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/2347564 1d ago

I think Ralph Fiennes in Grand Budapest Hotel was out of this world. Loved every minute. But a close second is Toni Collette in Hereditary.

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u/stephenstephen7 1d ago

Ralph Fiennes has got to be one of the most versatile actors working today. Grand Budapest Hotel is one of my favourite performances of his.

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u/what_dat_ninja 1d ago edited 1d ago

I think Grand Budapest is his best role, but also Red Dragon is way underrated for him

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u/audiojake 19h ago

This film proves he can do comedy really well, despite the fact that he plays the villain in like at least half of his films. The man can do anything. A lesser actor would have been typecast for their whole career after the early success in Schindler's list

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u/SixAlarmFire 1d ago

Toni Collette is so good in everything!

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u/hldsnfrgr 1d ago

Literally. From horror to comedy, she's amazing!

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u/whatgift 1d ago

I’d argue Hereditary is not even close to her best performance, in fact I think it turns a little cartoonish by the conclusion.

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u/Muscle-Cars-1970 1d ago

Toni Collette's portrayal of a descent into madness was amazing. I've loved her since Muriel's Wedding.

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u/PersonFromPlace 1d ago

Toni Collette’s performance was amazing. It was so real, I remember a grieving scene where she’s in pain screaming she wants to die, and it felt so real and relatable, not the best movie to watch when I was depressed, but the ending demon shenanigans was such a breath of fresh air and things fun again.

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u/malachaiville 1d ago

I just adored him in Grand Budapest Hotel. Even after seeing him in Conclave I still maintain Budapest was some of his finest work.

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u/Toadster3911 1d ago

I literally only thought about these two actors.

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u/gatheloc 1d ago

I wish this was higher. All the top replies are dramatic roles and it's clear that when it comes to determining whether a portrayal is great, dramatic portrayals top the list.

Ralph in TGBH is just absolute comedy perfection and I think that, among his fantastic roles and performances, this is one of his absolute best.

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u/joethetipper 1d ago

If it’s Fiennes I think I gotta go Schindler’s List.

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u/TapLup 21h ago

I was coming here to post for Toni, I'm glad someone beat me to it.