Who would be your 8 in the finals? For that time period.
Bunch of performances stand out. I've already named F. Murray Abraham and Casey Affleck.
For one, Tom Hank's performance in
Philadelphia was more subtle than the Simple Jack he had to play in
Forrest Gump (though I've always assumed he won the Oscar for the scene where he learns about his son, and I must confess that's some of the best acting I've ever seen). Similarly, I'd take Hoffman in
Kramer vs. Kramer over
Rain Man. Why do we prefer the latter? Because the latter movie is better, and more life affirming. There's a reason Downey Jr.'s monologue in
Tropic Thunder was so amazing. It was rooted in truth.
Similarly, while Hannibal Lecter is more memorable, Anthony Hopkins had a more challenging and nuanced role in
The Remains of the Day. But he didn't win for that because of
Philadelphia. Denzel isn't here, but I'm sure
Training Day would go further in these polls than
Flight or
Fences, but his performances were greater in the latter films. Joaquin Phoenix's best performance was in
The Master, not that it won the Oscar, but that movie was obscure, grim, and confusing as hell, so in any poll, I am highly confident either
The Joker or
Gladiator would get more votes.
Tons of other memorable performances. Jean Dujardin doesn't have a mainstream international success, but he was spectacular in
The Artist. Colin Firth in
The King's Speech. Philip Seymour Hoffman in
Capote. Forest Whitaker in
The Last King of Scotland won't get any votes because that movie was downright mediocre, but he was extraordinary. Sean Penn in
Milk or
Mystic River is better than almost anything in the poll, here. Roberto Begnini in
Life is Beautiful. George C. Scott in
Patton.
They're all great performances, don't get me wrong. It's a very populist list, and populist takes tends to hold up to the test of time better than the more arthouse performances I'm favoring. The best tell is when we see someone else take on the same role, as in a sequel, and then we learn what we did or didn't take for granted, but that's a rare advantage. There's a definite favortism among the populist vote for the boisterous larger-than-life characters that the audience is designed to love, even if it's a villain, like Hannibal Lecter, compared to much more human roles that capture what life is more often really about for most of us.
