r/movies • u/Fun_Protection_6939 • 1d ago

Discussion What is the single greatest acting performance you have seen?

What is the single greatest acting performance you have seen?

It's got to be Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice for me. Such a heartbreaking and nuanced portrayal of loss and devastation, and doubly impressive because she had to learn two languages fluently and had to speak German with a Polish accent, when neither language was native to her.

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u/gotcam189 1d ago edited 1d ago

Some comedic ones:

Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice

Anna Faris in Scary Movie(s)

Christopher Mintz-Plasse in Superbad

Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids

Vincent D’Onofrio in Men in Black

John Goodman in Big Lebowski

Eddie Murphy in Trading Places

Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny

Tiffany Haddish in Girls Trip

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u/VanessaClarkLove 1d ago

Legitimately so fun to see your diverse list that includes Anna Faris and Kristen Wiig. Unexpected but valid entries!

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u/gotcam189 1d ago

Thanks! Not fully comprehensive but these are just ones that I personally love that aren’t talked about much (outside of Keaton and Goodman).

I think Anna Faris is honestly one of the best comedic actresses we have and wish she had a stronger filmography that showed her talents more.

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u/BobSacramanto 1d ago

Michael Keaton only has like 17 mins of screen time in Beetlejuice.

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u/Funandgeeky 1d ago

And only slightly more than that in the sequel. 

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u/TaroFuzzy5588 1d ago

Danny Kaye in The Court Jester

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u/vikingduck03 1d ago

D'Onofrio is STILL giving a masterclass as Wilson Fisk

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u/SenileSexLine 1d ago

He's great in Salton Sea. You can feel the tension

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u/VivianLeeRoyJenkins 19h ago

Michael Keaton in Birdman (for which he should have won the Oscar and I’m still mad about it)

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u/satyricom 1d ago

Michael Keaton has so many great comedic performances. Johnny Dangerously, the chief in The Other Guys, Mr. Mom.

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u/Lasagna_Bear 1d ago

I know MIB is at least 50% comedy but I wouldn't consider Vincent's performance a comedic one.

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u/gotcam189 1d ago

I think that’s fair but it’s such incredible physical comedy. It’s not exactly played for laughs but I think it’s SO funny.