Top 100 Male Performances

Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates

Nervous and twitchy, Perkins' performance is so convincing there is no wonder he was typecast from here on. His performance is so menacingly likeable that the audience feel sympathy for the troubled antagonist.

Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance

No one has ever played a maniac as well as Nicholson since The Shining. Some say he overacted but I think he had transformed himself into Torrance. Effective and scary, each and every tic of speech and tiny mannerism has its own personality.

Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle

A caring lonely man with a heart or a crazed gun man? Travis Bickle is both and I think he is wrongly villified by film fans. What his character does is wrong but are his motives? De Niro gives what is probably his most iconic performance and it is certainly best. He plays the two extremes of his character with a human touch. Pefect.

James Cagney as Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett

Possibly the finest performance from the golden age of Hollywood, this is Cagney's fairwell performance to the genre he was most known for and what a performance to end the highest point of his career on! He is a madman, with no constraint or consciene issues. Cagney played this man as if it was the last character he would ever get to play.

Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge

McDowell's sneering, cockney rapist is terrifyingly real, even in a futuristic setting. An iconic, strangely endearing performance.

Al Pacino as Sonny Wortzik

His character has so many layers, each believably portrayed by Pacino. Out of his well known films, this is probably his most under rated when compared to films like The Godfather.

Orson Welles as Charles Foster Kane

His performance certainly matched the magnitude of his directing and writing skills and it is all the more admirable that he was only in his mid twenties. Classic.

Dustin Hoffman as Raymond Babbitt

Dustin Hoffman took method acting to a new level with his phenomenal characterisation of an autistic savant. A very realistic role.

Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle

Goldblum's fast talking, jittery scientist is fantastic to watch as his character unravells with his horrific transformation.

Max Schreck as Count Orlock

More than just creepy, Schreck is terrifying as the rat toothed vampire. No wonder people, including the film crew, thought he was real when his performance is so scary.

Jack Nicholson as Jake Gittes

Nicholson's devilish grin as he sneers his sarcastic wit with his unique voice is a joy to watch. A fantastic character that comes to life easily with the skill of Jack.

James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd

Reacting and talking to something that isn't there is a very hard task and Stewart, like the professional he was, pulled it off flawlessly, endearingly and memorably.

Charles Chaplin as The Little Tramp

Whilst Chaplin's masterpiece is easily Modern Times, his best performance I have seen so far is in this. The final scene is made all the more heart warming because of Chaplin's facial expression. Says more than words ever could.

Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski

Brando is scary as the hulking, abusive husband. He delivers such a convincing performance, he truly was one of the best actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood, at such a young age, too.

Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield

Winnfield is cool, collected, cultured and charismatic. Everything you would imagine Samuel L. Jackson would be in real life. Perhaps that is how he pulls it off so masterfully.

Peter Sellers as Group Captain Lionel Mandrake

The British RAF captain, keeping calm in the face of the mad Jack D. Ripper, Sellers portrays this character with unique grace and comic timing.



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President Merkin Muffley

The American accent, the almost monotone commands, everything this character does you know was deliberate and Sellers truly makes this character his own.



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Dr. Strangelove

One of the most recognisable character in film history, Dr. Strangelove, with the wild hair, mechanical hand and of course Sellers' brash German accent. Without Sellers playing him, would this character have been as famous? Of course not! Besides, Sellers brought so much to the character himself with improvisation. A true genius.

John Goodman as Walter Sobchak

This guy is mental and Goodman portrays him with such great hilarity. What is great is you know his character wants to be serious but he appears like such a farce due to his extreme madness. Great writing from the Coen's and fantastio portrayal by Goodman brought this character to life.

Kevin Spacey as Roger 'Verbal' Kint

Kevin Spacey's nervous, talkative cripple is fantastic to watch as he shuffles about on the spot and glances awkwardly around the room. A great, ind depth performance. Shpuld have really been nominated for leading actor, rather than supporting but at least he won.

Toshirō Mifune as Tajōmaru the Bandit

Mifune portrayed such power, strength and dominance. His presense greatly effects the power of the already significant story.

Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine

Cynical characters have never been played quite as well as Bogart played Rick in 1942. This was his breakthrough film and no wonder. The sheer magnitude of his performance is admirable, as he spouts and sneers his pessimistic lines.

Frank Langella as Richard Nixon

Quite how Langella didn't win the acadamy award for this role is beyond me (Just goes to show, play a Gay guy [Milk] or star in a holocaust film and you will get an Oscar). Obvious political correctness got in the way of Langella winning, which is a shame because you leave the cinema feeling like you have watched the shamed president himself. Flawless.

Klaus Kinski as Don Lope de Aguirre

One of the best maniacs in cinema history, the tumultuous actor played a perfect tumultuous character. A painstaking film as it was, Kinski's prescense did not help matters. However, it all paid off in the long run with Kinski's acting helping to define the film as a classic.

William H. Macy as Jerry Lundegaard

Acting a stutter is a very hard thing to do but Macy masters it in his role as a anxious Car Salesman.

Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman

A top notch performance from Christian Bale as a murderous psychopath is one of the many highlightso f this film.

Robert Downey Jr. as Wayne Gale

His best and most under rated performance, this character is far from his modern likeable roles such as Iron Man. His eager excitment is believably played, as are every twitch and stutter.

Robert Mitchum as Harry Powell

Mitchum's sinister southern accent and cool composure is frightening, all the more so in the beautiful, dark, black and white cinematography.

Dwight Frye as Renfield

That crazy laugh and the drops of humour he puts into the character with his mannerisms make for a great performance. He steals the show, even from Lugosi.

Donald O' Connor as Cosmo Brown

His rubber faced antics and song and dance routines are the highlight of this film. He delivers his cheeky lines with likability and is a vital part of making the film the classic that it is.

Jack Nicholson as Randall P. McMurphy

Such an energetic peformance, so full of zest and life and personality. Nicholson deservedly won his long overdue Oscar in a performance often touted as Nicholson's best of all time.

Woody Allen as Alvy Singer

Allen's famous neurotic Jew persona comes into play into this romantic comedy classic, with Allen providing comedy with his own script and when there is none of his delicious dialogue to be said, he makes the comedy with his facial expressions. A true comedy genuis.

Dustin Hoffman as Enrico 'Ratso' Rizzo

Dustin Hoffman seemingly put his all into crafting this character and making sure we are lead on the journey of emotions with him. When we first meet him he is not really that likeable but Hoffman amplifies the scripts character arch by portraying Rizzo as a flawed human being, not merely a flawed film creation.

Dennis Hopper as The Photojournalist

Crazy, out of his mind and fast talking, this character probably shared a lot of similarities to the actor. However, Hopper's contribution to Apocalypse Now made the film even more of a classic than it already would have been. The small role certainly went a long way.

Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's Monster

Frankenstein's Monster is not only iconic for the instantly recognisable make up, but also for Karloff's extremely human portrayal of the creature. The audience feel for him and as a result the film is so much more effective.

Tom Cruise as Frank T.J Mackey

Tom Cruise, unfortunately has had himself taranished as 'That crazy scientologist' and his acting talent is often forgotten about. People talk about him in films such as this like "Tom Cruise is actually good in this!" as if he is normally a bad actor. He isn't and this performance is a testament to his talent. In a film with a lot of flawless performances, Cruise adds to the already overwhelming gravitas.

Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone

Who can forget such an iconic performance? Sometimes he is barely audible (Cue subtitles haha) but that is all part of the magnificent character representation. Brando's much impersonated portrayal of an aging mafia Don has gone down in history and will always remain an enourmous, career defining, decade defining, gangster film defining performance.

Jack Nicholson as Robert Dupea

Jack's most human performance I have seen so far. Unforgettably realistic and full of heart. A very under rated performance.

Paddy Considine as Morall

Considine turns in one of the best unsung British performances of all time. Seeing his progressive performance unravel from enigmatic stranger to engimatic pyscho throughout the film is breathtaking. A performance that will stay in your mind for years.

Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham

Kevin Spacey was on a role in the 1990's with Glengarry Glen Ross, The Usual Suspects, Se7en and of course this. There is no wonder he became such a huge star when he oozes talent like he did in this. As Lester, we like him because Spacey makes the characters frustration clear so we can empathise with him. Knock out performance.

John Hurt as John (or Joseph) Merrick

As The Elephant Man, Hurt's performance is moving and captures the tragedy of the real man's story. Heartbreaking.

Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa

A somewhat charming portrayal of a callous, evil Nazi officer. Don't ask me how that managed to work so well but Tarantino made the character a tongue in cheek spoof of an SS agent and wrote it well. Waltz is great as the supporting character, proving once and for all that Tarantino's eye for a perfectly cast support character is spot on (With Jackson in Pulp Fiction being another fine example).

James Stewart as George Bailey

Stewart gave a career defining performance in this Christmas classic. With his whimsical portrayal of a man who realises his own destiny, it is hard to forget such a fantastic character.

Al Pacino as Francis Lionel 'Lion' Delbuchi

Such naivety, such innocence. Al Pacino ditches his then newly forming Macho persona to play the child-like Francis and is his most down to earth, well observed and likeable character to date.

Charles Chaplin as The Little Tramp

Another delightful turn by Chaplin as the adorable Little Tramp. Again, he masters the emotional scenes as well as the performing the slapstick humour amusingly and endearingly.

Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannible Lector

A performance that only averages 15 minutes of scren time, it still manages to greatly effect the quality of the film. Thankfully, his screen time is spread out intellegently, rather than just rushed, meaning this powerhouse performance can be savoured.

Enzo Staiola as Bruno Ricci

The most convincing performance from a child in any film. Only eight years old, it is obvious he understood the themes of the narrative and he managed to project this flawlessly.

Lee Evans as Sean Veil

Sweaty stand up comedian Lee Evans was an unlikely actor to play this dead serious role but the unconventional casting worked more than fantastically in favour of the film. Whilst it has a good dystopian atmosphere (dispite not being dystopian set) and an original story, it would not have been twice as good if it weren't for Evan's full on performance as a paranoid, shaven headed, shaven eyebrowed mess of a person. Evan's commitment is clear (shaving your eyebrows that may never grow back for one) and it paid off.

Peter Sellers as Clare Quilty

His nervous attitude is menacing, with his constant desire to chat and constant energy making him one of the most strange characters of all time, all handled with the genius of Sellers.

Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan

Eastwood's most badass role, his iconic snarl has never been better than as the unconventional cop. A role Eastwood was born to play.

Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka

When I was a child, I was in love with this film. I thought it was absoultely perfect film making (I still think the same), with its creepy atmosphere and great cast. The main attraction, of course, is Mr. Wilder as the unhinged chocolate factory owner. Even before I understood who he was as an actor (I found it hard to imagine him in a film without his top hat, having never seen him in anything else), I understood that his performance was wonderful. Great performance from a fantastic musical.

Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh

It takes more talent to play a cold, vacuous pyschopath than a crazy psychopath. Javier's performance is one of the most convincingly scary of recent times and that is a very hard thing to pull off in today's desensitsed world.