Movies where the supporting actors completely overshadowed the leads

All the Burton and Schumacher Batman films.

Angie deserved it; she was brilliant.

[quote]Girl Interrupted - this movie was Winona's passion project and was supposed to mark her big comeback but Angie stole all her spotlight and all the awards

The late Britany Murphy, who indelibly played the tragic and troubled "Daisy" wiped BOTH their asses in that film.

Isn't the big example supposed to be Madonna in "DSS"?

Kevin Costner's "Robin Hood" was completely and totally stolen by Alan Rickman, as the Sherriff of Nottingham. Honestly, the only reason anyone went to see that movie was because the sherriff was so funny!

Costner faded shortly thereafter, while Rickman kept doing fabulous work as long as he lived.

Han Solo.

Christoph Waltz in "Inglorious Basterds", in an Oscar-winning performance.

Okay, it was an ensemble film, but if anyone was the nominal lead it was Brad Pitt. Now Pitt is a weak actor at the best of times, but if you put him in the same shot with someone as good as Waltz was in that film, you feel embarrassed for the schmuck.

Rocketeer. I can't even remember what the lead actor looked like, I only remember Timothy Dalton and Jennifer Connelly and the giant ugly henchman (who was based on an old actor)

R3 "Wiped" their asses? It wasn't set in an old people's home!

[quote]The Devil Wears Prada - everyone talked about how good M and Emily Blunt were while poor little Anne was completely forgotten

Anne isn't really the star of that film, she only plays the protagonist, Meryl Streep gets first billing. And don't say "poor little Anne" because she's crap in it. She keeps doing this dopey smile whenever she receives putdowns from Meryl, Stanley and Emily.

Mad Max Road Fury. I totally forgot about Tom Hardy during the movie. Almost not needed.

Anne Archer in Fatal Attraction. Stunningly beautiful in this film against that homely girl.

Costner's best role was as the stiff in "Big Chill".

There always have been supporting players who stole (and often saved) every scene they were in: Thelma Ritter, for example.

Kathy Bates in "Misery." Stunning; got the Oscar, and deservedly so. (Maybe not exactly supporting. The star was James Caan, but who remembers him?)

Bronson Pinchot in "Beverly Hills Cop." So funny; he walked away with the whole thing. (Though perhaps that was not a stretch....)

Peter Ustinov in practically anything where he had a supporting role. (Won Oscars for both "Spartacus" and "Topkapi.") Oddly, when Ustinov had leading roles, he didn't shine nearly as much. Does anyone remember "Romanof and Juliet?"

...Sorry for ya Boo(s), twas Whoopie Goldberg in Girl.. put the girlies in their backseat places. Whoopie ghosted Patrick and Demi in Ghost, and was the Oscar toast of the town.Anonymous

R3 Why did no one give me any credit for that film when I was alive?

Even Susanna Kaysen, who hated the film, thought my performance was the best.

OP and R10 -

It's AnnE. Get it right for fuck's sake.

R14 Misery is a two hander, they're both the stars. He's the protagonist, she's the antagonist.

Graham Chapman in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and the Life of Brian, because he only plays the straight man main character (OK, in Grail he plays one of the heads on the 3-headed knight and the voice of God) and the other Pythons each get to play a bunch of funny characters. Or does this not really count because they are Monty Python films and it's not like he was an actor that was brought in?

R3 is correct. The real talent in Girl Interrupted was Britanny Murphy. Her performance was awesome and Jolie and ryder could not come close to it

Just thought of a perfect example = Caddyshack. The main character or protagonist is actually the young caddy played by Michael O'Keefe (just had to look the film up in IMDB because I couldn't remember his name) but Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield's parts were greatly expanded because they were so funny.

R20 Murphy was an underrated talent who sadly ended up doing some Z-grade stuff like Megafault. She's a scene stealer in Clueless, Drop Dead Gorgeous and Riding in Cars with Boys. And she was excellent as the voice of Luanne in King of the Hill.

Tom Cruise and Kirsten Dunst in Interview with the Vampire. Poor Brad Pitt, he must be used to it by now...

Julianne Moore in The hand that rocks The craddle.

yes, R22, she was very underrated and that was sad. I had forgotten about riding in cars with boys. another great performance

Art School Confidential - John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Sophia Myles and even the non-famous co-stars (playing the other art students) steal the show from Max Minghella who just mopes around looking like a wounded deer.

R22 She steals the whole film with this scene alone. I read someone claiming the reason it cuts to Drew's reaction for so much of it is because she made them do it because she was worried about being upstaged (she produced the film)

R27 Sorry, that was for R25

Silence of the Lambs. Hopkins turned Hannibal Lecter into a movie icon with only 15 minutes of screentime. Foster was good and also won an Oscar but it's Lecter who everyone remembers.

Full Metal Jacket. Though Private Joker (Matthew Modine) is only the lead because the film happens to follow his character in the second half, the first half completely belongs to Gunnery Sgt. Hartman and also Private Pyle. But in the second half, Animal Mother becomes the new scene-stealer. And even Private Cowboy makes more of an impact in the second half than Joker.

Chloe Grace Moretz in "Kick Ass" -- her performance is what you remember long after you've seen the movie, not Nick Cage or Aaron Johnson.

Thelma Ritter in.....anything.

This can often happen with kids movies eg. The Goonies and The Sandlot. The wimpy or boring protagonist kid gets his thunder stolen by either the wisecrackers, the class clown types and the funny fat kids, or by the gravitas of the adult name actors. Though Wil Wheaton in Stand By Me does manage to his own against Corey Feldman (the patron saint of wiseass child actors) and a fat kid (Jerry O'Connell)

R31 If you like that movie. I didn't care for it much.

Beverly D'Angelo didn't completely overshadow Sissy Spacek (who had such a strong performance herself throughout the entire movie) in Coal Miner's Daughter, but she stole every scene in which she appeared.

Does an animated film like Aladdin count? He loses a lot of scenes to Genie and Jafar.

Drew Barrymore is such a fucking horrendous actress. It sucks that she's still shitting up the screen and a true talent like Murphy is dead.

In My Cousin Vinnie, then unknown Marisa Tomei upstaged Joe Pesci

R36 I never thought about it before, but villains in most older Disney classics totally steal the show. Sleeping Beauty is perhaps the most notable example - Sleeping Beauty appears in that film only for a couple of minutes, while the rest is all about Maleficant and the fat fairies. The same goes for 101 Dalmatians - most people remember only Cruella de Vil from that film.

Oliver! (1968) Or that is an unfair example? Little Mark Lester never really stood a chance of owning that film.

R38 = Marisa Tomei's agent. Pesci holds his own against her and Fred Gwynne does a fine job as well.

[quote] Little Mark Lester never really stood a chance of owning that film.

Michael Jackson would disagree with you - that movie made Jacko such a diehard Mark Lester fan that he even asked Lester to father his children.

R42 I wouldn't put any more stock in Jackson's opinion of Mark Lester in Oliver than I would of John Hinckley's opinion of Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver.

What did Murphy do to end up the straight to DVD list for most of her movies towards the end? All actors have them (even A-list), but why couldn't she get some better gigs?

R5- That was my first thought too. Costner was terrible in Robin Hood and Rickman was so good, you wanted him to win in the end.

I might even put Die Hard in there. Bruce Willis had the flashier role, but Rickman had some fantastic scenes.

Willis carries Die Hard a damn sight lot more than Costner carries Robin Hood.

R44 Maybe her marriage to that dodgy character Simon Monjack and her eating disorder made big studio execs think she was unstable.

R33, but in Stand By Me River Phoenix overshadowed them all. Although I'm not sure his is technically a supporting role--I think the boys are all featured enough to call it an ensemble.

Dark Knight

Mickey Rourke in Rumble Fish. Matt Dillon was the lead. He is cute and all but his lug can't compete with Mickey's whispering Montgomery Clift-Brando act.

Dreamgirls

The Hangover

In Working Girl, Joan Cusack upstages Melanie Griffith in every scene they have together.

Carol Haney in The Pajama Game. Pity she's not in it more. Alas, she was thought to be too ugly for movies.

That awful remake of Nightmare on Elm Street. Rooney Mara is such a boring void that all the other actors in the cast run circles around her. Kyle Wallner especially, but Katie Cassidy was great as the ill-fated Tina-esque character and would have made a far better Nancy.

Angie again for the Manchurian...

R41 are you saying Tomei wasn't the breakaway defacto star of MCV? You're entitled to your opinion, as wrong as it might be.

Cher in Burlesque

Sorry Bey but Jennifer Hudson took it in "Dreamgirls". Runner up is Eddie Murphy as Jimmy

Denzel Washington in the following:

A Soldier's Story. The star was Howard Rollins, Jr. WHO?

Cry Freedom. The star was Kevin Kline. Sidebar: Luckily he in turn would outshine the lead John Cleese in A Fish Called Wanda and win the Oscar the next year.

Which leads us back to Washington the year after that.

Glory. The star was Matthew Broderick(!). Does anybody even remember his role? Denzel won his first of two (so far) Oscars. Sidebar: This film also made Morgan Freeman a star. Broderick, Jane Alexander (4 time Oscar nominee) and Cary Elwes of The Princess Bride fame are largely forgotten when this film is mentioned.

[quote]Glory. The star was Matthew Broderick(!). Does anybody even remember his role?

I do. He's not bad.

McCarthy in Bridesmaids. That was supposed to be Wiig's baby.

Good one R30... I never did find Private Joker all that interesting.

Madeline Kahn in What's Up Doc?

The screenplay overshadows all the characters in Pulp Fiction.

Politics overshadows the leads.

R53 That reminds me, in Addams Family Values, Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia (who were the leads in the first film and get top billing again) get nothing to do and are upstaged by Cusack and Christina Ricci.

Jim Dale in [italic]Pete's Dragon[/italic]

Another good example - Sexy Beast. Ray Winstone not only gets completely upstaged by Ben Kingsley but also by Ian McShane as the subtly scary gang boss.

Would anyone else agree that Jack Nicholson steals A Few Good Men away from Tom Cruise? "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!"

Airplane! - Robert Hays loses it to Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert Stack, Stephen Stucker and so on.

Flash Gordon - Sam J. Jones is overshadowed by Max Von Sydow, BRIAN BLESSED, Timothy Dalton, Peter Wyngarde (who spends the whole film behind a plastic mask), Topol, Ornella Muti and Mariangela Melato (but not by Melody Anderson who is the only actor in it that's worse than he is)

I agree with most of the mentioned choices, but I think these movies belong to two different categories:

1. some leading characters get overshadowed by supporting ones because the leading actor happens to give a shitty performance. This is the case with Costner in Robin Hood or Hutfield in Dorian Gray. Robin Hood and Dorian Gray are two of the most interesting characters ever created but these actors managed to ruin them with their wooden acting.

2. some leading characters get overshadowed because of the screenplay. In many movies the supporting actors play the showier roles and get all the meaty lines while the leading character is more subtly written (Girl Interrupted or Full Metal Jacket). Another good example is The Last Picture - almost the entire supporting cast was nominated for an Oscar or some other award while poor Timothy Bottoms was rarely mentioned and his career also went nowhere after that. But I still think it's his wonderful understated performance that holds the film together. He just didn't get any catchy lines like Burstyn and Brennan did and didn't have a big breakdown scene like Cloris Leachman did to stir up any Oscar buzz.

Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes remake - dumb Mark Wahlberg is overshadowed by Tim Roth (who is by far the best thing about it) and Helena Bonham Carter

Leonard Frey in Fiddler on the Roof is so good it's as if he were in another movie.

In fact he seems to be in the movie I wish they had made of Fiddler.

Rip Torn's corpse in Jinxed. It's a terrible movie, but Torn plays dead and still steals every scene from Midler and Wahl. In fairness, Torn steals scenes in most of his movies. Also in fairness, an empty shoe could overshadow the stars in that movie.

I second Thelma Ritter.

The Disney cartoon of Robin Hood is also an example, Robin and Maid Marian are bland as hell and voiced by fairly obscure actors, while the other characters are more fun and have recognisable voices (Little John and the Sheriff are voiced by Phil "Baloo" Harris and Pat Buttram who did other Disney voices) or celebrity voices (Peter Ustinov and Terry-Thomas).

Beetlejuice - assuming Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis are the leads, they lose out to Michael Keaton (who only gets about 15 minutes of screentime) and also Catherine O'Hara, Glenn Shadix and even Winona Ryder (who is admittedly a bit amateurish since it's only her 3rd film but looks very striking)

Ari Gaynor stole the show from Michael Cera and Cat Dennings in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

No one on this board, myself included, is going to think Steven Seagal is much of an actor, but echoing with a poster upthread said, I had wished Tommy Lee Jones, scene-stealing-villain EXTRAORDINAIRE in their movie Under Seige - had won/lived at the end even though that would never have happened.

R74 And yes, you might think the human lead is bound to be upstaged by the apes, but Wahlberg is certainly no Charlton Heston.

R80 Tommy Lee Jones still seems he's phoning it in a bit in that film. I enjoyed Gary Busey more. Though they both have the same problem, Jones isn't really believable as a terrorist and Busey certainly isn't believable as someone who could have risen to the rank of Commander in the US Navy.

I don't think it's totally fair to include comedies where the lead is the straight man, and is overshadowed by all the supporting comic players, in films like "Airplane" the straight-man lead actor is just there to provide a frame to the story and to give the audience an someone to identify with - an "entry" character. Any actor who signs up for a role like that knows they're going to be overshadowed, but at least they'll have a hit on their resume.

Unlike Kevin Costner, who really planned to be the star of "Robin Hood".

R83 You have a point, but in Airplane quite a few of the other actors are also playing it just as straight, or deadpan (Nielsen especially Graves, Stack) and Hays does get some of his own gags and silly stuff, like "I have a drinking problem" (throws water on himself) Plus none of the actors in it were known for comedy, it completely changed Leslie Nielsen's and Lloyd Bridges' careers. But yes, Hays' character is mostly there to drive the plot.

Actually Hays may well have chosen to play it as a parody of an over-earnest boy scout hero. But I really like Julie Hagerty in it because she also plays a total goodie-goodie but does it in such an OTT way she looks like a complete airheaded space cadet.

Dicaprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape over Johnny Depp.

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight Rises.

Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man over Tom Cruise. Though I guess they were co-leads?

Viola Davis is by far the best thing about Doubt. Her performance bests Meryl, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.

Tough I did like Robin Hood 1991, way better than the 2010 film, costner isn't great but Rickman is close to an absolute caricature. I have no doubt he was a great actur but he was mourned plenty because of his Harry Potter character.

Many supporting roles are added purposefully as comic relief so I consider it unfair to say they steal movies when the leads are given other kind of material to play.

Samantha Morton in Minority Report. Hands down the best acting in the movie.

Batman villains have always been flashy and comprise the most unforgettable foe gallery of a superhero, it's always been the dynamic interaction between Batman and the characters and their similarities that have intrugued people. Keaton held his own opposite Nicholson and Pfeiffer and has off the charts chemistry with them. He wasn't overshadowed at all.

R89 Val Kilmer and George Clooney on the other hand...

Ah, but Tommy Lee Jones and Val Kilmer's Batman were totally overshadowed by Jim Carrey's hammy over-the-top Riddler. It's not a good thing that "Batman Forever" was the Riddler's film from beginning to end, but it was, and Batman was only there to provide an antagonist and Two-Face was just a foil.

I overshadowed Meryl in The House of the Spirits.

Almost Famous.

Keira Knightley is upstaged by an inanimate prop in every scene of any movie she's in.

If anyone stole Robin Hood was Morgan Freeman, definitely not Costner or Rickman. Reception Michael Keaton's was fantastic because people didn't see him as Bruce Wayne/Batman, he surprised everyone and remains the best batman to date, he is an amazing voice actor and didnt give us in an atrocity like Christian Bale's batman voice.

[quote]Batman villains have always been flashy

Exactly. It seems silly to list Batman villians. They are designed to be the more interesting characters that entertain the audience. It isn't unusual Heath Ledger dominates The Dark Knight, he was the Joker, he was meant to.

Brad Pitt began stealing movies himself like 12 monkeys and Thelma & Louise to having his movies stolen from him haha

[quote] The late Britany Murphy, who indelibly played the tragic and troubled "Daisy" wiped BOTH their asses in that film.

I think Murphy was fine even very good in Girl Interrupted. But the notion that she wiped Angelina's performance is ridiculous. I find it amusing how these almost trendy opinions get started and gain traction by their mere repetition.

And Airplane? Seriously that was one of the worst, unfunny films my young nephew ever dragged me to. I am amazed that people actually saw it. But then I guess many of you were 10 when it came out and that's how you still see it.

R62 took mine xD

Hmm.. would Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful 8 qualify ?? I think he was technically supporting cast . If so, he's more integral to that entire film than any "lead" it may have.

I think Javier Bardem may have been a supporting character in No Country For Old Men . He was just downright creepy, dedicated, and resourceful while being believable.

Anne Bancroft as Mrs Robinson is more memorable than Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin in the Graduate.

[quote] I think Murphy was fine even very good in Girl Interrupted. But the notion that she wiped Angelina's performance is ridiculous. I find it amusing how these almost trendy opinions get started and gain traction by their mere repetition.

Angelina's performance was 100% overrated and the awards attention was a by-product of her stature as the new "It" Girl in Hollywood. Ryder and Murphy both gave much more naturalistic, believable performances in Girl, Interrupted, whereas Angie was all surface and flash.

Tom Hiddleston walked away with Avenger's Assemble and all the Thors, no matter how easy on the eye C Hemsworth is.

Agree, r64! Madeleine Kahn ran circles around ol' Babs What's-her-name in "What's Up, Doc?"

R101 Oh come on, I hate Angelina too but if there was one role she was born to play it was definitly the role of Lisa in Girl, Interrupted. I don't think Angelina is a particulary good or versatile actress and playing a coked out schizo wasn't much of a stretch for her but she fucking owned that movie. I think Girl, Interrupted is a rather problematic movie and makes the life in an insane asylum look kind of cool (ice cream trips, bowling in the middle of the night, watching The Wizard of Oz on TV...) but it was still anm entertaining movie and it was the only thing I ever liked Angelina in.

I didn't say she was bad in the film. I said she was overrated and that Ryder and Murphy (and several other actors) did much better work in that film than she did. But it was a flashy role, and she was being touted as the new heir apparent in Hollywood, and she also played up the role of the bad girl in real life, so she got the lion's share of attention. And I don't hate Angelina. Where did I even say that?

The dam ship completely overshadows Leo in Titanic.

[quote] The Disney cartoon of Robin Hood is also an example, Robin and Maid Marian are bland as hell and voiced by fairly obscure actors, while the other characters are more fun and have recognisable voices (Little John and the Sheriff are voiced by Phil "Baloo" Harris and Pat Buttram who did other Disney voices) or celebrity voices (Peter Ustinov and Terry-Thomas).

That's usually how they work: they make the leading love interests as basic as possible, then give the supporting cast the most distinctive parts.

Martin Landau in "Ed Wood."

In IMITATION OF LIFE, the mother-daughter team of Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner as Annie and Sarah Jane completely eclipse whitebread Lana Turner and Sandra Dee. Their scenes are fraught with emotion from the very beginning and it's their storyline you want to follow...

Jo Van Fleet in "East of Eden."

Jack Nicholson in "Easy Rider."

James Dean vs Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor in GIANT. They are both oddly bland compared to him.

Dare I suggest Suzanne Pleshette vs Tippi Hedren in THE BIRDS? Her performance is a DL classic fave.

Ann Blyth in Mildred Pierce. Don't get the hype over Joan Crawford's performance. She was serviceable, but it was not Oscar-worthy, not really.

More of Eve Arden would have me nominating her as well.

Ralph Fiennes stole every scene he had in SCHINDLER'S LIST over lead Liam Neeson;

Co-leads Ellen Burstyn and Jason Miller were spectacularly overshadowed by the combo of Linda Blair and Mercedes McCambridge in THE EXORCIST

William Holden was overshadowed by Peter Finch in NETWORK (totally a supporting role, even though the producers campaigned him as a lead during awards season--much like Anthony Hopkins in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS)

Timothy Hutton was overshadowed by everyone else in ORDINARY PEOPLE.

A very demonic Catherine Keener mops the floor with Ellen Page in "An American Crime."

Mary Wickes stole the show in every scene she was in with Shirley MacLaine and Meryl Streep in "Postcards from the Edge" playing Grandma.

#38 completely stole the film from Dawson in Dawson's 50-Load Weekend.

Madeline Kahn is every movie she was ever in: not just What's Up Doc, but also Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, Paper Moon, Clue...

Kahn's Victorian music hall number in "Sherlock Holmes's Smarter Brother":

R118 I LOATHE Ellen Page's acting, she always seems like the most smug twat imaginable. Even in Hard Candy I was rooting for the pedophile.

Karen Black in Day of the Locust and Five Easy Pieces. Susan Anspach was also luminous in FEP.

Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl.

Conversely, Veronica Cartwright in Alien (though Sigourney is exceptional as well).

Lena Olin in The Ninth Gate.

Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2.

Mia Farrow in Broadway Danny Rose.

Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia.

Ingrid Bergman in Cactus Flower.

Ronee Blakely in Nashville.

Yet, R107, both Wesley and Buttercup were riveting in The Princess Bride, holding their own against all the kooks and baddies that crossed their paths.

Piper Laurie as Carrie White's Mom

THREAD

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Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis in Cape Fear.

Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive.

Michael Douglas in Wall Street.

Alain Delon in Purple Noon.

Klinton Spilsbury in The Legend of the Lone Ranger.

For FIVE EASY PIECES I choose Helena Kallianiotes .

I think this is sort of veering out of OP's initial question. Several of these performances, while very good and noteworthy, did not necessarily overshadow the lead characters. There's a difference between making one's mark in a film with a small role and completely obliterating someone who is unable to hold their own with you.

Michael Shannon was easily the best thing in Revolutionary Road.

r130 is correct. this is turning into a "best supporting actor" thread.

Marilyn Monroe in "All About Eve".

Madeline Kahn is the definition of supporting player. Superb, scene stealing but can't handle leading roles.

Kahn got fired from "Mame" but it's unlikely she could have overshadowed Bea Arthur, who was great.

Paula Prentiss in "Where the Boys Are" and "The Stepford Wives."

Yes, R133, Monroe COMPLETELY overshadowed Bette Davis, George Sanders, Celeste Holm, Anne Baxter and even Gregory Ratoff.

Susannah York in "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"

Ellen Burstyn in "Harry and Tonto". In spite of everything, including Art Carney's wonderful and touching lead performance, all people talked about when they left the movie was why the daughter (Burstyn) was so mean to the girl hitchiker. Pauline Kael said it was one of the few times where she felt Burstyn was trying to say more than the script would allow.

[quote] this is turning into a "best supporting actor" thread.

Look at the thread title. We're at 138 responses. What do you expect? Why be such a killjoy?

When I think of CASINO, I think of Sharon Stone, who was actually barely in the movie compared to leads Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci.

Jude Law in The Talented Mr. Ripley

Pazuzu in The Exorcist.

Charlotte Rampling in Georgy Girl.

John Goodman in Flight, in his few scenes opposite Denzel Washington

Michelle Pfeiffer stole the show as Catwoman in Batman Returns.

Martha "motherfucking" Dumptruck stole the show in Heathers and the bitch didn't even speak :-D

The entire female cast of The Help. Poor Emma stone.

Jeff Goldblum in the Big Chill

Carrie Coon in Gone Girl

Rosie Perez in Fearless

Rosie Perez in White Men Can't Jump

Jason Statham in Spy

Matt Damon in Courage Under Fire

Paul Bettany in Master and Commander

Colin Farrell in Minority Report

Peter Ustinov in Spartacus

Judith Anderson in Rebecca

Jackee in 227

Mr French in Family Affair

Mrs Livingston in The Courtship of Eddies Father

Alice in The Brady Bunch

Christina Ricci in "Addams Family Values"

[quote] Alain Delon in Purple Noon.

He played the lead role, hon. There's not even any contention about that. He was Tom Ripley. The movie was based on the book called "The Talented Mr. Ripley."

Some of you seem a little confused as to the concept of this thread (as per usual).

r140, You clearly haven't seen Casino enough times to say Sharon Stone was barely in the movie. She's the female lead. Deniro is the protagonist but like most Scorcesse films it is very much an ensemble piece.

I think people do it on purpose to bring ot the control freak Miss Priss types like you, r152. Lighten up.

Since r150 has dipped into TV, I follow with Joan Collins in Dynasty from Season 2 on.

West Side Story: Richard Beymer and Natalie Wood boring as the leads, overshadowed by Oscar winners Rita Moreno and George Chakiris, as well as Russ Tamblyn.

Some Kind of Wonderful: Bland Eric Stoltz as lead, Lea Thompson fine as female lead, but completely overshadowed by Mary Stuart Masterson (best performance in a John Hughes film, IMO), Elias Koteas, Maddie Corman, and John Ashton.

Harrison Ford took Star Wars away from Mark Hamill, and Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid were the only spark of life in the prequels, so much better than Jake Lloyd, Hayden Christensen, and Natalie Portman.

Martin Landau better than Johnny Depp in Ed Wood. Leo better than Depp in Gilbert Grape.

Don Cheadle took Devil in a Blue Dress from Denzel.

Kevin Spacey stole Seven from Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.

Amy Adams jump started her career by outshining Alessandro Nivolo and Embeth Davidtz in Junebug.

Viola Davis upstaged Streep in Doubt.

Charlize Theron stole KStew and Thor's thunder in Snow White and the Huntsman.

Mark Rylance over Tom Hanks in Bridge of Spies, Oscar and all.

And most recently, Alden Ehrenreich just completely outshined an A-List cast in Hail Caesar.

Some of you cunts are just naming great performances by supporting stars or minor roles, but they didn't really steal the show. Fkin dim witted cunts.

The earthquake in San Francisco (1936).

Alden Ehrenreich in "Hail, Caesar" is an excellent example.

I hope he isn't forgotten when award season rolls around.

I hate to say it but AnnE Hathaway stole Les Miz.

Christine Lahti in Swing Shift. And the behind-the-scenes drama alludes to Goldie Hawn realizing it herself (as producer).

Julia Roberts vs. Justine Bateman in Satisfaction

Regina King vs. Janet in Poetic Justice

Samuel L. Jackson in Jungle Fever

Those are some good ones R161. I had forgotten about Goldie's freak out over Christine Lahti. Didn't they have to shoot the ending scene separately, a la Juliana Margulies and Archie Panjabi? Lahti also did some thievery with Just Between Friends, which was supposed to be Mary Tyler Moore's film.

Roberts did steal Satisfaction from Justine Bateman, and she also stole Mystic Pizza, though I guess you could argue that the three female roles were more or less the same size.

[quote]Those are some good ones [R161]. I had forgotten about Goldie's freak out over Christine Lahti. Didn't they have to shoot the ending scene separately, a la Juliana Margulies and Archie Panjabi?

I remember watching Lahti in an old interview with Jack Cafferty on Live at Five on youtube (not there anymore)

She just got the Oscar nomination and they discuss that she heard every possible scenario with the film: They were cutting her out entirely, they were cutting her role down to be less comic, everything. Apparently Goldie was not happy.

[quote]Piper Laurie as Carrie White's Mom THREAD AND CLOSED

Al Pacino and James Caan as Brando's sons in THE GODFATHER

Well, then, Goldie didn't make a very good producer that time around, did she?

I agree Martin Landau in Ed Wood, such a well deserved oscar win and IMO one of the best in that category. Also Landau in Crimes & Misdemeanors. Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator.

Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men, I didn't care for Josh Brolin or Tommy Lee Jones.

[quote]Viola Davis upstaged Streep in Doubt.

totally!

I counter Landau's overshadowing with Catherine Schell as Maya in Space: 1999 Season 2.

Yes Viola did very well in her 3 or 4 minutes in Doubt.

Another vote for Joan Cusack in Working Girl. I love every freakin scene she's in. They're all quotable!

You know you've got a great casting director when you remember Amy Aquino from her final scene only (how many seconds of screen time?)

Liam Dunn as Streisand's father in "What's Up Doc?".

Michael Keaton in "Night Shift". Not only did he steal it from Henry Winkler, most people would say Keaton was the star although his role was definitely supporting. It gave him his career.

The Sound of Music

Jack Nicholson, Easy Rider

Tom Cruise, Kristen Dunts, Antonio Banderas, Stephen Rea and Christian Slater over shadowed Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire

Tom Cruise I felt gave a stronger performance than Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man.

Michael Keaton and entire Deetz family and Otho overshadowed Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin in Beetlejuice

Christine Lahti made up with Goldie, apparently - starring in a TV movie directed by Hawn 15 years after the 'Swing Shift' debacle.

Christina Applegate is a great scene stealer; that stewardess flick she made wit Gwyneth Paltrow, she made better than it deserved to be. And she also stole "The Sweetest Thing" from dog-faced Cameron Diaz.

Jesse eisenberg may have gotten the oscar nod but andrew garfield stole your heart in the social network.

Jessica Tandy in THE BIRDS

Mercedes Ruehl in MARRIED TO THE MOB

Jessica Tandy did NOT overshadow sexy Rod Taylor. No.

Speaking of John Hughes movies:

Jon Cryer in Pretty in Pink

Demi Moore in St. Elmo's Fire

Jean Louisa Kelly in Uncle Buck

Robert Downey, Jr, Robert Rusler (remember him) and Bill Paxton in Weird Science

Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club

Anthony Michael Hall in Sixteen Candles

None of the above were leads and almost ALL stole the show.

Sidebar: My favorite for obvious reasons is the legendary Mara Hobel. When she was on the screen in Mommie Dearest, she wiped everyone including Dunaway off the map. Oscar nominee Diana Scarwid might as well have NOT bothered even being in this film.

There's a difference between stealing a scene and completely overshadowing the lead. See r130.

R180 Your penis is speaking louder than your brain.

Sorry r179, when people think of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, Jessica Tandy's character is not even the top 3 things that comes to mind.

R184 That's not the topic of the thread.

Tandy's performance in The Birds was fantastic. Especially compared to that cardboard cutout, Tippi Hedren

If a young Brad Pitt was cast opposite a young Tippi Hedren, who would overshadow whom?

Or would the screen just go blank?

I thought Margo Martindale was superb in August: Osage County. And Julia Roberts, who surprisingly held her own against Meryl and I think gave a better performance. I thought Meryl was a bit too hammy.

Greg Kinnear in Sabrina

Carmen Ejogo in "Sparkle" outshining the late Whitney Houston as well as supposed star Jordin Sparks, and similarly Jennifer Hudson getting all the plaudits for "Dreamgirls" instead of Beyoncé.

When My Best Friend's Wedding came out, Rupert Everett and Cameron Diaz seemed to get a lot of buzz for their performances, more so than Julia, although I think she is excellent in the film.

Would Sean Connery as Indy's dad qualify?

Or is that just scene-stealing?

Everyone else in [italic]Dreamgirls[/italic] was better than Beyoncé.

Beyonce was basically playing herself in dreamgirls.

Mila Kunis in Black Swan. Portman has always been overrated and Kunis manages to play a much more compelling character than Portman.

agree r194 I thought more about Mila than Natalie following this movie. She was exciting and watchable.

R195, exactly. Portman is a one-note actress and Mila Kunis is way more exciting and brings an energy to the movie that it would otherwise lack. I think the movie is very good, but if they had cast a better actress than Portman, it may have been great.

The talking monkey and the China Doll upstaged all the humans in [italic]Oz: The Great and Powerful[/italic].

And while we're on the subject of Disney, they cast a bunch of people from [italic]The Andy Griffith Show[/italic] in their movies over the years, but Jim Nabors wasn't one of them!

[quote]Michael Keaton and entire Deetz family and Otho overshadowed Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin in Beetlejuice

Michael Keaton was the star of BEETLEJUICE; he had sole, above-title billing on the movie poster.

Edward Norton overshadows Michael Keaton in Birdman

Hate to say it but Oprah in "The Color Purple."

R186 It would be like watching Mr Benn or Captain Pugwash or one of those other badly animated old British kids programs.

haley joel in the sixth sense. and the actress playing the mom for that matter too

it isn't a great film but in the Psycho remake Julianne Moore is acting circles around everybody else.

[quote]I agree Martin Landau in Ed Wood, such a well deserved oscar win and IMO one of the best in that category. Also Landau in Crimes & Misdemeanors.

Martin Landau is the antithesis of a DiCaprio, Streep, or Day-Lewis. They're always getting offered wonderful parts and very often disappoint - you can see how a different actor could have done more with it - whereas Landau almost never got roles commensurate with his talent, but every time he did get one he was astoundingly good. Crimes isn't really a supporting role though, I consider that category fraud. He was the co-lead. A truly amazing performance. Even in North by Northwest he's unforgettable with very few lines.

In the Look Who's Talking movies, Kirstie Alley and Travolta were overshadowed by the voice of Bruce Willis and the babies. That is what those films were best known for.

R146, Martha Dumptruck responds (in the voice of a 40 year old, which she also looks) "I'd like that" at the end of the movie when Veronica asks if she wants to watch a video. So not quite silent.

Can someone start a thread about actors and actresses who got classic roles in classic films that should have been career making -- and instead disappeared? I am talking Laura Herring in "Mulholland Drive", the awful actress who played Patsy in "Terms of Endearment", the horribly cast potential boyfriend for Cher in "Clueless", etc. Thanks!

R200 - Oprah was good in that, but she basically plays Sophia in everything she's done. She slips into that black vernacular that she never used as a talk show host-pretty much in everything she does.

ahahaha, i love you r207.

here you go r206

How did alicia silverstone not become the next julia roberts after clueless. two flops and hollywood threw her away.

Thank you, R209!

Lina Olin in Romeo is Bleeding

Sean Connery in The Untouchables

The genie in Aladdin.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their first film together, Flying Down to Rio. She was billed fourth, he fifth. The "star" was Dolores del Rio.

Tom Cruise, Rain Man. He should have nominated for an Academy Award for this.

that drag queen in Trick.

The ants in Empire of the Ants

r206, I've never understood the criticism for the actress who played Patsy in Terms of Endearment. I thought she was perfect and played the role from Texas teenager to a 30 something NY society lady quite convincingly. Miranda Richardson, on the other hand, played the older character in the awful sequel WAY over the top and with a really bad accent.

R212, you're so right. Haven't thought about that movie in ages. Lena just comes into that flick and turns everything the fuck ON - Love her! Also, someone up there mentioned Chloe Grace she should drop the Moretz in Kick-Ass - her character has one of the best movie entrances ever.

Tim Robbins in WAR OF THE WORLDS.

His short amount of screen time & interaction with Tammy Cruise showed the world of difference between an actor & an action figure.

In Superman vs. Batman, you're so sick of seeing these two mopes, that when Gal Gadot finally appears as Wonder Woman, the movie seems FUN, finally, and really, it's all about her from then on.

Helena Kallianiotes in "Kansas City Bomber". Raquel Welch has the Eve Harrington role and Helena the Margo Channing role.

I hated the Tim Robbins storyline in WOTW, r221.

Vivien Lee in Gone With the Wind totally overshadowed Clark Gable.

Vivien Lee. Oh, dear.

P.S. THAT was NOT a supporting performance. SHE'S the main character in the book and movie stupid.

[quote] Vivien Lee?? Oh my! Where are my smelling salts?

R224 I did too. I think it ruined the movie. But since they put it in, it was impossible to ignore how much better an actor Tim Robbins is.

Vivien Lee may have overshadowed Clark Gable but did she overshadow Vivien Leigh?

Lynn Redgrave as the housekeeper in Gods and Monsters

The movie Dreamgirls , Beyonce was casted as the lead actress and got most of the screen time but Jennifer Hudson was the star and overshadowed her and Jamie Foxx.

I think you mean Jennifer Hudson overshadowded her and Jamie Fox, r231.

Robert Deman as the badass gay prisoner in PAPILLON; even with McQueen or Hoffman in the shot, you couldn't take your eyes off him.

R221, I think most people forget that Tim Robbins was even IN the War of the Worlds remake.

The singer Dwight Yoakam was chillingly good in Sling Blade. Yoakam also voiced the boyfriend of LouAnn on King of the Hill.

R235 You can't say he overshadowed Billy Bob Thornton though because everyone remembers his character.

"French fried taters, hmmmmm...."

Mrs. Al Steele in The Best of Everything. I don't even remember those young wenches that were suppposed to be the movie's leads and what their storylines were about - all I remember is Joan and her bitchy remarks.

And not Steven Boyd??!!

R238 It's Stephen. And he was far too wooden to overshadow anyone. Stephen and Louis Jourdan were both nice to look at in that movie (and in other movies they did) but neither of them was much of an actor. They were imported from Europe just for their looks.

That movie was definitely all about Joan who had already entered the kabuki phase of her career by that time, but she still knew how to steal the show.

I was talking about his hotness, duh. No one cares about the acting in that piece of shit.

Agree totally with both R236 and R237. Dwight Yoakam was incredible in that film. So were the mom and the young son. But the performance that really knocked me out was John Ritter.

R33 one of the best overshadowings in film comes from Feldman and Jamison Newlander in THE LOST BOYS (1987), as Edgar & Alan Frog respectively (geeky vampire-hunting brothers). Interestingly, this may be one of the times Feldman has been cast outside the wise-ass motormouth role - here he is a gruff and silent no-nonsense hero, albeit a delusional and useless one.

Technically the Goonie-esque exploits of Edgar & Alan are the B-plot meant to be light comedic filler for the younger kids watching, but once they show up about a half hour in, the show is stolen. Their cryptic and silly non-sequiter lines never get old (hah), and there's something indefinably charming about them both in these roles. The A-plot of TLB, concerning brooding boring Michael and his transformation into a vamp, is culty and looks sexy on-screen and is what the kids would Aesthetic but ultimately? Just lacks the fun and dynamics and fresh adventure of the Frogs' tale.

Tellingly the (admittedly shitty) sequels put the Frogs center-stage and dispense with almost all of other characters (Sam played by Corey Haim appears in short scenes and extras in #3).

Just saw LOVELACE on Netflix: very by-the-numbers, made-for-TV account of Linda Lovelace and DEEP THROAT, et al.

Amanda Seyfried isn't terrible, but isn't very good, either (she keeps slipping in and out of her regional accent). Peter Sarsgaard is his usual creepy, quasi-gay, hammy self. James Franco is barely trying.

But DL fave (I'm kidding, I know many hate her) Sharon Stone is astonishing as Lovelace's working-class mom. She disappears completely into a harsh, unsympathetic character and gives her life. Had it been a more successful film, she would have been recognized for her work.

Levon Helm "Coal Miner's Daughter". Robert Duvall in "To kill a Mockingbird".

Levon Helm in "Coal Miner's Daughter" IS my late dad (who was a Kentucky born coal miner)

"Get you and Herman a jar of them VYE-EEnnas, Loretty."

Vienna sausages to non southerners

R244 You think Robert Duvall overshadowed Gregory Peck??

Ralph Macchio as the lonely but loyal best friend and possibly gay character Chris in 1993's NAKED IN NEW YORK. Our leads Eric Stoltz & Mary Stuart Masterson are of course excellent actors and both capable of more than this script did permit. The problem was that they knew it. It dulled their performances, whereas Ralph rose above.

Ralph's a great talent and should be riding top billings today, as he should have in the 90's. Why was he slept on? He consistently gives the most interesting performances among the casts he joins, disappearing into his roles.

Jennifer Hudson was the star in Dreamgirls, Eddy Murphy next.

I thought George Sanders was the star in Dorian Grey. I always thought he was the star in whatever he was in.

R53 great example. But Melanie is very good and does carry the movie. Just that Joan fills every second of her screen time with crazy energy.

Allison Janney in [italic]Drop Dead Gorgeous[/italic]

Emma Stone in The Help was overshadowed by Spencer, Chastain, Davis and Bryce Dallas Howard.

[quote]Charlize Theron stole KStew and Thor's thunder in Snow White and the Huntsman.

by overacting and shouting

William Hurt overshadowed very poor actor Kevin Costner in Mr. Brooks.

Donald Trump in Home Alone 2 Lost in New York. With just one line he steals the whole movie. Greatest cameo of all time, the best cameo ever in the history of film

Kristen Stewart was better than Julianne Moore in Still Alice.

Alan Rickman has already been mentioned for Die Hard and Robin Hood--but he also overshadowed Kevin Kline in January Man and Tom Selleck In Quigley Down Under

I have never seen a better example of this than the Star Wars prequels, where the two pretty young leads were embarrassingly bad, and Ian McDiarmud and Ewan McGregor, among others, completely stole the films form them. And remain the only reason to watch those messes today.

Of course there's a reason for that, and the reason is that George Lucas is the worst actor's director alive (or dead). He doesn't give a rat's ass what the actors do while he's obsessing over the special effects, so any actor who actually needs direction is lost! The two leads were very young, and presumably needed at least a little help from their director, while old pros like McDiarmud and Christopher Lee were fine on their own.

Madeline Kahn in "What's Up Doc?"

Madeline Kahn in "Paper Moon"

Madeline Kahn in "Blazing Saddles"

Madeline Kahn in "Young Frankenstein"

Ricardo Montalban as Khan in Star Trek 2

Madonna in "Desperately Seeking Susan" (upstaged Rosanna Arquette). (Mentioned above but worth repeating.)

Kristen Stewart in Clouds of Sils Maria

Orson Welles as the preacher in Moby Dick. He opens the film with a spellbinding sermon , and you spend the rest of the film wishing he was still in it.

Ben Whishaw and Colman stole the show in The Lobster.

Martin Landau over Johnny Depp in ED WOOD.

Jessica Tandy over Tippi Hedren, THE BIRDS.