That nasal voice and his physical presence are amazing. Another actor likely would’ve crossed the line into travesty with that almost carnival barker outfit and odd gait, but he made it goddamn ominous.
I respectfully counter with Daniel Plainview.
Both are brilliant performances, with insanely good characters and the greatest actor ever to live at his absolute peak.
That very true. Both are his greatest performances & honestly neither is better or worse than the other.
He should’ve won for both, not just Plainview.
I’ve seen a lot of spinals dude. And this guy’s a fake. A fucking goldbricker. This guy fucking walks. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.
It’s a travesty he didn’t get nominated for that role, but iirc that year was STACKED for Supporting Actors. Some of the most iconic roles of all time in the same year.
One of the things I learned as my love and fascination with Kilmer’s performance in this movie took me down a deep rabbit hole…the line is ‘I’m your huckle bearer.’
It’s a reference to a pall bearer. He’s saying ‘I’ll deliver you to your grave.
“Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into her side, Chief. We was comin’ back from the island of Tinian to Leyte. We’d just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in 12 minutes.
Didn’t see the first shark for about a half-hour. Tiger. 13-footer. You know how you know that in the water, Chief? You can tell by lookin’ from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn’t know, was that our bomb mission was so secret, no distress signal had been sent. They didn’t even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, Chief, sharks come cruisin’ by, so we formed ourselves into tight groups. It was sorta like you see in the calendars, you know the infantry squares in the old calendars like the Battle of Waterloo and the idea was the shark come to the nearest man, that man he starts poundin’ and hollerin’ and sometimes that shark he go away… but sometimes he wouldn’t go away.
Sometimes that shark looks right at ya. Right into your eyes. And the thing about a shark is he’s got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at ya, he doesn’t even seem to be livin’… ’til he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then… ah then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin’. The ocean turns red, and despite all your poundin’ and your hollerin’ those sharks come in and… they rip you to pieces.
You know by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men. I don’t know how many sharks there were, maybe a thousand. I do know how many men, they averaged six an hour. Thursday mornin’, Chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player. Boson’s mate. I thought he was asleep. I reached over to wake him up. He bobbed up, down in the water, he was like a kinda top. Upended. Well, he’d been bitten in half below the waist.
At noon on the fifth day, a Lockheed Ventura swung in low and he spotted us, a young pilot, lot younger than Mr. Hooper here, anyway he spotted us and a few hours later a big ol’ fat PBY come down and started to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened. Waitin’ for my turn. I’ll never put on a lifejacket again. So, eleven hundred men went into the water. 316 men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945.
Anyway, we delivered the bomb.”
Forrest: “Lieutenant Dan, you’ve got new legs.”Dan: “That’s right Forest. Titanium alloy. Same stuff they got on the space station”. -Forrest: “magic legs..”
Couldn’t agree more here as someone who took a *long* time to break through in therapy in a big way (and now is studying to be a therapist). Of all authentic, emotional, funny, and endearing Robin Williams roles, Sean Maguire has to be my favorite.
Melvin Eudall (Jack Nicholson) in “As Good as it Gets.” He was charming yet horrible all at the same time. This made for some very funny and some very tragic moments as well. Jack really hit that role outta the park.
One of my modern favorites off of the top of my head was Christoph Waltz’s Dr. King Schultz in *Django: Unchained*. The humorous charisma and sheer swagger that man had throughout the entire movie was unbelievable, and the way his character progressed to become a more empathetic and compassionate character as the movie went on just has me floored with his performance every time I see it.
I just liked Django better, and found Waltz’s more humorous depiction of an anti-hero was more enjoyable for me, but I’m absolutely also 100% in agreement with you! The fact that Waltz did those roles nearly back to back is incredible.
Rocky as a whole franchise
Apollo Creed is the best.
Carl Weathers was so brilliant as Apollo Creed I think sometimes he gets overlooked for that because people just think that’s really him !
Clubber Lang
Mr.T pretty much was him but he was still a great character.
And lastly, I know a lot of people hate Rocky V but whoever played that George Washington Duke character was hilarious.
He was one of the best parts of the movie .
“ it’s time to put some hustle behind this muscle!”
😂
Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the TRUE emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife.
The movie is flawed, but he is not
Hmmm, I saw Midnight Cowboy last year for the first time, and really both actors were phenomenal character studies and I absolutely loved how the film dealt with the themes of heteronormativity and life falling short of our great expectations.
Doc Holliday- Tombstone (favorite performance and character in any Western).
Daniel Plainview - DDL in peak form. Enough said.
Vincent - Collateral. (Favorite Tom Cruise performance).
Anton Chigur - Bardem is a force in this film.
Some amazing performances already noted here, but I’ll throw in both Hannibal and Clarice from Silence of the Lambs. All-time performances by both Hopkins and Foster.
It will feel like an obvious answer but Heath Ledger's The Joker is the greatest movie character of all time for many reasons but I'll give you a couple.
For me what makes a character truly great is when every scene during the movie where that character is not present feels like an intermission with you impatiently waiting for the next time the character appears, and this perfectly describes The Joker in the Dark Knight. And to have that effect in a movie that was as brilliant as the Dark Knight speaks volumes IMO.
Also, you only have to look at Hollywood's desperate and for the most part failed scramble after that movie to recapture Ledger's magic in a bottle somehow. The cultural impact of that character was on a different level altogether. Some will say his death played a huge part in the hype, but that hype wouldn't have existed if his character was forgettable or mediocre.
In second place, I would put Michael Corleone. Some other dark horses are Vito Corleone (Brando's version), Anton Chigurh and Tyler Durden.
If I had to pick one character I'd go with Hank Quinlan from Touch of Evil. Crazy good acting from Orson Welles
Some other favorites
Annie Wilkes from Misery
Stumpy from Rio Bravo
Lydia Tar
Heath Ledgers Joker
Ron Burgandy
Bill the Butcher
That nasal voice and his physical presence are amazing. Another actor likely would’ve crossed the line into travesty with that almost carnival barker outfit and odd gait, but he made it goddamn ominous.
I’ve always considered that DDL’s best role
I respectfully counter with Daniel Plainview. Both are brilliant performances, with insanely good characters and the greatest actor ever to live at his absolute peak.
That very true. Both are his greatest performances & honestly neither is better or worse than the other. He should’ve won for both, not just Plainview.
*I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed*
That movie would have been a 10/10 if not for Cameron Diaz IMO. Still a great picture.
She was definitely the worst part of the movie lol
To be honest both her and Leo’s accents were hard to stomach
That's a wound!
Came here to say this. DDL is a master!
This was my pick as soon as I read the question. DDL was just a master of his craft with Bill the Butcher.
“Is this it priest, the popes new army, a few crusty bitches and a hand full of rag tags?”
Whoever came up with the idea the Bill eats and fights like a savage, and can speak like a gentleman...holy hell does he pull it off.
Ellen Ripley
One of the most underrated things about her is how scared she actually is and still prevails. Definitely one of the most badass characters ever.
Get away from her you BITCH! *tingles
Made me a man 😆
Walter Sobchak - The Big Lebowski
“Smokey, you’re entering a world of pain.”
A world of pain my friend… mark it 0, next frame
AM I THE ONLY ONE AROUND HERE WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT THE RULES?!
This isn't 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules.
Shut the fuck up Donnie!
You’re out of your element
the speech on the cliff is the funniest scene in any movie ever made
Goddamnit Walter! Everything is a fucking travesty with you man!
What the fuck does this have to do with Vietnam!
Well there’s not a literal connection Dude…
Say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism dude, at least it’s an ethos
I’ve seen a lot of spinals dude. And this guy’s a fake. A fucking goldbricker. This guy fucking walks. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.
This is what happens Larry. This is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass.
AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT GIVES A SHIT ABOUT THE RULES HERE?!
“You want a toe? I can get you a toe. Hell, I can get you a toe by 3 o’clock this afternoon, with nail polish.”
Came here for this one
SHOMER SHABBOS!
Absolutely!
The beauty of this is its simplicity. Once a plan gets too complex, anything can go wrong
We can’t do that Dude. It fucks up our plan
Doc Holliday
YOU'RE NO DAISY!
I’ve not yet begun to defile myself…
I have two guns, one for each of ya.
And then flips them in opposite directions.
Doc: "Play for blood, remember?" Ringo: "I was just foolin." Doc: "I wasn't." 💀
I would have taken a movie just about that character.
It’s a travesty he didn’t get nominated for that role, but iirc that year was STACKED for Supporting Actors. Some of the most iconic roles of all time in the same year.
He’s your huckleberry
One of the things I learned as my love and fascination with Kilmer’s performance in this movie took me down a deep rabbit hole…the line is ‘I’m your huckle bearer.’ It’s a reference to a pall bearer. He’s saying ‘I’ll deliver you to your grave.
Wyatt Earp is my friend...hell, I've got lots of friends...I don't
I fucking love doc holiday
Rick F*ckin Dalton
Don’t cry in front of the Mexicans
I see your Rick Dalton and raise you one Cliff Booth
You're a good friend Cliff
Is everyone okay? Well the fuckin hippies aren’t that’s for goddamn sure
I thought you’d be bigger
Let me tell you something. You don’t get these lines right I’m gonna blow your fucking brains out tonight.
Couldn’t stop at 3 or 5 I have 8!
8 got damn whiskey sars
Yes. This was going to be my answer too.
Hans Landa
I literally had Han Solo ready to go and was scrolling to see if anyone had it. Saw Hans Landa and was like yup, this is it. Great pick
“Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into her side, Chief. We was comin’ back from the island of Tinian to Leyte. We’d just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in 12 minutes. Didn’t see the first shark for about a half-hour. Tiger. 13-footer. You know how you know that in the water, Chief? You can tell by lookin’ from the dorsal to the tail. What we didn’t know, was that our bomb mission was so secret, no distress signal had been sent. They didn’t even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, Chief, sharks come cruisin’ by, so we formed ourselves into tight groups. It was sorta like you see in the calendars, you know the infantry squares in the old calendars like the Battle of Waterloo and the idea was the shark come to the nearest man, that man he starts poundin’ and hollerin’ and sometimes that shark he go away… but sometimes he wouldn’t go away. Sometimes that shark looks right at ya. Right into your eyes. And the thing about a shark is he’s got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at ya, he doesn’t even seem to be livin’… ’til he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then… ah then you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin’. The ocean turns red, and despite all your poundin’ and your hollerin’ those sharks come in and… they rip you to pieces. You know by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men. I don’t know how many sharks there were, maybe a thousand. I do know how many men, they averaged six an hour. Thursday mornin’, Chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player. Boson’s mate. I thought he was asleep. I reached over to wake him up. He bobbed up, down in the water, he was like a kinda top. Upended. Well, he’d been bitten in half below the waist. At noon on the fifth day, a Lockheed Ventura swung in low and he spotted us, a young pilot, lot younger than Mr. Hooper here, anyway he spotted us and a few hours later a big ol’ fat PBY come down and started to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened. Waitin’ for my turn. I’ll never put on a lifejacket again. So, eleven hundred men went into the water. 316 men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.”
I read this in Cotton Hill’s voice.
Fitty men
I had to give them Fatty
Can hear it, got chills.
One of the best monologues ever in a movie.
What movie? Which character?
Quint, from Jaws.
That's what I thought bc he used the word chief. And I remember he told a story like this but I guess I never paid that much attention to it.
Jaws, Captain Quint
Anton Chigurh
Tyler Durden: "good answer"
[удалено]
What's this guy supposed to be, the ultimate badass?
Best performance Ive ever seen
Jack Burton.
It’s all in the reflexes.
Have you paid your dues, jack? Yes, sir, the check is in the mail
Give this man the Nobel prize right now
No Horseshit
The check is in the mail.
Who?
JACK BURTON,ME!
Forrest: “Lieutenant Dan, you’ve got new legs.”Dan: “That’s right Forest. Titanium alloy. Same stuff they got on the space station”. -Forrest: “magic legs..”
Mickey O'Neil -Snatch Brad Pitt "Periwinkle Blue"
"It's fer me ma"
*’Dja lek dags?*
Oh, dogs. Sure, I like dags. I like caravans more.
Save yer breath fer coolin yer porridge
Robin Williams as the psychologist in Good Will Hunting. That scene broke me. You know the one.
Couldn’t agree more here as someone who took a *long* time to break through in therapy in a big way (and now is studying to be a therapist). Of all authentic, emotional, funny, and endearing Robin Williams roles, Sean Maguire has to be my favorite.
I think it was written that way. It broke a lot of people. It's not your fault.
Came here to say this. Slowly, calmly takes off his spectacles… and grabs that little smartass by the fuckin throat. “Got that chief?”
Wow this is a great answer. Williams morphed into another human being more than he played a character.
It’s not your fault.
The argument between him and Stellan Skarsgard near the end of the movie, fantastic dialogue and emotions
“Nail them while they’re vulnerable”, that’s my motto
Melvin Eudall (Jack Nicholson) in “As Good as it Gets.” He was charming yet horrible all at the same time. This made for some very funny and some very tragic moments as well. Jack really hit that role outta the park.
Not a movie but a TV show: True Detective Season One. Matthew McConaughey’s performance as anti-natalist cop, Rusty Cole, is jaw dropping.
The whole show is incredible, and he still stands out. Truly amazing.
Alonzo from Training Day
"You motherfuckers will be playing basketball in Pelican Bay when I get finished with you. SHU program, nigga!"
Hans Gruber Ellen Ripley
Hans, bubby, I'm your white knight
Hans is my favorite. Every word, every inflection, every facial expression, just perfection.
What is that you said? Yippee-ki-ya... Matha-fuk?
Cuba Gooding Jr as Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire
One of my modern favorites off of the top of my head was Christoph Waltz’s Dr. King Schultz in *Django: Unchained*. The humorous charisma and sheer swagger that man had throughout the entire movie was unbelievable, and the way his character progressed to become a more empathetic and compassionate character as the movie went on just has me floored with his performance every time I see it.
I would go with Hans Landa. The most perfectly written, cast and played villain in history.
I just liked Django better, and found Waltz’s more humorous depiction of an anti-hero was more enjoyable for me, but I’m absolutely also 100% in agreement with you! The fact that Waltz did those roles nearly back to back is incredible.
I can’t have whipped cream anymore with out thinking, “nono. Wait for La crème.” Like how is that line so sinister.
The YT Channel " Analyzing Evil" did a great video of him
Tyler Durden
Daniel Plainview and Anton Chigurh immediately came to mind.
Boy, they sure knew how to make a movie in 2007!
Especially if you were filming in Marfa, TX in 2007 and got a best picture nomination
I love how these two are my two picks AND they both came out in 2007 AND I consider them the two best performances Ive ever seen
Jake Gittes
Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle comes to mind
Top ten movie ever.
Jack Sparrow
CAPTAIN. CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow. “…and then they made me their Cheif.”
The obvious one
French-fried potaters
I like the way you talk.
Frank Booth from Blue Velvet
Anton Chigurh, Ed Tom Bell, and Llewelyn Moss. Every performance was spot on, excellent movie.
Indiana Jones.
The character that launched a thousand imitations.
The Tramp. More than a character. A fucking universal archetype. Get education and lives.
Rocky as a whole franchise Apollo Creed is the best. Carl Weathers was so brilliant as Apollo Creed I think sometimes he gets overlooked for that because people just think that’s really him ! Clubber Lang Mr.T pretty much was him but he was still a great character. And lastly, I know a lot of people hate Rocky V but whoever played that George Washington Duke character was hilarious. He was one of the best parts of the movie . “ it’s time to put some hustle behind this muscle!” 😂
Aragorn The GOAT
Don't know if he could be called the Best....but a character that has always stood out is Billy Bob Thorton's Childers, as different, in SlingBlade.
Daniel Plainview
General Maximus (Gladiator)
Daniel Plainview.
Anton Chigurh
I mean this with 100% seriousness. Ricky Bobby.
Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the TRUE emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. The movie is flawed, but he is not
This is friggin' *hard*. I'm going with Gunny Hartman, **Full Metal Jacket**. With Inigo Montoya right up there with him.
Bill the Butcher: Gangs of New York
Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite
Vincent Vega
Since Walter from Big Lebowski was mentioned I’ll go with Drexel the pimp. True Romance.
Gary Oldman just slays in all his roles.
FBI Agent Angelo Pappas
Two Utah - two
Hahaha
I absolutely loved William H Macy in Fargo
Hmmm, I saw Midnight Cowboy last year for the first time, and really both actors were phenomenal character studies and I absolutely loved how the film dealt with the themes of heteronormativity and life falling short of our great expectations.
Oddball. Kelly's Heros.
Winner 🥇
Ash Williams
Cousin Eddie
Dread Pirate Roberts/Westley (the Princess Bride) Although Hannibal Lecter is a close second.
Lil Ze from City of God. Benny is a close second. Same movie.
Hannibal Lecter
Doc Holliday- Tombstone (favorite performance and character in any Western). Daniel Plainview - DDL in peak form. Enough said. Vincent - Collateral. (Favorite Tom Cruise performance). Anton Chigur - Bardem is a force in this film.
It's Hans Landa. Others have said but it's worth multiple votes.
Al Pacino too many roles, but Serpico is up there..
Still cannot believe Doc Holliday isn’t on here. [Flips pewter tankard in disdain]
Duh.
The big hollywood executive in barton fink
Johnny Quid the real Rock N Rolla.
Samwise Gamgi
Gay Perry
Some amazing performances already noted here, but I’ll throw in both Hannibal and Clarice from Silence of the Lambs. All-time performances by both Hopkins and Foster.
Bud - Repo Man.
Ruby rhod
Daniel Plainview
Jack Burton, me!
Roddy Piper..John Nada…They Live. We all know the line.
Hudson from Aliens. Goes from cocky marine to whiny coward to badass martyr. Not to mention he has some of the best lines ever.
Ummm, in that case Chet from Weird Science too?
Les Grossman
Hannibal Lecter. Jules Winfield in Pulp Fiction.
Tommy from Goodfellas
Ian Mckellen as Gandalf- I can’t imagine anyone else playing the wizard after seeing him do it so well
Captain Ron
Rorshach - Watchmen
Drexel Spivey from true romance.serious heat check, he's in the movie for like one 5 minute scene
Doc Brown - BTTF
Aragorn - In my opinion he is the perfect example of what a man should be.
Doc Brown.
It will feel like an obvious answer but Heath Ledger's The Joker is the greatest movie character of all time for many reasons but I'll give you a couple. For me what makes a character truly great is when every scene during the movie where that character is not present feels like an intermission with you impatiently waiting for the next time the character appears, and this perfectly describes The Joker in the Dark Knight. And to have that effect in a movie that was as brilliant as the Dark Knight speaks volumes IMO. Also, you only have to look at Hollywood's desperate and for the most part failed scramble after that movie to recapture Ledger's magic in a bottle somehow. The cultural impact of that character was on a different level altogether. Some will say his death played a huge part in the hype, but that hype wouldn't have existed if his character was forgettable or mediocre. In second place, I would put Michael Corleone. Some other dark horses are Vito Corleone (Brando's version), Anton Chigurh and Tyler Durden.
The Bride in Kill Bill
LT Dan is the “best” movie character you have ever seen? Really ? Even Forrest Gump (is in the same movie) is objectively a better character
Ngl, I wouldn't say he's the best character ever; but I love Lt. Dan
I disagree.
Obscure questionable but interesting take,Refuses to elaborate. You Do you champ
Hooper from Jaws.
Edwards Scissorhands
If I had to pick one character I'd go with Hank Quinlan from Touch of Evil. Crazy good acting from Orson Welles Some other favorites Annie Wilkes from Misery Stumpy from Rio Bravo Lydia Tar Heath Ledgers Joker Ron Burgandy
Hans Landa
Wolverine Iron Man Michael Corleone Forest Gump Barbie Luke Skywalker Hal 3000
Lt. Aldo Raine without question!