Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

I never have understood all the love for Marlon Wayans in Requiem for a Dream...the film is brilliant and so are Burstyn, Leto, and Connolly, but I found nothing special about Wayans' performance.

Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

Paul Dano as the priest in There Will Be Blood. I'm not even sure if I had seen him in anything else but for me, he stole the whole damn show.

Heath Ledger of course, as The Joker.

Other than that, I can't say I was ever truly surprised...possibly Christian Bale in American Hustle.

Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

I'm slightly surprised with Ledger's The Joker being brought up time after time. After Brokeback, this performance shouldn't have been a shock.

10 years earlier he was showing promise with 10 Things I Hate About You.

I still haven't seen Brokeback Mountain, and only very short clips of 10 Things. In fact, the first programme I saw him in was Roar and I don't think I've seen him in anything else in full since apart from The Dark Knight.

Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

He was the best thing about 10 Things I Hate About You.

Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

The performance that surprised me in American Hustle was Amy Adams...she was amazing in that movie.

Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

http://brianorndorf.typepad.com/.a/6...b4cb970c-500wi

Forest Whitaker in The Experiment

Great performances from great actors usually don't surprise me, but this case was different, this movie is what made me realize how good Forest is

Kevin Costner in JFK
Richard Gere in Internal Affairs

Two good picks there, luf. :up:

Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

I saw The Dark Knight blind. Didn't recognize Heath Ledger at all and I had seen Brokeback Mountain previously.

I'm convinced that, if I hadn't known who was playing the Joker, I wouldn't have recognised him.

Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

Heath Ledger the joker
Britney Spears in crossroads and will and grace
sandra bullock in crash
jennifer lopez in u turn
jim carrey in eternal sunshine in a spotless mind
elizabeth olsen in martha marcy may marlene (given who her sisters are)
hillary swank boys dont cry
cameron diaz in any given sunday

One that just came into my mind was James Frain as Jarvis in Tron: Legacy, mainly because I had absolutely no idea it was him until the credits :). Good actor – I remember he was great in Macbeth on the Estate many years ago.

And Olivia Wilde was unbelievably brilliant. It's an advantage to have such a symmetrical face for playing an artificial, 'perfect' character, but I think the ethereal way she played Quorra really made it for me.

Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

Christan Bale in Batman trilogy

Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

Bradley Cooper - American Sniper. I didn't think he was going to be serious or tough enough.

Joe Pesci - raging bull, goodfellas and casino. After watching these movies after having seen his comedy's I am still amazed at how violent the small man can act.

Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

Oh well, Robert De Niro's performance in Silver Linings. He was so awesome there very versatile one and I'm actually amazed.

He was excellent in that. I suppose at the time it would have been like the equivalent of Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West – how can this be Richard Gere :) !?

Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

http://images.popmatters.com/film_ar...jiku-splsh.jpg

Jackie Chan in 2009's Shinjuku Incident. This was the film that finally gave Chan a chance to show his acting skills without having to do any of his trademark style of action and it worked. He plays a Chinese immigrant who goes to Japan to find his long-lost love and learns she is the wife of a Yakuza boss. When he finds himself saving the boss in an incident involving a rival Taiwanese gang, Chan is welcomed into the Yakuza but soon finds there are consequences with his newfound power. Very gritty and dark, the film also welcomed a very well engaged and at times psychotic performance by Into the Badlands lead actor Daniel Wu as a fellow immigrant who ends up going to the "dark side".

Yeah, she was good in The Fighter too.

Re: Acting performances that surprised you
 

Adrien Brody in Detachment is superb