Actors that elevate any role they are in

My pick: Gene Hackman

• Gene Hackman (ditto) Morgan Freeman

• Meryl Streep Morgan Freeman Daniel Day Lewis

• Simone Signoret Hope you mention actresses too, op.

• Jack Lemmon Kathy Bates

• A few that come to mind: Julianne Moore Kevin Bacon Glenn Close Philip Seymour Hoffman

• Sigourney Weaver

  Enid Nelson

• Emma Thompson Stanley Tucci

• Sir Patrick Stewart

• Scott Glen Jeff Bridges another vote for Kathy Bates Jeff Daniels (yes Dumb & Dumber was watchable because of him) Patricia Clarkson (I think that's the name, blonde, older, gorgeous)

• Damn, some bitch beat me to Patricia Clarkson. Now all I have is Hope Davis.

• Tom Cruise

• Morgan Freeman is getting boring same character over and over and over..the sensitive wise older black man. Kevin Spacey is my choice.

• William Macy, Hope Davis, Cate Blanchett, David Strathairn

• Patricia Neal

• I'm not sure I understand what's being asked. Are these performers who are consistently better than their films? If so, I'm not sure that's something to applaud. They need to start picking better scripts and/or stop upstaging their colleagues. Hams.

• Edward Norton Colin Ferrell Ewan McGregor Daniel Day Lewis Christopher Eccleston Philip Seymour Hoffman For old movies: James Stewart Grace Kelley Barbara Stanwick

• Dianne Wiest Jodie Foster Meryl Streep Philip Seymour Hoffman Brian Cox Frances Mc Dormand I feel like I'm just listing our best screen actors...

• Kim Kardashian Paris Hilton Justin Timberlake Lindsay Lohan Rob Schneider The Situation Justin Beeeeberrrr

  20 year old gay guy

• Vanessa Redgrave James McAvoy Dianne Wiest

• Otis

• Jonah Hill

• taylor lautner

• Diana Ross and Michael Jackson in "The Wiz"

  Nipsey Russell (whoever the hell that was)

• Philip Seymour Hoffman, Judi Dench, Viola Davis, Javier Badem, Ben Mendelsohn, Sam Rockwell, Kate Winslet

  anonymous

• Ed Harris. Guy Pearce.

• That guy is revolting! When a gay man says "he's so Hawt",my fucking skin crawls! It's something I've felt my whole life. I am not self-hating. It's more a feeling that my friends are degrading themselves,or selling themselves short. Like getting sex from a troglodyte(gay-basher?)somehow makes a gay man (what?)! Honestly,it just makes me sad. As Karen Walker said "Honey,I don't look.I'm looked at."

  Stephen%20Town%26Country

• Second Kathy Bates. In the old days, Joanne Woodward.

• Joseph Gordon Levitt

• Tilda Swinton-- chameleon extraordinaire.

• Viggo. Even made the crappiest Texas Chainsaw movie watchable.

• Maggie Smith. Brilliant (and often hilarious) deliveries!

  Lady%20Mary

• Kirstie Alley. Oh wait, I thought it said [italic]roll[/italic]. Never mind.

• Brendan Gleeson

• Fran Drescher

• Ahem...

  Madonna Ciccone, aka 'donna from the block

• Madonna. Omg I love her.

• Kaye Ballard

• Elizabeth Berkley

• Edie McClurg!!!!!! Love her dearly.

• Um, yeah -- Morgan Freeman really elevated "The Patriot".

• Samuel L. Jackson

• I nominate Willliam Shatner

• Helen Mirren Andre Brauer Jean-Marie Baptiste Michelle Yeoh

• Great examples, r43.

• Philip Seymour Hoffman Javier Bardem Judi Dench John Goodman William C Macy Bill Murray Viola Davis RDJ Sam Rockwell Kate Winslet Guy Pearce Ben Mendelsohn Toni Colette among the younger ones, Paul Dano, Tom Hiddleston, Andrew Garfield, Michelle Williams, Carey Mulligan, Amy Adams, Tom Hardy

  anonymous

• Cillian Murphy elevates every role by her wearing high heels.

• To Blanchett, Wiest, Collette already listed i would add Joan Allen and Emily Watson.

• Benedict Cumberbatch Susan Sarandon Jeremy Irons

  Anon

• Andrew Scott

• John C. Reilly has been in some really stupid comedies and nonetheless retained his likability. I'll watch him in anything.

• This thread is a List Queen's dream.