Bale-The Prestige
Liam Neeson-Taken
Arnold Schwarzenegger-Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Nathan Fillion-Serenity
Hugo Weaving-V for Vendetta