Three Acting Performances I Will Never Be Able To Forget

Many elements make a great movie, such as the music, directing, and writing, but we all know that the acting performances are one of the biggest reasons a movie succeeds. You could have a great script, direction, and all the right music, but if your actors are lackluster, your overall film will be too. A powerful acting performance can take a bad script and create something you’ll never forget.

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With the recent passing of the late, great Gene Hackman, we are reminded of one such actor that continually gave us supreme performances in his various iconic roles. From the 1960s through the 2000s, Hackman lit up the screen playing a wide array of characters. One of his best performances is in Clint Eastwood’s near-perfect western, Unforgiven. Gene plays the villainous, evil Sheriff “Little” Bill Dagget whose cold-bloodedness meets the wrath of Eastwood’s gunslinging, reluctant revenge. Hackman’s ability to bring such realness and authenticity to the character earned him his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Kevin Costner once said that the biggest movie star he ever worked with was Sean Connery, but the best actor was Gene Hackman. Hackman’s iconic performance in Unforgiven will not be forgotten anytime soon and it has helped solidify his place amongst the best actors of all time.

Another one of my favorite actors is undoubtedly Johnny Depp, who has been turning out amazingly underrated roles for the past 40 years. Ironically, he always said he was “box office poison.” But that’s the way he liked it. He liked to fly under Hollywood’s radar by doing independent films to exercise his immense talents. During his career, he got to work with some of the greatest directors and actors of all time, but one role catapulted him into the stratosphere, making him one of the richest and most famous actors on the planet. That role is the swashbuckling scallywag, Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Captain Jack changed Depp’s life forever as fans swooned over his one-of-a-kind film entrance when his character stepped off his sinking ship onto dry land. From there he performed like no other. Depp viewed pirates as the rockstars of their day and for him, there was no bigger rockstar than the Rolling Stones guitarist, Keith Richards. Depp modeled Captain Jack after Richards right down to his dry, hilarious mumbled banter that won the hearts and minds of youngsters and adults alike. To this day, he still plays Captain Jack for children in hospitals. Depp once commented that he carries the character around in a box for a time when he might have to make some children smile.

Finally, the actor who set the stage for all those who came after him was the heavyweight champion of acting, Marlon Brando. After honing his chops on Broadway, it was time for Marlon to show the world his cinematic genius.  His performances paved the way for all the great actors who followed him, each trying hard to tap into the energy that Brando effortlessly infused into his roles. One of his earliest performances resulted in one of the most iconic quotes for years to come. That role was in Elia Kazan’s film, On the Waterfront, where he played Terry Malloy, a failed boxer working on the docks and battling mob-run, corrupt union bosses. This role earned Marlon his first Best Actor Oscar. The infamous quote came when Marlon, as Malloy, sadly professed to his older brother, “I could have had class. I could have been a contender! I could have been somebody!” That quote became as widely known as the film and Brando. It’s one of Brando’s most notable scenes in film history, and people from all walks of life impersonate Brando, repeating that iconic line. If there was a performance that captured the legacy of acting, this was it. The role of Terry Malloy undoubtedly put Brando on the map, marking him as one of the best performers of all time, and one that would change the face of acting forever. But Brando didn’t stop there. If you’ve ever heard someone shout, “Stella! Stellllaaaa!” you’ve heard another iconic quote from a Marlon Brando character. His role as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, is another one that goes down in film history.

That’s my list. What’s yours?