r/movies • u/NinjaKitten77CJ • 7h ago
Discussion A movie where a supporting character outshines the main character?
Name a movie that you feel that a supporting character (actor/actress) really outshines the main.
For me? Harry Hog! Days of Thunder. I am not a fan of Tom Cruise and never have been. But I love that movie purely because of Robert Duval.
He didn't bump ya, he didn't nudge ya. He rubbed ya. And Rubbin, son, is part of racin'
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u/pissoffyounonce 7h ago
Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs. He only has about 16 mins of screen time, and still got an Oscar!
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u/ameis314 4h ago
Jack Nicholas in A Few Good Men is another great example of only having a couple mins in a movie and making the biggest impact.
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u/azarel23 1h ago
Mutiny on the Bounty with Mel Gibson was a pretty average film, but Anthony Hopkins put on a top notch performance as Bligh and completely stole the movie.
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u/IJourden 4h ago
I've only seen this movie a couple of times, but I struggle to remember any of the parts that Anthony Hopkins isn't in.
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u/PandaRoust8 3h ago
That's the Hopkins effect he's so magnetic that everything else just fades into background noise. Even with minimal screen time he completely dominates the film.
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u/coleman57 2h ago
The senator’s daughter singing American Girl just before the guy with the white van asks her to help him get something loaded in.
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u/TildaTinker 50m ago
It never sat well with me when people talk about how little screen time he had.
His face was on screen for 16min. However when Jodie Foster is interviewing him, the camera focuses on her to get the reaction as he says his lines.
Being the camera is switching back and forth between him and Jodie, his screen presence is over 30min.
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u/SegaGuy1983 7h ago
The genie in the animated Disney Aladdin
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u/OGBrewSwayne 6h ago
Are you trying to tell me that an award winning actor and comedian in Robin WIlliams, who was a global icon, out performed a literal unknown Scott Weinger?
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u/russfro 7h ago
Val Kilmer in Tombstone
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u/sinking_float 6h ago
He’s the only reason I rewatch that movie
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u/CasioOceanusT200 6h ago
Without Kilmer as Doc, it's a pretty dull and forgettable western. He just maxed that role. It was ridiculous.
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u/sean-bda 5h ago
Agree he makes the movie great but there are a few great performances in that movie just not have the script behind them as much as Doc. Powers booth, Stephen Lang, great. Even Billy Bob shines although mostly due to doc. Sam Elliot hitting peak Sam and Paxton as the lovable coward.
Kirk is great too. But he gets overshone by the whole cast of character actors all doing their thing around him.
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u/fine_sharts_degree 6h ago
technically Big Trouble in Little China. The main character is actually the sidekick and he doesn't know it.
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u/garrettj100 5h ago
All characters take second billing to DAVID LO PAN.
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u/ericrobertshair 4h ago
2000 years, he can't find one broad to fit the bill? Come on, Dave, you must be doing something seriously wrong!
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u/ericrobertshair 4h ago
I don't think its technically at all, because thats what I came here to say!
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u/ShockingSpeed 6h ago
Doc Brown from Back to the Future, because Marty is the calm, every man to Doc's bombastic charisma
The Wet Bandits from Home Alone, because the MC is a child
Neytiri from Avatar, because the main character is an emotionless hunk of sheet rock
the cat that Dom Deluise plays in An American Tail, because again, the MC is a child
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u/IJourden 4h ago
Can I just say I am so happy that Christopher Lloyd is getting to have some fun in his twilight years in Nobody and Nobody 2?
Doc Brown is an all time iconic character to anyone alive in the 80s And I hope Christopher Lloyd's life is awesome.
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u/Comprehensive-Aide17 3h ago
Check him out as a head in a jar in Wednesday. Always a treat to see him.
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u/JokerJangles123 6h ago
The majority of movies with Ben Foster
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u/0verstim 6h ago
A fellow Ben Foster fan! *highfive*
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u/MistakeMaker1234 5h ago
Bro in my head when I read the post title I literally said, “Any movie with Ben Foster.”
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u/greenrangerguy 4h ago
Didn't even know he was in movies, I thought he wasn't that good for Man Utd though, maybe for West Brom though.
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u/donorcycle 6h ago
You guys have touched on most of the ones I would've suggested, especially Ledger and Robin Williams in Aladdin lol.
I'd like to nominate Christopher Waltz in Inglorious Basterds. Stole every damn scene in the movie, imo.
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u/scrubbedx123 7h ago
heath ledger in the dark knight no question he completely stole the show and made that movie unforgettable
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u/limbodog 6h ago
Christian Bale and the director both acknowledged before filming that the trouble with Batman is that his enemies are far more interesting than he is.
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u/RememberTooSmile 6h ago
It always felt like a joker movie, truly phenomenal performance and writing. One of the few movies that truly feels gritty and never goes overboard imo
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u/NewSunSeverian 6h ago
His performance gets even better over time. A lot of people suggested at the time that people glorified it cause he died young but that fucking thing is timeless.
And I still can’t “see” Heath Ledger in it. He’s invisible in that role, that’s just the Joker.
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u/shadow247 6h ago
I did not know ANYTHING about these movies going in. I watched the whole movie and went "wait, where the fuck was Heath Ledger " credits rolled - Heath Ledger- The Joker..... fuck me that was so good.
I only knew him from A Knights Tale.
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u/--Mothman 6h ago
I'll add to this: William Fichtner's character as the bank manager in the opening scene. That guy has a crazy untold back story and Fichtner always delivers in his roles. The guy who owns that opening scene of TDK is Fichtner and I wish we could've seen more of that character.
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u/CasioOceanusT200 6h ago
Other than Momento and Oppenheimer, I think Nolan's movies always seem like ensembles with no actual lead, even if they should seem like the lead. Peo didn't feel like the lead of Inception, nor did Protagonist in Tenet. I think the same can be said of the Batman films.
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u/JimmyHaggis 6h ago
The Fifth Element.
Bruce Willis is just being Bruce Willis, but Gary Oldman...need I say more?
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u/giskardwasright 5h ago
Gary Oldman in anything. True Romance is the one that always pops into my mind.
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u/feder_online 6h ago
Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive
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u/dj_spanmaster 5h ago
The announcement of the manhunt line lives rent free in my head and i bust it out whenever i can apply it
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u/coleman57 2h ago
I watched it at a coworker’s place with a bunch of other coworkers, and I’m quite sure every one of us was thinking “Damn I wish our boss was Tommy Lee”.
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u/southernfirefly13 7h ago
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Jack Sparrow was at his best as a cocky and confident and somewhat in competent pirate, before each succeeding film made him more and more of a slapstick buffoon.
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u/GenericRedditor0405 5h ago
I’ve heard the argument that as the series went on, Jack Sparrow became more of a lead character while also being written as less competent, which is very counter to what makes him such a great character in Curse of the Black Pearl. At his best, he is enigmatic and quirky but also skirts the line between bumbling, lucky fool and highly adaptable forward thinker. As a side character he can also be more mysterious about his motivations, which is another fun aspect of him that gets muddled in later films.
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u/f_ranz1224 4h ago
jack sparrow in black pearl was definitely the best version.
whatever they paid him, it was worth every penny. he didnt just sell the movie. he made the whole franchise. literally a multi billion dollar performance. anybody else and it would have been a generic one of pirate adventure movie
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u/asteriskelipses 7h ago
its a technicality, but bardem outshines tlj in no country for old men
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u/Whitealroker1 6h ago
This counts. Don’t see how people don’t see TLJ as the lead. Movie starts with his narration. The final scene is him. And he is the “old men” there is no country for.
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u/sbrockLee 1h ago
It's either him or Llewellyn as the "everyman" character, but Bardem outshines everyone in that movie
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u/Time_Guarantee_9336 7h ago
Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter outshined Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs. Even though both of their performances are deservedly celebrated.
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u/angusthermopylae 6h ago
He has the saucier part whereas she plays the more straight-man character. Her acting is a lot of what makes Lecter so impactful.
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u/Time_Guarantee_9336 6h ago
No disagreement here. Her acting is great in the movie, his just became more iconic.
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u/Whitealroker1 6h ago
Love he actually helps her. He’s a monster but he’s still a doctor that wants to help her get over her childhood trauma(while equally relishing hearing about it. He thanks her for a reason)
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u/HereForTheOreos 6h ago
Tom Hardy in The Revenant
Don't know if this technically counts but yeah
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u/kiboha 6h ago
In more than one Marvel movie I’m so much more interested in what Bucky Barns is up to then whoever is main. He steals scenes and his back story is way interesting… so not sure why they force feed everyone else’s story around him first.
Same with Quicksilver in X-Men.
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u/kyote42 6h ago
Quicksilver is a great choice. Not only did he have great performances, he was in 2 of the most amazing scenes of the series.
QuickSilver Kitchen Scene - X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)
Quicksilver Saves Everyone - Sweet Dreams - X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
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u/beyondtheinfinite 7h ago
Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys
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u/Blue_Moon_Rabbit 1h ago
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought so. Mf’er stole every scene he was in with that unhinged energy.
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u/Bimblelina 6h ago
The shoe in Who Framed Roger Rabbit 😭
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u/giskardwasright 5h ago
Childhood trauma unlocked. Though that scene didn't bother me as much as the steamroller scene.
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u/thoawaydatrash 6h ago
Imelda Staunton’s performance as Dolores Umbridge saved what would have otherwise been the low point in the Harry Potter films and stands out as probably the best performance in the series.
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u/mchookem 6h ago
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War, The Talented Mr. Ripley
Leo - Django Unchained
Ben Foster - 3:10 to Yuma
Gary Oldman - The Professional
Shirley MacLaine - Postcards from the Edge
Brad Pitt - Snatched, Burn After Reading
McConaughey - Dazed and Confused
John Goodman - Barton Fink
Frances McDormand - North Country
Tom Berenger AND William Dafoe - Platoon
Joaquin Phoenix - Gladiator
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u/ivanhoe_martin 4h ago
As good as Jeff Bridges was in Lebowski, I'm giving that one to Goodman too.
Disagree on 310 to Yuma though.
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u/AnalTyrant 6h ago
Christian Bale in "Thor: Love and Thunder" (the most recent Thor Marvel movie) is in a completely different movie than everyone else in that film. Every time he's on screen I'm like "I would much rather watch the film he's making."
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u/DoodleBuggering 6h ago
I'm still boggled he accepted the role, I wonder how it was pitched to him
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u/kiboha 7h ago
The Gentlemen … Hugh Grant, Charlie Hunnam, and Colin Farrell all outshine McConaughey.
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u/daemocaf 3h ago
While I love McConaughey, I always thought he was the the weakest link in the movie. Which isn't to say he was bad, just that everyone else was so fucking amazing. I would argue this is one of Farrell's best performances. And is with out a doubt in my mind Hunnam's best.
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u/limbodog 6h ago
As a big Muppets fan, this feels blasphemous, but In The Muppet Christmas Carol Michael Caine made the decision to play Ebeneezer Scrooge as seriously as a heart attack and damned if it didn't tie the whole movie together
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u/photogdog 4h ago
But Scrooge is the main character in Muppet Christmas Carol… OP asked for instances where a supporting character outshines the main character.
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u/panivorous 2h ago
Similarly Tim Curry in Muppet Treasure Island. Rizzo also stood out as a side Muppet.
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u/Frost_Sun11 7h ago
The Dark Knight, Heath takes it home. Also, The Help, Bryce Dallas Howard should’ve gotten an award for that role. They did her dirty for political reasons.
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u/LeftSky828 6h ago
Christopher Walken as a supporting actor in The Prophecy, Suicide Kings, True Romance, Seven Pschopaths, etc.,
Gary Oldman as well pick almost any supporting role.
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u/interstatebus 6h ago
Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted. Winona is the lead but Angelina is the one you actually watch the entire movie.
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u/SWOhioBiBBW 6h ago
Catch me if you can, Christopher Walken.
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u/OGBrewSwayne 6h ago
Joe Dirt, Christopher Walken.
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u/Spikeknows 5h ago
Pulp Fiction, Christopher Walken.
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u/RacistJudicata 5h ago
Sleepy Hollow, Christopher Walken
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u/Time_Guarantee_9336 5h ago
True Romance, Christopher Walken (even though I'm Sicilian and take offense, but not really)
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u/steelicarus 5h ago
Andrew Garfield in NWH. By the end of the film it was getting more and more obvious. I don’t think it was deliberate but AG acted circles around Tom
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u/Select_Insurance2000 6h ago
'39 Son of Frankenstein: Bela Lugosi as Ygor.
Bela Lugosi was chosen for the role of Ygor, and his scenes were to be shot in 1-2 days, paid a flat rate, and sent in his way.
Upon hearing that, director Rowland V Lee went nuts and vowed to have Lugosi on set from day one to final wrap.
The film went through a number of screen writers and script rewrites. In the final product, Lugosi's Ygor steals the film, and has some wonderful dialog exchanges throughout.
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u/bearmantron 4h ago
Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther. So much so that they pivoted the series to be about him instead of the Phantom lol
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u/zowietremendously 6h ago
This is something that infuriates me. The Oscars have completely bastardized what a supporting character is. Heath Ledger is not a supporting character in The Dark Knight. He's a part of the main cast. Not the Genie in Aladdin. The guy who sells the lamp is closer to what a supporting character actually was meant to be. A supporting character was originally meant to mean a small role. Someone who's on screen for maybe 1 or 2 scenes. No more than 10 minutes of screen time. Not a major role like the Joker. But now it's been so bastardized that a "supporting character" means Glinda in Wicked. In what weird bastardized world is Glinda a supporting character?
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u/CanadianNana 5h ago
I disagree. Supporting would mean a main part not the lead. The best friend for instant. Supporting being the main thing. It implies they are a pretty big part but not the lead
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u/zowietremendously 4h ago
The oscars have bastardized what it means to be supporting. Because apparently now Glinda is a supporting character in Wicked. What a fucking joke. I blame Thelma and Louise. Both Thelma and Louise were nominated in for lead actress, because they were. Just like Elphaba and Glinda should've both been nominated for leads, because they are. But because neither Thelma Dickinson or Louise Sawyer won. And there was this belief that they split the vote, and Clarice Starling ended up winning because of that. But today, the oscars would have you believe in Thelma and Louise, that Thelma is the lead, and Louise is a supporting character. And today they would nominate Thelma in the lead, and Louise in the supporting role. But the thing is, nominating Elphaba Thropp and Glinda Upland in different categories didn't do jack shit. They both still lost to Anora Mikheeva and Rita Mora Castro.
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u/SwarleymonLives 6h ago
The only thing most people know about Glengary Glen Ross is Alec Baldwin's closer speech.
It's probably been seen by 1000 times the number of people than the rest of the movie.
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u/Jake_Featherston 6h ago
The hugely underrated/unseen STATE OF GRACE, starring Sean Penn.
Gary Oldman totally steals the show in this amazing organized crime drama centered around 3rd-rate Irish mobsters in Boston.
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u/flip6threeh0le 6h ago
I think technically Tom Hulce's Mozart was the supporting character in Amadeus
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u/ridemyscooter 5h ago
Mystery men. And Ben stiller did a great job too! But with William H Macy,Paul Reubens, Kel Mitchell, and James me Garofalo on the cast, everybody in that movie was excellent.
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u/random-chicken32 6h ago
It occurred to me just the other day that Kingdom of Heaven would have been more interesting if it was centred on Baldwin as the main character, not Orlando Bloom's
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u/shaka_sulu 6h ago
Kurtwood Smith in Robocop. No armor, no fancy gun, and still was the most magnetic character.
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u/CakeisaDie 6h ago
Alright, alright, alright.
is the only thing I remember from Dazed and confused.
also Alec Baldwin coffee is for closers.
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u/Growly150 6h ago
That's easy. Renee Zellweger in Cold Mountain (won the Oscar) steals every scene from Nicole Kidman.
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u/EsquilaxM 5h ago
People were talking about how weird it would be for Christian Bale as he had this happen twice to him with The Dark Knight and Terminator: Salvation.
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u/Detroitaa 5h ago
Devil In A Blue Dress. The Don Cheadle character (Mouse), totally outshined Denzel’s character.
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u/Mindless-Audience782 5h ago
I don't exactly know who the main character in Caddyshack is haha, but assuming it's Danny he is pretty bland compared to Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield and Ted Knight.
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u/Spankywzl 5h ago
Mark Dacascos in Brotherhood of the Wolf. This was well before he was the face of Iron Chef, and he stole every scene he was in, even though he was playing the sidekick. That fight in the rain is epic!
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u/IJourden 4h ago
Michael Cera did a great job as Scott Pilgrim But that movie is definitely held together by the strength of its side characters. That's not knocking on him at all though, the movie is that way by design.
It's so wild looking at that cast list now and realizing that when it came out Michael Cera was the headliner.
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u/lukeglicksman 4h ago
Bale in the fighter. Any1 who knows a crackhead knows Bale aced it in this movie.plus the Boston accent is spot on with the junky drawl.
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u/MutualTime 4h ago
- Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). 2. Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight (2008). 3. Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds (2009). 4. Tom Hiddleston as Loki in Thor (2011).
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u/lamoska1986 4h ago
Lord of war. Jared Leto before he lost his mind was fantastic. Outshined Nicolas Cage
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u/Barf_The_Mawg 3h ago
Dafoe as Green Goblin in spiderman.
Toby was good, though perhaps a little old for spiderman. But Dafoe as Goblin is Right up there with Ledger as Joker for comic book villains to me.
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u/Sir_Hapstance 2h ago
Beetlejuice in Beetlejuice. I know I know, he’s the title of the movie, but he’s only in it for like 16 minutes.
But holy toledo… what an impression he makes.
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u/AvoidFinasteride 1h ago edited 1h ago
Beetlejuice in Beetlejuice. I know I know, he’s the title of the movie, but he’s only in it for like 16 minutes.
Same with arnie in terminator 1. He's the title of the movie yet has limited screen time and very few words and yet he is easily the most memorable part of it. It's Arnie's best performance IMHO of his entire career and nobody else could have delivered the role like he did.
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u/limbodog 6h ago
Eternals. It was an entirely forgettable film. The worst in the MCU in my opinion. And the only character worth remembering was portrayed by Harish_Patel. He played the, Karun Patel, human valet of one of the Eternals. Though I couldn't care which one as it didn't matter. He was the best part of the movie.
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u/GarageQueen 6h ago
William Holden/Greg Kinnear in "Sabrina" (both the original 1954 and 1995 versona) absolutely stole the movies right out from under Humphrey Bogart/Harrison Ford.
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u/roominating237 5h ago
Steve McQueen did his best to outshine Yul Btenner in The Magnificent Seven.
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u/lazerdab 4h ago
Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton. The bread/alleyr scene is the best scene in the movie.
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u/Xuthltan 2h ago
Bob Nelson in Brain Donors. The star is John Turturro but Bob’s brilliant slapstick steals the show.
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u/KeyAlbatross8160 2h ago
Most recently, Superman. But it was part of the movies charm that everyone outshines the main, titular character.
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u/AvoidFinasteride 1h ago edited 1h ago
Eileen brennan outshines goldie hawn in private Benjamin, many have said.
In the hand that rocks the cradle, julianna moore was only support and probably stole the show a lot of the main characters.
It's not a movie, but many felt kym Cattrall stole the show off sarah jessica parker in sex and the city.
In the green mile tom hanks was the big name and the vehicle used to sell the film but his role was pretty regular and his coatars like mercy the evil prison guard and the evil prisoner easily stole the show a million times over. John coffee, too. The 3 men were support but easily dominated the film.
In horror films like Scream 2, Laurie metcalf only had very limited screen time, and easily, her dramatic performance made her the most memorable in the film. Likewise, on Friday the 13th, the actress who played Mrs. voorhies had very limited screen time and probably gave the most dramatic and memorable performance of the entire series. Drew barrymore in scream 1 also, she was only in it for about 10 minutes and easily dominated the film and probably is the most memorable role in the entire series.
Just to add to the above is that Laurie metcalf turned up on desperate housewives and again was only in a handful of episodes and probably was the most memorable character of the entire series. I don't know how the hell she does it but dam that woman is good.
Terence stamp as general zod and sarah douglas as his sidekick ursa are the villains in superman 2 and steal the show of the leads Christopher reeves and margot kidder in superman 2. They were terrifying villains.
In dolores claiborne, the actors who played dolores's evil husband and the actress who played her psychotic (yet secretly compassionate) boss vera Donovan stole the show off Kathy Bates.
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u/TallyBookDragon 1h ago
Auntie Mame. Vera stole the show both in the movie and on stage. That character was absolutely fabulous and memorable and the best lines!
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u/SokarRostau 1h ago
The dog in Prey.
First time actor, too.
With all due respect to the great job of the lead actress, that damned dog was phenomenal.
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u/Prospero1063 1h ago
Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny. I mean she did win a well deserved Academy Award. Stole every scene from Pesci.
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u/Legion1117 1h ago
Omar Elba - A Hologram for the King
Marisa Tomei - My Cousin Vinny
R. Lee Ermey - Full Metal Jacket
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u/Gildor_Helyanwe 6h ago
Alan Rickman in Robin Hood