Although many things make a movie into an iconic one, and it’s rather a symbiosis of many factors over just one, there’s still one thing that might be just a teeny bit more important than the others - the performance of the actors. Really, what’s a movie if an actor delivers a performance that’s not believable, relatable, or immersive in any way? Best to just read a book in that case. But, in the world of good performances, there are also plenty of excellent ones, just like the best one-scene performances that we’ve gathered on our list!
While most of these one-scene performances are attributed to Hollywood actors who played the role of the main character in the movies we’ve selected, plenty of supporting actors shined their brightest and won awards for their incredible performances. And you know what, every famous actor in a leading role needs a supporting actor to supplement their performance and give the plot a whole new depth and perspective. So, watching a movie with some of the best actors’ performances in supporting roles makes it much better. Wouldn’t you agree? Don't know about you, but we’re adding it to our list of things that make for an iconic movie.
So, ready to look at our picks of Hollywood's best one-scene performances? If so, scroll on down below and check them out! For now the submissions are in no particular order, so if you’d like to see one of these performances on the top of our list, give it your vote. Lastly, share this article with your cinema-crazy friends, too!
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#21 Dave Bautista In Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

That replicant, Sapper Morton, is played by Dave Bautista. He is both physically and intellectually strong, as evidenced by the many books in his library.
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88points
#22 Kathleen Freeman In The Blues Brothers (1980)

In the comedic classic The Blues Brothers, Kathleen Freeman steps up to the plate and takes some well-deserved lumps (1980). The woman who plays Sister Mary Stigmata, a.k.a. "The Penguin," summons Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) Blues to a meeting in her office to talk about the church. Jake attempts an ill-conceived attempt to obtain the money through illicit means as the tax authorities close in, which causes Sister Mary to exhibit "The Penguin."
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85points
#23 Gene Jones In No Country For Old Men (2007)

The writing in the film, but especially in this sequence, is so incisive and precise, and Javier Bardem's understated, eerie performance will give you shivers. But seriously, we don't talk about how fantastic the shopkeeper is enough. He deserves the praise since he is just as brilliant as Bardem (who won the Oscar for his performance).
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83points
#24 Vanessa Redgrave In Atonement (2007)

Old Briony is portrayed by Vanessa Redgrave, who only makes a brief, five-minute appearance at the film's conclusion. She's the reason it all comes together — the keyboard clacking, the supercuts of certain important scenes, and everything being shown from different perspectives. It was astounding. It was executed flawlessly and was really subtle. Her acting is simply amazing.
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75points
#25 Steve Park In Fargo (1996)

In the Coen Brothers' epic Fargo, the dinner scene between Mike (Steve Park) and Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) is seen as both challenging to watch and humorous at the same time. Even though it would seem impossible, Park's awkwardness as the sexually frustrated engineer from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is dripping with what we like to refer to as "second-hand embarrassment.". Because Park's character experiences such intense emotional upheaval in this four-minute moment that seemingly lasts for four hours.
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68points
#26 Chris Evans In Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)

Actor and skateboarder Lucas Lee has a beef with Scott that is required by the league. The man is more in love with himself than with his ardent followers.
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67points
#27 Taika Waititi In Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016)

In addition to writing his own screenplays and directing his own movies, Taika Waititi frequently appears in front of the camera, too. And each time he does, this witty Kiwi makes us laugh. In What We Do in the Shadows, he plays a sweet vampire, and in Thor: Ragnarok, he plays a silly rock monster, but in Hunt for the Wilderpeople, he portrays the most eccentric preacher in New Zealand.
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66points
#28 David Thewlis In The Big Lebowski (1998)

Knox Harrington, played by David Thewlis, embodies the existential, sublime weirdness that the Coen Brothers aim for in their movies. He plays hardly more than a bystander in a conversation between The Dude (Jeff Bridges) and Maude Lebowski in The Big Lebowski (Julianne Moore). Thewlis' Harrington is "Maude's associate" and truly irritates The Dude.
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62points
#29 Alfre Woodard In 12 Years A Slave (2013)

The minor role of Alfre Woodard is challenging, but she captures the essence of the character. Even though she hasn't been in that situation in a while, Mrs. Shaw recalls what it was like to be enslaved. We can tell from the actor's portrayal that Mrs. Shaw now sees herself as more in line with wealthy women.
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62points
#30 Julia Butters In Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

Even though Butters only appeared in two sequences, she held her own well against Leo DiCaprio. Although the film's original version was 4.5 hours long, they allegedly shot a lot more of her. However, some of it was edited out.
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60points
#31 Harry Belafonte In Blackkklansman (2018)

Harry Belafonte only appears in one scene in the entire movie, yet you'll never forget it. In it, his persona visits a local Black student union to talk about the lynching of Jesse Washington in real life. A KKK initiation and Belafonte's terrifying monologue about the destruction of Washington are edited together in the scenario, coupled with his explanation of how the 1915 motion picture The Birth of a Nation affected the US. Finally, it ends with chants for "Black power" and "white power" from both groups. This scene was filmed with Belafonte, who stepped out of retirement, and the entire event will give you chills.
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58points
#32 Dean Stockwell In Blue Velvet (1986)

We have to give the perpetually oddball director David Lynch a lot of the credit for this entry. When he teamed together Dean Stockwell, and Dennis Hopper for one of Lynch's oddest takes in Blue Velvet, the master of the surreal, exquisite, and bizarre struck a nerve. Who is creepier in this scene—lipsync Stockwell's to Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" or Hopper's character's an almost orgasmic response to it?
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56points
#33 Mariah Carey In Precious (2009)

Mariah was on the screen for a little period of time, but she was really impressive. Now people can forget about the disaster that was Glitter, finally!
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56points
#34 Alec Baldwin In Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Baldwin plays Blake, a man tasked by "Mitch and Murray" to motivate the underachieving salespeople. His seven-minute "Always Be Closing" monologue, which benefits from Mamet's masterful pacing and cinematography, is unquestionably the most memorable scene in a movie starring many famous actors.
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54points
#35 Adrien Brody In Midnight In Paris (2011)

The 2011 film Midnight in Paris is a joy to watch. A few of Midnight's high spots include appearances by Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), and Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo). Still, few can match the curiosity of Adrien Brody's Salvador Dali. Although he was officially seen at a party earlier in the movie, Dal's silence nevertheless allows him to be added to the list through his interaction with contemporary Gil Pender (Owen Wilson).
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53points
#36 Veronica Ngo In Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

The Star Wars series, which has spanned over 40 years, is a grand space opera of good vs. evil in which the forces of light and darkness clash. Unfortunately, the tiny guy frequently gets lost at the seams in this epic story. The Star Wars story mainly focuses on the main characters in this intergalactic conflict—Rey, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Kylo Ren—but one specific scene in The Last Jedi is a reminder that many other minor characters sacrifice their lives for the greater good.
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49points
#37 Michelle Williams In Manchester By The Sea (2016)

Williams appears briefly in a few of the flashback scenes, but she is utterly devastating in the current-day moment. It would be a movie spoiler to explain the context of her dialogue with Casey Affleck's character, but suffice it to say that she brings tears to your eyes for the entire ten or so minutes that she is onscreen. For this sequence, she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress that year, and she very certainly deserved it.
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47points
#38 Alfred Molina In Boogie Nights (1997)

In Boogie Nights, Molina truly steals the show as a jittery, high-on-drugs smack dealer who has a thing for the glam metal band Night Ranger. As he negotiates a botched drug deal, the screen is filled with his vigor and senseless rantings. He ultimately uses a 12-gauge shotgun to chase Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) and Reed Rothchild (Thomas C. Reilly) from his home.
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46points
#39 Philip Seymour Hoffman In Hard Eight (1997)

The unidentified, lower-class heckler, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, seemed to enjoy deterring the older, more experienced gambler.
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46points
#40 Molly Shannon In The Santa Clause 2 (2002)

Despite having only one scene in The Santa Clause 2, Tracy, played by Molly Shannon, should have won the EGOT for her three-minute performance.
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39points

