Best Ever Film Acting Performances (List)

[badseed]

Alright, you've all waited long enough. Since I took over the reins I've renamed the post to a more traditional title. I had mentioned earlier that I was going to do just 50, but after finding there are 76 performances with over 100 points, I decided to fill it out with the remaining 24, and after disqualifying anything with only one vote I wound up with exactly 100 performances with over 50 votes. *shrugs* If you notice any mistakes feel free to correct me. The countdown will include, in parentheses, the amount of points and the amount of lists for each performance. Ties in points are broken by list amount; if list amount is a tie too, it goes to the film with the highest amount of points in a single list.

Honorable Mentions:
Bill Murray as Phil - Groundhog Day
River Phoenix as Chris Chambers - Stand By Me
Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratchet - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Billy Bob Thornton as Karl Childers - Sling Blade
Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands - Edward Scissorhands

100. Max von Sydow as Father Merrin - The Exorcist (55 pts, 2 lists)
99. Vivien Leigh as Scarlet O'Hara - Gone with the Wind (57 pts, 2 lists)
98. Gary Oldman as Norman Stansfield - Leon: The Professional (57 pts, 2 lists)
97. Robert DeNiro as Rupert Pupkin - The King of Comedy (61 pts, 2 lists)
96. Harvey Keitel as The Lieutenant - Bad Lieutenant (62 pts, 2 lists)
95. Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine - Casablanca (65 pts, 2 lists)
94. Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson - Fargo (67 pts, 4 lists)
93. Klaus Kinski as Lope de Aguirre - Aguirre: The Wrath of God (69 pts, 3 lists)
92. Bill Murray as Bob Harris - Lost in Translation (72 pts, 2 lists)
91. Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman - American Psycho (74 pts, 2 lists)

90. Albert Finney as Arthur Seaton - Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (76 pts, 2 lists)
89. Lea Seydoux as Emma - Blue is the Warmest Color (79 pts, 2 lists)
88. Anna Karina Nana Kleinfrankenheim - Vivre Sa Vie (80 pts, 3 lists)
87. Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall - As Good As It Gets (81 pts, 2 lists)
86. Rosalind Russell as Hildy Johnson - His Girl Friday (81 pts, 2 lists)
85. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup - 12 Years a Slave (82 pts, 2 lists)
84. Angela Lansbury as Eleanor Shaw - The Manchurian Candidate (85 pts, 2 lists)
83. Adele Exarchopoulos as Adele - Blue is the Warmest Color (85 pts, 2 lists)
82. Michael Pitt as Matthew - The Dreamers (88 pts, 2 lists)
81. Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock - The Graduate (93 pts, 2 lists)

80. Peter Sellers as Chauncey Gardiner - Being There (97 pts, 3 lists)
79. Geoffrey Rush as David Helfgott - Shine (98 pts, 2 lists)
78. Mia Farrow as Rosemary Woodhouse - Rosemary's Baby (100 pts, 2 lists)
77. John Hurt as Max - Midnight Express (101 pts, 2 lists)
76. Dustin Hoffman as Raymond Babbitt - Rain Man (101 pts, 2 lists)
75. Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman - Man on the Moon (102 pts, 2 lists)
74. Agnes Moorehead as Fanny Minafer - The Magnificent Ambersons (103 pts, 2 lists)
73. Gene Wilder as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein - Young Frankenstein (103 pts, 2 lists)
72. Ray Milland as Don Birnum - The Lost Weekend (104 pts, 3 lists)
71. John Wayne as Ethan Edwards - The Searchers (106 pts, 2 lists)

70. Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates - Psycho (106 pts, 3 lists)
69. Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Quell - The Master (107 pts, 2 lists)
68. Robin Williams as John Keating - Dead Poets Society (109 pts, 2 lists)
67. Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump - Forrest Gump (110 pts, 3 lists)
66. Emily Watson as Bess McNeill - Breaking the Waves (111 pts, 2 lists)
65. Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden - Fight Club (113 pts, 2 lists)
64. Casey Affleck as Lee Chandler - Manchester By the Sea (114 pts, 2 lists)
63. Ben Kingsley as Don Logan - Sexy Beast (115 pts, 2 lists)
62. Jack Lemmon as CC Baxter - The Apartment (116 pts, 2 lists)
61. Burt Lancaster as JJ Hunsecker - Sweet Smell of Success (116 pts, 2 lists)

60. Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch - To Kill a Mockingbird (116 pts, 2 lists)
59. Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois - A Streetcar Named Desire (116 pts, 3 lists)
58. Scott Wilson as Capt. Billy Cutshaw - The Ninth Configuration (117 pts, 2 lists)
57. Charlie Chaplin as The Tramp - City Lights (119 pts, 2 lists)
56. Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore - Her (119 pts, 2 lists)
55. Bette Davis as Margo Channing - All About Eve (119 pts, 2 lists)
54. Jacob Tremblay as Jack - Room (120 pts, 2 lists)
53. Setsuko Hara as Noriko Somiya - Late Spring (122 pts, 2 lists)
52. JK Simmons as Terence Fletcher - Whiplash (122 pts, 3 lists)
51. Robert Mitchum as Harry Powell - The Night of the Hunter (124 pts, 2 lists)

50. Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli - Fast Times at Ridgemont High (126 pts, 2 lists)
49. Charlie Chaplin as The Barber/Adenoid Hynkel - The Great Dictator (128 pts, 2 lists)
48. Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth - Blue Velvet (129 pts, 2 lists)
47. Humphrey Bogart as Dixon Steele - In a Lonely Place (130 pts, 2 lists)
46. Jon Voight as Joe Buck - Midnight Cowboy (133 pts, 2 lists)
45. Christopher Walken as Nick - The Deer Hunter (134 pts, 4 lists)
44. Denzel Washington as Malcolm X - Malcolm X (135 pts, 2 lists)
43. Paul Newman as Luke Jackson - Cool Hand Luke (135 pts, 3 lists)
42. Kate Winslet as Clementine Kruczynski - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (138 pts, 2 lists)
41. James Dean as Jim Stark - Rebel without a Cause (138 pts, 2 lists)

40. Gena Rowlands as Mabel Longhetti - A Woman Under the Influence (138 pts, 2 lists)
39. Chishu Ryu as Shūkichi Hirayama - Tokyo Story (145 pts, 2 lists)
38. Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler - Schindler's List (147 pts, 2 lists)
37. Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lester - The Silence of the Lambs (149 pts, 2 lists)
36. David Thewlis as Johnny - Naked (151 pts, 2 lists)
35. Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham - American Beauty (152 pts, 2 lists)
34. Gary Oldman as Sid Vicious - Sid and Nancy (153 pts, 2 lists)
33. Faye Dunaway as Evelyn Cross Mulwray - Chinatown (153 pts, 3 lists)
32. Luv Ullman as Elisabet Vogler - Persona (154 pts, 2 lists)
31. Robin Williams as Sean Maguire - Good Will Hunting (155 pts, 2 lists)

30. Juliette Binoche as Julie de Courcy - Blue (157 pts, 3 lists)
29. Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown - My Left Foot (158 pts, 2 lists)
28. Al Pacino as Michael Corleone - The Godfather Part II (159 pts, 2 lists)
27. Giulietta Masina as Cabiria - Nights of Cabiria (159 pts, 3 lists)
26. Ellen Burstyn as Sara Goldfarb - Requiem for a Dream (163 pts, 3 lists)
25. Maggie Smith as Jean Brodie - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (166 pts, 2 lists)
24. Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield - Pulp Fiction (170 pts, 4 lists)
23. James Stewart as Jefferson Smith - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (172 pts, 3 lists)
22. Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy - On the Waterfront (173 pts, 2 lists)
21. Philip Seymour Hoffman as Caden Cotard - Synecdoche, New York (177 pts, 3 lists)

20. Brad Davis as Billy Hayes- Midnight Express (187 pts, 2 lists)
19. James Stewart as George Bailey - It's a Wonderful Life (188 pts, 2 lists)
18. Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers - Rebecca (189 pts, 3 lists)
17. Jack Nicholson as Randall P. McMurphy - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (194 pts, 4 lists)
16. Malcolm McDowell as Alex Delarge - A Clockwork Orange (195 pts, 3 lists)
15. Jim Carrey as Joel Barrish - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (196 pts, 3 lists)
14. Naomi Watts as Betty Elms - Mulholland Drive (205 pts, 3 lists)
13. Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa - Inglourious Basterds (209 pts, 5 lists)
12. Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson - Double Indemnity (210 pts, 3 lists)
11. Dustin Hoffman as Rico Rizzo - Midnight Cowboy (229 pts, 3 lists)

10. Heath Ledger as The Joker - The Dark Knight (245 pts, 5 lists)
9. Robert DeNiro as Travis Bickle- Taxi Driver (248 pts, 3 lists)
8. Orson Welles as Charles Foster Kane - Citizen Kane (248 pts, 4 lists)
7. Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski - A Streetcar Named Desire (250 pts, 3 lists)
6. Shelley Duvall as Millie Lammoreaux - 3 Women (266 pts, 3 lists)
5. Isabelle Adjani as Anna/Helen - Possession (267 pts, 3 lists)
4. James Stewart as Scott Ferguson - Vertigo (273 pts, 3 lists)
3. Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview - There Will Be Blood (275 pts)
2. Falconetti as Joan of Arc - The Passion of Joan of Arc (277 pts, 4 lists)
1. Bibi Andersson as Alma - Persona (305 pts, 4 lists)

Well there you have it! Not too shabby for what it is. Some fun facts:

There are more points separating #1 from #2 than there are between any other two performances.

James Stewart and Dustin Hoffman have three performances each on the list, while Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Jim Carrey, Jack Nicholson, Robin Williams, Gary Oldman, Humphrey Bogart, Charlie Chaplin, Joaquin Phoeniz and Vivien Leigh all made two appearances.

Films that made the list twice: Persona, A Streetcar Named Desire, Midnight Cowboy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Midnight Express, and Blue is the Warmest Color.

Only two performances made over half the lists, and coincidentally, they won consecutive Oscars for those roles.

Some major names had multiple films listed, but none more than once. The list of surprising omissions includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep and Katharine Hepburn, all of whom had numerous performances nominated.

[bobbyb5]

[bobbyb5]

I see two that didn't get added in. Shelley Duvall 3 Women actually has three votes and not just two. And Kim Stanley also has two votes.
And David Bradley Kes has two votes, but maybe one of those lists didn't count because it was real short. It had 40 on it or something like that. So maybe that list didn't count.

[bobbyb5]

Albert Finney had two votes too. It would be 70 something points.

Also Scott Wilson The Ninth Configuration had two votes.

[badseed]

Thanks for pointing that out. I spent hours trying to make sure I didn't miss anything, but like I said before this thing ever even got started, it's a pain in the ass. I'll go back and check all those real quick before making proper corrections. Before doing so perhaps I should point out that Tha1ChiefRocka and StreetSpirit's list were not tallied in the final list due to one being unfinished and the other being unranked. So if you're including those lists that's why they didn't count.

[Hayden]

I'd say this seems fair. Suppose we needed a few more lists though...

All the best Badseed. It's definitely an undertaking.

[badseed]

List updated. Albert Finney and Scott Wilson made the cut. Still haven't found more than one appearance for David Bradley or Kim Hunter. If you're sure they're both on TWO eligible lists please point me in the right direction and I'll adjust accordingly. My scanners apparently aren't what they used to be. Also, good call on Shelley Duvall; the boost was enough to earn her a surprising top 10 spot.

[Norman Bates]

Wish I'd seen this before, and added a few French actors to the lot - as well as a #1 slot for Perkins. Great job.

[bobbyb5]

[mdbaxter]