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Q: What is your favourite performance by an actor in a film?

no votes
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by Lucien

Doesn't necessarily mean the most Oscar worthy, just the one you most enjoy watching for whatever reason

Mine: Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York - lovely stuff - closely followed by Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange. <3 both those intelligent, charismatic sociopaths. And a third place podium finish for - and unless you've see the movie, this is going to sound embarrassing - Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone. Everything else he's done is stunningly poor, but he's schmick in that.

Lucien | 17 Jul '08, 11:05 | Send note | Report this | Reply

Oh yeah

Ed Norton in American History is superb


erm,

*X


and then he had to go and do

Keeping the Faith.


just when i was getting past

your homophobia...


Val Kilmer in tombstone:

Fucking amazing.
Tombstone - Fucking amazing!


Brad Pitt in Fight Club

OR
Daniel Day Lewis in There Will BE bLOOD.


Can't choose

between Pesci, Liotta and De Niro in Goodfellas.


A few:

Ed Norton - Primal Fear
Nicholson - One flew over the cuckoos nest (obvious but brilliant)
Johnny Depp - Ed Wood
George Clooney - O Brother where art thou
David Stratairn - Good night, and good luck
Vincent Cassel - La Haine

in fact there are loads and I cannot pick one.


Christian Bale in American Psycho

Terrifying, intelligent, hilarious. He looks great too.


Bill Paxton in Aliens/Predator 2.

Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny.


De Niro in anything pre 1980

Deerhunter is his performance


*best performance

I'm so shite today


I've got a few

Al Pacino in Godfather II
Liam Neeson & Ben Kingsley in Schindler's List
Robert de Niro in Raging Bull or Taxi Driver
Even Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Carribean.

oh

and Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka.


Surely Ralph Fiennes

blows everyone else out of the water in that film?


He is

but I would argue it is harder to play Schindler well in that film. I think it is slightly easier to play (and get the plaudits for) a violent psychopath.


True

very true. I will include him as well.


Marlon Brando in streetcar named desire

just cos he's sexy

mike myers in austin powers because he has hilarious facial features

and samuel L jackson in pulp fiction because every line he delivers in the most cool way you could potentially deliver that line. It's a joy.


Al Pacino in The Devils Advocate

Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys
Kevin Spacey in Usual Suspects
Charlize Theron in Monster


Good call on Monster

She's terrifyingly good in that.


Travolta/Cage in Face Off

Superb stuff


Bruno Ganz as Hitler in Downfall

To bring such a charicatured historical figure to life with such realism without once straying into cartoony archetypes is incredible - for most of that film, honest to God you think you are actually watching Hitler. It's jaw dropping


^^^^Good shout LordLucius

Fucking immense performance, I found myself feeling sorry for him at parts which is total credit to Ganzs performance.


^^ can only

echo what's been said in both posts. An epic performance.


Okays

Mark Wahlberg - The Departed
Christian Bale - The Prestige
Vinícius de Oliveira - Central Station (aww!)
Salvatore Cascio - Cinema Paradiso (aww!)


And

Cary Grant / Gary Cooper / Gregory Peck in anything.


Mark Wahlberg is great in The Departed

"I'm the guy doing his job. You must be the other guy."

I'd go for Audrey Tatou in Amelie. Or Vince Vaughn in Swingers. Or Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window.


But he really isn't

in fact he is becoming a fairly capable actor.


You clearly haven't seen The Happening.

Comic genius, he could give Judd Apatow a run for his money.


lets not start

this again


.

The one that really jumps out at me is Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast. Awesome.

As well as the obvious ones....


^^^Kingsley is fucking brilliant in sexy beast.

Terrifying performance.


Good call.


The film is a fairy story

but his performance is utterly breathless. And breathtaking.


I agree ht27, a tad corny in parts...

but anyone who doesn't have a huge grin on their faces because of Benigni performance must be a cold son of a bitch.


Absolutely

he's brilliant.


Klaus Kinski in Aguirre:wrath of God

or anything really.


Philip Seymour Hoffman

in most things he's appeared in, to be honest: Capote, Happiness, The Savages, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead


he is the hero of all that is good in the world

he just makes films good


totally agree....

watched Charlie wilsons war for the first time last night and every scene he is in he steals.
That films big letdown is that Hoffman is not in every scene.


Oh and I loved Philip Seymore Hoffman in Almost Famous

which also adds Kate Hudson to my list - I loved her as Penny Lane


^ what I was going to say

(Kinski in Aguirre, in case this post gets lost somewhere)

I would actually have said Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York if somebody had asked me my least favourite performance in a film ever.


^5 to the Malcolm McDowell choice

Paddy Considine in 'Dead Mans Shoes'' is nearly impeccable and Dennis Hopper in 'Blue Velvet'' eminates a most pungent evil. Completely engrossing.


I prefer Paddy in A Room For Romeo Brass

but DMS is bloody amazing.


tom waits

in short cuts.


leslie nielson

in naked gun.


nick cage

in leaving las vegas and raising arizona and adaptation.


i really hated nic cage

before adaptation.

still hanging out to see the wicker man!


You've got to see Wicker Man,

it's truly jaw dropping.


The thing about

Cage in Leaving las vegas is:

Once you've seen him be that good it's just annoying how lazy and half arsed he is in everything else.


^ Yes


^MASSIVE NO


^Yes


Val Kilmer

is very underrated


daniel day lewis in gangs of new york yes!!!

hes amazing.christian bale in american psycho.heath ledger as the joker (i know its not out yet but come on it looks ridiculously good)


^5

i love that performance so much, that i think i love him.


I want to be Max Fischer so much

I've started to look a bit like him


same.

glasses: check
moles: check
side parting of hair: check


i just need to work on my eyebrows,

but they're so light and the hairs are so fine. it's not gonna work :(


Oh I got the whole look down

I just need to find the perfect blue blazer and that's me.


I FOUND ONE!

i actually bought one in a charity shop, because when i tried it on i felt like mac fischer. i really need some 'attendance' and 'punctuality' badges though


:D

Also handy is that I do look 15!

I like to quote him too. Like:

Someone: "I did blah, blah, blah"
Me: "That's great. I wrote a hit play and directed it, so I'm not sweating it either."


SO DO I!

also, i think i'm spending too much time writing and stuff, i should probably be trying harder to score guys, cause that's all anyone cares about. also, I SAVED LATIN.


I actually prefer

Bill Murray's performance in Rushmore. Jason Schwartzman is a legend though. I really liked him in I <3 Huckabees.


i really liked his performance,

but just not as much.

i really liked i <3 huckabees too, i know it's dismissed a lot as 'pretentious', but i thought it had an interesting concept, great casting, and it was funny as well.


it's hilarious

and Mark Whalberg is good in it also.


i saw him in real life

at a film awards thing in sydney, and he is totally worth falling in love with. unfortunately he would be too short for me.

so freaking jealous that a guy i know got to interview him for total film:

http://www.totalfilm.com/features/jason_schwartzman_steps_off_the_darjeeling_limited

/end gush


yus!

"I like your nurses uniform"

"these are OR scrubs"

"O, R they?"

(bill murray chokes on ice)


Macaulay Culkin

Home Alone


Helena Bonham Carter as Marla

In fight club.

Tom Courtney in A day in the life of ivan desnovich

Michael caine in Alfie


good choice

there was a thread earlier tailor made for you (and some others) (i made it)


link plz.

i was probably sleeping. i'm pondering if i should take tomorrow off too.


replied!

i want to be home :(


reply again!

awww you wil be home soon enough wont you :)


6 weeks yesterday.

i cannot wait! i have to do loads of overtime before then though, like 27 hours or something. booo. my mum is coming to take some stuff in 4 weeks, yay!
that german footballer guy had his wedding reception just outside of munich recently. my friend said there were loads of paparazzi. how interesting.