Who has the best characterization?

Santiago Segura - Torrente 😁

Heath Ledger Batman Joker

you bet 😉

John Malkovich - being John Malkovich - John Malkovich
Leslie Nielsen - Police Squad - Frank Drebin
Jack Nicholson - Batman - Heath Ledger Batman Joker
Kevin Spacey - K-PAX - Prot
Drew Carey - The Drew Carey Show - Drew Carey
Robin Williams - Good Will Hunting - Sean Maguire
George Carlin - The Jersey Girl - Bart Trinke

Javier Bardem-No -- Chigurh

Man... Jack Nicholson is easily taking my top three spots.

Jack Nicholson - One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest - Patrick McMurphy
Jack Nicholson - The Shining - Jack Torrence
Jack Nicholson - Batman - Joker
Al Pacino - Scarface - Tony Montana
Roy Scheider - Jaws - Martin Brody, RIP, a total legend.🙏
Jack Nicholson - Chinatown - Bill Murray
Bill Murray - Groundhog Day - Phil Connors
Robert De Niro - The Deer Hunter - Michael Vronsky
Gregory Peck - Gentleman's Agreement - Philip Schuyler Green
Anthony Hopkins - The Silence of the Lambs - Hannibal Lecter

I could probably throw a few more in there, but that’s pretty much the core list... now let's move on to the women.

And they're leading by a landslide.

Sigourney Weaver - Alien - Ellen Ripley
Demi Moore - G.I. Jane - Jordan O'Neil
Kim Basinger - L.A. Confidential - Lynn Bracken
Fay Wray - King Kong - Ann Darrow, the scream queen.🙏
Mia Farrow - Rosemary's Baby - Rosemary Woodhouse

So yeah, that’s basically it, though I'm almost certain I missed someone.

First off, it has to be Russell Crowe playing Jeffrey Wigand in 🙏"The Insider."

Then we have these others:

Al Pacino as Frank Slade in "Scent of a Woman," or Michael Corleone from "The Godfather" trilogy.
Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, in "The Godfather."
And honestly, pretty much everyone else in "The Godfather"—you know, Fredo Corleone (John Cazale), Sonny Corleone (James Caan), Kay Adams (Diane Keaton), and Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall).
Then there's Jack Nicholson as McMurphy in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and his turn as Jack Torrence in "The Shining."
Or Hannibal Lecter (played by Hannibal Lecter) in "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Hannibal," plus Clarice Starling (played by Clarice Starling).
Christian Bale as Trevor Reznik in "The Machinist."
Denzel Washington as Rubin Carter in "Hurricane," then Alonzo in "Training Day," and John Creasy in "Man on Fire."
Adrien Brody as Wladyslaw Szpilman in "The Pianist."
Mia Farrow as Rosemary Woodhouse in "Rosemary's Baby."
Javier Bardem as Ramon Sampedro in "Mar Adentro."
Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler in "Downfall."
Ralph Fiennes as Justin Quayle in "The Constant Gardener."
Sean Penn as Jimmy Markum in "Mystic River," and Matthew Poncelet in "Dead Man Walking."
Sister Helen Prejean, played by Susan Sarandon, in "Dead Man Walking."
Roy (played by Tom Wilkinson) and Ruth Applewood in "Normal," or Arthur Edens in "Michael Clayton."
John Keating, played by Robin Williams, in "Dead Poets Society."
Norman Bates, played by Anthony Perkins, in "Psycho."
Sarah Norman, played by Marlee Matlin, in "Children of a Lesser God."
Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta in "Raging Bull," and also in "Awakenings."
Sandy Lyle, played by P.S. Hoffman, in "Along Came Polly," or maybe Rusty in "Flawless."
Chris MacNeil, played by Ellen Burstyn, in "The Exorcist."
Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line."
Tessa Quayle, played by Rachel Weisz, in "The Constant Gardener."
Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day Lewis, in "There Will Be Blood."
Albert Goldman, played by Nathan Lane, in "The Birdcage."
Senator Kevin Keeley, played by Gene Hackman, in "The Birdcage."
Erin Brockovich, played by Julia Roberts, in her own movie, "Erin Brockovich."
William Foster, played by Michael Douglas, in "Falling Down."

Actually, just about every character and actor in "Magnolia."

And so on, and so forth, I guess...

Andy Serkis as Gollum / Smeagol

To me, Christopher Lee will always, and only, be Dracula.☕

George Scott - George S. Patton

Christian Bale as Trevor Reznik in The Machinist

Gene Hackman as Little Bill Daggett in "Unforgiven"

I also wanted to mention this year's "Star Trek"—a series I’ve never really followed and am not much of a fan of—as a perfect example of a show where the actors didn't just feel like performers, but felt like actual, living characters.

silvertiger10 said:Heath Ledger’s Joker from The Dark Knight

Hell yeah. 😉

For sure.

Also, Gary Oldman in Leon—his character is Stansfield. That performance is... just incredible.🙏

Or Tchéky Karyo playing Inspector Sauveur Cristini in Dobermann. Man, he was a total psycho.

Christian Bale as Trevor Reznik in *The Machinist*—beyond just the physical transformation, it’s a masterclass in acting. He looks completely unhinged.

Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge in *A Clockwork Orange*—I mean, what can I say? His performance was so iconic it practically defined his career, for better or worse.

Jack Nicholson as McMurphy in *One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest*—Jack was phenomenal. I read somewhere that Ken Kesey actually wanted Dustin Hoffman for the part, but once you see Jack, you can't imagine anyone else in those shoes.

Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in *Ray*—He absolutely nailed the transformation.

Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke/Hunter S. Thompson in *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas*—Depp leaned pretty heavily into Thompson's eccentricities, but honestly, that was exactly what the movie needed. In my opinion, it’s his best work.

Samuel L. Jackson as Jules in *Pulp Fiction*— 🙏🙏🙏

Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham in *American Beauty*—Spacey was brilliant, as per usual.

A few others:
Ellen Burstyn as Sarah Goldfarb in *Requiem for a Dream*
Sean Gullete as Max Cohen in *Pi*
Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in *The Godfather*
Michael Jeter as L. Ron Blumquist in *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas*

Peter Sellers playing Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series—absolutely flawless. He’s got a mountain of other brilliant performances under his belt, like his turn as Chance in Being There, but this one? This is my all-time favorite.
Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood—it honestly makes you stop and wonder if the man is even acting at all, or if he’s just... living it.🙏

Robert De Niro - Max Cady (Cape Fear) / Jake La Motta (Raging Bull)
Jack Nicholson - Jack Torrance (The Shining) / Joker (Batman)
Eli Wallach - Tuco (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)
Steve McQueen - Capt. Hilts (The Great Escape)
Anthony Hopkins - Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)
Johnny Depp - Ed Wood (Ed Wood) / Edward Scissorhands (Edward Scissorhands)

Christian Bale in The Machinist and Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood🙏

Mulan from the movie Mulan (1998)

Elle Woods from the movie Legally Blonde

The entire cast of The Emperor's New Groove

Everyone from the movie Love Actually

The whole crew from the movie Bubble Boy (2001)

Christian and Satine from the movie Moulin Rouge

All the characters in Hairspray (2007)

Every single person in Serenity (2005)

The full ensemble from The Fifth Element (1997)

Stanley Ipkiss and Tina Carlyle from the movie The Mask (1994)

Eric Draven from the movie The Crow (1994)

John Murdoch from the movie Dark City (1998)

Sam Wheat, Molly Jensen, and Oda Mae Brown from the movie Ghost (1990)

Everybody in the movie The Guru (2002)

Judith from the movie Saving Silverman (2001)

Samantha James from the movie Just Friends (2005)

The whole gang from Not Another Teen Movie (2001)

John 'Sheriff' Volgecherev and Beth Eastern from the movie Return to Paradise (1998)

Esteban Trueba, Clara del Valle Trueba, and Blanca Trueba from the movie The House of the Spirits (1993)

Holly Hamilton and Jean Hamilton from the movie The Perfect Man (2005)

The entire cast of Bring It On (2000)

John and Nadia from the movie Birthday Girl (2001)

Sarah and Tom from the movie Just Married (2003)

Catherine Tramell from the movie Basic Instinct 2 (2006)

Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez from the High School Musical trilogy

Donna Jensen from the movie View from the Top (2003)

Rebecca Bloomwood from the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic

Neo from the movie The Matrix (1999)

Ariel from the movie The Little Mermaid (1989)

Carrie White from the movie Carrie (1976)

Adam and Eve from the movie Blast from the Past (1999)

Fletcher McBracken and Rosalyn Willoughby from the movie Still Breathing (1997)

Everyone featured in Pleasantville (1998)

Max Conners, Page Conners, and William B. Tensy from the movie Heartbreakers (2001)

Lt. Topper Harley and Adm. Thomas 'Tug' Benson/President Thomas 'Tug' Benson from the movies Hot Shots! 1 & 2

John Clark and Paulina from the movie Shall We Dance (2004)

George Monroe and Sam Monroe from the movie Life as a House (2001)

Natalie Cook, Alex Munday, and Dylan Sanders from Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)

The complete cast of Pieces of April (2003)

Everyone from the movie Saved! (2004)

The whole group from Get Over It (2001)

The inmates from the movie Cube (1997)

Dave and Andrew from the movie Nothing (2003)

Miranda Grey from the movie Gothika (2003)

Edward Norton as Derek Vinyard
Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito
Eli Wallach—for me, he’ll always be the definitive Tuco
Jack Nicholson as the Joker
Al Pacino as Tony Montana
Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge
Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta

Most of you have already covered these, but I’ll throw a few more into the mix!

Benicio Del Toro - Javier in 'Traffic'
C. Bal as a young actor in Empire of the Sun
Al Pacino as Carlito in Carlito's Way (and also Tony in Scarface, though I know most of you already mentioned him)
Kevin Spacey in American Beauty (ever since that role, I can't help but picture him as Lester in every movie he does)
Johnny Depp as Sparrow in Pirates (even though the film isn't really my style, his performance is pure genius)
Emir Hadžihafisbegović in Armin (absolutely stellar acting, truly no complaints there)
Tom Cruise in Collateral
Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne in 'Shawshank'
Bill Murray as Bob Harris in 'Lost in Translation'
Jamie Bell as Billy Elliott

...there are plenty more where those came from, but these just popped into my head, and I don't want to start repeating what everyone else has already said.

By the way, I honestly think this thread should be titled "The Best Performances Ever Performed..."