Favourite Acting Performances : Years 2008-2000
Submitted by Rushmore on Fri, 06/20/2008 - 01:14
Tags:
- George Clooney (Burn After Reading, 2008)
- Brad Pitt (Burn After Reading, 2008)
- Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading, 2008)
- Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight, 2008)
- Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, 2008)
- Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight, 2008)
- Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man, 2008)
- Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 2008)
- Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 2008)
- Tommy Lee Jones (No Country For old Men, 2007)
- Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men, 2007)
- Kelly Macdonald (No Country For Old Men, 2007)
- Jason Schwartzman (The Darjeeling limited, 2007)
- Owen Wilson (The Darjeeling limited, 2007)
- Adrien Brody (The Darjeeling limited, 2007)
- Emily Mortimer (Lars & The Real Girl, 2007)
- Paul Schneider (Lars & The Real Girl, 2007)
- Thomas Turgoose (This Is England, 2007)
- Rosamund Hanson (This Is England, 2007)
- Stephen Graham (This Is England, 2007)
- Jennifer Garner (Juno, 2007)
- Michael Cera (Juno, 2007)
- J.K. Simmons (Juno, 2007)
- Allison Janney (Juno, 2007)
- Leslie Mann (Knocked Up, 2007)
- John C. Reilly (Walk Hard, 2007)
- Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 2007)
- Brad Pitt (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 2007)
- Sam Rockwell (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 2007)
- Paul Schneider (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 2007)
- Jeremy Renner (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 2007)
- Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2007)
- Sacha Baron Cohen (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2007)
- Paul Giamatti (Shoot 'em Up, 2007)
- Adam Sandler (Reign Over Me, 2007)
- Denzel Washington (American Gangster, 2007)
- Denzel Washington (The Great Debaters, 2007)
- Nate Parker (The Great Debaters, 2007)
- Jurnee Smollett (The Great Debaters, 2007)
- Denzel Whitaker (The Great Debaters, 2007)
- Jake Gyllenhaal (Zodiac, 2007)
- Robert Downey Jr. (Zodiac, 2007)
- Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac, 2007)
- Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad, 2007)
- Gabe Nevins (Paranoid Park, 2007)
- Timothy Dalton (Hot Fuzz, 2007)
- Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz, 2007)
- Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz, 2007)
- Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood, 2007)
- Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood, 2007)
- Kurt Russell (Death Proof, 2007)
- Sydney Tamiia Poitier (Death Proof, 2007)
- Loren Horsley (Eagle vs Shark, 2007)
- Jeremy Piven (Smokin' Aces, 2006)
- Common (Smokin' Aces, 2006)
- Chris Pine (Smokin' Aces, 2006)
- Ivana Baquero (Pan's Labyrinth, 2006)
- Sergi López (Pan's Labyrinth, 2006)
- Denzel Washington (Inside Man, 2006)
- Clive Owen (Inside Man, 2006)
- Mos Def (16 Blocks, 2006)
- David Morse (16 Blocks, 2006)
- Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed, 2006)
- Jack Nicholson (The Departed, 2006)
- Mark Wahlberg (The Departed, 2006)
- Ray Winstone (The Departed, 2006)
- Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, 2006)
- Clive Owen (Children Of Men, 2006)
- Michael Caine (Children Of men, 2006)
- Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children Of Men, 2006)
- Julianne Moore (Children Of Men, 2006)
- Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson, 2006)
- Anthony Mackie (Half Nelson, 2006)
- Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond, 2006)
- Steve Zahn (Rescue Dawn, 2006)
- Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, 2006)
- Sacha Baron Cohen (Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, 2006)
- Shawnee Smith (Saw III, 2006)
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, 2005)
- Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking, 2005)
- Jeff Daniels (The Squid And The Whale, 2005)
- Liam Neeson (Batman Begins, 2005)
- Christian Bale (Batman Begins, 2005)
- Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins, 2005)
- Ben Foster (Hostage, 2005)
- Summer Glau (Serenity, 2005)
- Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain, 2005)
- Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain, 2005)
- Will Ferrell (Wedding Crashers, 2005)
- Bruce Willis (Sin City, 2005)
- Mos Def (Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy, 2005)
- Tobin Bell (Saw II, 2005)
- Donnie Wahlberg (Saw II, 2005)
- Paul Giamatti (Sideways, 2004)
- Thomas Haden Church (Sideways, 2004)
- Virginia Madsen (Sideways, 2004)
- Bill Murray (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, 2004)
- Don Cheadle (Crash, 2004)
- Ludacris (Crash, 2004)
- Jim Carrey (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004)
- Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004)
- Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, 2004)
- Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby, 2004)
- Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby, 2004)
- Josh Peck (Mean Creek, 2004)
- Will Ferrell (Anchorman, 2004)
- Christina Applegate (Anchorman, 2004)
- Paul Rudd (Anchorman, 2004)
- Zooey Deschanel (Eulogy, 2004)
- Ray Romano (Eulogy, 2004)
- Alfred Molina (Spider-man 2, 2004)
- Paddy Considine (Dead Man's Shoes, 2004)
- Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator, 2004)
- Cate Blanchett (The Aviator, 2004)
- Peter Sarsgaard (Garden State, 2004)
- Hayden Christensen (Shattered Glass, 2003)
- Peter Sarsgaard (Shattered Glass, 2003)
- Steve Zahn (Shattered Glass, 2003)
- Chloë Sevigny (Shattered Glass, 2003)
- Jack Black (School of Rock, 2003)
- Bill Murray (Lost In Translation, 2003)
- Judah Friedlander (American Splendor, 2003)
- Katie Holmes (Pieces Of April, 2003)
- Meryl Streep (Adaptation, 2002)
- Nicolas Cage (Adaptation, 2002)
- About Schmidt (About Schmidt, 2002)
- Robin Williams (Insomina, 2002)
- Al Pacino (Insomnia, 2002)
- Adam Sandler (Punch-Drunk Love, 2002)
- J.K. Simmons (Spider-man, 2002)
- Gene Hackman (The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001)
- Anjelica Huston (The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001)
- Gwyneth Paltrow (The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001)
- Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001)
- Owen Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001)
- Bill Murray (The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001)
- Ben Stiller (The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001)
- Danny Glover (The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001)
- Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, 2001)
- Patrick Swayze (Donnie Darko, 2001)
- Jena Malone (Donnie Darko, 2001)
- Drew Barrymore (Donnie Darko, 2001)
- Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast, 2001)
- Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast, 2001)
- Thora Birch (Ghost World, 2001)
- Scarlett Johansson (Ghost World, 2001)
- Steve Buscemi (Ghost World, 2001)
- Steve Zahn (Joy Ride/Roadkill, 2001)
- Leelee Sobieski (Joy Ride/Roadkill, 2001)
- Billy Crudup (Almost Famous, 2000)
- Frances McDormand (Almost Famous, 2000)
- Kate Hudson (Almost Famous, 2000)
- Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous, 2000)
- Zooey Deschanel (Almost Famous, 2000)
- Emily Perkins (Ginger Snaps, 2000)
- Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, 2000)
- Guy Pearce (Memento, 2000)
- Joe Pantoliano (Memento, 2000)
- Carrie-Anne Moss (Memento, 2000)
- John Cusack (High Fidelity, 2000)
- Iben Hjejle (High Fidelity, 2000)
- Todd Louiso (High fidelity, 2000)
- Jack Black (High Fidelity, 2000)
- MORE TO COME
Author Comments:
NOTES:
* These are my Favourites
* ranging from main to supporting, actor/actress
* People tend, when they hear acting, to think of serious roles, you may seem comedic roles, it's still good acting if they can make you laugh and buy into the character
* Beyond year order, its just ordered as they come to mind, not in terms of one better than the other
What does it mean when every role in a movie, or every lead role, is a "Favourite Acting Performance" of yours?
hmm i guess maybe i should limit myself, but it if i really enjoy that performance, then its in the list, no matter how many may come from the same movie.
Oh you shouldn't limit yourself. There's just something about noticing a "Favourite Acting Performance" which can give the implication that it rises above its surroundings. Those surroundings could be other characters, the acting performance of the rest of the cast, the plot, the rest of the movie... the costume design.
I would find it interesting (and surprising) if you thought that Eastwood, Freeman and Swank were great (and favourites of yours) in a movie that was mediocre (and not a favourite.) Is it possible for every member of the cast to turn in a favourite performance and, in spite of that, the movie is A Prairie Home Companion?
Well that can deffinatly be the case. I'm trying to think of a solid example, take Paul Giamatti in Shoot 'em Up. The movie wasn't much, it was pretty bad when you take it apart, way over the top and silly but Paul Giamatti gave his best given the material and gave a great OTT villian performance, so yes, its possible to have great performances in so so films. However in complete contrast a film like There Will Be Blood, a felt the great level of performances was matched by every other aspect of the film (from score, costume, set design, everything) which makes the piece as a whole flow better
A Room with a View is my second favourite movie ever. But none of the individual actors in the cast give a performance that I think of as a "favourite." I believe this is because those performances are of such a piece with the movie itself that they can't be set apart (or above or aside) from the film they are in.
Even if you asked me for my favourite performance of: Rupert Graves, Judi Dench, Simon Callow, Julian Sands, Denholm Elliot, Daniel Day-Lewis, Maggie Smith or Helena Bonham Carter, I don't think that their appearance in A Room with a View would even occur to me. But Maurice would.
So would that floaty white woman held captive by the Necromungers, the terrorist guy with the nerve gas, Indy's friend Marcus, Bill the Butcher, Professor McGonagall and Bellatrix Lestrange.
My favourite Paul Giamatti role? Harry Tjarks.