Short but iconic, these actors are all legends. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the movie stars whose performances left a big impression over a relatively short period of time.
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00:00 "I took care of her tonight because I was jealous.
00:03 I've been jealous all my life."
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the movie stars whose performances
00:11 left a big impression over a relatively short period of time.
00:15 "I know it was you, Fredo.
00:20 You broke my heart."
00:24 Number 10.
00:25 Louise Reiner
00:26 "Won't you come in, Monsieur Siquefeu?"
00:29 Though her name is mostly known among classic movie buffs, Louise Reiner was a trailblazer
00:34 of the 1930s.
00:35 The German-born actress came to America in 1935, where she soon distinguished herself
00:41 in heavily dramatic roles in The Great Ziegfeld and The Good Earth.
00:45 She made history by becoming the first person to not only win two acting Oscars, but also
00:50 became the first to win them back-to-back.
00:52 "I'm so happy for you today.
00:56 I could not help calling you and congratulating you."
01:01 After that, though, studio expectations and complications in her personal life stalled
01:05 her career.
01:06 Her film career was effectively over by the end of the decade, and despite going on to
01:11 live well into the 21st century, she appeared in only three films between 1939 and 2003.
01:17 "And it's better to go south or die walking than to give it to you for nothing."
01:29 Number 9.
01:30 John Belushi
01:31 "When do you start serving breakfast?"
01:32 "Now.
01:33 No breakfast."
01:34 "No breakfast?"
01:35 "Nope.
01:36 I just want a couple of eggs."
01:37 "No breakfast!
01:38 Cheeseburger, huh?"
01:40 The Chicago-born improviser and comedian was a key part of the very first Saturday Night
01:45 Live ensemble, but from there, his fame and talents catapulted him to movie stardom.
01:51 His first bona fide starring role came in 1978's raunchy college comedy Animal House.
01:57 "I'm a zit.
02:00 Get it?"
02:01 He followed this up with what may be his most iconic role, that of Joliet Jake Blues in
02:06 The Blues Brothers, a character he created for SNL.
02:10 While he was also known for his physical comedy, Belushi's personal life and substance use
02:14 disorder were also widely publicized.
02:17 In 1982, at the height of his fame, he passed away from an overdose.
02:22 "It's 106 miles to Chicago.
02:25 We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing
02:29 sunglasses.
02:30 Hit it!"
02:32 Number 8.
02:33 Mara Wilson
02:34 "You can't go now."
02:35 "Then you have to."
02:36 "We're in the middle of Charlotte's Web.
02:37 Who's gonna finish it?"
02:42 For millennials of a certain age, few actors epitomize the media of our childhoods like
02:47 former child star Mara Wilson.
02:50 Her career, though short, includes a couple of the most nostalgia-laden movies of the
02:54 1990s.
02:55 Her film debut, Mrs. Doubtfire, cast her as the on-screen daughter of comic master Robin
03:01 Williams, but it may be her starring role as Matilda that forever embedded her in our
03:06 hearts.
03:07 "The sawdust quiets the ears and lets the engine run as sweet as a nut for a couple
03:11 of miles."
03:12 "Daddy, that's cheating."
03:13 "Of course it's cheating.
03:14 Nobody ever got rich being honest."
03:17 By the time she was 13, she was done with film acting.
03:20 Her last major film role was in the year 2000.
03:23 Since then, she's spoken and written about her experiences as a child star and made consistent
03:29 appearances on podcasts and web series.
03:32 "Young lady, where were you?"
03:34 "Mrs. Trunchbull kept the whole school late because this boy ate some chocolate cake."
03:38 Number 7.
03:39 Bruce Lee
03:40 "Man, you come right out of a comic book."
03:43 Though he had appeared in several films by the time he emigrated to the U.S. from Hong
03:47 Kong, Bruce Lee's stardom didn't come until the late 60s.
03:51 His mythic status was helped by his premature death shortly after the making of what would
03:56 be his most famous film, Enter the Dragon.
03:59 "Never take your eyes off your opponent, even when you bow.
04:04 That's it."
04:07 Bruce Lee's remembered not just for his significant contributions to film, but to
04:10 martial arts as a discipline.
04:13 The mythic status of his death was compounded by his son Brandon's death, when he was
04:17 just on the cusp of action stardom himself.
04:20 "Suddenly, I heard a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door."
04:28 Number 6.
04:29 River Phoenix
04:30 "Do you think I'm weird?"
04:31 "Definitely."
04:32 "No man, seriously.
04:33 Am I weird?"
04:34 "No."
04:35 "You think I'm weird?"
04:36 "Yeah, but so what?
04:37 Everybody's weird."
04:38 Some actors are so talented, it's scary.
04:43 From his movie debut in the mid-80s, teen idol River Phoenix always had a haunted and
04:48 hurt quality.
04:49 But Phoenix's choice of roles wasn't relegated to mainstream properties.
04:54 Despite his short career, his projects range from mainstream classics to indie darlings.
04:59 "You guys really like to swear, don't you?"
05:01 "No, we like to drink."
05:03 Phoenix was a reliable dose of authenticity and raw power in every movie he appeared in.
05:08 He died tragically and suddenly at the age of 23.
05:12 His legacy lives on in his roles and in his brother, the acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix.
05:18 "Blue eyes, blonde hair.
05:21 You're okay?
05:23 Where are you?
05:26 Come here, kid."
05:28 Number 5.
05:29 Brittany Murphy
05:30 When she looked right at the camera and said,
05:33 "You're a virgin who can't drive."
05:35 honestly, we felt it.
05:37 Whether she was the eccentric best friend, the romantic lead, or the star, Brittany Murphy's
05:42 expressive eyes and vulnerability were astonishing to watch.
05:46 Whether it was comedy or drama, she was a force.
05:48 "You're just jealous, Lisa.
05:52 Because I got better.
05:55 Because I was released."
05:57 Between 1995 and 2009, she gave us so many iconic, memeable, and downright heartbreaking
06:03 movie moments.
06:04 Though her mysterious death at the age of 32 may have overshadowed much of her work,
06:09 it's safe to say that with more time and more roles, she would be listed among the
06:13 cinema greats.
06:14 "You and I, we're gonna be friends.
06:15 Okay?"
06:21 Number 4.
06:22 John Cazale
06:23 "I'm your older brother, Mike, and I was stepped over!"
06:24 "That's the way parents are."
06:25 "I was stepped over!"
06:26 "That's the way Pop wanted it."
06:27 "IT AIN'T THE WAY I WANTED IT!"
06:29 If you're going to make a leap to film acting, one of the greatest films of all time is a
06:34 solid place to start.
06:36 Although his career in the theater began in the late 1950s, John Cazale didn't make
06:40 his screen debut until he played Fredo Corleone in 1972's The Godfather.
06:45 "You're my older brother, and I love you.
06:50 But don't ever take sides with anyone against the family again.
06:55 Ever."
06:56 Cazale's subdued intensity and incredibly specific style were put to use in several
07:02 great films of the 70s.
07:04 Having starred in only five feature-length films, he also has the distinguished honor
07:08 of having all of his films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.
07:13 However, his career and life were cut short by lung cancer.
07:16 His final film role was in the 1978 Best Picture winner The Deer Hunter, alongside his partner
07:23 Meryl Streep.
07:24 "God bless America, my home sweet home."
07:35 Number 3.
07:36 Chadwick Boseman
07:37 "Wakanda will no longer watch from the shadows.
07:41 We cannot.
07:43 We must not."
07:45 Just three short years before he was immortalized as T'Challa, this beloved actor broke through
07:50 with his performance as the trailblazing baseball player Jackie Robinson.
07:54 He followed this up with a spirited performance in the James Brown biopic Get On Up.
07:59 "God made your ears.
08:00 You didn't make 'em.
08:01 You gonna argue what God's ears?
08:02 If it sound good and it feel good, then it's musical."
08:08 From there, Chadwick Boseman became a hero in every sense.
08:12 His philanthropy and revolutionary screen presence made him unforgettable.
08:17 When he died of cancer in 2020, it was a massive blow to his fans and to the culture at large.
08:23 His last completed film performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a searing swan song,
08:28 a reminder of his tremendous gifts and a memorial to all the performances we never got to see.
08:34 "I ain't had nothing but bad luck all my life.
08:36 Couldn't get no worse.
08:37 What the hell I care about some bad luck?
08:39 Hell, I eat it every day for breakfast."
08:41 Number 2.
08:42 Heath Ledger
08:43 "See, I'm not a monster.
08:44 I'm just ahead of the curve."
08:49 This Australian actor scored his first film credit with 1997's Black Rock, but his breakthrough
08:54 wouldn't come until 1999.
08:57 Heath Ledger was one of the industry's biggest stars at the time of his death in 2008.
09:02 Even excluding his last, Oscar-winning, character-defining performance as the Joker, this actor made
09:08 a lasting impact.
09:09 "It's simple.
09:10 We kill the Batman."
09:12 "If it's so simple, why haven't you done it already?"
09:16 "If you're good at something, never do it for free."
09:19 From the romantic lead of 10 Things I Hate About You to his sensitive portrayal of a
09:23 closeted cowboy in Brokeback Mountain, he redefined male movie stardom for the new millennium.
09:29 That he did all this within a relatively short career span is a miracle all on its own.
09:34 "I wish I knew how to quit you.
09:37 Then why don't you...why don't you just let me be, huh?"
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10:02 Number 1.
10:08 James Dean
10:09 He made his debut as the lead in 1955, and by 1956, he was a fallen screen god.
10:17 He only had three credited roles when he died at the height of his fame in a tragic car
10:21 accident.
10:22 Of all the actors featured on this list, his career was the shortest, and his image is
10:27 probably the longest lasting.
10:28 "Me, I'm gonna have more money than you ever thought you could have.
10:33 You and all the rest of you stinking sons of Benedict."
10:36 James Dean became the poster boy for adolescent angst, and cemented the leather jacket-wearing
10:41 tough guys that defined the now-cliched image of 1950s masculinity.
10:46 His roles as the tortured bad boys of Rebel Without a Cause and Giant paved the way for
10:51 the emotional, vulnerable, and volatile leading men that followed after him.
10:56 "You're tearing me apart!"
10:59 "What?"
11:00 "You, you say one thing, he says another, and everybody changes back again!"
11:05 Who's your favorite movie actor whose star burned bright and fast?
11:09 Tell us in the comments.
11:10 "You can't savor all the little emotions."
11:17 Do you agree with our picks?
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