Unexpected Acting Chops

Lisa Whelchel and Nancy McKeon when they did their handcuff gag on the Langley News in one shot.

Rory Gilmore on The Handmaid’s Tale when she and her lesbian lover were captured.

Tom cruise in Collateral he makes a good cold bad guy.

R3 I think he's an underrated actor in general due to his bizarre personal life and rumored wrestling fetish.

Bonnie Franklin in the Hanna-Barbera All-Star Comedy Ice Revue

Chris Evans in Defending Jacob.

Casey Affleck blew me away in Manchester by the Sea.

Why this didn't win an Emmy.... Brilliant acting is often overlooked.

Drew Barrymore in the HBO “Grey Gardens” movie. I didn’t know she had it in her. And she’s never done anything near that level since.

I think Drew is a great actress in everything I’ve seen her in.

Jason Statham has fantastic comedic timing

Tom Cruise in "Born on the Fourth of July."

Yes, I agree Drew Barrymore has acting chops. Don't laugh, but I always cry watching "Ever After." (Cinderella.) When she asks Anjelica Huston (stepmother) have you ever loved me, even a little bit (paraphrase). Drew is really good at bringing pain (emotional) to her face, without going overboard.

R12 I love that movie.

[quote] I think Drew is a great actress in everything I’ve seen her in.

Honey, no.

I agree Drew outdid herself in Grey Gardens, was very surprised by her and it’s been the only time

Her best performance since the unjustly forgotten MR. WRONG!

I thought Mr. Wrong was hella funny. That she seems so gay just adds to it.

Uhm Neve Campbell doesn’t have any chops but I remember a William H. Macy movie where she was a troubled young woman that begins a friendship and she did it well, as real and open as I’ve ever seen her.

Grey Gardens is the only time Drew Barrymore has played a character that wasn't Drew Barrymore.

I know some people didn't like her in this but I thought she was incredible in this role.

Andie MacDowell in Sex, Lies & Videotape. A fantastic performance and she never did it again, never even came close.

Carol Burnett in Friendly Fire.

Re-watching One Day at a Time lately and by the last two or three years, Bonnie Franklin becomes quite good. A complete 180 from the first two or three years where she was belting to the cheap seats. Paul Haggis was supervising the writing by then, so maybe that had something to do with it.

It's Valerie who becomes rather distant and standoffish. She's practically phoning it in with the episode where Julie runs out on the family.

And ditto Linda Lavin, who was excellent the first few years of Alice before the show became completely dumbed down.

How Bonnie and Linda never won Emmys is mind boggling, yet no talents like Jon Hamm have them.

[quote] How Bonnie and Linda never won Emmys is mind boggling, yet no talents like Jon Hamm have them.

Now you're just trolling.

Stave Carell in Foxcatcher.

R25 No, I'm not. Bonnie and Linda were accomplished Broadway actresses before getting their own TV shows. And both can sing, dance and act.

Jon Hamm moves his eyebrows for the camera.

Now who would you give an Emmy to?

Jon Hamm. He's a much better actor.

Bryan Cranston. Hard to believe that Walter White was Malcolm's father in Malcolm in the Middle and Dr. Whatley in Seinfeld.

I don’t know what PTA did to Mary Mark to get this scene out of him, but it takes your breath away to watch.

Mo'Nique in Precious. What. a. performance.

Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls.

I get this is mainly about mediocre actors who surprise you, but there’s also taking it to the next level which this is for Julianne Moore. Again PTA, if you are a middling actor sell your soul to get a part from PTA, he somehow can get an amazing performance out of anyone, as mentioned up thread he even elevates Cruise in this movie.

Diane Lane, Unfaithful.

Martin Sheen in [italic]the Departed[/italic] - He was a handsome young man, but not a great actor. I've never watched [italic]the West Wing[/italic] because he annoyed me so much when he was young. But he was good in [italic]the Departed[/italic]. His accent was uneven, but lots of actors stumble over Boston accents.

How did Robert Altman know that Lily Tomlin had this ability in her after all those years of broad comedy? The arc of emotions she rides just under the surface with barely a hint, and then that conclusion where she’s about to shatter into a million pieces is heartbreaking and spellbinding.

Joan Rivers as herself on 'Louie.'

[quote] Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls.

Give me a fucking break.

Nicholas Colasanto in this scene, which always makes me tear up a bit (MARY!!!!):

[quote] Diane Lane, Unfaithful.

Diane has given other very good performances. Early in her career she was wonderful in A Little Romance, Ladies & Gentlemen The Fabulous Stains and a totally lost and forgotten film, Touched By Love. For some strange reason, she's been a hard person to cast, because she's talented enough and beautiful enough that she should have been a much bigger star. And she's still giving excellent performances that seem to be ignored. She should have won this year for Let Him Go. It was a tremendous performance in an admittedly weak year.

Seems like comedians are good actors, in general.

Cher in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

R9 stole my thunder, but Drew in Grey Gardens is the first person who came to mind. Not only did she hold her own in every scene she shared with Jessica Lange, but I hadn’t seen the documentary beforehand and was shocked to discover how faithful Drew’s performance was.

Also, he refuses to stop doing shitty comedies, but Adam Sandler absolutely nails all his dramatic roles. Punch Drunk Love, Uncut Gems, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)...all of them were Academy Award worthy.

Marky Mark in The Departed. Scorcese got the best out him. Marky held his own and surpassed some of the big boys (Leo, Ray Winstone, Damon)

Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.

God, I have to get out of this thread. Drew Barrymore? Jennifer Hudson? Adam Sandler??? They all are terrible actors. I will grant Drew was decent in GG, but as Christine Ebersole (and scores of drag queens) have proven, doing Little Edie isn't as difficult as one might think.

Bruce Willis in 'Death Becomes Her.'

[quote] God, I have to get out of this thread. Drew Barrymore? Jennifer Hudson? Adam Sandler???

The discussion is about "unexpected" (and maybe anomalous) acting chops. Specific performances in specific movies.

Cybill Shepherd was oscar worthy in both Texasville and last years Rose.

Mary Tyler Moore in "Ordinary People".

Danny Pintauro takes a lot of shit on here, but I thought his performance in CUJO was outstanding. Dee Wallace has talked about the movie and how difficult it was. She was excellent also. They were required to do multiple takes for scenes and exhibit extreme emotion.

Please don’t laugh at me but JLC in the last Halloween film. Ive never thought of her as an actress before, more of a celebrity who appears in films. I was SHOCKED at the emotional pull of her performance, especially in some campy horror film.

Speaking of really good kid performances and Halloween, Danielle Harris was great in Halloween 5.

Gaga in ASIB

Jason Bateman in Ozark. Some really subtle work that’s compelling to watch. He shows his directorial prowess here too.

Courtney Love in People vs Larry Flynt

Melissa Sue Anderson

Mickey O'Rourke in The Wrestler. You can't deny how special that performance was. It's still my dream for Dolly Parton to play a dramatic role without makeup.

Lisa Kudrow in The Comeback.

Valerie Cherish in Seeing Red

r58, I completely agree and almost posted that but didn't know if he's normally considered a meh or bad actor. phenomenal part for him

Madonna in the Oh Father video.

Mickey Rourke

R62, one of the most beautiful videos ever and really well acted by all the cast.

The moment with the little girl lunging for the doorknob while her father's shadow looms up is chilling.

[quote]Mo'Nique in Precious.

What, no love for Mariah in a bad wig and no make-up?

R65 especially after reading her book I understand where that came from inside of her.

John Ritter in "Sling Blade". He never impressed me especially in that ridiculous TV sitcom but he was Amazing in this film.

Drew Barrymore in "Scream".

Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire. Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights (I can only tolerate him in Boogie Nights and The Lovely Bones). Matthew McConaughey in True Detective season 1.

Although I ended up hating the Flight Attendant because of her character, I was suppressed to learn Kaley Cu-whatever is a good actress.

R70 Well, at least you weren’t oppressed by her performance.

Teri Polo in the Hallmark movie "A Taste of Romance." Yeah, Hallmark movie. So many are by-the-numbers but this one had several great performances and I thought Polo rose above the material.

Ann-Margret in "Carnal Knowledge".

Sienna Miller in "American Woman".

I like Neve Campbell in everything. She's really good at nervous breakdown energy.

No he's not, R28, he just has a larger dick.

Melanie Griffith, Fear City

Dolly Parton in 9 to 5 was a surprise at the time

Katharine Houghton - "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner".

I get tired of the bullshit lie that the acting on "Pose" is terrible because it's just not true. MJ Rodriguez is outstanding in the lead role and should be nominated for an Emmy. Her only mistake is that she's not Jennifer Aniston, who won an Emmy for doing nothing remarkable whatsoever on "Friends." And of course Tom Selleck won an Emmy for his awe-inspiring work on "Magnum P.I." but MJ's work doesn't rise up to the level of these towering performances according to the so-called critics who are paid to judge such things.

Danny Dyer of all people. He was in an Oscar winning short film by Andrea Arnold, playing the potential love interest of the main character. When he discovered she was lying by omission to him about have 4 daughters under 8 who she had hidden in the pub carpark, his reaction was a simply shot of his body. The surprise and sympathy and understanding he conveyed simply by gazing at them with his hands jammed in his pockets was such a relief to the family and to the audience, I have held him in high regard ever since.

I'll never write him off and hope he gets better roles than EastEnders in the future.

Elizabeth Taylor every time I see her.

Millicent Simmonds in A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place II. She deserves a nomination for A Quiet Place II. She is that damn good.