10. Karl Malden as
"Father Barry" in On the
Waterfront
He's my first "favorite supporting actor" with his
roles in this one and of course, A
Streetcar Named Desire.
9. Alec Guiness as
”Prince Faisel" in Lawrence of Arabia
Yes, it's slow, but the highlights of this movie include
every time he's on screen.
8. Javier Bardem as
"Anton Chighur" in No Country
For Old Men
He barely talks but when he does he spouts a beautiful
psychotic wisdom. I've never seen him in
any other movie though, which I find strange because when I see him, all I see
is this psychotic character. It's kind
of like when I see Jason Alexander all I see is "Costanza."
7. Steve Buscemi as
"Mr. Pink" in Reservoir Dogs
I didn't know who any of these actors were when I saw this
movie. As much as I love Harvey Kietel,
who's more of a lead actor in this one, and Mr. Blonde, who's the comic relief,
Mr. Pink is the biggest bright spot in a movie full of them.
6. R. Lee Ermey as
"Sgt. Hartman" in Full Metal
Jacket
It's true to a degree that the training camp portion of this
film is an A+, whereas the rest of the movie pales in comparison. I love the second half, but Ermey's
performance is so wonderful it'd be hard for just about any film to reach that
peak. How many drill sergeants in other
stories are modeled after this guy?
5. Heath Ledger as
"The Joker" in The Dark Knight
Two people I've talked about way too much on my blog or
maybe just in real life are this character and those famous two played by
Daniel Day-Lewis. What's left to say? How about … Top 5 Lines said by The Joker in The Dark Knight
5.
Scar Story #2: "Come here. Hey! Look at me. So I had a wife,
beautiful, like you, who tells me I worry too much. Who tells me I ought to smile
more. Who gambles and gets in deep with the sharks... Look at me! One day, they
carve her face. And we have no money for surgeries. She can't take it. I just
want to see her smile again, hm? I just want her to know that I don't care
about the scars. So... I stick a razor in my mouth and do this to myself. And
you know what? She can't stand the sight of me! She leaves. Now I see the funny
side. Now I'm always smiling!"
4. " If, tomorrow, I tell the
press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will
be blown up, nobody panics, because it's all "part of the plan." But
when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their
minds!"
3.
"You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a
little push!"
2.
"Do I really look like a guy with a plan?"
1.
Scar Story #1: "Wanna know how I got these scars? My father was...
a drinker. And a fiend. And one night he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy
gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not-one-bit. So
- me watching - he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it! Turns to
me, and he says, "why so serious, son?" Comes at me with the knife...
"Why so serious?" He sticks the blade in my mouth... "Let's put
a smile on that face!""
4. Robert DeNiro as
"Vito Corleone" in The
Godfather Part II
Instead of The
Godfather Part III, something that would've been great, maybe in the late
70s or early 80s would've been a Godfather
prequel. Pick up DeNiro's
"Vito" character as he rises to power and let him dominate for a
movie, rather than get shot several times in the back and lay in a bed most of
the film. Obviously if this was done today
it'd be pretty bad.
3. Marlon Brando as
"General Kurtz" in Apocalypse
Now
Though I usually fall asleep before he appears in the movie,
it's a new level of fun when he does, well, except the cow slaughtering. It's funny, of all the violent stuff that
happens in this film, it's the cow slaughtering that's too much for me. By the late 70s though, "supporting
actor" was the best way to use a suddenly aging Brando.
2. Joe Pesci as
"Tommy" in Goodfellas
Obviously, the clown speech is the highlight so …
Henry: You're a pistol!
You're really funny. You're really funny!
Tommy: What do you
mean I'm funny?
Henry: It's funny,
you know. It's a good story, it's funny, you're a funny guy!
Tommy: [dangerously]
What do you mean? You mean the way I talk?
[Everyone becomes quiet]
Henry: It's just, you
know, you're just funny. It's funny, the way you tell the story and everything.
Tommy: Funny how?
What's funny about it?
Anthony: Tommy, no,
you got it all wrong —
Tommy: Oh, no,
Anthony. He's a big boy, he knows what he said. [to Henry] What did ya
say? Funny how?
Henry: Just —
Tommy: What?
Henry: Just, ya know,
you're funny.
Tommy: You mean, let
me understand this, 'cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little fucked up
maybe, but I'm funny how? I mean funny like I'm a clown? I amuse you? I
make you laugh, I'm here to fuckin' amuse you? What do you mean funny? Funny
how? How am I funny?
Henry: Just... you
know, how you tell the story, y'know —
Tommy: No, no, I don't
know. You said it! How do I know? You said I'm funny. How the fuck am I
funny? What the fuck is so funny about me?! Tell me, tell
me what's funny!
[Long pause]
Henry: Get the fuck
out of here, Tommy!
[Everyone laughs]
Tommy: Ya
motherfucker! I almost had him, I almost had him! You stuttering prick,
you! Frankie, was he shaking? I wonder about you sometimes, Henry. You may fold
under questioning.
1. Robert Duvall as "Lt. Col.
Bill Kilgore" in Apocalypse Now
The four things that need to come into place for a great supporting
acting performance are great acting, fun characters, phenomenal lines, and it
really helps to appear in a classic movie.
If you review this list, pretty much every character adheres to this
formula. The Granddaddy of them all is
Duvall. Though he's been great sometimes
as a lead actor, (that one movie where he killed that guy with a baseball bat …
The Apostle … was pretty good for
instance) he's better when someone else is taking the lead, even if he's a much
better actor than that person, as he is much better than Martin Sheen in this,
hell, he's even better than Brando in this one.
If there indeed was a "Best Supporting Actor Hall of Fame",
he'd be the best nominee and it may as well named after him.
Here's the first 10 people I'd put in order of their relevance:
Lee J. Cobb
Karl Malden
Alec Guiness
Robert Duvall
Joe Pesci
John Turturro
Steve Buscemi
Philip Seymour Hoffman (even though he didn't qualify for
this list)
William H. Macy
Benicio Del Toro
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