Top 5 Best Actor and Best Actresses Oscar Winning Performances

What are your top 5 performances from actors and actresses that actually won an oscar?

Mine:

Actors:
1. Sean Penn- Mystic River
2. Dustin Hoffman- Rain Man
3. Jack Nicholson- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
4. Anthony Hopkins- Silence of the Lambs
5. Tom Hanks- Forrest Gump

Actresses:
1. Hilary Swank- Million Dollar Baby
2. Jodie Foster- Silence of the Lambs
3. Frances McNormand- Fargo
4. Sandra Bullock- The Blind Side
5. Jessica Tandy- Driving Miss Daisy

Haven't seen a lot of Oscar winning Best Actress performances, though.

Just trying to get an idea of some good performances worth watching with these lists.

Actresses

Marion Colitillard - La Vie en Rose
Hillary Swank - Million Dollar Baby
Charlize Theron - Monster
Jodie Foster - Silence of the Lambs
Shirley MaClaine - Terms of Endearment
Sissy Spacek - Coal Miner's Daughter

Actors

Robert De Niro - Raging Bull
Robert Duvall - Tender Mercies
Nicolas Cage - Leaving Las Vegas
Anthony Hopkins - Silence of the Lambs
Adrian Brody - The Pianist
Alec Guinness - the Bridge of the River Kwai

I refrain from posting my top 5 because I've a certain disdain for the Academy. The best performance of the year doesn't always mean it wins the Oscar, which has been the case on quite a few occasions throughout Oscar history.

What some find to be the best performance of the year will not be so for others. The nominees will have all put on solid performances, but what about the people left out. Does that mean their performance is diminished? Take 2007. Daniel-Day Lewis wins the Oscar. No complaints there, that was a tour de force performance in my book. But why wasn't Brad Pitt nominated for his take on Jesse James in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford? In my book, that was the 2nd best performance of the year...

I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's all subjective.

If you ask me, that sounds like a cop out?

I must say I often disagree with the Academy, but here are my choices (including some Oscar winning supporting roles):

Actors:
Russell Crowe – Gladiator
Sean Penn – Milk
Tom Hanks – Philadelphia
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
Dustin Hoffman – Rain Man

Actresses:
Kate Winslet - The Reader
Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line
Marissa Tomei – My Cousin Vinny
Kim Basinger - L.A. Confidential
Shirley Maclaine – Terms of Endearment

It is very obvious that the academy rarely gets the award right, if even ever. But that shouldn't really discount the fact that a lot who have gotten the award were really fantastic. For example, my favorite actor is Denzel Washington. He won an award for Training Day. In my opinion, there were stronger canidates for that year. He also did NOT win for The Hurricane, which I thought he should have. So basically, the winning actor is not always the right actor, but it doesn't mean we should discount their performance.

I just did this to see what other oscar winning performances I should watch next.

Best/Supporting Actor
Marlon Brando-The Godfather
Daniel Day-Lewis-There Will Be Blood
Nicolas Cage-Leaving Las Vegas
Heath Ledger-The Dark Knight
Christopher Walken-The Deer Hunter

Best/Supporting Actress
Charlize Theron-Monster
Holly Hunter-The Piano
Hilary Swank-Million Dollar Baby
Cloris Leachman-The Last Picture Show
Tilda Swinton-Michael Clayton

But the best performer hardly won every time. Some losing performances definitely worth a look: Peter Sellers in 'Being There,' Robert De Niro in 'Taxi Driver,' Peter O'Toole in literally anything, and above all Brando in 'A Streetcar Named Desire.' Watch that movie first and discover the first modern, completely naturalistic, realistic performance in Hollywood. Before this people were just 'acting.'

If you just wanted to know some great performances to check out, I'm not sure the Oscars is the best place to look, but it's definitely a starting point.

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"I want a film I watch to express either the joy of making cinema or the anguish of making cinema" -Francois Truffaut

You forgot to say "except Caligula."

Of course, using this rationale, why would you base your viewing habits on what ONE person says, unless you have already detemined that they are utterly trustworthy? I guess it takes time and viewing some movies to find out.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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There are so many brilliant performances that don't get nominated. These are among my favorite Oscar nominated performances. When I think of the following performances the actor and movie match seemlessly, my list is my take on the perfect role and perfect acting execution of it.

Best Actor:
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
Sean Penn - Mystic River
Tom Hanks - Forrest Gump
Kevin Spacey - American Beauty

Can't decide between these excellent performances:
Al Pacino - Scent Of A Woman (Pacino should have won for Dog Day Afternoon or tied with Nicholson, or won for Serpico)
Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man

Robert De Niro should have won for Taxi Driver.

Best Actress:
Meryl Streep - Sophie's Choice
Kate Winslet - The Reader
Charlize Theron - Monster
Susan Sarandon - Dead Man Walking
Frances McDormand - Fargo


Best Supporting Actor and Actress, have to mention what I consider to be two phenomenal performances:

Christopher Walken - The Deer Hunter
Linda Hunt - The Year of Living Dangerously

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Movie Reviews | TV Recaps

BEST of the BEST ACTOR OSCAR-WINNING PERFORMANCES
1. Robert DeNiro, Raging Bull (1980)
2. Alec Guinness, The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
3. Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies (1983)
4. Jack Nicholson, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
5. Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood (2007)



BEST of the BEST ACTRESS OSCAR-WINNING PERFORMANCES
1. Elizabeth Taylor, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
2. Ingrid Bergman, Gaslight (1944)
3. Meryl Streep, Sophie's Choice (1982)
4. Patricia Neal, Hud (1963)
5. Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry (1999)



BEST of the BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR OSCAR-WINNING PERFORMANCES
1. Ben Johnson, The Last Picture Show (1971)
2. Gene Hackman, Unforgiven (1992)
3. Walter Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
4. Chris Cooper, Adaptation (2002)
5. George Kennedy, Cool Hand Luke (1967)



BEST of the BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS OSCAR-WINNING PERFORMANCES
1. Ruth Gordon, Rosemary's Baby (1968)
2. Tatum O'Neal, Paper Moon (1973)
3. Gloria Grahame, The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
4. Anjelica Huston, Prizzi's Honor (1985)
5. Jane Darwell, The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Actors:
Anthony Hopkins- Silence of the Lambs
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Sean Penn - Mystic River
Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man
Ben Kingsley - Gandhi

Actresses:
Sandra Bullock- The Blind Side
Hilary Swank- Million Dollar Baby
Helen Mirren - The Queen
Nicole Kidman - The Hours
Charlize Theron - Monster

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Timetravelfan
www.timetravelmovie.com

Lots of votes for Charlize Theron in Monster, I want to see that one. I would also like to see Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight.

Supporting Actors
1. Tim Robbins- Mystic River
2. Morgan Freeman- Million Dollar Baby
3. Heath Ledger- The Dark Knight
4. Gene Hackman- Unforgiven
5. Javier Bardem- No Country for Old Men

Supporting Actresses
1. Eva Marie Saint- On the Waterfront
2. Jennifer Connelly- A Beautiful Mind
3. Kim Basinger- L.A. Confidential
4. Meryl Streep- Kramer vs. Kramer
5. ?

I forgot this thread.


Best Actor

Burt Lancaster, Elmer Gantry (1960)
George C. Scott, Patton (1970)
Jack Nicholson, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Ben Kingsley, Gandhi (1982)
James Cagney, Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)




Best Actress

Elizabeth Taylor, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Liza Minnelli, Cabaret (1972)
Vivien Leigh, Gone with the Wind (1939)
Simone Signoret, Room at the Top (1959)
Anne Bancroft, The Miracle Worker (1962)




Supporting Actor

Walter Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight (2008)
Ben Johnson, The Last Picture Show (1971)
Peter Ustinov, Spartacus (1960)
Martin Landau, Ed Wood (1994)


Supporting Actress

Linda Hunt, The Year of Living Dangerously (1983)
Hattie McDaniel, Gone with the Wind (1939)
Rita Moreno, West Side Story (1961)
Patty Duke, The Miracle Worker (1962)
Mo' Nique, Precious (2009)

Interesting choices that I will certainly have to see Mark.

I wasn't a huge fan of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but I did think that Walter Huston stole the show of the whole movie, even over Bogart himself!

Wow I just finally saw Theron's performance in Monster. A chilling performance, especially if you watch the interviews with the real life Wuornos afterwards. Theron acts just the way Wuornos is. Insanely chilling and great performance.

Yeah, she's fabulous in that and not just in the 'beautiful actress plays ugly' way that wins so much praise.

Sorry, I love Charlize Theron but I didn't like her in Monster ( yes I know, she got the Oscar ). To me her acting was over the top. I think the academy rewarded her effort, putting on all that weight and trying to physically emulate Aileen, but she was over-acting in that movie and to me, having seen both of the Wurnos documentaries, Charlize just didn't portray that detachment that was so obvious in Wournos. Watching Wournos, I had a feeling that she was so detached from reality, as if she wasn't even there during the interviews. Charlize just tried to be " too " real, if such a thing is even possible. Phisicaly she might have been there, but emotionaly she just came off as cold but not detached.