Your ‘Best acting performance’ in a motion picture.

[j0nnyhb_Prime]

Mine goes to JK Simmons in Whiplash.

Just watched it for the 4th time with
My youngest who hadn’t seen it (he’s 18 so wasn’t exposing a 10 year old to that kind of language 😀).

The character Terance Fletcher is one of the baddest dudes on the planet. Watch the movie if you haven’t seen it.

 

[jasonrann]

Billy Bob Thornton...Sling Blade.

 

[FAUlty Gator]

Stock answer:

Eli Wallach as Tuco

Robert Shaw as Quint

Jack Nicholson as RP MacMurphy

 

[j0nnyhb_Prime]

Another good one IMO is Nicholas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas.

 

[QChawks]

 

[ConvenientParking]

Danny DeVito in Throw Momma from the Train

 

[St. Louis Hawk]

Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon.

Hackman in The French Connection.

 

[stillh8unlv]

Not technically a motion picture, but I'd say Robert Duvall in Lonesome Dove

 

[FlickShagwell]

One of the best bits of acting I’ve ever seen.

 

[mnole03]

He’s your favorite actor’s favorite actor.

 

[GlenHawk]

 

[hawkifann]

It’s not the best ever, but we just watched “Rain Man” with the kids and damn Dustin Hoffman was great in that. Denzel Washington in “Glory“ was also really, really good.

 

[dgordo]

Hard to beat Christian slater in gleaming the cube.

 

[hawkeyetraveler]

 

[Tenacious E]

It’s not the best ever, but we just watched “Rain Man” with the kids and damn Dustin Hoffman was great in that. Denzel Washington in “Glory“ was also really, really good.

Take your pick of actors in Glory.

 

[prlyles]

Billy Bob Thornton...Sling Blade.

Yes.

 

[DrVenkman]

Leo in Revenant

No one gets mauled by a bear like he does.

 

[ANYCHawk]

Mine goes to JK Simmons in Whiplash.

Just watched it for the 4th time with
My youngest who hadn’t seen it (he’s 18 so wasn’t exposing a 10 year old to that kind of language 😀).

You mean my best friend?

(Cropped me out cause I don't want McLovin to harass me)

 

[HawkOptimist]

Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood

Leonardo DeCaprio in Wolf of Wall Street

Denzel Washington in Training Day

Tom Hanks in Cast Away

Jack Nicholson in The Shining

Joe Pesci in Goodfellas

Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly in Stepbrothers

 

[h-hawk]

The list would realistically be at hundreds of performances long. Some of my favorites-

Robert Donat - Goodbye Mr Chips
Jack Lemmon - The Apartment
Tom Hanks - Saving Private Ryan
Amy Adams - Enchanted - with 6 Oscar nominations to her name, it should now be evident that her naïve princess was one of her finest creations.
Meryl Streep - too many to name. Maybe the best actor of either sex ever.
Humphrey Bogart - The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon

 

[Hawk and Awe]

Health Ledger - The Dark Knight

This is the best performance of all time IMO. I didn’t realize he actually won for supporting actor which is one of the many silly examples of how the Oscar rules work.

Somehow this movie made me retroactively enjoy watching his other movies (I’ve never seen the cowboy one). Not a common phenomenon.

 

[Niko13]

Val Kilmer- Tombstone
James McAvoy- Split
Heath Ledger- The Dark Knight
Claude Rains- The Invisible Man
Al Pacino- Scent of a Woman
Elijah Wood- Green Street Hooligans
Philip Seymour Hoffman- Capote or Charlie Wilson's War (Both Excellent Performances)
Daniel Day-Lewis- There Will Be Blood
Liam Neeson- Schindler's List
Johnny Depp- Ed Wood
Samuel L. Jackson- Pulp Fiction

 

[Titus Andronicus]

There are so many, but I will suggest Anthony Hopkins in "Titus:"

 

[hexumhawk]

Mine goes to JK Simmons in Whiplash.

Just watched it for the 4th time with
My youngest who hadn’t seen it (he’s 18 so wasn’t exposing a 10 year old to that kind of language 😀).

The character Terance Fletcher is one of the baddest dudes on the planet. Watch the movie if you haven’t seen it.

Amazing movie

 

[hexumhawk]

Everyone in this movie

 

[Titus Andronicus]

Here is another: Ian McKellen in Richard III

 

[h-hawk]

He’s your favorite actor’s favorite actor.

There is an excellent short documentary on him and how he was not in very many films but the ones he was in are highly regarded and several nominated for best picture.
Wonderful story about him from Robert De Niro IIRC who was a friend. De Niro says Cazale was telling them about his new girlfriend who was the best actress he had ever seen. They were smiling and laughing, saying sure she is, right. Well it turns out he was dating a then unknown Meryl Streep

 

[Nole-4-Life]

Tom Beringer in Platoon. He was robbed of the Oscar that year.

 

[HawkOptimist]

Wow, I can’t believe I left Heath Ledger from The Dark Knight off my list. That one should rank up near the top of any all-time best performances list.

Will also add...

Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook

 

[jasonrann]

Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven.

 

[jasonrann]

Leo in Revenant

No one gets mauled by a bear like he does.

Good call, @DrVenkman .

 

[jasonrann]

There is an excellent short documentary on him and how he was not in very many films but the ones he was in are highly regarded and several nominated for best picture.
Wonderful story about him from Robert De Niro IIRC who was a friend. De Niro says Cazale was telling them about his new girlfriend who was the best actress he had ever seen. They were smiling and laughing, saying sure she is, right. Well it turns out he was dating a then unknown Meryl Streep

I was just about to mention his performance in The Deer Hunter. She was in that too. Great flick, but it sure leaves a mark.

 

[St. Louis Hawk]

Tom Beringer in Platoon. He was robbed of the Oscar that year.

Death? What do you all know about death?

 

[LesClaypool]

Roberto Benigni in Life is Beautiful. This scene is, as the movie's title implies, beautiful...as is the entire performance. I've never seen anything like it before or since.



Also the best Oscar celebration in history...

 

[h-hawk]

Robert Middleton was great as the bear of a neighbor who loved to race in Friendly Persuasion.

Chuck Connors was a terrific athlete who played pro baseball and pro basketball but he was also a very good actor. With all due respect to Burl Ives, it was Connors who should have been nominated and won an Oscar for The Big Country.

 

[tumorboy]

Hallie Berry pretending she enjoyed sex with Billy Bob Thorton in Monster's Ball

 

[hawkifann]

Take your pick of actors in Glory.

Very true. Hard to pick just one.