Three Most Remarkable Performances in Film or TV

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There are sooooo many, so it's best to take whatever comes to mind at the time and list those 3. Someone will probably mention the ones you forgot.

I'll post some obvious ones...


Heath Ledger as the Joker.
It literally was more noteworthy than all of Nolans Batman movies entire. It set the bar for actors going forward to break the mold when tackling known characters. This makes me curious what RDJs Doctor Doom will be like.

Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.
Best. Vocabulary. Ever. Listening to him talk was so enjoyable it would make me laugh even when no jokes were being told. Possibly the most charming performance I've ever seen.

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.
Like Kilmers Holliday, Hopkins took me by surprise by his unique take. TBPH im.certain Sir Anthony walked thru this role with his eyes closed, but ours were wide open. I don't believe a performance has ever netted an Oscar for Best Actor with less screen time. He, not the writer, set the bar for many offshoots and spinoff to come.



Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man.
Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot.
Piper Laurie in Carrie.


These 3 actors were superb in their roles. 🤗

@RichieRich you'll like this thread.



Isabelle Adjani, Possession 1981


Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man


Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men 1992



Honorable mentions:

Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver


Bruce Lee, Enter the Dragon


Tatsuya Nakadai, The Sword of Doom


Denzel Washington, Glory



Martin Landau in Ed Wood - My favorite movie performance. It just covers the gamut of acting and of the human experience so well. It's funny, sad, tragic, inspiring, elegiac, representative of what it means to be a good friend...you name it.

Rudolf Hrusinsky in The Cremator - The best portrait of a descent into insanity I'll likely ever see. If Christian Bale in American Psycho or Edward Norton in Fight Club got under your skin, see this.

Juliette Binoche in Three Colours: Blue - My favorite female performance in a movie. It's such an accurate and affecting portrayal of grief.



I'll limit myself to my first-watches this year, so far...


Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter


Olivia De Havilland in The Heiress


Jodie Comer in Prima Facie. Filmed theater but she's electrifying...
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Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.
I don't believe a performance has ever netted an Oscar for Best Actor with less screen time. He, not the writer, set the bar for many offshoots and spinoff to come.
I think David Niven in Separate Tables has even less screentime.

And I don't like Tombstone much but damn Kilmer is unforgettable in it.



I think I'm right in saying that Al Pacino boycotted the 1973 Oscars because he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, when Marlon Brando was nominated for Best Actor with less screen time than him.
Brando also boycotted the ceremony for some other reason I can't remember.



Martin Landau in Ed Wood - My favorite movie performance. It just covers the gamut of acting and of the human experience so well. It's funny, sad, tragic, inspiring, elegiac, representative of what it means to be a good friend...you name it..
Great pick! He absolutely stole the film, and there were some heavy hitters in that one.



Gregory Peck - To Kill a Mockingbird



I generally don't pay attention to acting, but I'm pretty confident with these picks:


Humphrey Bogart ‐ The Treasure of the Sierra Madre


Denis Lavant ‐ Beau Travail


Jason Robards ‐ Magnolia






Bette Davis ‐ All About Eve


Isabelle Adjani ‐ Possession


Ellen Burstyn ‐ Requiem for a Dream
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"You're insane!" "I thought I was a Pisces!"
Mads Mikkelsen has a few...

One Eye in Valhalla Rising
Lucas in Jagten
Martin in Druk



Extremely difficult to post 3 so I will stick strictly to television. Probably will get booed for this.

1 - Dr. House (House) - Hugh Laurie
2 - Walter White (Breaking Bad) - Bryan Cranston
3 - Sonny Crockett (Miami Vice) - Don Johnson
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I only have one for now... and only because I was thinking about this today... but...
Eddie Albert in The Longest Yard (1974).

This is because, by 1974 Eddie Albert had been typecast as a nice guy / comedian from the Green Acres TV series.
He was so scheming, so duplicitous, so angry, so evil - he pulled off being a villain so convincingly in The Longest Yard that it was a shock to people who'd only known him from Green Acres.




Extremely difficult to post 3 so I will stick strictly to television. Probably will get booed for this.

1 - Dr. House (House) - Hugh Laurie
2 - Walter White (Breaking Bad) - Bryan Cranston
3 - Sonny Crockett (Miami Vice) - Don Johnson
For Miami Vice I would have gone with Edward James Olmos as Lieutenant Castillo. He just ate the screen. His calm steely demeanor was enthralling. Even when sharing scenes with Johnson & Thomas the viewer just knew he was "the man".



Kim Stanley in Séance On A Wet Afternoon
Martin Sheen in The Incident
Sheryl Lee in Fire Walk With Me



Anne Bancroft was a superb actress. Pretty amazing considering she was apparently alcoholic. Perhaps The Elephant Man.
Have to have a place for Gena Rowlands in Under the Influence.
And Isabella Adjani for Possession probably wouldn't be too controversial.

RMs:
Rennee Jean Falconetti, The Passion of Joan of Arc
Peter O'Toole, Lawrence of Arabia
Faye Dunaway, Network
Marlon Brando, A Streetcar Named Desire
Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive or 81/2 Grams
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will be Blood
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tom Hardy, Bronson
Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse



Bette Davis - Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.

Anthony Perkins -Psycho.

Charlton Heston-Ben Hur.
I watched Psycho recently, watched it many times and still enjoyed it.