Best acting performances ever...

[LeoTheLion678]

I'll start. Hoping for inspiration as I'm running out of Saturday night choices!

Charlize Theron - Monster. Her acting and appearance were both absolutely mind blowing

Leonardo Di Caprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape. How he didn't win every award under the sun makes me wonder who he fell out with in Hollywood!

Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips. Especially the end scene where he's gone into shock. But then he's my favourite actor in the solar system...

Elizabeth Debicky - The Crown. She was more like Diana... than Diana!

Who are your additions?

Yes, they were absolutely excellent. As was Jonathan Pryce.

Kieran Culkin as Roman in Succession. He plays a sleazy little sarcastic weed but then blows you away with pathos and heartbreak at his dad’s funeral. The range he shows is phenomenal, he came a long way from Fuller in Home Alone.

Maria Doyle Kennedy playing Catherine of Aragon in The Tudors. 😭
Sally Ann Field in Sybil and Not without my Daughter.

Ann Hathaway in Les Miserables. Her performance of I Dreamed a Dream is heartbreaking, so raw. I've watched it so many times.

I thought that was a lovely film

Last of the Mohicans, everyone is fabulous and Jodhi May at the end gets me every time.

Jodie Comer in Prima Facie. Saw in streamed from theatre at the cinema and gutted that I couldn't get tickets anywhere for next year's tour.

Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me? A revelation.

Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa and Da’Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers. A joy.

Emma Thompson in Sense and Sensibility.

It was a great performance, but the fact she was about fifteen years too old for the role ruined it for me.

Matthew McFadyen in Succession.

John Hurt in The Elephant Man

Matthew McConaughey in A Time to kill, also Samuel L Jackson in same film.
Also MM again in Dallas Buyers Club but stand out in that film was Jared Leto. Both fantastic films!!

Everyone in Succession. I used to drive myself mad trying to work out who was the most brilliant out of that brilliant ensemble, but they're all just perfect, as is everything about the show. It's such a treat

Hard agree with the love for Al Pacino. He becomes a different person in front of your eyes during The Godfather

Been rewatching The Sopranos and James Gandolfini and Edie Falco are just perfect.

Wolf Hall is such a masterpiece. Again, every performance is perfect. Mark Rylance rightly got all the attention but Damien Lewis is every bit as brilliant

The two Kate/Cates - Winslet and Blanchett - are tremendous in everything. I would queue up to watch them putting the bins out! Ditto Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson

I saw him in The Terror and he was amazing - playing quite a creepy character but was so good at it!

Paul Mescal’s therapy scene in Normal People.
Olivia Colman and Anthony Hopkins in The Father

Oh also James Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life.
You possibly just mean dramatic performances but there’s some amazing comedy performances that stand out. Jack Lemmon’s reactions and expressions in Some Like it Hot are genius.
Maggie Smith in California Suite and later in Downton
John Candy had amazing timing. Trains, Planes and Automobiles shows his range. Great actor. Might watch that this weekend actually.

One that really stands out for me is Derek Jacobi, in I, Claudius. The whole cast was a superb example of drama at its best.

So many spring to mind but a few of mine are:
Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction
Harrison Ford in Mosquito Coast
River Pheonix in Stand by me
Kelly McGillis in The Accused
Anthony Perkins in Psycho

Sean Bean in the episode of Accused where he plays a transvestite.
He really touched me with his sensitivity and dignity.

Frances McDormand in Nomadland.

Some not mentioned:

Maggie Smith in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Judi Dench in Notes on a Scandal
Christine Lahti in Running on Empty
Jane Fonda in Coming Home
Hugh Grant in An Awfully Big Adventure
Alan Rickman in Close My Eyes
Marion Cotillard in Nine
Bob Hoskins in Mona Lisa

there's so many to mention, but one recent one for me was the singer King Princess who was in 9 perfect strangers season 2 - she was really fantastic in it! Trust me, she good.

Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot.