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Best Short Performances in a Movie/TV role


RonL21

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I ended up watching Flight today, and while Denzel Washington was amazing in his role, John Goodman was awesome in his little time on screen. Such a perfect combination of casting and performance for a character that wasn't on screen for even 10 minutes.

What have been some other great performances with minimal screen/TV time?

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20 minutes ago, Lacelle said:

Christopher Walken has one scene in True Romance.

Hopper doesn't have much screen time either.

Nor does Gandolfini. And they all just bring it at top levels. Christ I love that movie.

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Don't forget Ned Beatty's scene in NETWORK.

Jack Nicholson is only in a few scenes in A FEW GOOD MEN.

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter usually shows up at the top of these kind of lists.

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Probably not a coincidence that the early results here are dominated by performances in films written by the likes of Chayefsky, Mamet, Sorkin, and Tarantino, some of the best dialogue writers of all time.

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11 minutes ago, EVA said:

Probably not a coincidence that the early results here are dominated by performances in films written by the likes of Chayefsky, Mamet, Sorkin, and Tarantino, some of the best dialogue writers of all time.

It's almost like letting great actors tear into well written dialogue produces great results.

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Homicide: Life on the Street featured great single/ double episode performances from Robin Williams, Vincent D'Onofrio Steve Buscemi and Bruce Campbell (who was probably the best of all of them; He was incredible).

Didn't Judi Dench win Best Actress for a ten minute role once?

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11 minutes ago, AxB said:

Homicide: Life on the Street featured great single/ double episode performances from Robin Williams, Vincent D'Onofrio Steve Buscemi and Bruce Campbell (who was probably the best of all of them; He was incredible).

Didn't Judi Dench win Best Actress for a ten minute role once?

Yes. Best Supporting Actress, Shakespeare in Love.

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17 hours ago, RonL21 said:

I ended up watching Flight today, and while Denzel Washington was amazing in his role, John Goodman was awesome in his little time on screen. Such a perfect combination of casting and performance for a character that wasn't on screen for even 10 minutes.

What have been some other great performances with minimal screen/TV time?

LOL I still reference "I need a coco puff" from time to time, most recently two weeks ago when various work emergencies conspired to force me to work through the night and into the next day.

 

 

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Does anyone else remember when Ellen Burstyn received a best supporting actress Emmy nomination for the HBO film Mrs. Harris despite only being in 11 seconds of it? There was a lot of grumbling because it was clear someone at their academy had just seen her name in the credits. 

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Granted he got an Oscar for it, Coburn was great in Affliction and he wasn't a pivotal part of the film besides a couple flashbacks and at the end. 

I'm not trying go for an obvious one, and I just seen the film for the first time. I am pretty sure I can think of some more.

For black films in the 90s, Samuel L Jackson in Menace II Society was fucking pretty iconic.

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Two more:

I fucking can't stand The Color Purple. It is the most depressing, groan inducing, shameful early 20th century eyebucking-est (think all the black people in the film Jezebel w/ Bette Davis), feminist writer trying so hard to say black men ain't shit minstrel show film of all time. However, after rewatching it a couple weeks ago, I must say Adolph Caesar steals EVERY scene he is. I think it's three or four tops. I've seen this film dozens of times and "Maybe they'll let her sweep the caboose!" still gets me laughing.

Second, I gotta say Debbie Allen in Jo Jo Dancer because she played the best portrayal of "trying to get a baller but I'm still independent" woman in film. She's basically every woman anyone making any sort of money wants, but they know she is batshit crazy and not worth it all. So yeah, she basically played a thot. However, I would argue in her limited screentime (especially when she goes off when her car goes off a cliff) that it's all the women these entertainers and athletes go after rolled into one. She's a perfect ten but there is no way a serious, honest relationship with her is going to last. 

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One more:

Since we started by mentioning a film with Denzel, I just remembered he was only in Cry Freedom for like 20 minutes tops as Steve Biko in a 2 hour 40 minute film. Earned an Oscar nod for a film you probably forgot he was in. 

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I can't believe I forgot Kevin Spacey in Se7en.

Also, Viola Davis and her 8 minutes of screen time in Doubt, which got her an Oscar nomination. 

In another Denzel film, Ruby Dee was great in her 10 minutes in American Gangster, which I also believe got her an Oscar nomination.

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5 minutes ago, RonL21 said:

I can't believe I forgot Kevin Spacey in Se7en.

Also, Viola Davis and her 8 minutes of screen time in Doubt, which got her an Oscar nomination. 

In another Denzel film, Ruby Dee was great in her 10 minutes in American Gangster, which I also believe got her an Oscar nomination.

Idris was great in his five minutes of screentime in American Gangster as well.

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54 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

Ruby wins though. "I will leave you" is one of the moments in that movie that guts you and makes the movie better than it really is. 

They're not really competing with each other though. Having not watched The Wire at that point, that was really my introduction to him because at the point his U.S. career consisted of being Stringer Bell, a cameo on Girlfriends, and a couple of made-for-TV BET family films. Listening to some of his contemporaries talk about it, I think a lot of them knew that if he can hold his own with Denzel for that little amount of time he was going to be a handful to deal with when it came to getting roles.

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