10 Low-Key Amazing Performances In Movies
Sometimes less is more.
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00:00Convincingly portraying an entirely separate person whilst also remembering lines, adjusting
00:04to costume and trying not to trip over the set is an extremely challenging profession.
00:09So thank the heavens there are enough talented actors out there that are mad enough to put
00:12themselves through it for our entertainment. It's sad then that there are so many great
00:16performances that go unnoticed by the masses. Well, not anymore. I'm SciForWhatCulture.com
00:22and these are 10 Low Key Amazing Performances in Movies.
00:2610. Ken Stott – The Hobbit Trilogy
00:29As soon as it was announced that a 310-page book was going to be stretched out over a trio of
00:34three-hour-long movies, fans suspected that the Hobbit films were going to be more about
00:37raking in cash than paying a loving homage to Tolkien's first novel. Whether or not that was
00:42the case you can all argue about in the comments below, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot
00:46to like about the movies, in particular the performance of veteran Scottish actor Ken Stott
00:51as Balin. One of the Company of Dwarves, Balin is portrayed as the oldest and wisest member
00:55of the gang. His soft tones and luscious beard are the perfect counter to Thorin's youthful
01:00arrogance as he attempts to keep the hot-headed prince in line. In the crazy world of dragons,
01:05orcs and magical gems, Stott is an extremely calming presence and helps guide Bilbo and the
01:10audience through the story. He might not have a giant bow or be able to breathe fire, but Balin
01:15is perhaps the most overlooked part of the Hobbit trilogy.
01:189. Marion Cotillard – Big Fish
01:20Based on the 1998 book of the same name, Big Fish details the relationship between
01:25William Bloom and his dying father Edward. Mr. Bloom Sr. is known for his tall tales,
01:29which have driven a wedge between him and his son. However, as his father nears the end of his life,
01:34Will discovers that there might be more truth to the stories that he first thought.
01:38The movie features an absolutely stacked cast, including Ewan McGregor as a young Edward,
01:42Jessica Lange as Will's mum, and Danny DeVito as a werewolf. Sure, why not?
01:47Stealing the show though is Marion Cotillard as Josephine, Will's heavily pregnant wife.
01:52As an outsider to the Bloom family drama, Josephine serves as the voice of reason for
01:56her husband, helping him to shake off his preconceptions about his dad. She also represents
02:00the future of the family, as Will must decide how much he wants to copy his father's parenting
02:05techniques with his own offspring. Also, it's Marion Cotillard, she could have played a tree
02:09and still have been excellent.
02:118. Darlene Kate – What's Eating Gilbert Grape
02:14When talking about eye-catching performances and 1998's What's Eating Gilbert Grape,
02:18your mind immediately wanders to a 19-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio. In one of his first major
02:24roles, Leo plays Arnie, the mentally disabled brother of the titular character. At the time,
02:28DiCaprio was lauded for a magnificent performance, capturing the sympathetic essence of the
02:32character to a T.
02:34But this list is all about the hipster choices, so let's talk about Gilbert and Arnie's mother
02:38Bonnie. Played by the late Darlene Kate, Bonnie fell into a pit of depression after her husband
02:42took his own life. As a result, she became morbidly obese, unable to leave the house
02:47through physical impairment and shame.
02:49Considering she wasn't an actor before being offered the part, Kate puts in a fantastic
02:53showing. She loves her kids, but just isn't able to overcome her physical and mental obstacles
02:57to provide them with a decent life. It's tragic, especially if you watch right to the end.
03:02Kate more than holds her own alongside both DiCaprio and Johnny Depp, something very few
03:07others can lay claim to.
03:097. Walter Goggins – The Hateful Eight
03:12You might know him for The Righteous Gemstones or Invincible, but Goggins is also a favourite
03:16of everyone's favourite foot enthusiast Quentin Tarantino. He's appeared in both
03:20of the director's westerns, 2012's Django Unchained and 2015's The Hateful Eight.
03:25In this piece, he plays Chris Mannix, an all-round no-hoper who masquerades as the
03:29Sheriff of Red Rock, Wyoming.
03:31Goggins is up against some serious talent in this movie, sharing the screen with Samuel
03:35L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bruce Dern and Tim Roth, and yet he more than
03:40holds his own, often providing some much-needed comic relief.
03:44From the moment we meet Mannix, he is clearly a fish out of water. He isn't the rough,
03:48tough cowboy type that is personified in so many of his co-stars. I mean, he doesn't
03:52even have facial hair, for crying out loud. Still, he's an essential part of the story
03:55and ended up as a lot of viewers' favourite member of the squad.
03:596. Bruce Willis – Moonrise Kingdom
04:02Wes Anderson is known for many things, giving his characters preposterous names, framing
04:06his shots like they were paintings, having actors look directly down the lens of the
04:09camera when they speak, but perhaps his most famous trope is his reliance on the same group
04:13of actors for almost all of his films. Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Adrian Brody, Bill
04:18Freakin' Murray, Wes certainly has his favourites, so it is a lot when the director decides to
04:23look outside of his inner circle for talent. Enter Bruce Willis.
04:27The action man's only Anderson appearance came in 2011's Moonrise Kingdom, a firm
04:32favourite amongst fans of the auteur. He plays Captain Sharp, head of police on the small
04:37island where the action takes place. Willis keeps up with the snappy dialogue of the film
04:41and his turn as one of the more serious characters in the piece is more than welcome. Considering
04:45that Anderson originally envisioned the role going to the legendary Jimmy Stewart, we think
04:49that Willis more than compensated. Ah yes, John McClane and the guy from It's a Wonderful
04:54Life. A natural comparison.
04:565. Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years
04:59Though not a household name, English actor Charlotte Rampling has been around for a very
05:03long time. You might know her best as Dr Evelyn Vogel in Dexter, but she's also appeared
05:08in The Damned, Vanishing Point and, uh, the Assassin's Creed movie. Look, we can't
05:13all make good choices all the time. In 2015, Rampling played opposite Tom Courtenay in
05:17Andrew High's 45 Years. The pair play the Mercers, Kate and Jeff, a married couple about
05:22to celebrate their 45th anniversary. However, things get a little bumpy when Kate discovers
05:26that her husband might have had something to do with the death of his ex-girlfriend
05:30decades ago. The film gets pretty dark pretty quickly as both lead actors ramp up the extremes
05:35of their characters. Jeff becomes more angry and erratic, whilst Kate sinks further and
05:39further into herself. Rampling is a woman trapped in an unthinkable situation. Everything
05:44she thought she knew about the past has changed and she's got no idea what to do. The fact
05:48that this is all happening to a couple who look like they could be your neighbours only
05:52adds to the drama.
05:534. Chris Hemsworth – Rush
05:56There are a lot of people that love Formula One and there are a lot of people that think
05:59it's boring, but the best way to make F1 interesting is to condense the action of a
06:03single season into one manageable chunk. And that's precisely what Ron Howard did
06:07when he brought to the world Rush in 2013. It tells the story of the epic rivalry between
06:12Austrian diver Nicky Lauda and British ace James Hunt. The two men were polar opposites.
06:17Lauda was an ultra-serious professional, whilst his rival was a carefree playboy who relied
06:21solely on natural talent.
06:23Whilst Lauda's story takes the main stage, Chris Hemsworth's version of Hunt is always
06:27giving something in the background. His personal battles, his desire to win, his relationship
06:31with Lauda, it's all there and it's all expertly presented by the star of Thor.
06:36Tell you what, that would be one thing that would make Formula One more interesting for
06:38people that don't like it. Give him Mjolnir, then see what happens.
06:423. Josh Brolin – Men in Black 3
06:45Using an actor's real-life child as a younger version of themselves is a nice trick filmmakers
06:49like to use from time to time. Is this what the producers of Men in Black 3 did when they
06:54needed a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones? No, they got Josh Brolin to do an absolutely
06:58spot-on impersonation instead.
07:01When Will Smith's Agent J travels to the past, he meets a younger version of his mentor
07:05Agent K. Brolin is the spitting image of Jones who plays the modern-day version of K. His
07:10voice, his mannerisms, even his actual face are almost identical to the star of No Country
07:15for Old Men.
07:16Wait a minute, Josh Brolin was in that too. Maybe he's been spying on Tommy Lee Jones
07:20this entire time.
07:212. Laura Dern – Star Wars The Last Jedi
07:25Well, this one is going to get flak either way, so let's just get on with it. Despite
07:29taking the most risks and actually attempting to put his own spin on the Star Wars franchise,
07:33Rian Johnson's entry into the sequel trilogy was absolutely slated by some when it came
07:37out in 2017.
07:39Many things came under fire, including Laura Dern's character Vice-Admiral Amalyn Holdo.
07:43A senior figure in the Resistance, Holdo assumes command after General Leia Organa gets injured
07:47in the film's opening sequence. Holdo clashes with Poe Dameron, who eventually stages a
07:52mutiny against her. However, he ends up with some serious egg on his face when she sacrifices
07:56herself to save the entire Resistance fleet.
07:59Dern puts in an epic showing as a woman torn between doing what's right and doing what
08:03people expect of her. She is constantly undermined by Poe, but holds firm the entire time, never
08:08compromising on her beliefs as a leader. She might get a lot of hate, but Vice-Admiral
08:12Holdo is a certified badass.
08:141. Vin Diesel – The MCU
08:18Okay, yes, it might be a little bit weird that number one is a tree. The Marvel Cinematic
08:22Universe is full of big characters who love to mouth off. Tony Stark, Doctor Strange,
08:27Star-Lord, Spider-Man, Rocket Raccoon, etc, etc. And how many of them would be able to
08:32express as much emotion and character if their dialogue was reduced to just five different
08:37words?
08:37The hulking wooden member of the Guardians of the Galaxy grew to shone in his debut appearance
08:42in 2014. Voiced by Vin Diesel of all people, the colossal conifer ends up sacrificing himself
08:48for his friends and brilliantly changes his one line of speech from I am Groot to We are
08:54Groot. No, you're crying.
08:56This performance alone would be enough to put him on top of this list, but Groot has
09:00continued to wow us in his subsequent appearances. Whether as a baby or a grumpy teenager, he's
09:05given us comedy and drama in equal measure, with only a handful of syllables in his arsenal.
09:10It might sound ridiculous, but per word uttered, Vin Diesel might be the best actor in the
09:14entire MCU. Now isn't that weird?
09:17And that's the list! Let us know what you thought of this video down in the comments
09:21below, and whilst you're down there, let us know which of these performances stood
09:24out the most to you and any others that we didn't include. Make sure you like this
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09:32to WhatCulture.com for more content daily. I've been Si for WhatCulture, and have a
09:37good week.