Best Acting Performances You Have Seen

jamesisacejamesisace Posts: 1,793
Forum Member
✭✭✭
For me,

Meryl Streep - Sophie's Choice
Katharine Hepburn - The Lion In Winter
Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest & The Shining
Morgan Freeman - The Shawshank Redemption
Elizabeth Taylor - Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?
Anthony Hopkins - The Silence of the Lambs
Kathy Bates - Misery
Hilary Swank - Boys Don't Cry
Matt Damon - Good Will Hunting
Denzel Washington - Malcolm X
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln & No Country For Old Men
Marlon Brando - The Godfather
Robert DeNiro - Taxi Driver & Raging Bull
Paul Newman - Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
Lupita N'Yongo - 12 Years a Slave
Vivien Leigh - Gone With The Wind
«1345678

Comments

  • gemma-the-huskygemma-the-husky Posts: 18,116
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Paul Scofield - A Man For All Seasons

    I like the period, though. I thought Jonathan Rhys-Meyers was striking as Henry VIII in The Tudors.
  • Hutchy_MuseHutchy_Muse Posts: 7,075
    Forum Member
    Jared Leto in Requiem for a Dream.
  • stvn758stvn758 Posts: 19,656
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Daniel Day Lewis wasn't in No Country For Old Men, was he. Did you mean There Will Be Blood?
  • LMLM Posts: 63,318
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Meryl Streep - The Hours, Sophie's Choice, Julie and Julia, A cry in the dark
    Bjork - Dancer in the dark
    Nicole Kidman - The Others, Rabbit Hole, Moulin Rouge
    Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh - A streetcar name desire
    Bette Davis - What ever happened to baby jane
    Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
    Charlize Theron - Monster
    Hilary Swank - Boys don't cry
    Kate Winslet - Titanic
    Leo Dicaprio - The Aviator
    Cate Blanchette - Blue Jasmine, The Aviator, Elizabeth
    Whoopi Goldberg - The Color purple, Ghost
    Michelle Williams - My week with marilyn
    Jessica Chastain and Viola Davis - The Help
    Barbra Streisand - Funny girl, Yentl
    Judy Garland - The wizard of oz, A star is born
    Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta Jones - Chicago
    Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls
    Jack Nicholson - The Shining
    Mo'Nique - Precious
    Angelina Jolie - Girl interrupted and Changelin
    Brittany Murphy - Girl interrupted
    Brad Pitt - Curious case of benjamin button
    Ryan Gosling - Blue valentine
    Daniel day lewis - My left foot
    Sally Hawkins - Happy go lucky
    Lesley Manville - Another year
    Julianne Moore - The Hours
    Ellen Page - Juno
    Carey Mulligan - Never let me go
    Keira Knightley - Atonement, The Duchess
    Julia Robers - Pretty woman, Erin Brockovich
    Tim Curry - Rock horror picture show
    Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins - The silence of the lambs
    Toni Colette - The sixth sense
    Julie Andrews - The sound of music
    Diana Ross - Lady sings the blues
    Helen Mirren - The queen
    Jim Carrey - Man on the moon, The truman show
    Zhang Ziyi - Memoirs of a geisha
    Marion Cotillad - La vie en rose
    Bette Midler - The Rose, Gypsy
    Maggie Smith - The prime of miss jean brodie
    Marilyn Monroe - Gentlemen prefer blondes
    Sissy Spacek - Coal miner's daughter
    Meg Tilly - Agnes of god
    Michelle Pfeiffer - The fabulous baker boys
    Judi Dench - Mrs Brown
    Kevin Spacey - American Beauty
    Naomi Watts - 21 Grams
    Jamie Foxx - Ray
    Dustin hoffman - Kramar vs Kramar
    Matthew M - Dallas buyers club
    Heath Ledger - The dark knight
    Phillip seymour hoffman - Capote
    Drew Barrymore - Grey Gardens
    Claire Danes - Temple Grandin
    Lucille Ball and Bea Arthur - Mame
    Mia Farrow - Rosemary's Baby
    Cher - Mask
    Amy Adams - Junebug
    Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom
  • jamesisacejamesisace Posts: 1,793
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    stvn758 wrote: »
    Daniel Day Lewis wasn't in No Country For Old Men, was he. Did you mean There Will Be Blood?

    Yep, ooops
  • MelodyMakerMelodyMaker Posts: 823
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    As well as the usually recognised great performances some of which have already been mentioned on this thread, Sofia Helin's performance in The Bridge 1 & 2 isincredible, the amount of emotion she conveys through her eyes is amazing.
  • DandemDandem Posts: 13,259
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Daniel Day-Lewis - Gangs of New York
    Tom Hardy - Bronson
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt - 50/50
    Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
    Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained
    Samuel L Jackson - Pulp Fiction
    Steve Buscemi - Reservoir Dogs
    Edward Norton - American History X
    Leonardo DiCaprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape
    Naomi Watts - The Impossible
    Hugo Weaving - V For Vendetta
    Colin Farrell - Phone Booth
    Jim Carrey - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
    Saoirse Ronan - Hanna
    Sam Rockwell - Seven Psychopaths
    Al Pacino - Angels in America (I'm allowed to count this right?)
  • treefr0gtreefr0g Posts: 23,595
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Anthony Perkins - Psycho
    Jeff Goldblum - The Fly
  • yorkieUKyorkieUK Posts: 2,159
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    James Stewart - Harvey
    Brenda Blethyn - Secrets and Lies
    Timothy Spall - Secrets and Lies/Pierrepoint
    Gregory Peck - To Kill a Mocking Bird
    Robert De Niro - King of Comedy
    Hugh Laurie - Mr Pipp
  • Michael_EveMichael_Eve Posts: 14,424
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Jack Lemmon always great, especially The Apartment , Days of Wine and Roses and Some Like it Hot.
    Montgomery Clift ditto, but especially From Here to Eternity, The Young Lions and Wild River
    James Stewart...would pick out It's A Wonderful Life and Mr Smith goes to Washington.
    Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon
    Oliver Hardy in everything he did. (and not joking there, however silly that sounds!)

    Loads more, but those spring to mind immediately!
  • jamesisacejamesisace Posts: 1,793
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Thought of a few more,

    Anthony Perkins - Psycho
    Nicole Kidman - The Hours
    Sissy Spacek - Carrie
    Alan Rickman - The Harry Potter series
    Logan Lerman - The Perks of Being a Wallflower
    Ezra Miller & Tilda Swinton - We Need To Talk About Kevin
    Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook (better than Jennifer Lawrence in my book, not that she wasn't excellent either)
    Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
    Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth
    Jim Carrey - The Truman Show
    Emma Stone - Easy A (VERY funny)
    James Franco - 127 Hours
  • Fowl FaxFowl Fax Posts: 3,968
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Kevin Spacey - The Usual Suspects
    Robert De Niro - The Godfather Part 2
    Al Pacino - The Godfather
    Russell Crowe - Gladiator
    Tom Hanks - Forrest Gump
    Denzel Washington - Training Day
    Leonardo DiCaprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape
    John Hurt - The Elephant Man
    Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
    Michael Douglas - Wall Street
    James Stewart - Anatomy of a Murder
    Dustin Hoffman - Kramer vs. Kramer
    Spencer Tracy - Bad Day at Black Rock
    Don Cheadle - Hotel Rwanda
    Gregory Peck - To Kill a Mockingbird
    Gary Cooper - High Noon
    Daniel Day-Lewis - In the Name of the Father
    Morgan Freeman - The Shawshank Redemption
    Hilary Swank - Million Dollar Baby
    Jodie Foster - The Silence of the Lambs
  • Blondie XBlondie X Posts: 28,662
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Jamie Foxx in Ray. My absolute favourite performance ever
  • jules1000jules1000 Posts: 10,709
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Many of the above but will add a few more.

    Robert de Niro ..Raging Bull and This boys life.
    Faye Dunnaway...Mommie Dearest
    Tom Hanks...Philadelphia.
    Paul Newman...The Verdict.
    Christian Bale..... American Psycho.
    Kate Winslett....Revolutionary Road.
    Bill Murray.... What about Bob.
    Steve Martin....Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
    Daniel Day Lewis... My left Foot.
    Leonardo de Caprio....This boys life.
  • Johnny 99Johnny 99 Posts: 218
    Forum Member
    Some great shouts already. A few more -

    Jack Lemmon and Pacino - Glengarry Glen Ross

    Pacino - Dog Day Afternoon

    Kevin Bacon - Murder In The First

    Gary Oldman - Leon

    Paddy Considine - Dead Man's Shoes and A Room For Romeo Brass

    Julianne Moore and Heather Graham - Boogie Nights

    Alison Steadman - Life is Sweet

    Bob Hoskins - A Long Good Friday
  • LMLM Posts: 63,318
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Noomi Rapace - The girl with the dragon tattoo
    Laura Dern - Inland empire
    Mia Wasakowska - Jane Eyre
  • jules1000jules1000 Posts: 10,709
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Oh yes and a shout for

    Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in The Odd Couple.
  • 00tommo00tommo Posts: 2,195
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Adam Sandler - You Don't Mess With The Zohan
  • gasheadgashead Posts: 13,806
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Daniel Day-Lewis - Gangs Of New York/ Lincoln
    Christophe Waltz - Inglouorious Basterds/ Django Un-chained
    Tim Roth - Reservoir Dogs
    Alicia Silverstone - Clueless
    Alec Baldwin - Glengarry Glen Ross
    R Lee Ermey - Full Metal Jacket
    Sienna Miller - Factory Girl

    ...to name but a few.
  • LMLM Posts: 63,318
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Sienna Miller - Factory Girl
    Sally Field - Steel magnolias
    Courtney Love - The people vs Larry flint
    Natalie Portman - Closer
    Forest Whitikar - The Butler
    James Franco - 127 Hours, Springbreakers
    John Hawkes - The Sessions
    Laura Linney - The life of davis gale
    Colin Farrell - In bruges
    Mary Tyler Moore - Ordinary people
    Holly Hunter - The Piano
    Charlotte Gainsbourg - Melancholia, Anti-Christ
    Scarlett Johansson - Her
    Penelope Cruz - Volver
    Maggie Gyllenhaal - The dark knight, Sherrybaby
    Halle Berry - Frankie and Alice
    Patricia Arquette - Stigmata
    Pauline Collins - Shirley Valentine
    Kathy Burke - Nil by mouth, Elizabeth
    Jennifer Lopez - El Cantante
    Sarah Michelle Gellar - Cruel intentions
    Reese Witherspoon - Election, Legally Blonde
    Thora Birch - Ghost world
    Sarah jessica parker - The family stone
    Albert Finney - Erin brockovich
    Ed Harris - The Hours
    Matt Dillon - Crash
    Thandie Newton - Crash, Beloved, For colored girls
    Loretta Devine - For colored girls
    Eddie Murphy - Dreamgirls
    Barbara Hershey - Black swan
  • Ella NutElla Nut Posts: 8,887
    Forum Member
    Fowl Fax wrote: »
    Jodie Foster - The Silence of the Lambs

    And in "The Accused".
  • Xela MXela M Posts: 4,710
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Marlon Brando - Streetcar Named Desire

    Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

    Vivien Leigh - Gone With The Wind


    There have been many great performances by actors before and since, but for me those three are in a completely different league to everyone else.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 7,174
    Forum Member
    Russell Crowe as Bud White in LA Confidential. He was outstanding, I thought. That's the first one off the top of my head.
  • Xela MXela M Posts: 4,710
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Xela M wrote: »
    Marlon Brando - Streetcar Named Desire

    Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

    Vivien Leigh - Gone With The Wind


    There have been many great performances by actors before and since, but for me those three are in a completely different league to everyone else.

    Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men also comes very close to making that list
  • Syntax ErrorSyntax Error Posts: 27,735
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Kevin Bacon - Murder In The First
    Sylvester Stallone - Cop Land
    Charlize Theron - Monster
    Al Pacino - Scarface
    Robert De Niro - Raging Bull
    Denzel Washington - Training Day
    Leonardo Di Caprio - Catch Me If You Can
    Danny Glover - The Colour Purple
    Chiwitel Ejiofor - 12 Years A Slave
    Michael Fassbender - 12 Years A Slave
    Meryl Streep - Sophie's Choice
    Halle Berry - Monster's Ball
Sign In or Register to comment.