The Top 25 Leading Performances Of All Time

For her performance as Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone With the Wind' (1939). Leigh died young at 53, but she gave the world the ultimate screen heroine who thrives in a pre-war and post war environment and maintains her selfish interior and feminine exterior in order to survive. Still the top grossing film of all time when adjusted for inflation.

For his performance as General George S. Patton in 'Patton' (1970). It's the best war biography of all time.

For his performance as Stanley Kowalski in 'A Streetcar Named Desire' (1951). One of the first great performances of the method actor and who was robbed of an Oscar because the winner that year got one for a "body of work".

For his performances as a U.S. President, a British military officer and a mad German scientist in 'Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' (1964). A little known fact about this film is that director Stanley Kubrick asked Sellers to play a fourth part in the film as the Major aboard a B-52 bomber. The part went to Slim Pickens after Sellers told Kubrick it would be too much to handle.

For his performance as Mahatma Gandhi in 'Gandhi' (1982). His performance stirred the conscience of film goers and those with any soul whatsoever.

For his performance as Christy Brown in 'My Left Foot' (1989). His unsympathetic performance as a man with cerebral palsy was a welcome change to characters with a physical handicap that the movies made us feel sorry for.

For his performance in 'Hamlet' (1948). The doomed prince of Denmark.

For his performance as Sonny Wortzik in 'Dog Day Afternoon' (1975). Pacino carries the entire film on his back in what is perhaps the best anti-hero performance in modern cinema.

For his performance as Terry Malloy in 'On the Waterfront' (1954). The scene in the back of the taxi with Rod Steiger playing the part of his brother is one of the greatest acting scenes in movie history.

for his performance as T.E. Lawrence in 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962). This is the most smashing and impressive debut performance in movie history.

For his performance as Atticus Finch in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (1962). This performance speaks for itself. No words are necessary.

For his performance as Travis Bickle in 'Taxi Driver' (1976). This character's social isolation in the big city is truly frightening to watch. He believes he is doing the right thing all along and it is a thoroughly convincing performance and De Niro loses himself in this performace better than any other he has ever given and IS the character.

For her performance as Ethel Thayer in 'On Golden Pond' (1981). Ms. Hepburn is considered by many as the greatest actress of all time and as late in her career as this performance was, she had the right stuff of the actress she was 40 to 50 years before that and redefined the word resilient. She won her 4th leading Oscar for this. Still a record.

For his performance as private eye J.J. Gittes in 'Chinatown' (1974). This is Nicholson's most clever performance. He has a mostly calm demeanor throughout it and a constant understanding of how to execute the character's intelligent style of investigation.

For his performance as Michael Dorsey in 'Tootsie' (1982). This is Hoffman's best performance, hands down. He even fooled those close to him dressing up as a woman in preparation for this role.

For his performance as John 'Scottie' Ferguson in 'Vertigo' (1958). This is considered the best performance ever given by an actor that wasn't nominated for an Academy Award. A truly magnificent performance about a man finding his hidden strength.

For his performance as Fast Eddie Felson in 'The Hustler' (1961). His performance is thoroughly convincing as a man who struggles to gain the respect of others and the respect he lacked for himself.

For his performance as Don Vito Corleone in 'The Godfather' (1972). Brando excels in a role that he created from scratch and few inventions of a character have been more multi-layered than this one. His character's speech, gestures and expressions are the stuff of what might be the greatest leading iconic character in movie history.

For his performance as Antonio Salieri in 'Amadeus' (1984). A large part of his character's performance in the film is spent talking to a priest in one room and telling a story from past to present. It shows a man's tortured soul that you feel sympathy for even though you really shouldn't.

For his performance as Col. Nicholson in 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' (1957). Guinness played very close to himself in this role and let one of the seven deadly sins, pride, get the better of his tragic character.

For his performance as Virgil Tibbs in 'In the Heat of the Night' (1967). As a police forensics officer from Philadelphia, he is forced to work with a bigoted sheriff and his staff in a small southern town. Poitier's character shows remarkable dignity and self worth as he works to a successful conclusion while battling the ugly face of racism.

For her performance as Princess Ann in 'Roman Holiday' (1953). A performance about the splendor of youth as a young princess gets to experience a taste of the real world.

For her performance as Mildred Pierce Beragnon in 'Mildred Pierce' (1945).

For his performance as C.C. Baxter in 'The Apartment' (1960). His portrayal of a working class hero trying to get to the top of the ladder at work might be the performance that more people can relate to than any other I have ever seen.

For her performance as Norman Desmond in 'Sunset Boulevard' (1950). This is one of the few "over the top" performances in movie history that works as an aging star of the silent film era sees her career and life fade with each passing year with the invention of the talking film, eventually driving her to insanity.