Pajiba

Edward Norton - "American History X".

Edward Norton in Primal Fear. I never heard of him before, but he blew Richard Gere off the screen.

That's incredibly hard. I think I'm gonna have to go with a Top 5 (in no particular order because I can never make up my mind). I don't know if they're THE best but they're the ones that had the greatest impact on me:

1. Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men
2. Heath Ledger in Dark Knight
3. Holly Hunter in the Piano
4. Liam Neeson in Schindler's List
5. Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry

My favorite classics:

Katherine Hepburn in "Bringing Up Baby" and Jack Lemmon in "Some Like it Hot". They're both so completely JOYFUL in those roles.

Katharine Hepburn - Bringing Up Baby and Philadelphia Story

She played herself in both and she's perfect.

Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove as Capt. Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley, and the good doctor himself. Yes, it's cool that Sellers played each role, but he uses each character to create three of the best comic performances of the past 50 years.

For a modern choice, I'll go with Sam Rockwell in just about anything. If pressed for a specific role, I loved him as Charlie Ford in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

My all time favorite is Peter Finch as Howard Beale in “Network.”

The entire cast of Battlestar Galactica. Love or hate the finale, for seventy-odd episodes you could not look away from the television screen because of the raw power of that cast's acting. Extra points to Tricia Helfer who managed to make the half dozen or so main variations of Six instantly recognizable and distinct.

I'm going to limit myself to two. The first two that come to mind are:

1) Jack Lemmon as C.C Baxter in The Apartment. An absolute classic.

2) Al Pacino as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. He totally blew me away here.

Emily Watson in "Breaking the Waves."

Helen Mirren and Liv Ullmann in just about anything they've ever done.

Peter O'Toole in "Lawrence of Arabia."

Ulrich Mühe in "The Lives of Others."

There are a lot, actually:

Paul Newman in The Verdict
Katharine Hepburn in The Lion in Winter
Faye Dunaway in Network
Reese Witherspoon in Election
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Flawless
Jeff Bridges in The Fisher King
Jane Fonda in Coming Home

And those are just the ones that come immediately to mind.

And naivehelga, I agree with you completely about Angels in America. Oh, yes. OH, yes. That just ripped out my heart. My god, every single actor in that was BRILLIANT.

Modern:

Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting

Ben Whishaw in Perfume

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley

Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood

Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting

Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road

Ellen Page in Juno

Brad Pitt in Snatch

Audrey Tatou in Amelie

Classic:

Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove (and really, anything he's in is amazing)

George C. Scott in Patton

Woody Allen in Annie Hall (he's himself, but it's still great)

Katherine Hepburn in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

I'm not a good conosieur of classic film if I'm being honest.

The first one that came to mind for me was David Strathairn in Good Night and Good Luck. Not a flashy role, but damn, there was something special and memorable there.

And ditto the Heath Ledger as Joker mention as well as the Angels in America cast and Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth I (even over her performance as Queen Elizabeth II!).

Modern: Andre Royo in The Wire

Such a good performance you almost forget he's not a crackhead and just discount it.

Classic: Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia

Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon
Jackie Chan in Legend of the Drunken Master
Sigourney Weaver in Aliens
Morgan Freeman in Glory
John Belushi in Animal House
Bud Abbott & Lou Costello in Buck Privates
The Marx Brothers in Animal Crackers
Bill Murray in Caddy Shack and Groundhog Day
Richard Pryor in Stir Crazy
Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness
Robert Shaw in Jaws
Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

For me it's too hard to dissect a truly great movie, so it's easier too pinpoint a spectacular performance in an okay movie. Case in point, Emma Thompson as the betrayed wife in Love Actually. Dumb movie, but she takes her 7 minutes of screen time and punches you in the gut with it.

Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Honestly? Kills me. Kills me every fucking time.

For me, the standout acting performance I always think of is from TV. And that is David Tennant as John Smith in the Human Nature/Family of Blood two parter. Gives me chills everytime.

As for Movies...eh...I'm not such a critic, but I'll agree with Heath Ledger in TDK. I also adore Keri Russell's performance in Waitress.

I'll second Jeff Bridges as The Dude, and Kerri Russell in Waitress.

Also:
Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey in Heavenly Creatures
Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys

And for a classic, my newest favorite performance:
Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde.

Helen Mirren in Gosford Park

Bette Davis in All About Eve

always absorbing to watch them. Tho I'm in with Verbal Kint and Tracy Lord too.

Modern- Meryl fucking streep in adaptation.
Maggie gyllenhall in sherrybaby
joseph gordon-levitt in brick

classic- peter sellers in being there
audrey hepburn in breakfast at tiffanys

Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands

Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman

and

Michelle Williams in The Baxter

Anthony Hopkins - Silence of the Lambs. Fuck me, I get shivers just thhinking about it.

Josh Peck - The Wackness. Pure money, G.

The rest have been said so I'll leave it at that.

1) Robert De Niro - Taxi Driver
2) Peter Sellers - Being There
3) Jeff Bridges - Big Lebowski
4) Bill Murray - Stripes
5) Johnny Depp - Ed Wood
6) Klaus Kinski - Aguirre
7) Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler (so sue me...I cried like a bitch)
Bonus Brad Pitt 12 Monkeys (one of those "dude can act" moments)

#1 because De Niro's performance really captured what makes Travis Bickle such a sad, fucked-up character...plus the mirror scene just slays me.

Female performance award - Sigourney Weaver in Aliens

The cast of Glengary Glen Ross
The cast of Doubt

Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth
Jason Isaacs in The Patriot
Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys
Judy Dench in Notes on a Scandal
Geoffrey Rush in Shakespeare in Love & Elizabeth
Roy Scheider in Blue Thunder
Gene Hackman in Runaway Jury
Ed Norton in Primal Fear
Daniel Day Lewis in Gangs of New York
Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine

Oh yeah, forgot to mention Clint Eastwood in the Dollars trilogy, since that performance is what I've basically modeled my life around, and for obvious sheer badassery.

Jack Lemmon - Glengarry Glenross

Tom Hanks - Road To Perdition

Robert DeNiro & Charles Grodin - Midnight Run

Udo Kier - Flesh For Frankenstein & Blood For Dracula

My choices are all older because (a) I've been out of the movie-going loop for a while; and (b) I'm old.

Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice

Jane Fonda in Klute
For that matter, Donald Sutherland in Klute.

Daniel Day Lewis in My Left Foot.

Russell Crowe in The Insider *and* LA Confidential, back-to-back. Range.

Katherine Hepburn *and* Peter O'Toole in The Lion in Winter. Riveting.

Paul Newman in Nobody's Fool.

Emma Thompson in Sense and Sensibility.

More recently...Ryan Gosling in Lars and The Real Girl and yes, Amy Adams in Junebug.

And Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain. Wow.

After a quick scan, the only one left out that comes to mind is Sir Anthony Hopkins in "Silence of the Lambs".

word to rutger hauer as roy batty.

all those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain.

Anthing by Ed Harris, Ed Norton, Cate Blanchett or Christian Bale.

I (have to) second 'phaedawg' on André Royo, but then again, the entire cast of The Wire should be on that list. But it's a tv show, not really the same (I may as well say Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje in Oz, or Michael C. Hall in Dexter, or Peter Krause in Six Feet Under, or Edie Falco in The Sopranos...)
I second Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight and I second Ryan Gosting in Half-Nelson
I'd pick Ryoo Seung-beom and Choi Min-sik in Crying Fist (Choi Min-sik is also amazing in Old Boy) both are just breathtaking.
Viggo Mortensen (and David Morse) in The Indian Runner
Daniel Day Lewis in... well... everything
Olivier Gourmet in Le Fils
Russell Crowe in The Insider
Sam Rockwell in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (also I second 'Fox' here)
Benicio Del Toro in 21 Grams
Brad Pitt in 21 Grams
Tom Cruise in Magnolia
Leonardo Di Caprio in The Departed
Will Smith in Ali
and Jean-Claude Van Damme in JCVD

oh and Tommy Wiseau in The Room

Classic

Lino Ventura in Army of Shadows
Michel Simon in Panic
Bourvil in The Red Circle
Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire
Paul Newman in Cat on a Hot Thin Roof
Takashi Shimura in Ikiru
Toshiro Mifune in Akahige (Red Beard)

There's more. I know I forgot all those who are so great in so horrible flicks they manage to make 'em descent, which leads me to this : why not a list of the worst performances. The ones so bad they actually ruin an otherwise good movie...(it may already exists on this site, I apologize in advance)

I vote for Robert Pattinson in Harry Potter 4 (I really want to see that guy torched to death)

oh and Tommy Wiseau in The Room

It's a really wide open question. I wish it were more clearly defined. In the interest of putting them in consideration, I'll add Bill Murray in Rushmore and Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption.

J.E. Freeman in Miller's Crossing
Naomi Watts in 21 Grams
Paul Giamatti in Sideways
Morgan Freeman in Se7en
Jennifer Connelly in Requiem For A Dream

Fox says: Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove ... for a modern choice, I'll go with Sam Rockwell in just about anything.

What excellent choices!

I was watching Frost/Nixon last night, thinking to myself how underrated Rockwell is.

Newman, "Cool Hand Luke"

Welles, "Citizen Kane"

Ingrid Bergman - Gaslight

Daniel Day-Lewis - Gangs of New York

Ed Norton - American History X

Amy Adams - Junebug

And I can't believe no one has mentioned this one yet:

Marion Cotillard - La Vie En Rose

a nod to my fellow marlon brando fan
of course Apocalypse Now,
of course On The Waterfront,
of course The Grandfather, alongside with Al Pacino(The Scarecrow, Scarface, Dog Day Afternoon, Needle Park, Serpico...) and Bob De Niro.

I forgot Henri Fonda in 12 Angry Men
and Clive Owen in Closer (fuck he stole everyone's fire, the scene with Julia Roberts, I actually thought he was going to hit her)

Kevin Bacon in Hollow Man (he owned it)

Sylvester Stallone in Copland
Arnold Schwartzenegger in Predator
Robert Patrick in T2

Am going to second Marion Cotillard and Daniel Day Lewis in Gangs of New York.

I also love you guys for how much love Jack Lemmon is getting. He can never be praised enough.

Late to the party - so I'll just agree with everyone. Except that one stupid suggestion, whatever it was.

Daniel Day Lewis - Gangs of New York (the one and only reason I bother rewatching it)

Jeff Bridges and John Goodman - Big Lebowski (the funniest duo I've ever seen onscreen)

The entire cast of The Wire ("excuse us while we raise this acting bar")

And Ian McShane as Al Swearengen. What a god.

I'm going to try and go a little more obscure, to pull out some underrated but amazing performances:

First....THE WOMEN

1. Shirley MacLaine in "Terms of Endearment." She runs the gambit from utter self-absorption to desperation at thought of her daughter being in pain. She breaks my heart in this movie.

2. Julianne Moore in "The Hours." When you can make me simultaneously love you and hate you, you are a great actor.

3. Meryl Streep in "Kramer vs. Kramer." Her performance here makes me want to curl up into the fetal position.

4. Sally Field in "Steel Magnolias." Clearly, the best actress of the ensemble cast, her graveyard scene still chokes me up and makes me laugh.

5. Whoopi Goldberg in "The Color Purple." How is it that people forget how freakin' phenomenal she was in this role?

And now...THE MEN

1. Heath Ledger in "Brokeback Mountain." It's easy to want to pick his portrayal of The Joker, but this was, far and away, the role of a lifetime for Ledger.

2. Jack Nicholson in "The Witches of Eastwick." He is 100% Jack and 100% camp in this role. If ever anyone was born to play the devil...

3. Dustin Hoffman in "Tootsie." Genius, genius performance, both as a man and as his female counterpart.

4. Tom Hanks in "Big." His performance still makes me long to be a kid again, and the emotional complexity he demonstrates of growing up too young, too fast is pure brilliance.

5. Nick Nolte in "Prince of Tides." His Southern accent is spot on, and any man who can hold his own to the Babs and not loose control of the scene is an amazing actor in my estimation.

Honorable mention goes to Ashley Judd in "Someone Like You," which should have cemented her rom-com fate forever. I've never seen anyone bring to screen so realistically and painfully what it's really like to get dumped.

Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder

COME ON!

Hugh Jackman in The Fountain
Nicole Kidman in To Die For

Yes, seriously.

Gosling in Stay...

The Pink Hulk>> I feel guilty for loving Someone Like You so much, but Ashley Judd is so great. That movie is 12 kinds of ridiculous and gimmicky, but she humanizes to the point that it's watchable. That's some good acting.

Paul Newman in The Verdict. Case closed. There is no other acceptable answer.

Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland. Probably the first time I ever walked out of a theater stunned at a performance.

Oh yeah, the second time that happened was Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood. And since a bunch of RULES IGNORING ASSHOLES are putting in the entire cast of The Wire, I'm going to nominate for this non-existent prize most of the cast of Friday Night Lights, but especially Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler. I am the least romantic person I know, but their relationship makes me believe in love. That may be an exaggeration, but only a slight one.

Modern:
Samuel L. Jackson - Snakes on a Plane

Classic:
Samuel L. Jackson - Deep Blue Sea

Wall-E in WALL-E

OK, ok...
Hugh Jackman in The Fountain breaks my heart
Christian Bale in American Psycho
Sir Ian McKellen in Lord of the Rings

I think some movies have been excluded because the original diversion seemed to be what performances in a movie were better than the movie itself or at least elevated the movie with the performance alone. So I don't think movies like Fight Club, Jaws, The Dark knight, Godfather really counted because they are considered great anyway.

In that spirit, 2 more:

Ed Harris - Just Cause
Brandon Lee and Michael Wincott - The Crow

Been thinking about the females;

Michelle Pfieffer in.......Grease 2, QUIET! I'll tell you, why. Probably the only time (apart from maybe Married to the Mob) when she became the character. She WAS Zinoni and she seemed to relish it. After that it's all been safe, one note roles that seem to be a weird variation on her character in Ladyhawke.

Tea Leoni (whom I despise) in Bad Boys, she pulled off sexy and vulnerable (a "wow she can act" performance)

Mia Sara as Sloane Peterson, I wish I was married to that ('cause Sloane is the kind of girl you want to be with for the rest of your life and she rocked it), she was also da' bomb in Legend.

Frances Sternhagen as the burned-out doctor in Outland. (the prototype Saul Tigh)

Alan Rickman - Truly, Madly, Deeply. And, a performance way better than the movie, Alan Rickman - Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.

Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Man and Choi Min-sik in Oldboy

Russell Crowe as Bud White in LA Confidential=ASTONISHING, and as Maximus in Gladiator=WOW.

Adrien Brody in Summer of Sam.

Reese Witherspoon in Freeway.(that gal's gonna be a stah!)

Classic~

John Garfield in Force of Evil

Bette Davis in All About Eve.

Rita Hayworth in Gilda

Have to echo everybody who has said Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain - it's one of the most incredible performances ever put on film, in a movie before its time.

As for old films: Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady. Rex Harrison played it so well, as if Higgins has no idea he's such a misogynist asshole, and even so oh well, he's perfectly content, thank you. Love it.

Anthony Hopkins in The Remains of the Day. Especially coming after The Silence of the Lambs, that one just left me astounded at Hopkins' ability to completely become another person.

I completely agree with this one.

Also, everyone in Band of Brothers (even Ross from Friends), and both Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page in Hard Candy.

John Malkovich, "Being John Malkovich"

Born to play the role.

Can't imagine anyone else in the role.

Can't imagine the movie without him.

Ummm, that should read Patrick Wilson, not West. I was thinking about Dianne West at the time I wrote it (who is also awesome, but who is not in Angels in America).

Previously mentioned names including Newman in Cool Hand Luke, Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, Ledger in TDK, and I'll add one curveball:
Stallone in Judge Dredd

"I am the law!"

re: "Rear Window": I've always wondered why, at the end, when the bad guy is coming down the hallway, Jimmy didn't just lock the door.

You know who really shines in that movie? Grace Kelly. Damn, that was a beautiful woman who could act a little too.

I am so happy that somebody else pointed out Shirley Maclaine's phenomenal, phenomenal performance in "Terms of Endearment." I thought everybody in that movie was great, but her range and her ability to embody Aurora was breathtaking.

This challenge is tough, but here goes:

Dustin Hoffman in "Kramer v. Kramer". I weep every time I see this movie.

Robert DeNiro in "The Deer Hunter"

Sally Field in "Norma Rae"

Jane Fonda in "Coming Home"

Jack Lemmon in "The Apartment"

I'm going to leave it at that for now, merely because I don't know if I saw them represented elsewhere.

"Imelda Staunton, Vera Drake."

Oh, dear God, yes. Also Emily Watson in "Breaking the Waves". Nobody touches that woman.

And for pure taking-up-the-whole-damn-screen-even-when-she's-in-the-background, Marilyn Monroe.

I loved Gosling in Lars & the Real Girl; actually the entire small ensemble put in fantastic performances. Same with Anne Hathaway/the family in Rachel Getting Married. Is it unforgivably cheesy to say Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life? I love that shit.

TV: Connie Britton in Friday Night Lights. I absolutely believe in that character, all three dimensions, inside and out. Even though they make her "stare and almost cry!" ALOT, I always believe that's what Mrs. Coach would be doing when it happens. I REALLY admire her naturalistic acting.

Male, Classic:
Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront

Female, Classic:
Vivien Leigh - Streetcar Named Desire

Male, Modern:
Sir Ben Kingsley - Sexy Beast

Female, Modern:
Cate Blanchett - ALL HER FILMS. She's amazing.

Though I think Ryan Gosling is a stud as well as Taraji P Henson. Can't wait til they star in a movie together!

PS: How are some people able to make things BOLD?

Jack Lemmon - Glengarry Glenn Ross
Leonardo Dicaprio - The Basketball Diaries
Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I second Benicio del Toro for 21 grams, but Naomi Wats in that movie was also one of the most incredible performances I've ever seen.

Posted by: Lunchbox20 at June 2, 2009 10:57 AM
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Not to mention two of the most incredible nipples I've ever seen. They're, like, three inches long. Even Mrs. , felt compelled to note this.

ooh, good choice, Robert. Nobody plays haughty and stubborn quite like Bette.

Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First
Judy Dench & Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Jack Nicholson - Easy Rider
Hilary Swank - Boys Don't Cry
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain

Already mentioned, but Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves--floored me.

I've gotta give props, also, to Swank for "Boys Don't Cry." Fucking incredible. I know she grates on Pajibites, but I thought she was fantastic.

ellen burstyn in requiem for a dream. one of my top "fuck the academy" moments came when julia roberts beat her for best actress.

also, and think before you shout me down, tim curry in rocky horror picture show.

Gary Oldman - Eternal Beloved.

That is all.

Late to the party, but

Naomi Watts - 21 Grams
Audrey Hepburn - Sabrina & Roman Holiday
Ben Kingsley - The House of Sand & Fog (particularly the final hospital scene; brings me to tears every time)

Emily Watson & Rachel Griffiths - Hilary & Jackie
Mekhi Phiffer - A Lesson Before Dying
Timothy Hutton - Ordinary People
Adrien Brody - The Pianist
Angela Bassett - Waiting to Exhale
Meg Ryan - When a Man Loves a Woman
Denzel Washington - Malcolm X
Malcolm McDowell - A Clockwork Orange
Gregory Peck - To Kill a Mockingbird
Meryl Streep - Death Becomes Her (comedic gold)

BarbadoSlim, I have to agree on Giovanni Ribisi in Boiler Room. He is damn good in it.

Late to the party, but here's my two bits:

Jimmy Stewart in Mr Smith Goes to Washington
Judi Dench in Mrs Henderson Presents
Katherine Hepburn in Woman of the Year
Bill Murray in The Royal Tannenbaums
Francis McDormand in Almost Famous
Audrey Tatou in A Very Long Engagement
Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Some Like it Hot
The entire cast of Little Miss Sunshine

I liked Kate in Eternal Sunshine, but I concur with the earlier poster who wrote that it was Carrey's movie.

Philip Seymour Hoffman in Owning Mahoney

Here are mine, some already mentioned.

Heath Ledger-Hank in Monster's Ball. I'm going to keep saying it forever and ever. The way he studied and echoed Buck's mannerisms while outwardly rejecting his beliefs. His flawless southern accent. The moment he says plaintively, "Well, I always loved you," and blows his own head off is the emotional equivalent of watching a baby thrown off a bridge. This performance achievement-wise, would be like a relief pitcher winning the Cy Young award.

Don Cheadle- Boogie Nights. Takes a stupidly written stereotype of a character and injects it with pure lifeblood and poetry. I would pay a dollar for the pleasure of seeing the doughnut shop robbery scene over and over and over until I am penniless. The look on Buck Swope's face when he realizes everyone is dead and no one would notice if he took the bag of money is a heartbursting moment of hell yeah. Hell, Yeah!

Bjork- Dancer in the Dark. Goregeous.

Uma Thurman- Kill Bill. I have never liked Quentin Tarantino movies. I like these two.

Joan Crawford- Mildred Pierce. Ah-mazing.

Danny McBride, East Bound And Down, and Tropic Thunder..."Big Ass Titties!"

Ed Norton, AHX, Primal Fear.

Guy Pearce, Memento

Danny Huston, The Proposition

Alec Baldwin, Glengarry Glen Ross...3rd prize is, you're fired, and also his performance in Miami Blues. Awesome.

Heath, Dark Knight

Streep, Silkwood

Thandie Newton, Crash

Omar in the Wire

The guy who played the Japanese Samurai in the Last Samurai

Tom Cruise, Magnolia...respect the cock

Eric Bana in Chopper is outstanding and what launched his career!

Gollum/Smeagol in Lord of the rings... seriously

don't think anyone's mentioned him:

Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James

Hands down the best performance I saw that year

Late, but, whatever....

Bob Peck in 'Edge of Darkness' (BBC miniseries).
Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams in 'The Fisher King'.
Brad Pitt in 'Fight Club'.
John Hurt in 'The Elephant Man'.
Tim Roth in 'Rob Roy' and 'Reservoir Dogs'.
Meryl Streep in 'The Deer Hunter'.
Cate Blanchett in 'Elizabeth'.
Maggie Smith in 'Gosford Park' and 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'.
Judi Dench in almost anything.

Jack in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

BUT I think that my favorite are the first one...

Maria Falconetti in La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed
Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People
Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice
Jack Nicholson in Five Eay Pieces
Richard Burton in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive
Marlon Brando in Last Tango in Paris
Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road
Ingrid Bergman in Notorious
Jodie Foster in The Silence of the Lambs
Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver
Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon
Vera Farmiga in Nothing But the Truth
Chloe Sevigny in Boys Don't Cry
James Dean in East of Eden
Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs