Greatest Acting Performances of All Time

The Top Ten
1 Tom Hanks - Forrest Gump

Life is like a box of chocolates
You never know what you're gonna get.

Run Forrest run

2 Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

For some reason, I knew he was going to be on this list.

3 Robert Deniro - Taxi Driver
4 Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
5 Eli Wallach - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Lots of people agree that Wallach was snubbed for a Best Leading Actor Academy Award for his performance, and they're right. His performance was rich and multilayered. As Tuco, he is devious, yet vulnerable; strong, yet sympathetic; grotesque, yet glowing. There is as much menace to him as there is a warm and welcoming presence. One of the greatest movie performances ever.
People generally consider this film to be a Clint Eastwood film. It's an Eli Wallach film, through and through.

6 James Gandolfini - The Sopranos

While he arguably had a certain advantage over actors in movies in that he had approx 86 hours in 86 installments to develop and portray the character, it could alsot be considered an extraordinaiy feat in sustaining and building the depth over years and that amount of time on camera.
Anyway it's viewed, the performance should be considered as one of, if not the greatest performance. A magnificent and unique achievement.

7 Marlon Brando - The Godfather
8 Stefán Karl Stefánsson - Polite People
9 Toshiro Mifune - Seven Samurai
10 Jack Nicholson - The Shining

It wasn't scary but it was the funniest thing. And when I'm typing, cha ching, cha ching!

I really think he should have won the oscar for this. I really don't see why he didn't.

The Contenders
11 Seth Rogen - Take This Waltz
12 Minoru Chiaki - The Lower Depths
13 Song Kang-ho - Gwoemul

Song gives a surprising amount of depth to Gang-du, a lovable idiot who is stronger than he first appears, a man who is a lousy father but an all-round loving father at the same time. He's like a lost little child, yet he carries responsibility on his shoulders. And as always, the weight of Song's screen presence is tremendous.

14 Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad
15 Leonardo DiCaprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape
16 Barbra Streisand - The Guilt Trip
17 Robert Deniro - Raging Bull
18 Sigourney Weaver - Aliens
19 Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
20 Edward Norton - Fight Club
21 Peter O'Toole - Lawrence of Arabia
22 Al Pacino - Dog Day Afternoon
23 Dustin Hoffman - The Graduate
24 Anthony Hopkins - The Silence of the Lambs
25 Michelle Williams - Take This Waltz
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