Agree with majority of above. And John Lithgow and Rickman in just about anything . Steve Buscemi is also a scene-stealer par excellence.
The first 'supporting' actor I remember seeing on TV who I thought was as good, if not better, than main star was Karl Malden. I thought he out-acted Brando in One-Eyed Jacks, and equal to George C. Scott in Patton (as Omar Bradley).
Jeannie Berlin - The Heartbreak Kid (when I think of this film, I think of her performance)
the Camden joint guy - Withnail & I
Matthew McConaughey - Dazed and Confused
Jackie Earle Haley and the father, too - Breaking Away
Steve Zahn - Rescue Dawn; Out of Sight; Happy, Texas
Gwyneth Paltrow - Hard Eight
Robert Carlyle - Trainspotting
Don Cheadle - Devil in a Blue Dress (totally stole the show from Denzel Washington; well, he is good at stealing scenes)
Ben Foster - Alpha Dog; 30 Days of Night; 3:15 to Yuma
John Hawkes - Winter's Bone
Heather Graham - Drugstore Cowboy
Sarah Polley - Go
Willem Defoe - Platoon
Disqualified because they're antagonists?:
Adolph Caesar - A Soldier's Story
Rutger Hauer - Blade Runner
Burt Lancaster - Sweet Smell of Success
Mandy Patinskin - The Princess Bride
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Serenity
Willem Defoe - Streets of Fire (he's shamelessly hammy, which fits the film)
It's got to be Burl Ives in 'A Big Country' (1958). The role of Rufus Hannassy really only amounted to a matter of minutes screenwise but Ives absolutely dominated his few scenes. His first scene in the film is when his character Hannassy crashes the engagement party of his rival's (Charles Bickford) daughter...absolutely powerful stuff and for his he actually won the Supporting Actor Oscar. One of the best moments in movies IMO.
Comments
Crispin Glover in Back to the Future.
John Lithgow in Santa Claus: The Movie and Cliffhanger.
Robert Shaw in Jaws.
Fab child actor !
The first 'supporting' actor I remember seeing on TV who I thought was as good, if not better, than main star was Karl Malden. I thought he out-acted Brando in One-Eyed Jacks, and equal to George C. Scott in Patton (as Omar Bradley).
Jeannie Berlin - The Heartbreak Kid (when I think of this film, I think of her performance)
the Camden joint guy - Withnail & I
Matthew McConaughey - Dazed and Confused
Jackie Earle Haley and the father, too - Breaking Away
Steve Zahn - Rescue Dawn; Out of Sight; Happy, Texas
Gwyneth Paltrow - Hard Eight
Robert Carlyle - Trainspotting
Don Cheadle - Devil in a Blue Dress (totally stole the show from Denzel Washington; well, he is good at stealing scenes)
Ben Foster - Alpha Dog; 30 Days of Night; 3:15 to Yuma
John Hawkes - Winter's Bone
Heather Graham - Drugstore Cowboy
Sarah Polley - Go
Willem Defoe - Platoon
Disqualified because they're antagonists?:
Adolph Caesar - A Soldier's Story
Rutger Hauer - Blade Runner
Burt Lancaster - Sweet Smell of Success
Mandy Patinskin - The Princess Bride
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Serenity
Willem Defoe - Streets of Fire (he's shamelessly hammy, which fits the film)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMiD6PU8SKI
Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects.
Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive.
Good one
Harrison Ford in Star Wars
Also, the most obvious one; Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight.
She was fantastic in that film. Never before have I rooted for a character NOT to be killed off in a slasher movie.
My choice would be Marisa Tomei in 'My Cousin Vinny'.
She totally stole in every scene she was in, in a role that could have been very, very annoying.
She more than held her own up against Joe Pecsi.
One of my favourite performances of all time.
I was observing to see how many posts we could go before Heath got mentioned .
In fact, I think its his best acting performance ever.
Personally I have always thought of them as main leads rather than supporting, even though he won best supporting actor.
The Dark Knight: Christian Bale & Heath Ledger
Star Wars: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher & Harrison Ford
I agree.
I can't stand TC to be honest, but he was outstanding in that film.
He really was robbed of The Oscar IMO.
For me: Benicio del Toro as the Marble Garbler in The Usual Suspects. The giggling scene, for instance.
That would be them stealing the show then
Harrison Ford was certainly one of the main leads in Empire & Jedi. But in SW he was in a supporting role. That one was all about Luke.
It was very good but not great. Now overrated because he died.