Best or Worst Actor Performances you've seen in a movie?

[Zivouhr]

Jack Lemmon in Glengary Glenross, where he's conniving as a real estate agent. That's the best acting I've seen from him in his career of the films I saw.

One of the more entertaining but his best performance maybe, would be Nick Nolte, in Affliction. He plays a father losing control of his patience. It's entertaining the way he flips out. His voice gets very graveled and rough. Good contrast. He was great in Thin Red Line too as the angry military strategist and elevated that film with his role.

George C. Scott in Exorcist 3, he's a great actor IMO. But I haven't seen many of his films actually.

I want to say Liam Neeson, but I'd have to think of the movie that really showed off his acting skill.

Toni Collete. I thought the mother in Hereditary was great for acting. She was trying to keep her sanity and then totally loses it.

Worst, Shia LeBeoufe in Transformers films when he is screaming and yelling so often. When he was more calm, it was more tolerable, believable.

Keanu Reeves: Best, I'd say Devil's Advocate or Speed. He was believable.
Worst acting? The John Wick Series 2, 3 and 4 so far. Part 1, I thought he was good. I don't know what happened there.

[Walter Kafka]

I like Robert Deniro in Midnight Run. Obviously, he's not underrated, but that might not be the first performance people think of.

For worst, easy: Stephen Lack in Scanners. How his performance got into a widely released motion picture, I have no idea.

[stvn1974]

Best acting performance for me is Ellen Burstyn in Requiem For A Dream. Second would be Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over The Cukoos's Nest and third is Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Worst acting would have to be where the performance is to point where I can tell the person is acting. Christain Bale does this, IMO.

[slip220]

Best: Al Pacino in Godfather 2, Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice, De Niro in Raging Bull, DDL in There Will be Blood, Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream

Worst: every kid from The Goonies

[Zivouhr]

Another great performance by George C. Scott is his role as McLeach, in Rescuers Down Under. Great performance again.

Liam Neeson, I thought he gave one of his best performances in Darkman, showing a huge range of emotions and talent, despite some cheesy moments with Sam Raimi's over-the-top comic book style.

Joe Pesci was great in My Cousin Vinny. His best role IMO.

Originally Posted by Walter Kafka

I like Robert Deniro in Midnight Run. Obviously, he's not underrated, but that might not be the first performance people think of.

For worst, easy: Stephen Lack in Scanners. How his performance got into a widely released motion picture, I have no idea.

Midnight Run is a classic (underrated) for sure IMO and one of his best films I'd say, as Jack Walsh.
DeNiro was seriously going to push for a sequel years ago, but the idea fizzled out, and then with the Duke Mardukis Charles Grodin dying in real life. I didn't realize Grodin was 86 when he died.

[Doomhunter]

Worst: Marlon Brando in Mutiny on the Bounty

Although to be fair, Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange were horrendous in Titus

[Walter Kafka]

Staying on the subject of great actors with bad performances. Richard Burton was amazing, but, uh, not in Exorcist II.

[Monterey Jack]

[Metalbeast]

Best: Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York and There Will Be Blood. Sheryl Lee in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice.

Worst: Michael Madsen in Incarnation. Corey Large in Cosmic Sin.

[Samus Aran]

Keanu Reeves was out of his range in Dracula.

[Darren75]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

Jack Lemmon in Glengary Glenross, where he's conniving as a real estate agent. That's the best acting I've seen from him in his career of the films I saw.

100%. This is my choice too. It was the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title. If I have to have a second choice it would be Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs.

As for worst...I have to say Jesse Eisenberg in Batman Vs Superman. My hatred of him is the only thing stopping me from watching The Social Network for a second time.

[Cpt. Feeney]

Best

Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco, his shoulders, his eyebrows, are defensive the whole time, playing a man who barely keeps up with the tough world he's in.

Philip Stone as Grady in The Shining. he transforms from adorable waiter to manifestation of cold-blooded will, while intimidating the hell out of Jack Nicholson.

Peter Weller in Naked Lunch, takes waves of weirdness with this dulled exasperation, hanging on to a thread of sanity.

Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell in Silkwood. Very natural performances, she's a very convincing flirt, pure chemistry between them.

James Caan in Misery. Goes through every expression of pain in the book, a huge range of emotional states, delivers some hilarious reactions, and all on his back.

Michelle Pfeiffer in The Witches of Eastwick. Playing the mumsy one, underneath the three other leads, carves out an equal share with great subtlety.


Worst

Orlando Bloom ruins Kingdom of Heaven for me, although to be fair his part is terrible to begin with, so is Eva Green's.

Ariane in Year of the Dragon, just doesn't have the voice or the range for the part, and it doesn't help that Mickey Rourke isn't quite right for his role either. Doesn't ruin the film for me though, I like it quite a bit.

[Damon1281]

Best
Gary Oldman just about anytime
George C Scott in Patton
Robert Duvall in Lonesome Dove

Worst
Ben Affleck in any film with exception of Daredevil where he was passable.
Keanu Reeves in Dracula
Robert DeNiro in Cape Fear.

[Member-866753]

Best performance I've ever seen- Choi Min-sik in Oldboy

Worst: In terms of Hollywood, Jared Leto in House of Gucci. Honorable mention to the rest of the cast and the in-and-out accents. Jeremy Irons was awful in that movie too.

I watch too many low budget horror films with the worst acting you'll ever see but it feels like a cheapshot to pick on $10 budget actors so I'll stick with the House of Gucci absurdity.

[Zivouhr]

Bill Murray in Quick Change, was his best performance IMO. Where he plays a clown robbing a bank with Randy Quaid and Geena Davis against the Chief cop Jason Robards. Not sure what his worst would be.


Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco, great performance as Lefty and one of his best, agreed. Heat was a great one too I thought for Pacino and DeNiro.
I'll also say that was Depp's best performance IMO in the role of Joe Pistone aka "Donnie", an undercover agent trying to infiltrate the mob.
And Madsen, that was probably his best performance too in Donnie Brasco as Sonny Black. Michael Madsen's absolute worst performance would be in Bloodrayne. I swear he looks like he just got up from sleep with his line delivery and lack of enthusiasm in that medieval themed film.

Originally Posted by Darren75

100%. This is my choice too. It was the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title. If I have to have a second choice it would be Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs.

As for worst...I have to say Jesse Eisenberg in Batman Vs Superman. My hatred of him is the only thing stopping me from watching The Social Network for a second time.

Thanks. What a classic film about real estate agents trying to save their jobs.
Ed Harris, definitely a shining performance in Glengary Glenross as he plots and then loses his temper.

Yes, she was great in Lambs.

I kept thinking Eisenberg would make a good Riddler. He was really miscast for the film for sure IMO.

[Rich65]

Best: Paul Newman in The Verdict. Absolutely flawless performance.

[dkelly26666]

Some of my favorites:
Robert De Niro in "Raging Bull"
Marlon Brando in "Last Tango in Paris"
Jack Nicholson in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
Willem Dafoe in "The Last Temptation of Christ"
Harvey Keitel in "Bad Lieutenant"
Meryl Streep in "Sophie's Choice"
Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction"
Ellen Burstyn in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"
Sissy Spacek in "Coal Miner's Daughter"


Some I don't like:

Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump"
Keanu Reeves in "Sweet November" and "Dracula"
Amy Schumer in ANYTHING

[moviebuffed]

I echo many entries stating Ellen Burstyn in Requiem For A Dream.

I'll add:
Jennifer Jones in The Song Of Bernadette
Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot (IMO an A+ performance)
Geraldine Page in The Trip To Bountiful
Bette Davis in All About Eve
John Hurt in The Elephant Man
Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in Remains Of The Day

Worst
Diana Ross in The Wiz
Julia Roberts in Mary Reilly (Sooooo miscast)

[dr. wai]

For me, one of the worst performances I have ever seen is Stallone in Cobra. I know that people love this film as I like the film too, but I hate his performance here. Just look at the pizza scene. The entire I am watching him cut his pizza with scissors, I could see his mind thinking "Acting. Acting. Acting." He is good to great in other films but he is phoning it in with Cobra.

[D00mM4r1n3]

Best: Lauren Bacall in "To Have And Have Not" Even more amazing when you realize it was her first film.

Worst: Hayden Christensen in "Star Wars: Episode II" Every scene he's not in is actually decent.