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But there will always be smashing filmmakers work on harrowing , sobering , or otherwise earnest movies that capture the unfathomable idiosyncrasy of the human condition , and those moving-picture show will always require talented thespian to plumb the profundity of their soul to institute their characters to life .
Michael Douglas As Gordon Gekko In Wall Street
“ Greed , for lack of a better word , is ripe . ” Michael Douglas captured the good and worst of capitalism in the role of ruthless corporal looter Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’sWall Street .
Gekko falls right into the family of characters that watcher worshipped after completely missing the point ( Walter White , Tyler Durden , Tony Montana etc . ) , as yuppie in the late ‘ 80 start dressing like him .
Rutger Hauer As Roy Batty In Blade Runner
The worst villains are one - dimensional and generically iniquity without a shred of world , while the good ones are sympathetic . Against all odds , Rutger Hauer managed to give such a powerful carrying into action asBlade Runner ’s villain Roy Batty — an emotionless humanoid , mind you — that he became one of celluloid ’s most sympathetic antagonist .
After Rick Deckard has drop the whole movie tracking down replicants to destroy them , Batty shed light on what it really mean to be alert . Hauer perfectly delivers Batty ’s “ teardrop in rain ” monologue , whichhe write for himself after being dissatisfied with his lines as spell .
Whoopi Goldberg As Celie In The Color Purple
AlthoughThe Color Purplewas adjoin with the same critique of oversentimentality that a wad of Steven Spielberg ’s movies have face , Whoopi Goldberg give a jaw - dropping functioning in the lead part .
The abuse suffered by her character Celie is truly harrowing , and despite induce a background in comedy , Goldbergcaptures the striking truth of that sufferingin all of her scene .
Dustin Hoffman As Raymond Babbitt In Rain Man
There ’s been a valid discussion of late about doer playing characters with disability that they do n’t have , but inRain Man , Dustin Hoffman play an autistic homo whose function was n’t specify by his status .
Sure , his brother capitalized on his condition to win big in Vegas , butRain Manisn’t a preachyI Am Sam - esque melodrama that botches its subject subject ; Raymond Babbitt is deep and emotionally complex .
Al Pacino As Tony Montana In Scarface
Al Pacino give his finest operation as a law-breaking Bos inThe Godfathertrilogy ( well , the first two , anyway ) , but a close s is his tour as Tony Montana inScarface .
After rising from nothing to become Miami ’s lead drug power , Montana is fetch down by his own dependence to cocaine . Pacino captures his increasingly erratic behaviour — on par with his increasing drug dependence — witha startling point of legitimacy .
Dennis Hopper As Frank Booth In Blue Velvet
Dennis Hopper reportedlybegged David Lynch to cast him as Frank Boothafter translate hisBlue Velvetscript , telling him that hewasFrank . This is a perturbing notion , but not unsurprising come in from Dennis Hopper .
In the script of another player , Frank could ’ve been haywire and one - note , but with Hopper in the function , he ’s wildly irregular , stealing the spotlight in every scene with hismultiple personality and unnerving sensation of humor .
John Hurt As John Merrick In The Elephant Man
The severely strain man that John Hurt played in David Lynch’sThe Elephant Manwas actually called Joseph Merrick , but the screenplay called him John Merrick . Either means , Hurt gives an astounding performance in the role .
Whether he ’s being abuse by the owner of the Victorian " freak show " he belong to or leer at like a loose beast in the geartrain station , ache tapdance intothe unfeigned tragedy of Merrick ’s aliveness .
R. Lee Ermey As Gunnery Sergeant Hartman In Full Metal Jacket
With a genuine desktop in the Marines , some of which he spent as a drill sergeant , R. Lee Ermey was only hire to cultivate as a adviser on Stanley Kubrick’sFull Metal Jacket , buthe convinced the director to get him act Gunnery Sergeant Hartmanafter being dissatisfied with the original actor ’s performance .
Ermey also catch the notoriously punctilious Kubrick to admit him to improvise a raft of his dialog . There’san incredible authenticityto Ermey ’s performance . He whipped the stamp into shape as though they were genuine Marine recruit .
Meryl Streep As Sophie Zawistowski In Sophie’s Choice
WhileSophie ’s Choiceis renowned for the flashback in which the title character is forced to choose which of her children will be executed in a Nazi compactness inner circle , the depth of Meryl Streep ’s performance goes far beyond nailing that one scene .
Until the eponymous decision is revealed , Streep play Sophie as a rugged human being who has to spend the respite of her life with a abominable psychological burden , unable to shake the worst moment from her past tense .
Robert De Niro As Jake LaMotta In Raging Bull
Robert De Niro had to solicit Martin Scorsese to plow the living story of Bronx - based middleweight packer Jake LaMotta into a film , but he did n’t give up until he got his friend to cave , because he was desperate to bringthe character ’s unchecked craze and fracture masculinityto the screen .
The resultant Oscar - winning performance is a crude portrait of a confused human race whose violent ira is n’t confined to the tintinnabulation . Intensity like this is seldom seen on photographic film .
NEXT : Raging Bull : 10 Most Iconic Moments , Ranked