Show Stopping Performances !!!
by harifedr89 | created - 24 Dec 2011 | updated - 28 Dec 2011 | PublicThis is not a list of the greatest performances, if thats what you think. Its a list of actors that made good movies( & a few actors have made very ordinary movies look good) even more memorable. Its totally based only on the few movies that I've seen.
1. Malcolm McDowell
Actor | A Clockwork Orange
Malcolm John Taylor was born on June 13, 1943 in Leeds, England, to working-class parents Edna (McDowell), a hotelier, and Charles Taylor, a publican. His father was an alcoholic. Malcolm hated his parents' ways. His father was keen to send his son to private school to give him a good start in life...
Yes... in 'A clockwork orange'. The only other movie of his I've seen is "If". This is one of the best performances ever, and also one of my favorite movie of all time.
2. Al Pacino
Actor | Serpico
Alfredo James "Al" 'Pacino established himself as a film actor during one of cinema's most vibrant decades, the 1970s, and has become an enduring and iconic figure in the world of American movies.
He was born April 25, 1940 in Manhattan, New York City, to Italian-American parents, Rose (nee Gerardi)...
"Scarface" - Al Pacino is the most electrifying man in movies imo, and you will be seeing a lot more of him.
3. Jack Nicholson
Actor | Chinatown
Jack Nicholson, an American actor, producer, director and screenwriter, is a three-time Academy Award winner and twelve-time nominee. Nicholson is also notable for being one of two actors - the other being Michael Caine - who have received an Oscar nomination in every decade from the '60s through ...
"One flew over the cuckoo's nest" - Don't get me wrong, this is a great movie, and Nicholson's performance has made it what it is today.
4. Robert De Niro
Actor | Cape Fear
One of the greatest actors of all time, Robert De Niro was born on August 17, 1943 in Manhattan, New York City, to artists Virginia (Admiral) and Robert De Niro Sr. His paternal grandfather was of Italian descent, and his other ancestry is Irish, English, Dutch, German, and French. He was trained ...
"The Deer Hunter" - Most would say that Raging Bull was his best, but I personally believe that his performance in this movie was a little better and also his best performance ever, not to forget, Christopher Walken was great too.
5. Harvey Keitel
Actor | Reservoir Dogs
American actor and producer Harvey Keitel was born on May 13, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York City, to Miriam (Klein) and Harry Keitel. An Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominee, he has appeared in films such as Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976), Ridley Scott's The Duellists (...
"Bad Lieutenant" - I saw this only recently & after watching Cage's version, at that. He carries the entire movie & is the sole savior of the film, to be honest, I thought Port of call.... was better as a movie, but in terms of performance, no match whatsoever !!
6. Al Pacino
Actor | Serpico
Alfredo James "Al" 'Pacino established himself as a film actor during one of cinema's most vibrant decades, the 1970s, and has become an enduring and iconic figure in the world of American movies.
He was born April 25, 1940 in Manhattan, New York City, to Italian-American parents, Rose (nee Gerardi)...
"Dog Day Afternoon" - Al Pacino steals the show yet again, but only this time, the movie was great too(unlike Scarface).
7. Denzel Washington
Actor | Fences
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. was born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. He is the middle of three children of a beautician mother, Lennis, from Georgia, and a Pentecostal minister father, Denzel Washington, Sr., from Virginia. After graduating from high school, Denzel enrolled at ...
"Training Day" - I'm not saying the movie is a classic, don't even know if people actually consider his performance 'great' for that matter, but it was way too good for me, maybe 'cause I'm a fan of the actor or we're not used to seeing him playing a bad guy.
8. Al Pacino
Actor | Serpico
Alfredo James "Al" 'Pacino established himself as a film actor during one of cinema's most vibrant decades, the 1970s, and has become an enduring and iconic figure in the world of American movies.
He was born April 25, 1940 in Manhattan, New York City, to Italian-American parents, Rose (nee Gerardi)...
"Scent of a Woman" - If you thought he was my favorite actor, you're wrong. Its actually De Niro, but I also feel that De Niro, as great an actor he is or probably even the best ever(I really don't want to say much 'cause I haven't seen a lot of Paul Newman's movies, whom I believe to be one the contenders for the 'best ever' title) certainly is next only to Al Pacino & Jack Nicholson when it comes to electrifying the screen.
9. Dustin Hoffman
Actor | Tootsie
Dustin Lee Hoffman was born in Los Angeles, California, to Lillian (Gold) and Harry Hoffman, who was a furniture salesman and prop supervisor for Columbia Pictures. He was raised in a Jewish family (from Ukraine, Russia-Poland, and Romania). Hoffman graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1955, ...
"Midnight Cowboy" - one of his many memorable performances.
10. Anthony Hopkins
Actor | The Silence of the Lambs
Anthony Hopkins was born on December 31, 1937, in Margam, Wales, to Muriel Anne (Yeats) and Richard Arthur Hopkins, a baker. His parents were both of half Welsh and half English descent. Influenced by Richard Burton, he decided to study at College of Music and Drama and graduated in 1957. In 1965, ...
"The Silence of the Lambs" - It has to be this one, This movie is my favorite thriller of all time and I've seen it many times, and to this day, I still haven't been able to find a thriller as intriguing as this. People suggested various movies, but this one stands out as the best, courtesy Anthony Hopkins' 15 minute screen time. (Jodie Foster & Ted Levine made up for the rest)
11. Robert De Niro
Actor | Cape Fear
One of the greatest actors of all time, Robert De Niro was born on August 17, 1943 in Manhattan, New York City, to artists Virginia (Admiral) and Robert De Niro Sr. His paternal grandfather was of Italian descent, and his other ancestry is Irish, English, Dutch, German, and French. He was trained ...
"Raging Bull" - He did great in what could've otherwise been a quite boring movie, well complemented by his buddy, Joe Pesci, though I still feel that this is one of the best sports drama there is.
12. Joe Pesci
Actor | Goodfellas
Compact Italian-American actor Joe Pesci was born February 9, 1943 in Newark, New Jersey, to Mary (Mesce), a part-time barber, and Angelo Pesci, a bartender and forklift driver. Pesci first broke into entertainment as a child actor, and by the mid-1950s, was starring on the series "Star Time Kids"....
"Goodfellas" - I can watch it even another 100 times, thanks to this guy, and it was surprising to see that he stood out in a movie that had De Niro in his prime, and frankly, even Ray Liotta's performance out shadowed De Niro's .
13. Clint Eastwood
Actor | Million Dollar Baby
Clint Eastwood was born May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, to Clinton Eastwood Sr., a bond salesman and later manufacturing executive for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and Ruth Wood (née Margret Ruth Runner), a housewife turned IBM clerk. He grew up in nearby Piedmont. At school Clint took interest in ...
"Gran Torino" - I liked Eastwood in this even better than the likes of Dirty Harry & the good, the bad & the ugly.
14. Nicolas Cage
Actor | Face/Off
Nicolas Cage was born Nicolas Kim Coppola in Long Beach, California, the son of comparative literature professor August Coppola (whose brother is director Francis Ford Coppola) and dancer/choreographer Joy Vogelsang. He is of Italian (father) and Polish and German (mother) descent. Cage changed his...
"The Bad Lieutenant : port of call-New Orleans" - I can't draw any comparisons to the original, because Harvey Keitel's performance is immortal, but still Cage here delivers his very best.
15. Reese Witherspoon
Producer | Wild
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon was born on March 22, 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Betty Witherspoon, a registered nurse & John Draper Witherspoon, a military surgeon. Reese spent the first 4 years of her life in Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany, where her father served as a lieutenant colonel in the ...
"Freeway" - Say what you will about this film, but the acting was simply great.
16. Kiefer Sutherland
Actor | 24
Kiefer Sutherland was born in London, England, UK, to Canadian actors Shirley Douglas and Donald Sutherland, who moved to California shortly after his birth. His maternal grandfather, Tommy Douglas, was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who was a Premier of Saskatchewan for over 17 years and led ...
"Freeway" - I still think he is a very boring actor, but don't know what got into him when he did this film.
17. Heath Ledger
Actor | Brokeback Mountain
When hunky, twenty-year-old heart-throb Heath Ledger first came to the attention of the public in 1999, it was all too easy to tag him as a "pretty boy" and an actor of little depth. He spent several years trying desperately to sway this image, but this was a double-edged sword. His work comprised ...
"The Dark Knight" - A huge movie propelled by his stellar performance.
18. Peter Sellers
Actor | Being There
Often credited as the greatest comedian of all time, Peter Sellers was born Richard Henry Sellers to a well-off acting family in 1925 in Southsea, a suburb of Portsmouth. He was the son of Agnes Doreen "Peg" (Marks) and William "Bill" Sellers. His parents worked in an acting company run by his ...
"Dr. Strangelove"
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