100 Essential Male Film Performances

Part 1: Life Support

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[27 July 2009]

By PopMatters Staff

Howard E. Rollins Jr. Ragtime (Milos Forman, 1981)

As Coalhouse Walker, a man moved to the extreme to defend his dignity and identity in the face of racial prejudice in Forman’s sweeping Ragtime, Rollins is the definition of pride, with all of it’s positive and negative connotations. It’s in the eyes, the high shoulders, the unflinching, regulated tone of voice—the character permeates the actor’s very physicality. But Coalhouse is man who will take only so much, and his breakdown is wrenching to witness and watching this dignified man in his suit and tie lose control and finally, harrowingly, gain it back on his own terms is riveting. It’s no surprise Rollins slipped so well into Sidney Poitier’s shoes as Virgil Tibbs in the TV version of In the Heat of the Night. Like Poitier, Rollins has a stateliness about him, yet with an emotional, damageable core so visible in his words and movement. The look on his face when Coalhouse realizes thugs have defecated in his car is that of confusion and awareness—he’s upset, but his pride won’t let it show. It’s Coalhouse’s tragedy, perhaps, that he doesn’t act on emotion at this initial act and instead lets his rage eat away at him. It’s Rollins’ triumph as a performer that he takes these painful steps down into one man’s hell, and into the shameful history of racism, as delicately as he does. Coalhouse’s eventual busting rage, then, is even more shocking, and somehow so wholly understandable. Nikki Tranter

 
George Sanders All about Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950)

Was there ever a theatre critic as acerbic, as cynical, or as omniscient as Addison DeWitt? In this character screenwriter/director Mankiewicz created a modern archetype by distilling the essential essence of all the critics who ever lived or may yet live. Sanders, the very personification of disenchanted sophistication, was ideally cast in this role: you can feel in Addison’s every word the world-weariness of the actor who would eventually commit suicide at age 65 (leaving behind a note explaining that he decided to end it all because he was bored). Although officially a supporting role, DeWitt provides the very spine of All About Eve:  he opens the film with a monologue which identifies the main characters and sets up the conflicts to come, then in the flashback which comprises most of the film reveals himself as the unseen power who controls the action. And perhaps he’s more a mere mortal: there’s a whiff of the demonic in the climactic scene in which DeWitt confronts Eve Harrington with the truth about her past and her meteoric rise to fame. What she learns is that some people sell their souls to the devil for worldly fame and fortune and that with her insane ambition and misplaced belief in her own cleverness Eve has forfeited control over her life and career to the one person in her sphere that is not only smarter, but also more ruthless, than herself. Sarah Boslaugh

 
Robert Shaw Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)

He played villains in The Sting and The Taking of Pelham 123, but as Quint in Jaws, Robert Shaw is an almost inspirational force of nature. The hardscrabble fisherman is a dying breed on Amity Island, a place taken over by tourism. But when the man-eating shark threatens not just the town’s people, but its tourism dollars, Quint is the only one who can help them. Shaw could be chiseled out of stone when he stares down Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) or out into the vast ocean. But his face also splits wide-open with an old drunk’s cackle. There’s certainly an Ahab-esque obsession in Shaw’s eyes as they head out to sea. But it’s not as simple as subbing the white whale for a shark. Quint is out to prove his worth to a changing world he doesn’t fit into. And the shiny-eyed zeal with which Shaw sings old sea shanties, and the sinister snarl he uses to pick class battles with the well-educated Hooper, can be as unnerving as it is fun to watch. But when Quint meets his inevitable end, that’s when Shaw throws the perfect wrench into our view of Quint. Instead of dying with the steely dignity we expect, Shaw’s desperate and depraved terror in the face of death is sad and horrifying. We’re not surprise by Quint’s death, but Shaw reminds us that he knows, in the end, that he was killed in service of a place that had no use for him. Leave it to a skillful actor like Shaw to make someone as surly and misanthropic as Quint not only sympathetic, but likeable. Matt Fiander

 
Christopher Walken The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978)

Toiling in a gritty, smoldering Pennsylvania small town’s steel mills has forged a bond between four working-class guys pre-Vietnam portrayed in Cimino’s film, just as much as their pool hall antics and the titular deer hunting practiced during their leisure time has. But, Walken’s Nick possesses a more poetic sensibility that makes him question killing nature’s most beautiful doe-eyed beings—how ironic that Mike’s (Robert De Niro) “one-shot” philosophy would foreshadow future tragedy.

Cut to horrific Viet Cong entrapment. Nick’s emaciated body barely has vital signs, after being ravaged as a P.O.W. Pennsylvanian beer buddy Mike returns to the jungle after the ordeal to salvage Nick from an apocalyptic demise like a Salinger protagonist or good soldier Shweig, Mike plays savior. Nick now resides amongst Saigon’s mini-skirted call girls and gristly con-men. Broken and lost, like a shard buried under a land mine, Nick momentarily flashes on a solitary shred of hope when Mike persuades him to come home before his personal Armageddon—but, it’s too late, and for Nick there is no real “coming back” from the torturous games of Russian roulette he was forced to play by his captors. His harrowing roller-coaster ride tour through ‘Nam leaves him shell shocked and horrified as a nation of boomers, still coming to grips with guilt towards its fallen war heroes from the last war, decides his ultimate fate. Lisa Torem

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100 Essential Male Film Performances

Comments

I don’t understand the point of separating performances by sex when discussing film. But, hey, the Oscars do it, why shouldn’t Popmatters.

I really enjoyed the female list, which captured a wide range of performances and had some really fascinating selections.  I also learned of a few actresses from that list whose work I didn’t really know much about.  So far, this one seems limited.  Classics are underrepresented—2 films from before 1960?  And sci-fi and horror are completely avoided.  I would say that some of the most interesting and memorable supporting male roles are villains from these types of genre films.

Comment by stever — July 27, 2009 @ 9:15 am

@ stever

This is just the first part of the section. “Classics” come on Wednesday. Tomorrow is “The Dark Side”. Thursday is “From Page to Screen” and Friday is “Under the Radar”.

This first part focuses on supporting roles.

Comment by SysAdmin — July 27, 2009 @ 9:21 am

The introduction to this Life Support section is completely overwrought. Do you really believe, for example, that Sean Penn “would be totally lost” in Milk without Emile Hirsch “holding it all together on the sidelines?” Sorry, but that’s one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard.

Comment by Ben from Chicago — July 27, 2009 @ 9:58 am

@ Ben from Chicago:

Yes, in fact, I do believe that Hirsch’s portrayal of Cleve Jones, one of the most important figures in the history of the contemporary gay rights movement, was integral to the success of Penn’s characterization.

Comment by Matt Mazur — July 27, 2009 @ 11:04 am

But it’s one thing to say that Hirsch’s performance is “integral” and quite another to say that Penn “would be totally lost” without it.

Comment by Ben from Chicago — July 27, 2009 @ 1:59 pm

On the one hand, I can see what Ben means—Penn’s performance is a powerhouse that stands on its own legs.  But what I took from that comment, and what I think is an extremely important point that’s hard to bear in mind in light of Penn’s singular performance, is that Milk succeeds as more than traditional, biopic-tastic hagiography.  It represents the diverse and thriving community of gay politics of the time, of which surely Milk was a major figure.  But Cleve Jones is without a doubt one of the most important gay activists to this day.  Including Hirsch was a thoughtful choice.

Comment by Sofia from Boston — July 27, 2009 @ 5:30 pm

These are all white guys!! What’s up with that?

Comment by laprofe63 from Chicago — July 28, 2009 @ 10:53 am

oops, sorry. My mistake, there’s one brotha in the mix. Still… pretty monocultural selection if you ask me.

Comment by laprofe63 from Chicago — July 28, 2009 @ 10:55 am

Sorry - Hirsch wasn’t that great.  James Franco gave the best performance in Milk.

Comment by Tyler from DC — July 31, 2009 @ 12:10 pm

ha ha… James Franco basically played “the long-suffering wife”. The role was paper-thin, but he was sure pretty!

Comment by Matt Mazur — July 31, 2009 @ 1:40 pm

please someone tell me that I missed it. How could you make an essential performances list and not mention either of the brilliant performances in Amadeus?

Comment by joe — August 3, 2009 @ 1:49 am

Casey Affleck nowhere to be seen? It’s on the same level as Walken for god’s sake.

Comment by Walrus — August 11, 2009 @ 2:51 am

Great list although it really is too “white”, and where is Gene Hackman? Harrison Ford definitely deserves a spot on the list as well. If you don’t think the pop idols he has created in Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark then his performances in Mosquito Coast, Witness, or Blade Runner would have been deserving of inclusion.

I never understand why even highly eloquent writers seem to be unable to spell German words correctly. It’s all just a matter of double-checking your spelling in a German dictionary or on Google, right? This article is the first one I’ve read on the Internet which gets every single word right, even the capitalizations. Kudos to you!

Comment by Theo from Potsdam, Germany — August 21, 2009 @ 12:06 pm

I was disappointed that Jackie Earle Haley didn’t make the list for his performance in Little Children.  Certainly was a phenomenol, if overlooked performance.  But glad to see you gave Todd Fields some credit with Tom Wilkinson in In the Bedroom.

Comment by Chelsea — August 21, 2009 @ 12:32 pm

Really good list.  Personal favorites of mine that would make it are Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting, Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction, Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, Leonardo DiCaprio in the Departed, and Karl Malden in On the Waterfront.  Oh and that guy from Milk was not that great but Sean Penn really was.

Comment by sam — August 21, 2009 @ 3:13 pm

— PopMatters sponsor —

Kudos for including Alan Rickman’s performance in Die Hard. However, I personally feel your list is incomplete without Gary Oldman. He’s only just the greatest character actor alive. I’m a disappointed by the lack of Johnny Depp’s Edward Scissorhands, Val Kilmer’s Jim Morrison, Christopher Lee’s Dracula, and Micky Rourke’s Marv, but without Gary Oldman, your list just isn’t complete. (Also wish you could have put Heath Ledger’s Joker on there too.)

Comment by Apathygrrl from Halifax — August 21, 2009 @ 6:17 pm

I completely agree, the nuances that Gary Oldman gives his characters are what make them real. From a facial tick to a stile of walk, he creates a complete persona that is unique to each role, he should definitely be on the list. I would exclude Divine in Pink Flamingos as Waters all but said that was not acting that was just him/her? Also there are much better performances from Dunstin Hoffman as well, so he played a woman half the movie, (and from the list I can see that is why it was chosen.) One that should be on the list as holding the movie together is Val Kilmer. Lets face it, with out his semi over-the-top Doc Holiday, tombstone would have been just another movie. His lines have become a singular part of the “Man Lexicon”. His portrayal alone made that movie as beloved by so many as it is, is it great acting? No. Is it an actor that made the movie? Yes.

Comment by Barry from Hertford — August 21, 2009 @ 10:55 pm

The omissions of Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird and Peter Greene in Clean, Shaven are inexcusible.  But, then, the former was committed quite consciously, in order to stir the poop a bit, no?

Matthew

Comment by Matthewwave from Seattle, WA — August 22, 2009 @ 1:57 pm

Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca or The African Queen? Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Cary Grant in Notorious or North By Northwest?

Comment by ww — August 22, 2009 @ 4:51 pm

Brad Pitt gets a nod for Seven but is completely ignored for some of the most memorable characters of the last decade, from his roles in Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, Snatch, and his criminally underrated performance in The Assassination of Jesse James.

Also, where is Johnny Depp?

Comment by RandomStranger from UT — August 23, 2009 @ 8:20 pm

John Wayne in ‘The Searchers’?
Kevin Spacey in ‘American Beauty’ or ‘The Usual Suspects’?
Ryan O’Neal in ‘Barry Lyndon’?
Bruce Willis in ‘Twelve Monkeys’?
Richard Gere in ‘Days of Heaven’?
Jake Gyllenhaal in ‘Donnie Darko’?
Vincent D’Onofrio in ‘Full Metal Jacket’?
David Strathairn in ‘Good Night, and Good Luck.’?
Clive Owens in ‘Inside Man’ or ‘Children of Men’?
Harrison Ford in ‘Blade Runner’?
Peter O’ Toole in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’?
Nicolas Cage in ‘Leaving Las Vegas’?
Mickey Rourke in ‘The Wrestler’?
Eric Bana in ‘Munich’?
Tom Hanks in ‘Cast Away’?
Christian Bale in ‘Empire of the Sun’?
Liam Neeson in ‘Schindler’s List’?
Tim Robbins in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’?
Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘Gangs of New York,’ ‘The Departed’, ‘Blood Diamond’, or ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape’?
Don Cheadle in ‘Hotel Rwanda’?
Steve McQueen in ‘The Sand Pebbles’ or ‘Bullit’?
George C. Scott in ‘Dr. Strangelove’ or ‘Patton’?
Clint Eastwood in ‘Unforgiven’, ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’, or ‘Gran Torino’?
John Belushi in ‘Blues Brothers’?
Tom Cruise in ‘Born on the Fourth of July’?
Kirk Douglas in ‘Paths of Glory’?

Comment by Bernard from St. Louis — August 23, 2009 @ 10:39 pm

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Don Cheadle in Manic?
And almost anything Jamie Bell’s done has been awesome.

Comment by randomStranger — August 23, 2009 @ 11:10 pm

Also wanted to let you in on a fantastic, eerie, performance by Danish actor Preben Lerdorff Rye as Johannes in Ordet. 

Absolutely stunning film.  All of the performances are quite good, although what else would you expect from Dreyer?

Comment by Chelsea — August 29, 2009 @ 4:42 pm

Matt
You have neglected to mention the following performances:

George C. Scott     The Hustler/Patton
Tom Cruise         Magnolia
David Thewlis       Naked
Peter Finch         Network
Aaron Eckhart     In the Company of Men
Jack Nicholson     The Lat Detail/Five Easy Pieces (not Shining)
Martin Sheen         Badlands (not Apocalypse Now)
John Goodman       Barton Fink
M. Emmit Walsh       Blood Simple
Tom Waits         Down by Law
John Marley         Faces
Allen Baron         Blast of Silence
David Hemmings       Blow Up
Gene Hackman       French Connection/Royal Tenenbaums
John Cusak         High Fidelity
Denis Lavant         Mauvis Sang
Richard Burton       Look Back in Anger
Donald Sutherland   Ordinary People
Kirk Douglas         Paths of Glory
Richard Gere         Days of Heaven
Micky Rourke       Body Heat
Rade Serbedzija       Before the Rain
Vincent Gallo         Buffalo ‘66
Warren Beatty       Bulworth/Bonny and Clyde/Reds
Jean-Marc Barr       Europa
Sidney Lumet       Eyes Wide Shut
Jean-Pierre Leaud   Masculin Feminin
Jeremy Irons         Reversal of Fortune
Ben Kingsley         Sexy Beast
Fernando Rey       That Obscure Object of Desire
Gary Oldman         The Professional

and for your queer/German consideration: 
Klaus Kinski             Fitzcarraldo
Kurt Raab (bonus points for being German and gay)                  Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?
Joe Dallesandro         Trash
Joseph Gordon Levitt   Mysterious Skin
Leslie Cheung           Happy Together

Comment by Scott from Nashville — September 3, 2009 @ 10:55 pm

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