It's Raining Men: The Great Men of Film

A few years ago, when I was contributing a regular series of articles for John's website, I wrote a piece detailing what, in my opinion, are the ten best performances ever by an actress. I always intended to follow it up with a "ten best" list for the men as well, but I just never got around to it, for whatever reason. And so it goes, after all these years, I've finally assembled my list of Top Ten Performances By An Actor.

In the interest of balance, here were my picks for the actress list:

1. Meryl Streep, "Sophie's Choice" (1982)
2. Renee Maria Falconetti, "Le Passion de Jeanne d'Arc/The Passion of Joan of Arc" (1928)
3. Katharine Hepburn, "The Lion in Winter" (1968)
4. Vivien Leigh, "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951)
5. Elizabeth Taylor, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (1966)
6. Joan Allen, "The Crucible" (1996)
7. Emily Watson, "Breaking the Waves" (1996)
8. Nicole Kidman, "The Hours" (2002)
9. Miranda Richardson, "Damage" (1992)
10. Kathy Bates, "Primary Colors" (1998)

Admittedly, if I were to write this today, it would be slightly reworked. As much as I adore Kathy Bates, and was blown out of my seat by her work in "Primary Colors", I'd have to bump everyone down a slot and insert Marion Cotillard, for "La Vie En Rose", in the #3 spot. Cotillard's Edith Piaf is hard to top and is simply one of the greatest performances ever captured on film.

But I'm getting off track. On to the men!


1. Maximilian Schell, "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961). Oh man, this was a difficult, thankless role for any actor to tackle. What makes it even more impressive is that this was Schell's first American film, and he was virtually unknown in the States when he caused a cinematic sensation (winning the Oscar, Golden Globe, and a slew of critics' prizes) with his performance as Nazi defense attorney Hans Rolfe in "Judgment at Nuremberg". Schell, 30 years old at the time the movie was filmed, was blindingly handsome with a booming baritone that filled the courtroom (and I'm sure the movie theater as well). But his looks are irrelevant: the work he does here is nothing short of miraculous. He takes a man -- a lawyer defending Nazis -- and imbues him with such passionate humanity that we just don't feel his moral quandary and fervent (though tragically misguided) devotion. We actually kinda like the guy. Of course, we don't want Hans to win his case; there's no excuse nor appropriate punishment for what his clients did. But we certainly walk away with a clearer picture of the impetuses and obligations felt by everyone involved in one of humanity's darkest hours. This is a brave, thoughtful performance, that I find unrivaled in cinematic history.

2. Jaye Davidson, "The Crying Game" (1992). Davidson was a 23-year-old fashion assistant in London when Neil Jordan cast him in the pivotal role of Dil in "The Crying Game". But the work he does here is not the fumblings of a novice: it is an exquisitely-crafted, devastatingly powerful performance that more than deserves its spot on this list. It's one thing for a man to dress in drag. Any guy can do that. It's something quite different to be the epitome of lovestruck womanliness, feeling and expressing every iota of bliss and heartbreak with each step, each sweep of the hand, each lilt of the Bacall-esque voice. If you've ever questioned the meaning of unconditional love, watch Davidson's Dil sashay her way through "The Crying Game". There is simply nothing like it in the annals of film.

3. Daniel Day-Lewis, "The Crucible" (1996). With his resume of worthy performances, Day-Lewis could easily take every spot on this list. It is only in the name of fairness that I opened the competition to other actors and held my DDL fetish in check. Despite all his fantastic work, his portrayal of tortured Puritan John Proctor in "The Crucible" slightly nudges above all the rest to be singled out by me as singularly amazing. Caught between his personal demons of lust and love in the chaotic midst of the Salem witch hysteria, Day-Lewis breathes such fiery life into Proctor that it almost takes my breath away just writing about it. The last half-hour of the film, especially the seaside scene with Joan Allen, ranks as some of the best acting I've ever come across. A no-holds-barred portrayal of a flawed, fearless man living in a time when things like honor, truth, and the family name were the only things worth fighting -- and dying -- for.

4. Jack Lemmon, "Days of Wine and Roses" (1962). The late, great Jack Lemmon was one of those rare talents that could float effortlessly between screwball comedy and serious drama, and he was in peak dramatic form in the disturbing "Days of Wine and Roses". As alcoholic Joe Clay, Lemmon takes us into the frightening, fascinating mind of a functioning alcoholic, whose all-consuming passion for the bottle not only destroys his life, but mercilessly takes others down with him. This is perhaps the most realistic portrayal of a drunk I've ever seen, and, given Lemmon's later admission to at one time battling an alcohol problem, this perfect marriage of actor and role makes a lot of sense. It also makes the performance that much braver, for it's often easier for an actor to play someone else. Portraying a character with whom you share a common destruction is a courageous, dangerous, and in this case, flawlessly successful, decision.

5. Jeff Bridges, "Fearless" (1993). This is perhaps the most criminally overlooked performance on this list. Jeff Bridges was phenomenal in the intelligent, engrossing "Fearless", though you'd never know it to look at him. Bridges makes his Max Klein seem so nonchalant, so utterly effortless, that it's easy to dismiss the massive internal transformation this character undergoes throughout the course of the film. As a plane crash survivor, Max is regarded as a savior by those he helped escape the burning wreckage. In his own mind, Max, having survived this catastrophe and entered a God-like realm of hero-worship, is convinced that not only is he invincible, but immortal as well. We have the privilege of escorting Max on his journey back to humanness. Back to life. Back to fear. And it's a testament to Bridge's incandescent talent that he can make this voyage seem as natural and easy as, well, breathing.

6. Ben Kingsley, "Gandhi" (1982). It is film legend that during the filming of "Gandhi", the native Indians working on the movie thought Ben Kingsley was actually Gandhi's ghost. That's how complete and total this performance is. Kingsley so brilliantly inhabits the role of the great Mahatma that from the second he appears onscreen (before he has even "become" Mahatma), there can be no doubt that we are watching the real Gandhi. I've spoken before of how nearly-impossible it is to portray someone so famous and so well-respected, but Kingsley pulls it off beautifully with his uncanny transformation. "Gandhi" both reiterated the important power of one of history's greatest men...as well as one of it's greatest actors.

7. Adrien Brody, "The Pianist" (2002). Yeah, yeah, yeah, you all know that I worship the undies that cling to Adrien Brody. But for the moment, put all that out of your head and consider the absolutely phenomenal performance Brody gave in "The Pianist". As the Polish Jewish musician Wladyslaw Szpilman, 28-year old Brody (who became the youngest-ever Best Actor Oscar winner for his work here) gave us one of the most emotionally-charged, deftly-nuanced, and flawlessly, upsettingly, REAL performances of probably the last twenty years. To better inhabit Szpilman's nightmare at the hands of the Nazis, Brody lost 30 lbs off his already-lean frame, learned to play Chopin faultlessly, and gave up his car, apartment, and television in an effort to understand and portray the sacrifices of his character. It is not only a devoted, loving testament to a great man: it is proof that Adrien Brody is far more than a pretty face.

8. Jamie Foxx, "Ray" (2004). Foxx was mainly known as a comedian before his star-making turn in the Ray Charles biopic "Ray", but there is nothing funny about the masterful skill he employs in recreating one of the world's most loved and talented musicians. The technical aspects of the performance are amazing: from inhabiting Charles's distinct physicality, to playing the piano himself, to being literally blinded up to 14 hours a day due to the prosthetic makeup he had to wear, Foxx is a revelation. But what is more subtle -- and just as successful -- is the riveting emotional command with which Foxx soaks his performance. To say Jamie Foxx gives a good performance here is insulting. To say Jamie Foxx IS Ray Charles is much more appropriate.

9. Sacha Baron Cohen, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (2006). You may think this is an odd choice for a "best ever" kind of list like this, but I whole-heartedly stand behind it. This is what I wrote about Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat in a previous post, and it more than fits the bill here as well: "Sacha Baron Cohen is too talented for his own good. It's easy to watch "Borat" and regard it as nothing more than silly humor and pratfalls. But it is much more than that. His Borat is a fearlessly executed, raucously hilarious, and totally endearing character, and Baron Cohen makes it seem as natural as a second skin. You can't watch this film and separate actor from role. They are perfectly joined, and the result is not only the funniest thing I've seen in ages...but one of the most thought-provoking as well. Borat bravely holds a mirror up to American society and says, "Look at yourselves." And that is probably the precise reason SBC wasn't nominated [for an Oscar]."

10. Lee Pace, "Soldier's Girl" (2003). Yes, that's right, suspend your disbelief: I've chosen a performance from a made-for-television movie. And there's no possible way I couldn't, in any good conscience, include Lee Pace's astounding work as transgendered performer Calpernia Addams in this list. His performance is unlike anything I've ever seen on the big or small screens. Unlike Jaye Davidson's fragile flower Dil, Pace's Calpernia is a strong, self-assured woman who knows who she is and what she wants. But when she falls in love with straight military man Barry Winchell (the talented, gorgeous Troy Garity), her life is tossed upside-down. It is a perfect, heartbreaking, and emotionally exhausting performance. It is also one of those rare performances that will change you. Rent it. Watch it. You'll see what I mean.


Now I know what you're thinking. Where's Brando? Pacino? DeNiro? Nicholson? Well, this is my list, see, and they didn't make the Top Ten. However, most of them would undoubtedly figure into a Top Twenty. Brando in "Streetcar" or "On the Waterfront"; DeNiro in "Raging Bull"; Nicholson in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" or "About Schmidt". These lists are much tougher to dream up than they might appear. Especially when you consider the plethora of fine actors we have to choose from.