Ledger competed with Jack Nicholson’s famous take on the character by going his own way with it.
McConaughey’s career has had its ups and downs in the years since Richard Linklater’s cult classic, but what’s kept him compelling is evident in a brief, memorable turn as a charming burnout.
Always a character actor trapped in the body of a leading man, Kilmer gave one of his best performances as a doomed gunslinger.
He gives a crazily kinetic performance as President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho.
As a gloriously idiotic TV personality, the comic actor isn’t afraid to make a total fool of himself.
He's riveting as a director on a power trip, holding the power of life and death in his hands.
Dowd is brilliant as a woman caught between her sense of duty and her sense of right and wrong.
Bates’ breakthrough role found the horror in one lonely woman’s obsession.
An ongoing look at stand-out performances from character actors finds a great performance from a wrestler-turned actor in the middle of a not-so-great Elmore Leonard adaptation.
The actor’s signature madness is the only redeeming factor of one of 2002’s most dire commercial projects.
New column: Staunch Characters looks at notable performances from remarkable character actors, starting with Michael Shannon.