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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.
00:28As 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.
00:41Whether 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
00:48of 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
01:01as he 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.
01:11He 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.
01:18Number 9, Marion Cotillard, Big Fish.
01:21Based on the 1998 book of the same name, Big Fish details the relationship between William
01:25Bloom and his dying father Edward.
01:27Mr. Bloom Sr. is known for his tall tales, which have driven a wedge between him and his
01:31son.
01:32However, as his father nears the end of his life, Will discovers that there might be more
01:35truth 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.
01:46Sure, 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.
01:59She 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.
02:08She could have played a tree and still have been excellent.
02:11Number 8.
02:11Darlene Kate.
02:12What'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.
02:22In one of his first major roles, Leo plays Arnie, the mentally disabled brother of the titular
02:27character.
02:28At the time, DiCaprio was lauded for a magnificent performance, capturing the sympathetic essence
02:32of the character to a T.
02:34But this list is all about the hipster choices, so let's talk about Gilbert and Arnie's
02:38mother Bonnie.
02:38Played by the late Darlene Kate, Bonnie fell into a pit of depression after her husband
02:42took his own life.
02:44As a result, she became morbidly obese, unable to leave the house through physical impairment
02:48and shame.
02:49Considering she wasn't an actor before being offered the part, Kate puts in a fantastic
02:53showing.
02:54She loves her kids, but just isn't able to overcome her physical and mental obstacles to provide
02:58them with a decent life.
02:59It's tragic, especially if you watch right to the end.
03:03Kate's more than holds her own alongside both DiCaprio and Johnny Depp, something very
03:07few others can lay claim to.
03:097.
03:10Walter Goggins, The Hateful Eight You might know him from The Righteous Gemstones
03:13or Invincible, but Goggins is also a favourite of everyone's favourite foot enthusiast Quentin
03:18Tarantino.
03:19He's appeared in both of the director's westerns, 2012's Django Unchained and 2015's The Hateful
03:24Eight.
03:25In this piece, he plays Chris Mannix, an all-round no-hoper who masquerades as the sheriff of
03:30Red Rock, Wyoming.
03:31Goggins is up against some serious talent in this movie, sharing the screen with Samuel L.
03:35Jackson, 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.
03:47He isn't the rough, tough cowboy type that is personified in so many of his co-stars.
03:51I 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
03:57member of the squad.
03:596.
04:00Bruce 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.
04:15Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Adrian Brody, Bill freaking Murray, Wes certainly has his favourite,
04:21so it is a lot when the director decides to look outside of his inner circle for talent.
04:26Enter Bruce Willis.
04:27The action man's only Anderson appearance came in 2011's Moonrise Kingdom, a firm favourite
04:32amongst fans of the auteur.
04:34He 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,
04:43serious characters in the piece is more than welcome, considering that Anderson originally
04:46envisioned the role going to the legendary Jimmy Stewart, we think that Willis more than
04:50compensated.
04:51Ah yes, John McClane and the guy from It's a Wonderful Life, a natural comparison.
04:565.
04:57Charlotte Rampling, 45 years
04:59Though not a household name, English actor Charlotte Rampling has been around for a very
05:03long time.
05:04You might know her best as Dr. Evelyn Vogel in Dexter, but she's also appeared in The Damned,
05:09Vanishing Point, and the Assassin's Creed movie.
05:12Look, we can't all make good choices all of the time.
05:14In 2015, Rampling played opposite Tom Courtenay in Andrew High's 45 Years.
05:19The pair play the Mercers, Kate and Jeff, a married couple about to celebrate their 45th
05:23anniversary.
05:24However, things get a little bumpy when Kate discovers that her husband might have had
05:28something to do with the death of his ex-girlfriend decades ago.
05:31The film gets pretty dark pretty quickly as both lead actors ramp up the extremes of their
05:35characters.
05:36Jeff becomes more angry and erratic whilst Kate sinks further and further into herself.
05:40Rampling as a woman trapped in an unthinkable situation, everything she thought she knew
05:45about the past has changed and she's got no idea what to do.
05:48The fact that this is all happening to a couple who look like they could be your neighbours only
05:52adds to the drama.
05:534.
05:54Chris Hemsworth, Rush
05:55There are a lot of people that love Formula 1 and there are a lot of people that think
05:59it's boring.
06:00But the best way to make F1 interesting is to condense the action of a single season into
06:04one manageable chunk.
06:06And that's precisely what Ron Howard did when he brought to the world Rush in 2013.
06:10It tells the story of the epic rivalry between Australian diver Nicky Lauder and British ace
06:15James Hunt.
06:16The two men were polar opposites.
06:17Lauder was an ultra serious professional whilst his rival was a carefree playboy who relied
06:21solely on natural talent.
06:23Whilst Lauder's story takes to the main stage, Chris Hemsworth's version of Hunt is always
06:27giving something in the background.
06:29His personal battles, his desire to win, his relationship with Lauder, it's all there and
06:33it's all expertly presented by the star of Thor.
06:35I'll tell you what, that would be one thing that would make Formula 1 more interesting
06:38for people that don't like it.
06:39Give him Molnir, then see what happens.
06:423.
06:42Josh 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.
06:51Is this what the producers of Men in Black 3 did when they needed a younger version of
06:55Tommy Lee Jones?
06:56No, they got Josh Brolin to do an absolutely spot on impersonation instead.
07:01When Will Smith's Agent J travels to the past, he meets a younger version of his
07:05mentor, Agent K. Brolin is the spitting image of Jones, who plays the modern day version
07:09of K. His voice, his mannerisms, even his actual face are almost identical to the star
07:14of No Country for Old Men.
07:17Wait a minute, Josh Brolin was in that too.
07:18Maybe he's been spying on Tommy Lee Jones this entire time.
07:222.
07:22Laura 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
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.
07:49Holdo clashes with Poe Dameron, who eventually stages a mutiny against her.
07:53However, he ends up with some serious egg on his face when she sacrifices herself to save
07:57the 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.
08:04She is constantly undermined by Poe, but holds firm the entire time, never compromising on
08:09her beliefs as a leader.
08:10She might get a lot of hate, but Vice Admiral Hodo is a certified badass.
08:151.
08:16Vin Diesel The MCU
08:17Okay, yes, it might be a little bit weird that number one is a tree.
08:21The Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of big characters who love to mouth off.
08:25Tony Stark, Doctor Strange, Star-Lord, Spider-Man, Rocket Raccoon, etc, etc.
08:30And how many of them will be able to express as much emotion and character if their dialogue
08:35was reduced to just five different words?
08:37The hulking wooden member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot shone in his debut appearance
08:42in 2014.
08:43Voiced by Vin Diesel of all people, the colossal conifer ends up sacrificing himself for his
08:48friends and brilliantly changes his one line of speech from I am Groot to We are Groot.
08:55No, you're crying.
08:56This performance alone would be enough to put him on top of this list, but Groot has continued
09:00to wow us in his subsequent appearances.
09:02Whether 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.
09:10It might sound ridiculous, but per word uttered, Vin Diesel might be the best actor in the entire
09:15MCU.
09:16Now, isn't that weird?
09:17And that's the list.
09:19Let us know what you thought of this video down in the comments below, and whilst you're
09:22down there, let us know which of these performances stood out the most to you and any others that
09:26we didn't include.
09:27Make sure you like this video, share it with your friends, subscribe and hit that notification bell,
09:32and head over to whatculture.com for more content daily.
09:35I've been signed for WhatCulture, and have a good week.
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