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Watch as we dive into the exact moments actors transformed into legends with unforgettable performances. From Sigourney Weaver’s fierce battle in “Aliens” to Sean Connery’s suave introduction as James Bond, these scenes showcase the brilliance and charisma that made these stars iconic. Whether it’s a chilling villain, a heartfelt breakthrough, or a magnetic entrance, these powerful moments define their legendary status.
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00:01I'm gonna make this pencil disappear.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the precise moments iconic
00:10actors earned their legendary status.
00:14I'll be back.
00:16Number 30, Sigourney Weaver, Aliens.
00:20In space, no one can hear you scream, but in the dark, stars glow even brighter.
00:25Yes, we're talking about Sigourney Weaver, the horror legend and Oscar nominee herself.
00:30No! Here! Here!
00:34At a time when performances in horror film weren't always treated with the respect they deserved,
00:40Weaver elevated the whole genre as the badass of all badasses, Ellen Ripley.
00:45Her work throughout the whole series is exemplary, but her real crowning moment comes in the climax
00:50of the sequel when she defeats a Xenomorph, saves Newt, and delivers one of cinema's greatest lines.
01:10Get away from her, you bitch!
01:13If Sigourney Weaver wasn't on your radar before Aliens, she definitely was after her.
01:18Number 29, Alan Rickman, Die Hard.
01:22Now, who has the machine gun?
01:24No, we aren't talking about the guy who says yippee-ki-yay.
01:27Yippee-ki-yay!
01:28Although this was definitely a turning point for Bruce Willis' career.
01:31Still, the real scene-stealer is none other than Alan Rickman.
01:35Yippee-ki-yay!
01:37A veteran of the stage, Die Hard was his film debut, not that you'd notice.
01:41He commands the screen as early as his very first scene,
01:45introducing himself to the hostages with a kind of chilling menace you won't find anywhere else.
01:50Due to the Nakatomi Corporation's legacy of greed around the globe,
01:54they're about to be told a lesson in the real use of power.
01:59You will be witnesses.
02:01Rickman's mesmerizing work as Hans Gruber turned him into a household name practically overnight,
02:07and all you need to do is watch that first scene to understand why.
02:10How do you do? It's a pleasure to meet you.
02:17Number 28. James Dean. Rebel Without a Cause.
02:21Hot off an Academy Award nomination, Hollywood golden boy James Dean
02:25used this star vehicle to cement his place in cinematic history.
02:30To say he succeeded would be an understatement.
02:32There's a reason Rebel Without a Cause has one of film's most iconic quotes, after all.
02:37And the reason is James Dean.
02:38Dean.
02:47Effortlessly embodying the very core of teen angst,
02:50Dean commits to his character with a performance that leaves your jaw on the floor.
02:54The highlight, of course, comes alongside a certain iconic quote.
02:58You're tearing me apart!
03:01What?
03:02You say one thing, he says another, and everybody changes back again!
03:06It sounds overdramatic, but Dean's physicality completely sells the weight of the line,
03:11and established him as a true generational trailblazer.
03:15Number 27. Jack Nicholson. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
03:19Back in 1975, suggesting Jack Nicholson for the role of Randall McMurphy may have landed you under the care of
03:27Nurse Ratched.
03:28He competed with bigger names, the character went against his usual type, and casting him would delay shooting by six
03:35months.
03:35But the World Series scene shows why it was oh so worth it.
03:39It's the same as don't wash your dirty underwear in public.
03:44I'm not sure I understand what you mean.
03:49I'm smarter than him, ain't I?
03:51To raise the inmate's spirits, Nicholson acts out the baseball game for them.
03:55He oozes charisma with each line, to the point you simply can't take your eyes off him.
03:59We'd go as far as saying this is the scene that won him the Oscar, alongside a legacy as an
04:04absolute all-timer.
04:05It's a strike! Poufax's curveball is snapping off like a f***ing firecracker!
04:10Alright, here he comes with an ex-pitch, press, swings, it's a lot of flyball, and he's left center!
04:16It's going! It's going!
04:21Number 26. Sissy Spacek. Carrie.
04:24It's something of a cliche to say the best actors can convey emotion with just their eyes.
04:30But then you see someone like Sissy Spacek in Carrie, and you realize that's no exaggeration.
04:41In the famous third act of this horror film, the telekinetic teen finally gets revenge.
04:46The result is chaos incarnate, masterfully brought to life by Spacek.
04:50The most impressive part? She barely utters a word the entire scene,
04:54instead letting her wide-eyed stare do all the talking.
05:01It's haunting, powerful, and earned her a well-deserved Oscar nomination.
05:06While Spacek has seen plenty of success since, there's no denying it's her blood-stained prom night that put her
05:12on the map.
05:13Number 25. Toni Collette. Hereditary.
05:16We know, we know. Toni Collette has been a star for years, turning in dozens of criminally underrated performances.
05:22And yet, her work in Hereditary is what finally made the rest of the world take notice.
05:38Collette is a force of nature as Annie, a grieving woman untangling deep layers of mourning and resentment.
05:45Every tiny detail of her performance is breathtaking.
05:47But it's the scene where Annie boils over at dinner that really shows Collette's range.
05:52Just f***ing sit.
05:54Don't you swear at me, you little s***!
05:56Don't you ever raise your voice at me! I am your mother!
06:00Do you understand?
06:02All I do is worry and slay and defend you, and all I get back is that f***ing face on
06:08your face!
06:09It's explosive and utterly commanding.
06:12While we're still mad she didn't get more awards love,
06:14Collette can rest easy knowing her work in Hereditary will be remembered for years to come.
06:19Number 24. Heath Ledger. The Dark Knight.
06:23In one scene, a former heartthrob proved all the naysayers wrong,
06:28became one of cinema's greatest villains,
06:30and earned more praise than most actors win in a lifetime.
06:34His name was Heath Ledger.
06:36Give me one reason why I shouldn't have my boy here pull your head off.
06:39How about a magic trick?
06:40Stepping out of his leading man roles, he created a version of the Joker that's unnerving to this very day.
06:46It single-handedly proved that Ledger was more than a pretty face.
06:49He was a true performer, and a gifted one at that.
06:53It's even more astounding considering how many actors have played the Joker before and after.
06:58Still, it's Ledger's take that continues to reign supreme above them all.
07:01I'm going to make this pencil disappear.
07:06Ta-da!
07:09It's gone.
07:10Number 23. Charlize Theron. Monster.
07:14The jury has reached a verdict.
07:16Charlize Theron is a once-in-a-lifetime powerhouse in Monster.
07:20Yeah, that's Charlize Theron.
07:22This is everything. Everything you ever wanted.
07:25Just a little more in a car. We're out of here.
07:28We have a shot, Sal.
07:31We have a shot at a real life.
07:34The conventional beauty is almost completely unrecognizable,
07:38allowing her to fully step into the life of convicted serial killer Eileen Wuornos.
07:42Theron's work comes to a head in the courtroom finale,
07:45where Eileen lets her friend testify, exonerating them while dooming Eileen.
07:59She goes through so many emotions here.
08:01And Theron allows you to see and feel each and every one.
08:05It's the kind of scene they'll teach an acting school for generations.
08:08Not because of what's said, but because of how much isn't.
08:11Number 22. Robert De Niro. Taxi driver.
08:16Once upon a time, someone put an actor in front of a mirror and let them work.
08:20No one could have expected they'd come up with one of film's greatest scenes.
08:23But then again, this is Robert De Niro we're talking about.
08:36In a lesser actor's hands, a guy strutting his stuff in a mirror could have been a throwaway moment.
08:41De Niro capitalized on it, though, improvising his way to a monologue that's still quoted today.
08:46You talking to me?
08:50You talking to me?
08:54You talking to me?
08:58Then who the hell else are you talking to?
09:00You talking to me?
09:02Well, I'm the only one here.
09:04It's so ingrained in pop culture that, at this point,
09:06we can't imagine what Taxi Driver or De Niro would look like without it.
09:11And yes, we're talking to you.
09:12Oh yeah?
09:14Huh?
09:16Okay.
09:17Number 21.
09:19Arnold Schwarzenegger.
09:20The Terminator.
09:21Most of the time, calling a performance robotic would be a harrowing criticism.
09:26For Arnold Schwarzenegger, it was the highest kind of praise.
09:29After all, he's a Terminator.
09:31You're close.
09:33Give them to me.
09:34Now.
09:35Schwarzenegger certainly has the physicality for it.
09:37However, it was in an innocuous police station that he really took the part above and beyond.
09:43In fact, he did it with a single famous line.
09:45The tone, the delivery, the utter absurdity of it all.
09:49It's just magnificent.
09:58I'll be back.
09:59It's so good, the line single-handedly elevated him from a flat muscle head
10:04into a true iconic actor in his own right.
10:07If you ask us, he can come back as many times as he wants.
10:10Number 20.
10:12Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids.
10:15Hey.
10:15How's it going?
10:16It's going great.
10:17It's going great.
10:18I'm on the mend.
10:19You know, I just got some pins in my legs.
10:21Believe it or not, pins in my legs.
10:23Can still do this.
10:25All right?
10:25Amazing.
10:26Fell off a cruise ship.
10:27The moment we meet Megan, we know this is going to be someone who says some of the most
10:32out-of-pocket stuff you can possibly imagine.
10:35Her swagger and way of wielding words like a hammer is made believable because of Melissa McCarthy.
10:41She's the kind of actress who can make even the wildest of dialogue feel real and grounded,
10:46whilst remaining unbelievably funny.
10:48I didn't, I'm not going to say I survived, I'm going to say I thrived.
10:52I met a dolphin down there, and I swear to God that dolphin looked not at me, but into
10:57my soul, into my goddamn soul, Annie, and said, I'm saving you, Megan.
11:03Not with his mouth, but he said it, I'm assuming telepathically.
11:07While McCarthy had made her mark as a character actress before this, Bridesmaids made her a
11:12bankable star.
11:14Her work in the movie was so game-changing that it's one of the few broad comedic performances
11:19to get an Oscar nomination.
11:21It's a pleasure.
11:22Oh, and he's not, I'm not, he's not, I'm not with him.
11:25Sorry.
11:25Oh, all right.
11:27I'm glad he's single, because I'm going to climb that like a tree.
11:31Number 19, Humphrey Bogart, The Maltese Falcon.
11:35Yes, sweetheart?
11:36There's a girl who wants to see you.
11:37Her name's Wonderly.
11:39Customer?
11:40I guess so.
11:41You'll want to see her anyway.
11:42She's a knockout.
11:43Sure in, Effie, darling.
11:45Sure in.
11:46Gruff-voiced and cruel-looking doesn't describe your typical movie star.
11:50Yet few actors exemplify classic Hollywood cool like Humphrey Bogart.
11:55In 1941's The Maltese Falcon, he starred as author DeShiel Hammett's private eye, Sam
12:02Spade, and helped create some of the hallmarks of the hard-boiled detective for the screen.
12:07Wonderly's sister ran away from New York with a fellow named Floyd Thursby.
12:10They're here in San Francisco.
12:12Miss Wonderly has seen Thursby and has a date to meet him tonight.
12:15Maybe he'll bring the sister with him.
12:16The chances are he won't.
12:17Miss Wonderly wants us to find the sister, get her away from him, and back home.
12:21Right?
12:22Yes.
12:23His callous demeanor and skeptical gaze makes him hard to look away from.
12:27As he scans the femme fatale played by Mary Astor, we know he doesn't believe her story.
12:33We just don't know which parts.
12:34Bogart immediately establishes himself as a guy you can trust despite his exterior, and
12:40when you want on your side when there's trouble.
12:42It's the kind of character that made him an icon.
12:46What is it?
12:53The stuff that dreams are made of.
12:56Huh?
13:12There is another time where this actor became a song and dance man.
13:17Actually, that time was the 90s when Christian Bale was an original newsie in Disney's cult
13:22classic musical.
13:23When the city's finally sleeping, all my thoughts begin to stray, and I'm on the train that's
13:31bound for Santa Fe.
13:35But it wouldn't be until his villainous turn as the murderous Wall Street broker in this
13:39satire of masculine excess that he proved he was one of the greats.
13:56His haunting narration and physical dedication to Patrick Bateman's morning routine is as
14:01sharp and witty as it is horrifying, but the journey Bale takes us on is thrilling.
14:07We get from what sounds like a simple skincare routine to the terrifying truth that this
14:12man is basically inhuman in just under three minutes of screen time.
14:17And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours,
14:23and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I simply am not there.
14:31Number 17.
14:33Gene Wilder, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
14:36Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination.
14:44The eccentric chocolatier's first entrance was actually the actor's own idea.
14:50Gene Wilder's exactitude as a performer is perfectly captured in this moment, when Willy
14:55Wonka suddenly leaves his cane behind, falls over, and tumbles into a somersault.
15:14Gene Wilder knew it would be spectacular, but it would also serve a deeper purpose.
15:20Wonka is a man who constantly throws you off the scent, and you can never know from then
15:24on if he's lying.
15:25He was right.
15:27The first time we meet Wonka, we're rightfully confused, and we never really stop.
15:32There's a reason why it's the role most people think of when they think of him.
15:36There's no earthly way of knowing, which direction we are going.
15:45Number 16.
15:46Sydney Poitier, No Way Out.
15:48Well, how does it feel?
15:49The reaction hasn't set in yet.
15:51Like a woman who's just had a baby, I won't believe it until I see her.
15:54Throughout the 1950s and 60s, this star of To Sir With Love and In the Heat of the Night
16:00broke barriers in representation for African Americans.
16:04They call me Mr. Tibbs.
16:07An early and undersung example is his 1950 film debut, No Way Out.
16:13In it, Poitier plays Dr. Luther Brooks, the first black doctor at a county hospital.
16:18There, he endures skepticism to downright racist abuse from everyone.
16:23Patients, colleagues, and cops.
16:25Shut up.
16:26You're talking to a doctor.
16:28A doctor?
16:30Him?
16:33Lie back and lie still.
16:34You're in my charge.
16:35These first scenes have a lot to establish.
16:38Dr. Brooks is acknowledged as an anomaly.
16:41Like the actor playing him, he is a trailblazer.
16:44That opens him up to both abuse and praise.
16:47This dignity under pressure became Poitier's secret weapon
16:51in this and many more of his famous roles.
16:54There is a possibility that I killed him, isn't there?
16:56Don't be a fool.
16:58That I was careless in a spinal tan.
16:59That his brother's negro baiting got me down.
17:02I don't want to ever hear you say anything like that again.
17:04You're a capable doctor.
17:06You were the doctor in charge.
17:07You did what you thought right and there's an end to it.
17:10Number 15.
17:11Julie Andrews.
17:12Mary Poppins.
17:13Take a look.
17:22Perhaps it's a witch.
17:23Of course not.
17:24Witches have brooms.
17:26When the Tony nominee was passed up for the big screen adaptation of My Fair Lady,
17:30a role she originated on Broadway,
17:32it left her free to make her big screen debut for Walt Disney.
17:36Though it's her first film,
17:38Julie Andrews stormed the screen like a seasoned pro in Mary Poppins.
17:42You brought your references, I presume.
17:44May I see them?
17:45Oh, I make it a point never to give references.
17:47A very old-fashioned idea to my mind.
17:49Is that so?
17:50We'll have to see about that then, won't we?
17:52Now then, the qualifications.
17:55Her entrance into the lives of the Banks family is a whirlwind of magic,
18:00efficiency, and charm that climaxes in one of the movie's most memorable numbers.
18:04By the time she launches into Spoonful of Sugar,
18:07you're as charmed and puzzled as the family themselves.
18:12Spoonful of Sugar helps the medicine go down,
18:16the medicine go down, medicine go down.
18:20Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,
18:25in a most delightful way.
18:29Number 14, Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman.
18:33Big mistake.
18:34Big.
18:35Huge.
18:35I have to go shopping now.
18:39Although she raised her profile as the doomed Southern Belle Shelby in Steel Magnolias the year before,
18:46Julia Roberts' entire star persona was born in 1990's Pretty Woman.
18:51The first time we see her, she's walking the streets of Hollywood in a blonde bob wig and a dream.
18:56Her street smarts combined with a desire to leave her life as a sex worker behind
19:01as soon as it's economically possible, immediately tell us who she is.
19:05Don't you want to get out of here?
19:07Get out of where?
19:09From the jump, Julia Roberts had the right amount of sass and vulnerability to make us root for her every
19:15time.
19:16No, I want to find Beverly Hills.
19:18Can you give me directions?
19:19Sure.
19:20For five bucks.
19:23Number 13, Angela Bassett.
19:25What's love got to do with it?
19:27I hope you know what comes along with that territory.
19:32Can I get you something to drink?
19:34We're introduced to Tina Turner three times in this beloved but intense biopic.
19:39We first meet her as a child named Anna Mae Bullock in Tennessee,
19:43as a shy young woman joining her mother and sister in the big city,
19:47and finally as the brilliant entertainer Tina Turner.
19:50I know you love me, baby,
19:54but you never tell me so.
20:01If you don't tell me you love me,
20:04I'm going to pack my rags and go.
20:08Angela Bassett won us over with Anna Mae's shyness,
20:12but it's the scene 10 minutes in when she first takes the mic in a blues bar
20:16and shows us the first inklings of the woman who will become Tina.
20:20The physicality, the strength,
20:22and the radiance we all know Turner for
20:24is suddenly there for the first time.
20:27Bassett completely transforms before our eyes.
20:30Oh, please don't leave me, baby!
20:38Number 12, Samuel L. Jackson.
20:41Pulp Fiction.
20:42Hey, kids.
20:44How you boys doing?
20:46Quentin Tarantino's crime masterpiece revitalized John Travolta's career,
20:51but it cemented his co-star Samuel L. Jackson
20:53as one of Hollywood's best working actors.
20:56Vincent, you ever had a Big Kahuna burger?
21:00Want a bite?
21:01They're real tasty.
21:03Ain't hungry.
21:03Well, if you like burgers,
21:05give them a try sometime.
21:06Me?
21:07I can't usually get them
21:09because my girlfriend's a vegetarian,
21:10which pretty much makes me a vegetarian.
21:13After making several films with director Spike Lee,
21:16Jackson took on what many consider to be his most iconic role
21:20in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.
21:22His Oscar-nominated performance as a hitman
21:25who has a religious experience during a job
21:27sees him delivering one of the best monologues in film history.
21:31Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill
21:36shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness,
21:39for he is truly his brother's keeper
21:41and the finder of lost children.
21:45And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger
21:51those who attempt to poison and destroy my brother.
21:56Trying to put the fear of God into a man who's betrayed his boss,
22:00Jackson's Jules Winfield paraphrases the Bible
22:03before unleashing a rain of bullets like a plague on the guy.
22:06It's a brutal and stunning introduction.
22:09Oh, I'm sorry.
22:10Did I break your concentration?
22:12I didn't mean to do that.
22:14Please, continue.
22:27The first sequence of this all-time musical fantasy
22:31shows a young girl dreaming to escape from the drab,
22:34sepia-toned mundanity of her family's Kansas farm.
22:38Judy Garland plays Dorothy Gale,
22:40the girl who's magically transported to the land of Oz.
22:43From the moment she began singing the movie's unforgettable ballad,
22:47the movie became an all-time classic and she became a star.
22:53Somewhere over the rainbow,
22:57way up high,
23:02there's a land that I heard of
23:07once in a lullaby.
23:12MGM had spent the late 30s putting Garland in star vehicles,
23:16but it was the Wizard of Oz that shot her to new heights.
23:19When people think of her,
23:20they largely think of this role and this scene.
23:23If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow,
23:31why, oh, why can't I?
23:42Number 10.
23:44Meryl Streep.
23:45Kramer vs. Kramer.
23:47I'm leaving you.
23:47Honey, please.
23:48I can't hear you.
23:49What?
23:51Okay, you too.
23:52Thanks a lot.
23:53See you tomorrow.
23:54You guys eat?
23:56Ted, I'm leaving you.
23:57The perennial award winner earned her first Oscar for this,
24:01one of her first film appearances.
24:03In Kramer vs. Kramer,
24:05she plays the deeply unhappy wife of Dustin Hoffman's character.
24:09Her very first scene is a masterclass in showing and not telling.
24:13Although she starts out her performance as Joanna Kramer with an icy,
24:17even dead-eyed glare,
24:19Streep quickly reveals the character's hidden depths.
24:22We watch in real time as her matter-of-fact explanations
24:25as to why she's leaving her husband turn into panic.
24:29Now, don't you, don't, don't make me go in there.
24:31Please, please don't make me go in there.
24:33Don't make me go in there.
24:34If you do, I swear, one day, next week, maybe next year, I don't know.
24:38I'll go right out the window.
24:39Her desperation is haunting to watch.
24:42It's a perfect first scene that proves to be only the beginning
24:45for one of our greatest actors.
24:47Joanna, please.
24:53And I don't love you anymore.
24:57Where are you going?
24:59I don't know.
25:00Number 9.
25:01Matthew McConaughey.
25:02Dazed and Confused.
25:04All right, all right, all right.
25:06Oh, Christ.
25:09How you doing?
25:1020-something burnout Wooderson
25:12was supposed to play a much smaller role
25:14in the narrative of Richard Linklater's coming-of-age movie.
25:18Newcomer Matthew McConaughey's performance
25:20saw the character bumped to a more prominent position
25:23throughout Dazed and Confused.
25:26Gotta keep living, man.
25:28L-I-V-I-N.
25:30Wooderson first appears as the driver
25:32who picks up high schoolers Pink and Mitch for a night drive.
25:36He then asks them for a certain herb.
25:38Uh, no, not on me, man.
25:43It'd be a lot cooler if you did.
25:46It's simultaneously hilarious and a little sad
25:49that he's trying to bum some illicit substances from teenagers.
25:53Wooderson made McConaughey a star,
25:55and this one scene tells us everything we need to know about Wooderson himself.
26:00I get older, they stay the same age.
26:04Yes, they do.
26:05Yes, they do.
26:07Number 8.
26:08John Travolta, Saturday Night Fever.
26:11We just washed the hair.
26:12Yeah.
26:13You know, I work on my hair a long time, and you hit it.
26:17He hits my hair.
26:18The transition from TV to films is not always easy to make.
26:23John Travolta made it look easy
26:25when he first appeared as Saturday Night Fever's disco-dancing Lothario,
26:30Tony Manero.
26:31When we first meet Tony,
26:33he's strutting across the city in his platform shoes
26:35to the infectious beat of the Bee Gees.
26:49With his leather jacket, dark red shirt,
26:52flared collar, and unrefined manners,
26:54he pretty much exemplifies late 70s masculinity.
26:58He may be a dancer,
26:59but it doesn't make him any less blunt,
27:01masculine, or even callous in his pursuit of women,
27:04nice shoes, and a New York slice.
27:07Are you Tony?
27:08Two or three?
27:09Two, two.
27:10Give me two.
27:11That's good.
27:13By now I get in love when I get high
27:15and if I can't get in,
27:17I'm a bit of time.
27:18Got the wings on paper,
27:19no white shoes, I'm a dancer man.
27:21Number 7.
27:22Viola Davis, Doubt.
27:24Mrs. Miller, we may have a problem.
27:28I thought there must have been a reason you're wanting to see me.
27:30Principal's a big job.
27:32Movie audiences might have first encountered
27:34Viola Davis in this 2008 drama,
27:37but the Juilliard-trained actress
27:39was already a Broadway veteran
27:40and Tony Award winner by then.
27:43After Doubt, they would never forget her.
27:46She shares an explosive 10-minute section of the story
27:49with Meryl Streep, of all people,
27:51and almost runs away with the whole movie.
27:53Not to be disagreeing, but
27:55if we're talking about something floating around
27:57between this priest and my son,
27:59it ain't my son's fault.
28:00Oh, I'm not suggesting that...
28:02It's just a boy.
28:03I know.
28:03Twelve years old,
28:04if someone should be taken blame,
28:05it should be the man, not the boy.
28:06I agree with you completely.
28:08You're agreeing with me,
28:09but I got called to the principal,
28:10if you know what I'm saying.
28:11I am concerned about Donald's welfare.
28:13As a mother who learns a devastating secret
28:16about the parish priest,
28:17Davis' performance is confusing,
28:20disturbing, and deeply moving.
28:21We see her not only match pace with Streep,
28:24but leave a gigantic impact on a movie
28:27that is already really, really complicated.
28:29His father don't like him.
28:32You come to your school,
28:34kids don't like him.
28:36One man is good to him, this priest.
28:40Then does a man have his reasons?
28:42Yes.
28:44Everybody does.
28:45You have your reasons,
28:46but do I ask the man why he's good to my son?
28:50Number six, Barbara Streisand, Funny Girl.
28:54Ah, lot of like a life.
28:57Rather flagglide,
29:00a flicker than flare of...
29:03Reprising the Broadway role that made her famous,
29:06the velvet-voiced star is first seen
29:08stalking the backstage of Manhattan's
29:10New Amsterdam Theater
29:12in a striking leopard-print coat.
29:14The first time we see Barbara Streisand's face on screen,
29:18it's as Fanny Bryce,
29:19looking into a mirror
29:20and saying the words that have now become immortal.
29:23Hello, gorgeous.
29:27But she's being sarcastic.
29:29This is the paradox of the movie made instantly clear.
29:32Throughout the movie,
29:34Fanny believes that her face
29:35is not traditionally beautiful enough
29:37to make her a star.
29:38She has to be funny,
29:39but anyone with eyes and half a brain
29:42can see she's both.
29:43Instead of just kicking me,
29:45why don't they give me a lift?
29:47Well, it must be a plot,
29:49because they're scared that I got
29:52such a gift.
29:53Oh, sure.
29:54Let's go.
29:55Number 5.
29:56Anthony Hopkins,
29:57The Silence of the Lambs.
29:59Closer, please.
30:02Closer.
30:04Hannibal Lecter was far from the respected
30:06and acclaimed actor's first film role,
30:09but Anthony Hopkins became synonymous
30:11with screen villainy
30:12in The Silence of the Lambs.
30:14When we first meet
30:15the cannibalistic psychiatrist,
30:17he is staring right at us
30:18and FBI trainee Clarice Starling
30:21as we first come upon his cell
30:23in a psychiatric hospital.
30:25He seems to know we're coming.
30:27You use F.I.R. skin cream.
30:31And sometimes you wear lead at home.
30:36But not today.
30:37It's one of the most unsettling first scenes
30:40of any character in film history.
30:42Hopkins imbues Lecter
30:44with the comportment of a gentleman,
30:46even as we feel him
30:47sizing up Jodie Foster's character
30:49and working his way into her mind.
30:51Pure West Virginia.
30:53What does your father do?
30:55Is he a coal miner?
30:56Does he stink of a lamb?
30:58You know how quickly the boys found you.
31:01All those tedious, sticky fumblings
31:03in the backseats of cars
31:04while you could only dream of getting out,
31:07getting anywhere,
31:08getting all the way to the end of the people.
31:12Number 4.
31:13Harrison Ford.
31:14Raiders of the Lost Ark.
31:16Playing Han Solo may have made his career,
31:19but embodying Indiana Jones made him a star.
31:22He was good.
31:24He was very, very good.
31:26Harrison Ford recreated the archetype
31:29of the classic swashbuckler
31:30in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
31:32Dr. Jones fuses action hero stunts,
31:35nonchalant humor,
31:36and surprising nerdiness.
31:38And all of these are on display
31:40in that first incredible scene
31:42in a booby-trapped Peruvian temple.
31:45There's nothing to fear here.
31:49It scares me.
31:51The entire opening sequence volleys
31:53between dark intrigue and broad humor.
31:56Ford demonstrates his secret weapon as a lead.
31:59It's his humor.
32:00He's not afraid to look a little ridiculous,
32:02even as the character appears
32:03to have almost a sixth sense for danger.
32:06There's a big snake in the plane, Chuck!
32:09Oh, that's just my pet snake, Reggie!
32:13I hate snakes, Chuck!
32:15I hate them!
32:16Come on!
32:17Show a little backbone, will ya?
32:19Number 3.
32:20Audrey Hepburn.
32:21Breakfast at Tiffany's.
32:23As the flighty socialite
32:25unmoored from commitment,
32:27Audrey Hepburn turned away
32:28from her more introverted
32:29and virtuous roles
32:31and completely reinvented
32:32her star persona.
32:34I don't even want to own anything
32:35until I can find a place
32:36where new things go together.
32:38Not sure where that is,
32:40but I know what it's like.
32:43It's like Tiffany's.
32:45When Holly Golightly
32:46first gets out of that cab
32:47in front of Tiffany and co,
32:49wearing the most famous
32:50little black evening dress
32:51of all time,
32:52we realize two things.
32:54The first is that
32:55this must be the same dress
32:57she was wearing last night.
32:58The second is that
32:59she is somehow alone
33:00in one of the most exciting
33:02cities in the world.
33:19It's not only simple,
33:20chic, and romantic,
33:21but it also ends up
33:23reflecting Holly's deeper,
33:24existential dilemma.
33:26Hepburn and that dress
33:27have since become icons
33:29of cinematic elegance.
33:31Promise not to be angry
33:32I might let you take
33:32those pictures we mention.
33:35We're in.
33:37Sometimes.
33:38Number two,
33:39Marlon Brando,
33:40a streetcar named Desire.
33:42You want a shot?
33:43No, I rarely touch it.
33:46Well, there's some people
33:47that rarely touch it,
33:49but it touches them often.
33:50The Godfather alone
33:52proves no one can make
33:53an entrance like Brando,
33:55but his first appearance
33:56in the Hollywood adaptation
33:57of Tennessee Williams' play
33:59is unlike anything
34:00anyone had ever seen
34:02from a film actor.
34:03As the brutish
34:04but alluring
34:05Stanley Kowalski,
34:06Brando arrives on the scene
34:08with an alarming magnetism.
34:09Hey, you mind if I make
34:10myself comfortable?
34:11My shirt is sticking to me.
34:12Please, please do.
34:14Be comfortable.
34:15That's my motto
34:15where I come from.
34:17It's mine too.
34:18It's hard to stay
34:19looking fresh
34:19in hot weather
34:20while I haven't washed
34:21or even poured it.
34:23Here you are.
34:24Even as she's repulsed
34:26by his vulgarity
34:27and working-class background,
34:29Blanche Dubois
34:30can't help but linger
34:31on her brother-in-law's physique.
34:33Brando is frequently cited
34:34as a groundbreaking actor
34:36in terms of realism on screen
34:37and a streetcar named Desire
34:39is a big reason why.
34:41Look like you got another car.
34:44That jerk mechanic
34:45down at Fisters
34:46doesn't know
34:46his axle grease
34:47from third base.
34:49Before we continue,
34:50be sure to subscribe
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35:05Number 1
35:06Sean Connery
35:07Dr. No
35:08James, where on earth
35:09have you been?
35:10I've been searching London
35:12for you.
35:12The scene is a smoky
35:13London club.
35:15We first catch glimpses
35:16of Sean Connery
35:17in bits and pieces.
35:19From behind,
35:20then his hands
35:21as he opens
35:21his cigarette case,
35:23then his face in full.
35:25He introduces himself
35:26to a woman
35:26across the Baccarat table.
35:28Bond.
35:30James Bond.
35:32It's the scene
35:32that launched
35:33a franchise,
35:34a career,
35:35and an unforgettable
35:36catchphrase
35:37in one fell swoop.
35:38When Sean Connery
35:39first appeared
35:40as the cool,
35:41detached,
35:41and incredibly suave
35:43secret agent
35:44in 1962's
35:45Dr. No,
35:46he was a working actor
35:48with a few minor roles
35:49under his belt.
35:50Suddenly,
35:51James Bond
35:51was a worldwide phenomenon,
35:53and the actor
35:54became synonymous
35:55with his character's
35:56brutal methods
35:57and irresistible charm.
35:59You could have dinner
35:59afterwards, perhaps?
36:01Sounds tempting.
36:18Did your favorite actor
36:20make the list?
36:20Who did we miss?
36:21Let us know
36:22in the comments.
36:28We'll see you next time.
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