Acting is an art, not a science, and the work that goes into delivering a good performance isn’t something that can simply be replicated, even by the exact same actor. Even those performers who don’tpeak with an Oscar wincan find it difficult to always maintain consistency among the outside pressures and factors that can alter a performance. In addition to all that, some acting performances,even those that have won Oscars, don’t stand the test of time and age poorly.
Then there are those performances that somehow manage to exist outside the acting-time continuum.These are performances that completely transcend their time and place, remaining unblemished. No matter what history may have had in store for these actors or their careers,these performances are absolutely timelessbecause of their significance, impact, and legacy within the cinematic medium.
10Rita Moreno as Anita
‘West Side Story’ (1961)
There are more than a few elements ofthe Oscar-winning musicalWest Side Storythat haven’t aged particularly well, butRita Moreno’s performance as Anita isn’t one of them. The only true Puerto Rican in the cast, Moreno breathes life into Anita in a livewire performance thatstill holds a charge over sixty years later, even in comparison toAriana DeBose’sinterpretation of the character intheSteven Spielberg-directed remake.
Though Moreno was dubbed for a couple of the film’s songs, her singing is on full display in the iconic performance of “America,“which perfectly encapsulates Moreno’s fiery passion and attitude, leaving most of the other cast members in the dust. Musical performances often dance acrossa careful line that runs between broad theatricality and honest emotion, and Moreno doesn’t put a single step out of place.
West Side Story
9Angela Bassett as Tina Turner
‘What’s Love Got to Do with It?’ (1993)
Angela Bassett’sfirst Oscar nomination came for thisharrowing biopic of Tina Turner, and whilethe singer herself had issues with the film, she found no faults with Bassett’s soulful performance. Chronicling the years Turner was with her husband, Ike, the film is fraught with violence and abuse, which is difficult to watch. Still, Bassett’s powerhouse performance shines through, delivering all the electricity and energy expected in a depiction of the famed singer.
It’s been argued over whetherperformances based on real people are easier than those that are wholly created by an actor, but those arguments are rendered moot when witnessing one such as Bassett’s. Her work is elevated well beyond mere mimicry and exposes a much deeper human vulnerability within. Bassett has long been overlooked for her performances that often celebrate strong Black women, and she continues to dedicate herself toexploring new territory in her career, which can only mean good things for audiences.
What’s Love Got to Do with It?
8Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s Monster
‘Frankenstein’ (1931)
The originalFrankensteinis one of the most influentialhorror films of all time andhas aged remarkably wellin comparison to many other films from the same time period. The biggest reason for its timeless success isBoris Karloff’s iconic portrayal of the tragic monster. While perhaps not a perfectly faithful representation ofMary Shelley’s character, Karloff imbued the sympathetic monster with a pathos that transcended its origins and remains the signature depiction.
All the actors who would subsequently portray the character, including incredible talents likeChristopher LeeandRobert De Niro, exist in the shadow of Karloff. Without a single word, the actor conveys the fear, anger, and innocence of a creature brought unwillingly into a world that wants to destroy him. Despite appearing in over a hundred films across all genres, so definitive was his portrayal as Frankenstein’s Monster that Karloffwould forever be associated with the character and the horror genre.
Frankenstein
7Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs
‘In the Heat of the Night’ (1967)
A film whose relevance as a racially-charged thriller seems to frustratingly rise every few years, thepolice proceduralIn the Heat of the Nightwas also a perfect showcase forSidney Poitier. His poised performance as Virgil Tibbs, a Philadelphia cop stuck in the deep South, was asdefiant in the face of Hollywood conventionas the character is when confronted with bigotry. Even years later, the film and Poitier’s performance still delivera jarring slap in the faceto intolerance.
Poitier’s presence as one of the very few prominent actors of color during his early career placed a heavy burden upon his shoulders for representation, but he handled it with grace while kicking open doors for many Black actors to come. His chemistry on screen withRod Steigerset an example for buddy cop films for decades to come, while his role in particularissued a directive to Hollywood for better representation.
In the Heat of the Night
6Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond
‘Sunset Boulevard’ (1950)
To be sure,Sunset Boulevardis not a film that could take place in any era. As possiblythe greatest film noir ever made,Billy Wilder’s pitch-black Hollywood tragicomedy pinpoints a very specific time in film history.Gloria Swanson’s performance as Norma Desmond, a former silent film star whose fame has faded just as much as her sanity, personifies that era while also timelessly embodying the fractious relationship that studios have with women of a certain age.
Norma Desmond is a purposefully histrionic character, frozen in a glory daze of her long-forgotten stardom. Swanson, who herself was a pioneering silent film star whose career had waned, givesa performance that is exactly the kind that inspires imitators and satirizations, but none capture the ineffable presence informed by Swanson’s lived experience. That shedidn’t win her Oscar nominationis still unfathomable.
Sunset Boulevard
5Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling
‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991)
Jodie Fosterhad been giving notable performancesfor well over a decade before she was cast as Clarice Starling, the devoted FBI agent at the heart of theserial killer thrillerThe Silence of the Lambs. While the film is filled with plenty of scenery-devouring characters, it’s Foster’s dogged determination and vulnerability that hold it all together. OppositeAnthony Hopkins’ hypnotic villain Hannibal Lecter, Foster shoulders the responsibility of anchoring the film’s reality, much as Starling herself must prove herself as a woman in a male-dominated space.
The visuals help to put the viewer withinthe perspective of Starling through the extensive use of POV, but it’s all in Foster’s Oscar-winning performance that they feel her true grit when confronted by the steely glare of a convicted killer. It would be all too easy for Foster’s performance to dissipate in the presence of Hopkins' grandiose character; even worse, she could have attempted to match his levels. However, Foster finds the perfect tone that not only allows the characters to connect on a discomforting level for the audience, but alsobalances the entire movie.
The Silence of the Lambs
4Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy
‘On the Waterfront’ (1954)
Marlon Brandohas given many timeless performances. Often considered the greatest actor of his generation, Brando was a noted practitioner ofthe controversial technique of method acting. Beyond the clickbait articles that chastise bad behavior by so-called method actors, Brando’s performances speak to his effective implementation of the approach, none more so than his landmark performance inOn the Waterfront.
As former boxer turned longshoreman Terry Malloy, Brando portrays a deep brokenness in the character, who has become beaten down by the corruption and criminal activity that runs rampant on the waterfront.Brando puts on an acting clinic in every scene, from his tender interactions withEva Marie Saintto his iconic speech delivered toRod Steiger. The actor doesn’t play a wrong note in the entire performance, and it isevery bit as iconic as its reputation would suggest.
On The Waterfront
3Ellen Burstyn as Sara Goldfarb
‘Requiem for a Dream’ (2000)
Playing a character struggling with drug addiction is often considered an opportunity for an actor looking for acclaim.Films about drug addiction or alcoholismgenerally allow actors to explore a full spectrum of emotional content alongside the potential for physical transformation. While many depictions can fall prey to ineffective melodramatics,those that accurately portray drug addictionwill stick with viewers long after. Such is the case withEllen Burstyn’sunforgettable performance inRequiem for a Dream.
Based on the novel byHubert Selby Jr.,Darren Aronofsky’sfilm adaptation is known for both its frenetic visual style and being a very difficult watch, as each of its characters suffers a downward spiral from drug use. Burstyn plays Sara Goldfarb, a Brighton Beach resident whose dreams of appearing on her favorite game show lead her towards heavy use of amphetamines to lose weight. As she slips further into her drug use and begins to hallucinate from drug-induced psychosis, Aronofsky’s visuals become even more untethered and surreal. Yet,Burstyn is in such command that her suffering is never lost among the artifice. While incredible makeup design helps make the physical transformation palpable, it’s all in Burstyn’s performance that the audience is able to empathize with her. It’s an emotionally draining experience that will havemost viewers feeling hollowed out by the end.
Requiem for a Dream
2Al Pacino as Michael Corleone
‘The Godfather’ (1972)
Al Pacinohas played many a villainin his career, and while some viewers may associate the actor with his over-the-top performances played at maximum volume, nothing touches his subtle descent into darkness as the youngest son of the Corleone family in thegangster classicThe Godfather. Brando may have taken the Oscar glory for his singular performance, but Pacino is just as inimitable and perhaps even more powerful for how he portraysthe corruption of a man’s soul.
Studio executives infamously wanted a more established star to play the key role inFrancis Ford Coppola’scrime epic, butthe director held firm, saving the film from a possibly disastrous miscasting andgiving Pacino the role of a lifetime. Nothing is overplayed or telegraphed in Michael’s transition from wanting nothing to do with his criminal family to becoming its patriarch, and the quiet menace with which he threatens his enemies is more disquieting than any screaming histrionics could ever be.
The Godfather
1Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle
‘Taxi Driver’ (1976)
Pacino’s closest contemporary, Robert De Niro, has his share of essential performances that could easily slot in as timeless, none more deserving than the troubling and prescient one at the heart of thedark psychological thrillerTaxi Driver. To prepare for the role of loner Travis Bickle, De Niro got a job as a taxi driver and dropped his weight to play the character as lean as possible. The physical transformation mirrors the character as he becomes like a spring that is progressively coiled tighter and tighter, threatening to be unleashed at any moment.
