20 Times Actors Proved Their Acting Skills With Just One Powerful Scene

There are many elements that make a movie amazing – plot, direction, cinematography, dialogues, acting, etc. And acting is one of the most important elements that determine the overall impact of a movie. Luckily, Hollywood has produced very talented actors who know how to make a movie iconic. In fact, some actors are so talented that they steal the entire movie just by giving a powerful performance in a single scene.

#1 Drew Barrymore In Scream (1996)

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“She not only performed admirably in the 12-minute opening act, but she also received top billing, and the movie was promoted as being about her.”

#2 Anne Hathaway In Les Misérables (2012)

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“Just see how well she performed “I Dreamed a Dream”! Many people, anticipated the vocally impressive anthem version. Still, they actually got Anne delving into the subtleties and feelings that Fantine would genuinely experience at that precise moment. She’s not singing it to hit every note exactly, but it’s not a nice tune. She is a broken woman trying to sing while barely managing her emotions.”

#3 Donnie Wahlberg In The Sixth Sense (1999)

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“Despite spending only around three minutes on screen in The Sixth Sense, Donnie Wahlberg (as Vincent Grey) was so wonderfully menacing.”

#4 Kenneth Tigar In The Avengers (2012)

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“In this scene, Tigar plays an elderly man who refuses to bend down before Loki after the latter orders everyone to do so. The only person who challenges him is the elderly man with a German accent. This sentence has a murky double meaning that suggests the elderly man is a Holocaust survivor.”

#5 Alan Rickman In Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)

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“Alan Rickman (as Professor Snape), who was on screen for just 1 minute, 15 seconds in the first Deathly Hallows film, had a total screen time of only 43 minutes in all eight Harry Potter movies.”

#6 Bill Murray In Zombieland (2009)

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“Bill Murray played himself in Zombieland, and it was the best ‘cameo’ ever.”

#7 Billy Crystal And Carol Kane In The Princess Bride (1987)

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“Billy Crystal and Carol Kane play the wonderfully unhappy married pair Miracle Max and Valerie, who dabble in the kind of magic that could perhaps give our fallen hero, Westley, new life. Despite Valerie’s rants, Miracle Max manages to save the day and bids the rescue team farewell with the catchphrase, “Have fun stormin’ da castle”.”

#8 Christopher Walken In Pulp Fiction (1994)

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“Christopher Walken’s monologue in Quentin Tarantino’s masterwork Pulp Fiction, released in 1994, is one of the movie’s most enduring passages. In his role as Captain Koons, Walken relates the tale of his father’s gold watch and the lengths he took to ensure that it would be passed down to his son as a family relic to young Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis). As only Walken can, he delves into the obscene and profane specifics of how his father was able to conceal the watch while a five-year prisoner of war in Vietnam.”

#9 Evan Peters In X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

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“Despite appearing on screen for only 5 minutes and 15 seconds in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Evan Peters (as Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver) is responsible for one of the finest movie scenes ever.”

#10 Bronson Pinchot In Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

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“Serge has an unclear regional accent. He famously offers Foley an espresso with “a lemon twist” after falling in love with him right away.”

#11 Steve Park In Fargo (1996)

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“In the Coen Brothers’ epic Fargo, the dinner scene between Mike (Steve Park) and Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) is seen as both challenging to watch and humorous at the same time. Even though it would seem impossible, Park’s awkwardness as the sexually frustrated engineer from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is dripping with what we like to refer to as “second-hand embarrassment.”. Because Park’s character experiences such intense emotional upheaval in this four-minute moment that seemingly lasts for four hours.”

#12 Julia Butters In Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

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“Even though Butters only appeared in two sequences, she held her own well against Leo DiCaprio. Although the film’s original version was 4.5 hours long, they allegedly shot a lot more of her. However, some of it was edited out.”

#13 Alfre Woodard In 12 Years A Slave (2013)

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“The minor role of Alfre Woodard is challenging, but she captures the essence of the character. Even though she hasn’t been in that situation in a while, Mrs. Shaw recalls what it was like to be enslaved. We can tell from the actor’s portrayal that Mrs. Shaw now sees herself as more in line with wealthy women.”

#14 Chris Evans In Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)

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“Actor and skateboarder Lucas Lee has a beef with Scott that is required by the league. The man is more in love with himself than with his ardent followers.”

#15 Dean Stockwell In Blue Velvet (1986)

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“We have to give the perpetually oddball director David Lynch a lot of the credit for this entry. When he teamed together Dean Stockwell, and Dennis Hopper for one of Lynch’s oddest takes in Blue Velvet, the master of the surreal, exquisite, and bizarre struck a nerve. Who is creepier in this scene—lipsync Stockwell’s to Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” or Hopper’s character’s an almost orgasmic response to it?”

#16 David Thewlis In The Big Lebowski (1998)

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“Knox Harrington, played by David Thewlis, embodies the existential, sublime weirdness that the Coen Brothers aim for in their movies. He plays hardly more than a bystander in a conversation between The Dude (Jeff Bridges) and Maude Lebowski in The Big Lebowski (Julianne Moore). Thewlis’ Harrington is “Maude’s associate” and truly irritates The Dude.”

#17 Mariah Carey In Precious (2009)

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“Mariah was on the screen for a little period of time, but she was really impressive. Now people can forget about the disaster that was Glitter, finally!”

#18 Judi Dench In Shakespeare In Love (1999)

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“Shakespeare in Love only had Judi Dench’s Queen Elizabeth on screen for around eight minutes. Nevertheless, she was so outstanding and powerful that she took home the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.”

#19 Gloria Foster In The Matrix (1999)

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“If there is one thing, we can be sure of, Lana and Lily Wachowski’s sci-fi epic The Matrix posed many issues for us to consider. As Neo (Keanu Reeves) embarks on a journey of self-discovery to save humanity against an evil race of sentient robots, The Oracle (Gloria Foster) was thankfully able to fill in some of the gaps about the who, what, and why of it all.”

#20 Matthew McConaughey In Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)

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“McConaughey is barely in two scenes of the movie, but when Leo DiCaprio stares at him and tries not to laugh while he pounds his chest, it’s too hysterical. Truly unforgettable.”