My Favorite Ed Harris Performances

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mattiasflgrtll6's Avatar
The truth is in here
You would really miss out on something special not seeing Nixon. One of my favorite Oliver Stone movies and features a breathtakingly brilliant performance by Anthony Hopkins. Trust me, those 3 hours will feel like nothing.
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I don't know, most Oliver Stone films are longer than they need to be and I can't think of one where I wasn't checking my watch.
I can't promise you'll love Nixon, but it's not so much about the politics...it's much more focused on the personalities. It's very much and actor's movie. I think you'd be surprised at how much you'd like it. It's a lot better than JFK and not at all the same type of movie. I didn't care for JFK myself.



Wow, you're not letting this go, are you? OK, off the top of my mind, I'm talking about Born on the Fourth of July, Any Given Sunday, Natural Born Killers, and World Trade Center, all films that I found myself checking my watch at some point.



22.

Coach Jones, Radio



Harris is quietly effective as a football coach who helps to encourage a mentally challenged player (Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr).



21.

Jack Walsh, Swing Shift



Harris brought the sensitive and sexy to this thankless role as a guy who joins the Navy right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor who returns from the war to learn his wife (Goldie Hawn) is having an affair with a musician (Kurt Russell).



20.

Miles Roby, Empire Falls



Harris was memorable in this HBO miniseries as a restaurant owner at the center of the decaying industry occurring in his small town. Harris held his own with a powerhouse all-star cast including Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Aiden Quinn, William Fichtner, Robin Wright, and Helen Hunt



19.

Tom, Milk Money



Harris was cast purely for his hunk appeal in this romantic comedy playing a widower who falls in love with a prostitute (Melanie Griffith) even though he doesn't know she's a prostitute.



18.

Sheriff Alan Pangborn, Needful Things



In this thriller based on a Stephen King novel, Harris plays a level-headed, small town sheriff who finds his town being methodically destroyed by a mysterious shopkeeper (Max Von Sydow)



matt72582's Avatar
Please Quote/Tag Or I'll Miss Your Responses
I've always liked Ed Harris. Kinda like George C. Scott. They don't get mentioned, but they're always good.


I have "Glengary Glen Ross" on VHS, and after only seeing it in my late teens, I thought I'd watch it again. Boy, what a letdown! My memory was "great cast, good writing", but I didn't like the writing at all this time (probably because I've seen so many movies since), but I really liked Ed Harris, despite alan arkin being nothing more than his echo. Lots of characters, but he seemed to be my main focus.


"Jackknife" left an impression on me, in regards to his acting. Might have been the first movie of his I saw, because I was about 17 when I rented it out, just picking it up because De Niro was in it, and came away liking Ed Harris' acting more, despite his character not being very likable.



17.

Mack McCann, An Eye for An Eye



Harris brings some real meat to this seemingly thankless role as a contractor whose teenage stepdaughter is brutally raped and murdered. The psychopath who committed the crime (Keifer Sutherand) is brought to justice but gets off on a technicality. This enrages Mack's wife, Karen (Sally Field) to the point where she initiates a plan to bring the guy to justice, but leaves Mack out of the process.



Don't hold your breath waiting for a favorite Rhonda Fleming films list...I can't even name a Rhonda Fleming movie.
I was joking of course, but I do like her, she wasn't in many great films but had a good screen presences.



16.

Luke Harrison, Stepmom



Harris makes the most of an often hard to sympathize with character. Luke is a divorced contractor and father of two who has just begun a relationship with a glamorous fashion photographer (Julia Roberts) that becomes hopelessly complicated when Luke's ex-wife (Susan Sarandon) learns she is dying.



I've always liked Ed Harris. Kinda like George C. Scott. They don't get mentioned, but they're always good.


I have "Glengary Glen Ross" on VHS, and after only seeing it in my late teens, I thought I'd watch it again. Boy, what a letdown! My memory was "great cast, good writing", but I didn't like the writing at all this time (probably because I've seen so many movies since), but I really liked Ed Harris, despite alan arkin being nothing more than his echo. Lots of characters, but he seemed to be my main focus.
This is funny because I had the exact opposite experience...

I went to see Glengarry Glen Ross when it was released in the early 90's at the movie theater with a friend. All I could think was; this was my friend's pick - he always wanted to see something artsy or intellectual or avante garde!

Despite the cast, I pretty much didn't like it (and I don't think I'd even heard of Kevin Spacey before that).

Jump ahead 20-some years and I caught it on TV... I couldn't pull myself away. I kept thinking, "Why did I dislike this? It's freaking awesome!!!"



We've gone on holiday by mistake
Love Ed Harris, reminds me of my all time favourite actor Gene Hackman in a sense that he looks like a real man, balding, always looked his age, but with an enormous presence.
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