Name a smaller role with a bigger impact

We already did this on Twitter

R1 The eldergays didn't.

Bronson Pinchot as "Serge" in Beverly Hills Cop.

Martin Kove in The Karate Kid.

Something about the military and a watch up an ass crack gets straight guys going.

Esther Rolle on the floor of the Evans' apartment with a punchbowl.

I love Pulp Fiction and literally don't remember Walken in it so, there's that.

Cheryl Barnes in "Hair".

It made be old hat to see a Viola performance now, but this was a stunning revelation at the time. A furious performance up against one of the greats and holding her own and rising above. I don’t remember who won that year, but this is the performance I wanted her to be rewarded for doing so flawlessly.

Stockard Channing in First Wives Club. She has maybe three minutes of screen time and makes every second count.

Drew Barrymore's LEGENDARY performance in the opening of Scream. You could tell it was gonna be lit.

Steve Franken in "The Party"

I don’t know if this a small enough role, but Sean Penn as Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Brilliant.

Not exactly a smaller role in one sense, but Terry Kiser (as the deceased Bernie) stole the show in "Weekend at Bernie's" without saying a word.

He was pretty good in “Annie Hall”, too.

Vanessa Redgrave in Atonement. Despite the stupid hair.

The appearance of Boo Ridley in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Samuel L. Jackson in "Jurassic Park, " not a huge, major role, but I loved his iconic line, "Hold onto your butts!" I don't have Amazon Alexa, but if I did, I would want his voice.

How long before someone mentions Beatrice Straight in Network or Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love?

R9 - Viola lost to Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Peggy Ashcroft in SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY.

Matthew McConaughey in Wolf Of Wall Street

Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross

Julianne Moore in The Hand that Rocks the Craddle.

Patricia DeCou in The Blair Witch Project

I watched her and thought "Wow, what a creepy old woman." She really helped set the mood for the rest of the movie.

Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry. Won the Oscar, too. She's onscreen less than 10 minutes.

Laura Linney in Nocturnal Animals.

"You have someone on that plane? I put a curse on that plane." A two-act play in 40 seconds. Actress was Gina DeAngeles (also great in Radio Days).

Walt Gorney in Friday the 13th

Sigourney Weaver in Jeffrey. “That’s Deborah!”

Peggy “Atta Girl” Pope in 9 to 5.

This crazy YouTube channel called Atomic Popcorn has a lot of short, funny, interesting clips on subjects like this.

It’s such a well talked about classic, Ted Levine, of course, but also Brooke Smith are iconic in SOTL. Every small role works, Cordelia, whoever.. but maybe Ted and Brooke should have shared in the Oscar having realized such horror in those scenes.

Charlie Sheen in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Joanna Lumley in Shirley Valentine

We already did this on Tickity Tawk.

Less is More: Ed Harris in A History of Violence. Henry Gibson in Nashville. Joel Grey in Cabaret. Jane Alexander in All the President’s Men. Michelle Williams in Manchester by the Sea. Melinda Dillon in Absence of Malice and Magnolia. Bibi Andersson in Scenes from a Marriage. Vanessa Redgrave in Howard’s End. Jodhi May in The Last of the Mohicans. Miranda Richardson in Damage. Glenn Fitzgerald in Flirting with Disaster. Adepero Oduye in Twelve Years a Slave. Linda Cardellini in Brokeback Mountain. Camryn Manheim in Happiness. Robin Wright in Nine Lives. Debra Winger in Rachel Getting Married. Riley Keough in American Honey. Judy Parfitt in Dolores Claiborne. John C. Reilly in The Good Girl. Steve Carrell in Little Miss Sunshine. Riz in Nightcrawler.

[quote]Charlie Sheen in Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Although this scene kickstarted puberty for me, I'm not sure it's fair to put it in the same category as performances where people are acting.

R35 Thanks for mentioning Miranda Richardson in Damage...extraordinary.

This might be too big of a role for this thread, but Helen Hayes in Anastasia.

Jack Nicholson had 4 scenes in a few good men.

You vans handle the truth.

Luise Rainer - The Great Ziegfeld.

R36 ,Method acting; he stayed up for 48 hours beforehand to get the right look

She won the BA Oscar, R30

I thought this was pretty fun and has always stayed with me.

John Turturro as Jesus in The Big Lebowski. Maybe 3 minutes of screen time, but unforgettable.

Leland Orser in Se7en. He was the guy in the brothel who was forced to fuck the woman with the metal strap-on. He had less than 5 minutes onscreen in the interrogation room and it was terrifying.

[quote]As preparation for his traumatic scene in the interrogation room, Leland Orser would breathe in and out rapidly, so that his body would be overly saturated with oxygen, giving him the ability to hyperventilate. He also did not sleep for a few days, in order to achieve his character's disoriented look.

Max Greenfield in Promising Young Woman. He actually could have played the larger boyfriend role but he made a hilarious douchebag in the last chapter of the film

Beatrice Straight must own this thread, surely?

Christopher Walken's show stopping dance number in Pennies from Heaven

I don’t know how much she’s in it, but visually at least I recall Joanna Cassidy’s character as more interesting and compelling that that of Hannah or Hauer for the replicants in Blade Runner, especially the scene crashing through plate glass.

Anthony Hopkins was only in Silence of the Lambs for 16 minutes. Took the Oscar home.

Always loved this ... John Hillerman was perfection.

There are two performances in Woody Allen's Another Woman that stand out to me more than the stars of the film. Sandy Dennis and Betty Buckley have these tiny little roles and yet you leave the film thinking about them and their characters more than anyone else.

Gillian Anderson as Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier in Hannibal.

Jocelyn Brando as Barbara in Mommie Dearest

Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate.

Jan Clayton in "The Snake Pit" (1948), singing "Goin' Home" to the other asylum patients. I'm usually strongly resistant to Hollywood sentiment, but the scene is beautifully filmed and haunting.

Vid quality is crappy...

Joan Crawford as Nurse Lucretia Terry in The Caretakers (1963)

Sally Kellerman as Jodie Foster's hip-hating mother in Foxes (1980)

Glenda Jackson in Marat/Sade (1968)

R45 Good one!!! Most disturbing scene in a very disturbing movie. What happened isn’t showed the audience, just described. But his performance is so good that I definitely have an image in my mind of what happened, and it’s more disorienting than actually showing it could ever have been.

A movie not loved by DL - but Judy Dench as Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love.

Viola Davis in FAR FROM HEAVEN.

She carries groceries, gives Dennis Haysbert the stinkeye, and gets screamed at by Julianne Moore, but she nails it. She could've got a supporting actress nom for this

Margaret Hamilton in Wizard of Oz!

Beatrice Straight in NETWORK. She got an Oscar for what amounted to just one scene.

I'd like to nominate Maureen Stapleton for INTERIORS

And also the actor in the scene linked below from "BOARDWALK EMPIRE" I watched 5 seasons of this show and this is the scene that I remember the most. Of all the murders that happened, this is the only one that made an impact.

r63 here again, here is the link to the Boardwalk Empire Scene

I have to go with my old standby, and one that I've cross-posted many times, but Page in The Pope of Greenwich Village is extremely effective. She's touching, tragic, and wickedly funny, all in about 3 minutes. I think there's another scene but I'm not sure. I've seen some sources saying her screen time is just over 6 minutes.

R61 wins. No one beats that. No one.

This is the tiniest role from Meet the Parents, but this actress is perfection:

R67 I don't even like the movie but that lady was very memorable. She was the perfect mix of stupid, bubbly and hostile.

She really was, r68. I can’t imagine another actress doing that part. Meryl certainly couldn’t do it!

[quote]Margaret Hamilton in Wizard of Oz!

You beat me to it. Most people are surprised to learn she only has 11 minutes total screen time, she makes such an impression. And a half to two thirds of her part was cut out during previews, partly for time but mainly for her effect on young kids, who would cry and scream and sometimes try to bolt the theater.

Judy Garland in Judgement of Nuremberg: She deserved the Oscar for that one.

Mickey Rourke in Body Heat: He has maybe 5 minutes of screentime but his presence lingers.

Fisher Stevens in Reversal of Fortune: Made a big impression with a small role, playing a total sleazebag.

Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction: We all need a Winston Wolfe to call when it's necessary.

Gary Beach in the Producers: His Hitler/Merman/Garland mash-up is a tour de force.

Ironically, Margaret Hamilton was a kindly woman in real life who at one point worked as a school teacher. She helped Judy a great deal with her nerves during the filming of the production.

[quote]Max Greenfield in Promising Young Woman. He actually could have played the larger boyfriend role but he made a hilarious douchebag in the last chapter of the film

I agree on this. I also thought Alison Brie, Connie Britton, and Molly Shannon were good in their small roles.

Shelly Winters in Lolita.

[quote]I agree on this. I also thought Alison Brie, Connie Britton, and Molly Shannon were good in their small roles.

TRANSPHOBE!

Fisher Stevens is a great one--I remember that performance well.

Helen Lawson in "Gone with the Wind".

Helen's blackface in GWTW is one of the reasons for the current disclaimer introduction to the film now.

R78 I thought that was her mood, not her makeup.

If something is violent, post a trigger warning

R14 Something similar to that would be Elsa Lanchester in "The Bride of Frankenstein", although she is animated and makes memorable sounds. .. The title character who gets three minutes!

Pat Thomson in Strictly Ballroom

Jennifer Coolidge in just about anything. She steals any scene she's in.

Robert Shaw in A Man For All Seasons. Playing Henry VIII, he has two scenes and his total screen time is less than 5 minutes. But damn, what a performance.

And Vanessa Redgrave is funny as a slightly dim Anne Boleyn--she and Shaw are great together.

Carrie Nye in The Group. She out-cunted everyone in that cast.

R81, what a great choice!

Jimmy Cagney in "The Seven Little Foys".

That girl in the porno who dramatically yells “Are you two fucking? Are you serious? Right in front of my salad?!?!?”

The little-known character actor Hy Pyke created an immortal work of sleaze as Taffey Lewis in "Blade Runner".

I'm not sure it counts, but it is less than two minutes - the mixture of special effects and Sean Young that brought back Rachael for Blade Runner 2049. It absolutely chilled me.

Adrienne Corri as Mrs. Alexander, the woman raped by Alex and his droogs in A Clockwork Orange; Miriam Karlin as the cat lady he later kills. These could not have been easy roles to play, but both women are completely convincing.

In keeping with the "Meet the Parents" scene, Anna Francolini plays a very similar but much more hostile version perfectly in "Solo: A Star Wars Story".

IIRC, a little under 16 minutes is all that Cruella De Vil is on-screen in the original animated version of 1961. She's a lot more memorable than some dude talking about stuffing a watch up his ass.

Amanda Plummer in Pulp Fiction and The World According to Garp

Whoever it was that played the girl in the bathtub in The Shining. Eek.

Troy Donahue Imitation of Life (1959)

Thelma Ritter's Birdie in ALL ABOUT EVE. I can't imagine the film without her.

In the 1980s, I spent the summer in Madrid. One afternoon, I went to a screening of ALL ABOUT EVE. The film was shown with Spanish subtitles. About half of Birdie's lines were not subtitled. The dialogue moves at a brisk clip in that film and unless Birdie was saying something that directly advanced the plot, her dialogue was skipped over by the subtitles.

I hope they included a subtitle for, "¡Qué historia! Todo menos los sabuesos mordiendo su trasero."

From dumb comedy Dodgeball - Jason Bateman kills it as Pepper with Gary Cole playing the Jason Bateman role.

Marissa Jaret Winokur in American Beauty "You are SO busted!"

Siobhan Fallon in Dancer in the Dark

Cara Seymour in American Psycho

Uma Thurman in Nymphomaniac.

R99 good one!

For GWTW my pick is Butterfly McQueen.

Jason Bateman as the bisexual creep in that journalism movie, state of play? He is that person, isn’t he?

Michael Jeter in THE FISHER KING.

Everything’s coming up videos..Lydia!!!

R16 mentioned my choice already. Vanessa Redgrave in "Atonement" remains one of the most unforgettable characters for me, although I am unsure about whether her role is a small one. The character she plays is the protagonist of the piece and Redgrave portrayed Bryony in her old age. Saoirse Ronan played the teenaged Bryony and Romola Garai the twentysomething version of the same character.

My second choice is the little boy who plays Julianne Moore's son in "The Hours". The fear and terror in his face when he senses that his mother might be abandoning him forever haunted me for months.

The darkly threatening guy in Mulholland Drive who says, "Excellent choice, Adam."

Kathleen Freeman's one scene as Phoebe Dinsmore in SINGING IN THE RAIN is only about 40 seconds long, yet everyone remembers it. Everyone loves it. A perfect little moment in film.

I got and Oscar with a telephone call.

I got an Oscar for making a few faces and one speech!

Montgomery Clift in Judgment at Nuremberg.

Christopher Walken is in Pulp Fiction?? Really? I've seen it twice!

A shirtless Brad Pitt in ‘Thelma and Louise’.

Ann Dvorak in A Life of Her Own. She wipes Lana Turner off the screen, not that that is hard to do. In her small role as an aging model Ann breaks your heart.

Jane Wiedlin in "Clue."

It might just be my love of the monologue, but in The Effects of Gamma Rays in Man in the Moon Marigold’s the daughters primary competition is this snotty little girl that is referred to many times, but unseen until the day of the competition presentations. Then she gives this dead pan speech, mainly defending herself from cat murder. It is hilarious and show stopping.

I cannot fathom that Clift and Garland lost to George Chakiris and Rita Moreno...huge error there!

"Chrissie" in the opening scene of Jaws. We feel the terror she's experiencing without seeing the cause. Oh God! That clanging buoy and her desperation...

r67, the actress is Kali Rocha

r67 the actress playing the flight attendant is Kali Rocha

r63, r64 The actor in Boardwalk Empire is James Riordan

R105, I believe that's Angelo Badalamenti, the composer who works frequently with Lynch; he turns up again at the very end as a party guest sipping an espresso.

Want to add Lee Fierro, "Mrs Kitner" from Jaws, the mom who slapped Roy Scheider in JAWS. She was a local actress. Sadly just died of complications from the Corona virus at 91.

I couldn't find her name, but the half-nude woman who appears onstage with Alex to test his "rehabilitation" certainly counts.

Her first appearance is like seeing a trapdoor spider pop out of its lair; the look of brazen contempt she gives Alex is mesmerizing; and at the end she's all graceful bows and a gracious exit. She can't be on screen for more than a minute. I believe she was a gymnast.

Kubrick made great use of bit roles in all his works; Altman too, likewise Lynch.

R98, Krista Sutton was memorable too and I don't think she had a single word of dialogue.

Peter Lorre in Casablanca

I like the Gypsy lady at the end of ‘Children of Men’.

[quote]Peter Lorre in Casablanca

I was thinking about this one earlier. Casablanca was well cast down to the bit parts. I would say the 19 year wife desperate to help her husband was pretty memorable in her short scene.

That little girl in the red dress in Schindler’s List.

Rules of Attraction is jammed full of them - the drug dealer, Richard "Dick" at lunch, Swoozie, Faye (looking gorgeous), the girl who commits suicide, Fred Savage as a junkie, Eric Stolz as the teacher, the flirty blonde who suggests a three-way, the gay trio going to the hospital, the dorky twink Ian Paul tries to pick up, etc.

Except for a few botched lines from Kip Pardue it might be the best acted movie of its type.

I can't think of a single role, no matter how small, in The Big Sleep that wasn't perfect.

Pam Grier in Something Wicked This Way Comes had about two lines of dialogue, was at the height of her beauty and still was the most frightening thing on screen.

I'd go for Edie McClurg over Charlie Sheen in Ferris Bueller.

Faith Dane in GYPSY. The only Mazeppa that matters.

Edie McClurg was also a highlight of "Carrie".

R126 Joy Page. Very memorable face and performance.

Edie McClurg in numerous WKRP episodes.

Kurtz / Duvall in Apocalypse Now. The inverse would be Dennis Hopper in the same movie. Ugh!

Lawrence Tierney (the boss, daddy of Chris Penn's character) in Reservoir Dogs. "You're Mr. ____."

Just realizing I forgot to give the title of the movie I allude to in R122...it's "A Clockwork Orange"

R138 Thank you! I finally put "Alex" and "Kubrick" together and got it but thanks for confirming!

Caleb Landry Jones in Three Billboards

Tucker Smith as "Ice" in West Side Story. "Cool" was originally Riff's song, and moved in the film from pre-rumble to post. Smith totally sells it.

Gene Hackman in Young Frankenstein.

Charlotte Rampling in Life During Wartime! “I’m a monster.”

Sharon Stone in "Stardust Memories".

Doris Roberts in A NEW LEAF.

Peggy Ashcroft gives an excellent and memorable performance in a bit part as the farmer’s wife in The 39 Steps

Doris Roberts in THE HONEYMOON KILLERS.

Anne Bancroft in [italic]Malice[/italic]

Hello??

The girl on the school bus in "The World of Henry Orient," Jane Buchanan.

"Intelligence Quo-ta."

Kathy najimy in its Pat the movie!

Jan Hooks as Tina the Alamo tour guide in "Pee Wee's Big Adventure".

Pure comedy gold.

This one.

John Turturro as Jesus in the Big Lebowski.

Mad Mad World:

Paul Ford in the control tower.

Arnold Stang and Marvin Kaplan in the gas station.

Paul Winfield in Mike's Murder

R119 Such a talented actor. In one of the gossip threads someone talked about how his career had been sabotaged by Tom Sizemore (was that you?)

R120 It is.

Melissa McCarthy in GO.

James Caan in Dogville.

R158 Thanks! I forgot about GO...loaded with small parts and a fun, sexy movie.

I forgot how much I crushed on Scott Wolf. Now I kind of want to rewatch the movie to see how well it has aged.

Hugo Blick as the young Batman in the original 1989 Batman was very memorable and weirdly hot in my young eyes. Apparently is a screenwriter now.

Hiugo Blick as the young Joker Not Batman.

Bobby Lewis in Dragon Seed as Captain Sato.

Mae West had much less than 15 minutes of MYRA BRECKINRIDGE. Every moment is a good one.

Welker White the "hat' lady in Goodfellas

John Marley as smarmy Hollywood producer Jack Woltz in THE GODFATHER.

And the horse, Khartoum, too!

R167 I don't know if you've read the book, but that character is a pedophile in it. I read the book before seeing the movie and wish that was left in.

R168 When I read the book, John Marley was one of the actors I could picture as The Godfather. I was happy to see him in the movie even if it was as Woltz.

Jiminy Cricket

The Elephant Matriarch, voiced by Verna Felton.

Crow Chorus, voiced by the Hall Johnson Choir.

Meryl in MANHATTAN.

Deleted scene from THE GODFATHER featuring Woltz and young "Janie" and her mother at the studio. There is another brief scene where she is seen upstairs at Woltz' mansion as Hagen is leaving.

Kind of ironic that the birthday present he gives her is a miniature HORSE??!!!

The banjo-playing boy in 'Deliverance.'

Lynn Redgrave in 'Kinsey.'

Paul Robeson as Joe and Hattie McDaniel as Queenie in the 1936 film version of Show Boat. That film is actually a treasure trove of great supporting performances.

Marion Lorne and Norman Fell in The Graduate.

Alright, Walter Brooke, too.

Chris Tucker in The Fifth Element.

R131 R133 Edie McClurg 'swinger in fur' in Eating Raoul (1982)

That little girl actress in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Joan Crawford in The Best Of Everything. A cameo role but she got all the acting honors.

"For some reason or other, I walked off with the picture. Maybe it was the part (I had all the balls) but I think it was a matter of experience, knowing how to make the most of every scene."

Sylvia Miles turned six minutes of screen time in MIDNIGHT COWBOY into an Oscar nomination.

I loved the babysitter in Goodfellas. She was so me in the 1970s. And the way she’s blowing everything off on the phone as Liotta’s anxiety rises and the background music gets louder. You know it’s not going to end well.

r157, you wrote:

[quote] [R119] Such a talented actor. In one of the gossip threads someone talked about how his career had been sabotaged by Tom Sizemore (was that you?)

Really??? I can't seem to find this on DL, do you remember any of the details? Hard to believe anyone with Sizemore's reputation could sabotage anyone.

I believe I saw James Riordan as a replacement in the Jane Curtin NOISES OFF on Broadway in the early 2000's he was really great as the asshole director. Also in that production was Kali Rocha, r118

R184 The story was both he and Sizemore were stars in the theater department at Temple. Sizemore graduated earlier and poisoned the well against Riordan, so when Riordan finished school a year later nobody wanted to hire him.

thanks r184, I found the DL discussion after I posted that. it was a very old one linked to a more recent thread about the "Celebrity Rehab" series. Some very interesting 90s LA/rehab culture gossip on the thread

Good Heidi Fliess gossip along with this topic

R186 Thanks. I tried looking in the gossip threads, but couldn't find it. It's one of the most interesting things I've read on here - I wish there was more stories like that here than the endless Meghan Markle or Johnny Depp threads.

Patty D'arbenville in the Sopranos

Doreen Lang as the hysterical mom at the restaurant in THE BIRDS: "Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this? They said when you got here the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from? I think you're the cause of all of this. I think you're evil. EVIL!"

Nathan Lane as Father Dan in JEFFREY: Jeffrey: Wait! You're really a priest? Father Dan: Of course. I'm a CATHOLIC priest. Historically, that falls somewhere between chorus boy and florist.

I know Mask (1985) was a sappy movie, but I loved Laura Dern's small part in it.

Leonardo DiCaprio was the best part of Celebrity (1998)