- 15/06/2025
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.
00:15It's sad then that there are so many great performances that go unnoticed by the masses.
00:19Well, not anymore.
00:20I'm CypherWaterCulture.com and these are 10 Low-key Amazing Performances in Movies.
00:2610.
00:27Ken Stott.
00:28The Hobbit Trilogy.
00:29As soon as it was announced that a 310-page book was going to be stretched out over a
00:33trio of three-hour-long movies, fans suspected that the Hobbit films were going to be more
00:37about raking in cash than paying a loving homage to Tolkien's first novel.
00:42Whether or not that was the case you can all argue about in the comments below, but that
00:45doesn't mean there isn't a lot to like about the movies, in particular the performance
00:49of veteran Scottish actor Ken Stott as Balin.
00:52One of the company of dwarves, Balin is portrayed as the oldest and wisest member of the gang.
00:56His soft tones and luscious beard are the perfect counter to Thorin's youthful arrogance as
01:01he attempts to keep the hot-headed prince in line.
01:04In the crazy world of dragons, orcs and magical gems, Stott is an extremely calming presence
01:08and helps guide Bilbo and the audience through the story.
01:12He might not have a giant bow or be able to breathe fire, but Balin is perhaps the most
01:16overlooked part of the Hobbit trilogy.
01:189. Marion Cotillard – Big Fish Based on the 1998 book of the same name, Big Fish
01:23details the relationship between William Bloom and his dying father Edward.
01:27Mr. Bloom Sr. is known for his tall tales, which have driven a wedge between him and his
01:32son. However, as his father nears the end of his life, Will discovers that there might
01:35be more truth to the stories that he first thought.
01:38The movie features an absolutely stacked cast, including Ewan McGregor as a young Edward, Jessica
01:42Lang 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 her husband,
01:56helping him to shake off his preconceptions about his dad.
02:00She also represents the future of the family, as Will must decide how much he wants to copy
02:04his father's parenting techniques with his own offspring.
02:07Also it's Marion Cotillard, she could have played a tree and 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, your
02:19mind immediately wanders to a 19-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio. In one of his first major roles,
02:24Leo plays Arnie, the mentally disabled brother of the titular character. At the time, DiCaprio
02:29was lauded for a magnificent performance, capturing the sympathetic essence of the character to
02:33a tee. But this list is all about the hipster choices, so let's talk about Gilbert and
02:37Arnie's mother Bonnie. Played by the late Darlene Kate, Bonnie fell into a
02:41pit of depression after her husband took his own life. As a result, she became morbidly
02:45obese, unable to leave the house through 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.
03:03Kate more than holds her own alongside both DiCaprio and Johnny Depp, something very few others
03:07can 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 of the
03:20director's westerns, 2012's Django Unchained and 2015's The Hateful Eight. In this piece,
03:26he plays Chris Mannix, an all-round no-hoper who masquerades as the Sheriff of Red Rock, Wyoming.
03:31Goggins is up against some serious talent in this movie, sharing the screen with Samuel L. Jackson,
03:36Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bruce Dern and Tim Roth, and yet he more than holds
03:41his own, often providing some much-needed comic relief. From the moment we meet Mannix,
03:45he is clearly a fish out of water. He isn't the rough, tough cowboy type that is personified
03:50in so many of his co-stars. I mean, he doesn't even have facial hair, for crying out loud.
03:54Still, he's an essential part of the story and ended up as a lot of viewers' favourite member
03:58of the squad.
03:596. Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom
04:02Wes Anderson is known for many things, giving his characters preposterous names,
04:05framing his shots like they were paintings, having actors look directly down the lens of
04:09the camera when they speak, but perhaps his most famous trope is his reliance on the same
04:13group of actors for almost all of his films. Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Adrian Brody,
04:18Bill Freakin' Murray, Wes certainly has his favourite, so it is a lot when the director decides
04:23to look outside of his inner circle for talent. Enter Bruce Willis. The action man's only
04:29Anderson appearance came in 2011's Moonrise Kingdom, a firm favourite amongst fans of the
04:33auteur. He plays Captain Sharp, head of police on the small island where the action takes place.
04:39Willis keeps up with the snappy dialogue of the film and his turn as one of the more serious
04:43characters in the piece is more than welcome. Considering that Anderson originally envisioned
04:47the role going to the legendary Jimmy Stewart, we think that Willis more than compensated.
04:51Ah yes, John McClane and the guy from It's a Wonderful Life, a natural comparison.
04:55Number 5, Charlotte Rampling, 45 years. Though not a household name, English actor
05:01Charlotte Rampling has been around for a very long time. You might know her best as Dr. Evelyn
05:06Vogel in Dexter, but she's also appeared in The Damned, Vanishing Point and the Assassin's
05:11Creed movie. Look, we can't all make good choices all of the time. In 2015, Rampling played opposite
05:16Tom Courtenay in Andrew High's 45 years. The pair play the Mercers, Kate and Jeff, a married couple
05:21about to celebrate their 45th anniversary. However, things get a little bumpy when Kate
05:26discovers that her husband might have had something to do with the death of his ex-girlfriend decades
05:30ago. The film gets pretty dark pretty quickly as both lead actors ramp up the extremes of their
05:35characters. Jeff becomes more angry and erratic whilst Kate sinks further and further into herself.
05:40Rampling is a woman trapped in an unthinkable situation. Everything she thought she knew about
05:45the past has changed and she's got no idea what to do. The fact that this is all happening to a couple who
05:50look like they could be your neighbours only adds to the drama.
05:534. Chris Hemsworth, Rush. There are a lot of people that love Formula 1 and there are a lot
05:59of people that think it's boring, but the best way to make F1 interesting is to condense the action
06:03of a single season into one manageable chunk. And that's precisely what Ron Howard did when he brought
06:08to the world Rush in 2013. It tells the story of the epic rivalry between Australian diver Nicky Lauder
06:14and British ace James Hunt. The two men were polar opposites. Lauder was an ultra-serious professional,
06:19whilst his rival was a carefree playboy who relied solely on natural talent.
06:23Whilst Lauder's story takes to the main stage, Chris Hemsworth's version of Hunt is always giving
06:27something in the background. His personal battles, his desire to win, his relationship with Lauder,
06:32it's all there and it's all expertly presented by the star of Thor.
06:35I tell you what, that would be one thing that would make Formula 1 more interesting for people
06:38that don't like it. Give him Molnir, then see what happens.
06:413. Josh Brolin, Men in Black 3. Using an actor's real-life child as a younger version of themselves is a nice
06:48trick filmmakers like to use from time to time. Is this what the producers of Men in Black 3 did when
06:53they needed a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones? No, they got Josh Brolin to do an absolutely spot-on
06:59impersonation instead. When Will Smith's Agent J travels to the past, he meets a younger version
07:04of his mentor Agent K. Brolin is the spitting image of Jones who plays the modern-day version of K.
07:10His voice, his mannerisms, even his actual face are almost identical to the star of No Country for Old Men.
07:16Wait a minute, Josh Brolin was in that too. Maybe he's been spying on Tommy Lee Jones this entire time.
07:212. Laura Dern, Star Wars The Last Jedi.
07:25Well, this one is going to get flack either way, so let's just get on with it.
07:28Despite taking 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 out 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 in
07:47the film's opening sequence. Holdo clashes with Poe Dameron, who eventually stages a mutiny against
07:53her. However, he ends up with some serious egg on his face when she sacrifices herself to save the
07:57entire Resistance fleet. Dern puts in an epic showing as a woman torn between doing what's right and
08:02doing what people expect of her. She is constantly undermined by Poe, but holds firm the entire time,
08:08never compromising on her beliefs as a leader. She might get a lot of hate, but Vice Admiral Hodo
08:13is a certified badass.
08:15And number one, Vin Diesel, the MCU.
08:18Okay, yes, it might be a little bit weird that number one is a tree. The Marvel Cinematic Universe
08:22is full of big characters who love to mouth off. Tony Stark, Doctor Strange, Star-Lord, Spider-Man,
08:28Rocket Raccoon, etc, etc. And how many of them will be able to express as much emotion and character
08:34if their dialogue was reduced to just five different words? The hulking wooden member
08:39of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot shone in his debut appearance in 2014. Voiced by Vin Diesel,
08:45of all people, the colossal Conifer ends up sacrificing himself for his friends and brilliantly changes
08:50his one line of speech from, I am Groot, to, we are Groot. No, you're crying. This performance alone
08:57would be enough to put him on top of this list, but Groot has continued to wow us in his subsequent
09:02appearances. Whether as a baby or a grumpy teenager, he's given us comedy and drama in equal measure,
09:07with only a handful of syllables in his arsenal. It might sound ridiculous, but per word uttered,
09:12Vin Diesel might be the best actor in the entire MCU. Now, isn't that weird? And that's the list.
09:19Let us know what you thought of this video down in the comments below. And whilst you're down there,
09:22let us know which of these performances stood out the most to you and any others that we didn't
09:27include. Make sure you like this video, share it with your friends, subscribe and hit that
09:31notification bell and head over to whatculture.com for more content daily. I've been signed for
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