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TotalFilm’s 150 Greatest Film Performances

A list published in TotalFilm in 2009. Note that the list is limited to one performance per actor. Difficult to complain about the top 4 here and am pleased to see Emily Watson’s sublime performance in Lars Von Trier’s Breaking the Waves so highly recognised. Another pleasant surprise was Sean Penn as the sleazy lawyer in Carlito’s Way but there are plenty of slightly odd ones as well. Tom Cruise for Magnolia and not Born on the Fouth of July doesn’t seem right or that it would be as high as 13th! Buy – Total Film – December 2008 – Keanu Reeves, Alien Invasions, Jessica Biel, 150 Greatest Performances, Leonardo DiCaprio (Issue 148)

150. Robert Shaw, Quint, Jaws
149. Nastassja Kinski, Jane Henderson, Paris, Texas
148. Christian Bale, Patrick Bateman, American Psycho
147. Matt Damon, Will Hunting, Good Will Hunting
146. Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Diamond, The Fabulous Baker Boys
145. James Cagney, Arthur Cody Jarrett, White Heat
144. Kim Basinger, Lynn Bracken, L.A. Confidential
143. Romain Duris, Thomas Sayr, The Beat That My Heart Skipped
142. James Dean, Jett Rink, Giant
141. Halle Berry, Leticia Musgrove, Monsters Ball
140. James Spader, James Ballard, Crash
139. Montgomery Clift, Matthew Garth, Red River
138. Forest Whitaker, Charlie Parker, Bird
137. Lauren Bacall, Vivian Rutledge, The Big Sleep
136. Eddie Murphy, Kit/Jiff Ramsey, Bowfinger
135. Judy Garland, Vicki Lester, A Star Is Born
134. Morgan Freeman, “Red” Redding, The Shawshank Redemption
133. Christopher Guest, Nigel Tufnel, This Is Spinal Tap
132. John Cusak, Martin Blank, Grosse Pointe Blank
131. Charlie Chaplin, Tramp, City Lights
130. Kirk Douglas, Chuck Tatem, An Ace in the Hole
129. Gena Rowlands, Gloria Swenson, Gloria
128. Ben Kingsley, Don Logan, Sexy Beast
127. Steve McQueen, Capt. Virgil Hilts, The Great Escape
126. Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Neary, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
125. Alec Guiness, Everyone, Kind Hearts and Coronets
124. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Neil McCormick, Mysterious Skin
123. Sidney Poitier, Virgil Tibbs, In the Heat of the Night
122. Naomi Watts, Betty Elms, Mulholland Drive
121. Julianne Moore, Carol White, Safe
120. Martin Sheen, Kit Carruthers, Badlands
119. Isabelle Huppert, Erika Kohut, The Piano Teacher
118. John Malkovich, Valmont, Dangerous Liaisons
117. Spencer Tracy, John J Macreedy, Bad Day at Black Rock
116. Jeanne Moreau, Catherine, Jules et Jim
115. Ellen Burstyn, Sara Goldfarb, Requiem for a Dream
114. Henry Fonda, Frank, Once Upon a Time in the West
113. Winona Ryder, Veronica Sawyer, Heathers
112. Jeremy Irons, Elliot/Beverly Mantle, Dead Ringers
111. Susan Sarandon, Annie Sovoy, Bull Durham
110. Richard E Grant, Withnail, Withnail and I
109. Sean Connery, James Bond, Goldfinger
108. Takashi Shimura, Kanji Watanabe, Ikiru
107. Mia Farrow, Rosemary Woodhouse, Rosemary’s Baby
106. John Travolta, Tony Manero, Saturday Night Fever
105. Heath Ledger, The Joker, The Dark Knight
104. Woody Allen, Isaac Davis, Manhattan
103. Uma Thurman, The Bride, Kill Bill
102. Jon Voigt, Luke Martin, Coming Home
101. Jeff Bridges, Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski, The Big Lebowski




100. Javier Bardem, Anton Chigurh, No Country for Old Men
99. Marilyn Monroe, Sugar Kane Kowalczk, Some Like It Hot
98. Daniel Craig, James Bond, Casino Royale
97. Mark Wahlberg, Dirk Diggler, Boogie Nights
96. Paul Giamatti, Miles Raymond, Sideways
95. Gene Kelly, Don Lockwood, Singin’ in the Rain
94. Meg Ryan, Sally Albright, When Harry Met Sally…
93. Harvey Keitel, The Lieutenant, Bad Lieutenant
92. Reese Witherspoon, Tracy Flick, Election
91. Tom Hanks, Chuck Noland, Cast Away
90. Paddy Considine, Richard, Dead Man’s Shoes
89. Harrison Ford, Han Solo, Star Wars
88. Audrey Hepburn, Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany’s
87. Orson Welles, Harry Lime, The Third Man
86. Jim Carrey, Joel Barrish, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
85. Peter Lorre, Hans Beckert, M
84. Cate Blancett, Jude Quinn, I’m Not There
83. Boris Karloff, The Monster, Frankenstein
82. Dylan Baker, Bill Maplewood, Happiness
81. Angelina Jolie, Marianne Pearl, A Mighty Heart
80. Peter Sellers, Capt. Lionel Mandrake/President Merkin/Dr. Strangelove, Dr. Strangelove
79. Buster Keaton, Johnny Gray, The General
78. Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator, The Terminator
77. Cary Grant, T.R. Devlin, Notorious
76. Benicio del Toro, Ernesto “Che” Guevera, Che
75. Catherine Deneuve, Severine Serizy, Belle de Jour
74. Charlize Theron, Aileen Wuornos, Monster
73. Clint Eastwood, Harry Callahan, Dirty Harry
72. Edward Norton, Derek Vinyard, American History X
71. Frances McDormand, Marge Gunderson, Fargo
70. Gregory Peck, Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
69. Ryan Gosling, Dan Dunne, Half Nelson
68. Holly Hunter, Ada McGrath, The Piano
67. James Woods, Richard Boyle, Salvador
66. Katharine Hepburn, Tracy Lord, The Philadelphia Story
65. Kathy Bates, Annie Wilkes, Misery
64. Linda Fiorentino, Bridget Gregory/Wendy Kroy, The Last Seduction
63. Toshiro Mifune, Sanjuro Kuwabatake, Yojimbo
62. Vincent Gallo, Billy Brown, Buffalo ’66
61. Nicolas Cage, Ben Sanderson, Leaving Las Vegas
60. Nicole Kidman, Grace Margaret Mulligan, Dogville
59. Brad Pitt, Tyler Durden, Fight Club
58. Rosalind Russell, Hildy Johnson, His Girl Friday
57. Michael Rooker, Henry, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
56. Barbara Stanwyck, Phyllis Diedrichson, Double Indemnity
55. Johnny Depp, Edward Scissorhands, Edward Scissorhands
54. Christopher Walken, Frank White, King of New York
53. Leonardo DiCaprio, Arnie Grape, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?
52. Dennis Hopper, Frank Booth, Blue Velvet
51. Bill Murray, Phil Connors, Groundhog Day




50. Matthew Broderick, Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
49. Humphrey Bogart, Dixon Steele, In a Lonely Place
48. Anthony Hopkins, Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs
47. Sigourney Weaver, Lt. Ellen Ripley, Aliens
46. Robert Mitchum, Harry Powell, The Night of the Hunter
45. Samuel L. Jackson, Jules Winfield, Pulp Fiction
44. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Michel Poiccard, Breathless
43. Ray Winstone, Ray, Nil by Mouth
42. Setsuko Hara, Noriko Hirayama, Tokyo Story
41. Malcolm McDowell, Alex DeLarge, A Clockwork Orange
40. John Wayne, Ethan Edwards, The Searchers
39. Kevin Spacey, Roger “Verbil” Kilt, The Usual Suspects
38. Klaus Kinski, Don Lope de Aguirre, Aguirre, the Wrath of God
37. Joe Pesci, Tommy DeVito, GoodFellas
36. Peter Finch, Howard Beale, Network
35. Sissy Spacek, Carrie White, Carrie
34. Russell Crowe, Maximus Decimus Meridius, Gladiator
33. Robert Duvall, Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore, Apocalypse Now
32. Burt Lancaster, J.J. Hunsecker, Sweet Smell of Success
31. David Thewlis, Johnny, Naked
30. Gloria Swanson, Norma Desmond, Sunset Blvd.
29. Steve Martin, Johnny Gray, The Man With Two Brains
28. Maria Falconetti, Joan of Arc, The Passion of Joan of Arc
27. Anthony Perkins, Norman Bates, Psycho
26. Gary Oldman, Bex Bissell, The Firm
25. Diane Keaton, Annie Hall, Annie Hall
24. Liv Ullmann, Elisabeth Volger, Persona
23. Sean Penn, David Kleinfield, Carlito’s Way
22. Will Smith, Muhammed Ali, Ali
21. Dustin Hoffman, Benjamin Braddock, The Graduate
20. Jack Lemmon, Bud Baxter, The Apartment
19. Kate Winslet, Clementine Kruczynski, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
18. Bette Davis, Margo Channing, All About Eve
17. Peter O’Toole, T.E. Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia
16. Hilary Swank, Brandon Teena, Boys Don’t Cry
15. Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa, Rocky
14. Jodie Foster, Sarah Tobias, The Accused
13. Tom Cruise, Frank TJ Mackey, Magnolia
12. James Stewart, John “Scottie” Ferguson, Vertigo
11. Gene Hackman, Harry Caul, The Conversation
10. Meryl Streep, Sophie, Sophie’s Choice
9. Paul Newman, Fast Eddie Felson, The Hustler
8. Jane Fonda, Bree Daniels, Klute
7. Denzel Washington, Malcolm X, Malcolm X
6. Marlon Brando, Terry Malloy, On the Waterfront
5. Emily Watson, Bess, Breaking the Waves
4. Al Pacino, Michael Corleone, The Godfather Part II
3. Daniel Day-Lewis, Daniel Plainview, There Will Be Blood
2. Robert DeNiro, Frank LaMotta, Raging Bull
1. Jack Nicholson, Randall Patrick McMurphy, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

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Premiere’s 100 Greatest Performances of All-Time

A list published in the April 2006 issue of Premiere Magazine. It’s difficult to argue against O’Toole’s performance but perhaps Al Pacino was better in the first two Godfather films than Dog Day Afternoon and I’m not sure Tom Hank’s performance in Big is his greatest acting contribution to cinema, let alone the 15th greatest performance of all time.

1 Peter O’Toole in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) as T.E. Lawrence
2 Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront (1954) as Terry Malloy
3 Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice (1982) as Sophie Zawistowski
4 Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon (1975) as Sonny Wortzik
5 Bette Davis in All About Eve (1950) as Margo Channing
6 James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) as George M. Cohan
7 Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy (1969) as Ratso Rizzo
8 James Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) as George Bailey
9 Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein (1974) as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein
10 Robert De Niro in Raging Bull (1980) as Jake La Motta
11 Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989)
12 Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail (1973) as Badass Buddusky
13 Katharine Hepburn in The Lion in Winter (1968) as Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine
14 Robert Duvall in Tender Mercies (1983) as Mac Sledge
15 Tom Hanks in Big (1988) as Josh Baskin
16 Cary Grant in Notorious (1946) as T.R. Devlin
17 Denzel Washington in Malcolm X (1992) as Malcolm X
18 Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves (1996) as Bess McNeill
19 Paul Newman in The Verdict (1982) as Frank Galvin
20 Al Pacino in The Godfather: Part II (1974) as Don Michael Corleone
21 Giulietta Masina in Nights of Cabiria (1957) as Maria Cabiria Ceccarelli
22 Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands (1990) as Edward Scissorhands
23 Russell Crowe in The Insider (1999) as Jeffrey Wigand
24 Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) as Fred Dobbs
25 Greta Garbo in Ninotchka (1939) as Ninotchka
26 Maria Falconetti in The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) as Joan of Arc
27 Marlon Brando in Last Tango in Paris (1973) as Paul
28 Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940) as Hildy Johnson
29 Peter Sellers in Being There (1979) as Chance the Gardener
30 James Stewart in Vertigo (1958) as Det. John Scottie Ferguson
31 Jamie Foxx in Ray (2004) as Ray Charles
32 Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) as Holly Golightly
33 Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie (1982) as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels
34 Buster Keaton in The General (1927) as Johnny Gray
35 Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote (2005) as Truman Capote
36 Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974) as Evelyn Cross Murray
37 Gene Hackman in The Conversation (1974) as Harry Caul
38 Carole Lombard in To Be or Not to Be (1942) as Maria Tura
39 Laurence Olivier in Richard III (1956) as Richard III
40 Nicole Kidman in To Die For (1995) as Suzanne Stone
41 Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction (1994) as Jules Winnfield
42 Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver (1976) as Travis Bickle
43 James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) as Jim Stark
44 Charles Chaplin in City Lights (1931) as the Tramp
45 Reese Witherspoon in Election (1999) as Tracy Flick
46 Tom Hanks in Cast Away (2000) as Chuck Noland
47 Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) as Randle Patrick McMurphy
48 Bill Murray in Groundhog Day (1993) as Phil Connors
49 Liv Ullmann in Persona (1966) as Elisabet Vogler
50 Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon (1941) as Sam Spade




51 Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath (1940) as Tom Joad
52 Emma Thompson in The Remains of the Day (1993) as Miss Kenton
53 Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York (2002) as Bill ‘the Butcher’ Cutting
54 Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story (1940) as Tracy Lord
55 Sidney Poitier in In the Heat of the Night (1967) as Det. Virgil Tibbs
56 Jodie Foster as Sarah Tobias in The Accused (1988)
57 Max von Sydow in Pelle the Conqueror (1988) as Lasse Karlsson
58 Sigourney Weaver in Aliens (1986) as Lt. Ellen Ripley
59 Catherine Deneuve in Belle De Jour (1967) as Severine Serizy
60 Diane Keaton in Annie Hall (1977) as Annie Hall
61 Ralph Fiennes in Schindler’s List (1993) as Amon Goeth
62 Gary Oldman in Sid & Nancy (1986) as Sid Vicious
63 Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence (1974) as Mabel Longhetti
64 Paul Newman in The Hustler (1961) as ‘Fast’ Eddie Felson
65 Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot (1959) as Jerry/Daphne
66 Holly Hunter in Broadcast News (1987) as Jane Craig
67 Spencer Tracy in Inherit the Wind (1960) as Henry Drummond
68 Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby (1938) as Dr. David Huxley
69 Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950) as Norma Desmond
70 Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) as Dr. Hannibal Lecter
71 Meryl Streep in Silkwood (1983) as Karen Silkwood
72 Judy Garland in A Star is Born (1954) as Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester
73 John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever (1977) as Tony Manero
74 Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles (1974) as Lili Von Shtupp
75 Julie Christie in Darling (1965) as Diana Scott
76 Burt Lancaster in Sweet Smell of Success (1957) as J.J. Hunsecker
77 Morgan Freeman in Street Smart (1987) as Leo Smalls Jr.
78 Toshirô Mifune in Yojimbo (1961) as Sanjuro Kuwabatake
79 Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) as Capt. Jack Sparrow
80 Jeanne Moreau in Jules and Jim (1962) as Catherine
81 Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) as Clementine Kruczynski
82 George C. Scott in Patton (1970) as Gen. George S. Patton Jr.
83 Hilary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry (1999) as Brandon Teena
84 Anjelica Huston in The Grifters (1990) as Lilly Dillon
85 Jessica Lange in Frances (1982) as Frances Farmer
86 Robert Walker in Strangers on a Train (1951) as Bruno Anthony
87 John Wayne in The Searchers (1956) as Ethan Edwards
88 Christopher Walken in The Deer Hunter (1978) as Nick Chevotarevich
89 Li Gong in Farewell My Concubine (1993) as Juxian
90 Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski (1998) as Jeff ‘The Dude’ Lebowski
91 Jane Fonda in Klute (1971) as Bree Daniels
92 Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry (1971) as Insp. ‘Dirty’ Harry Callahan
93 Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce (1945) as Mildred Pierce
94 Peter Lorre in M (1931) as Hans Beckert
95 Angela Bassett in What’s Love Got to Do With It? (1993) as Tina Turner
96 Judy Holliday as Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday (1950)
97 Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast (2001) as Don Logan
98 Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity (1944) as Phyllis Dietrichson
99 Steve Martin in The Jerk (1979) as Navin Johnson
100 Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange (1971) as Alex De Large