Anthony Hopkins was on screen for a little over fifteen minuets in Silence of The Lambs. To say he stole the film would be an understatement, he owned it. FOCUS: What actor or actress had an incredibly small role in a film and it ended up being the best role in the movie? I'm not talking about Willem Dafoe or Tom Berenger being a better actor than Charlie Sheen in Platoon I'm talking about an actor stealing a whole movie with a couple scenes. True Romance- Three actors in this film absolutely stole scenes and almost the the whole film (in my opinion of course) Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, and the gold metal winner Gary Oldman. Gary Oldman was barely even in this movie but he was in my opinion the best character in the film. Drexel the pimp was just amazing it's a shame he got killed so quickly. He definitely stole that shit, white boy day or not.
My first thought was Dennis Hopper in the same movie. While Brando's character definitely shined, Hopper tried to legitimize the entire operation. We've seen so many movies (Temple of Doom comes to mind) where foreigners are willing to follow whatever cult figure tries to lead them. For one reason or another, it's believable to us. But Hopper brought a lot of depth to Kurtz. Without him, Kurtz would have just been another man exploiting the natives of the region, not the methodical madman Martin Sheen found.
Id submit Newman. I think he stole pretty much every episode that he was predominately featured in. "What took you so long?" "Let me tell you something about zip codes......... They're meaningless Muhuhahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!" Wayne Knight fucking killed as Newman.
I'll second this one, not just for his role but a great movie too. He put so much character into a seven minute part that he was nominated for an Oscar. Not your typical mob boss, to be sure. My choice? The Insider was a great, mature drama about 60 Mintues taking on Big Tobacco. Al Pacino and Russell Crowe were both great in the film, but the movie is absolutely hijacked by a magnetic Christopher Plummer as the legendary Mike Wallace, a man who has been reporting from the darkest trenches of news for more than five decades and who feels no fear or intimidation whatsoever. Even when maniacs are brandishing machine guns in his face, he takes them to school on who's in charge. A powerhouse performance.
John Malkovich in RED. Sure, he was one of the leads, but he stole the show. EDIT: Yeah, it's been pointed out that it's a little out of scope of the focus, in that he's got more than a cameo, but it's still hilarious. Sosumi
Bronson Pinchot in "Beverly Hills Cop" <a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9w3_3T3U5g" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9w3_3T3U5g</a>
Alfred Molina in anything. The man simply devours the scenery of whatever film he's in. He's a Brit but you'd never know it, since he transforms into any role from any nationality so well.
Jack Black in High Fidelity. I loved the book and most Nick Hornby novels, Cusack movies are a guilty pleasure of mine and I love music. I would have liked the movie anyways, but Jack Black's character is so perfect in this movie and makes it that much better. It's too bad that he took the schtick too far. He's become a bit of a caricature, in a bad way. Jeff Spicolli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Minor character that is more memorable than almost everything in that great great movie, except, of course, the topless Phoebe Cates slow-mo out of pool scene. It's ranking is 1. that scene, 2. every scene with Spicolli. Every Phillip Seymour Hoffman role prior to him recently landing lead roles. He's the funniest and one of the best part of Boogie Nights and kills it in Magnolia and Almost Famous, among so many others. John Turturro is another guy who just steals most stuff he's in.
Great suggestions so far. I agree that both Dennis Hopper and Marlon Brando absolutely stole scenes in 'Apocalypse Now'. But, I would argue what it is that you could actually steal from that movie? Laurence Fishburne, Martin Sheen and Robert Duvall - hell, Harrison Ford, are all absolutely beautiful in the film. It is the greatest film that I have ever seen, so I am holding a bias here. Focus: 'Easy Rider' is a really good movie. Fantastic cast, great cinematography, eloquent and moving, a wonderful portrayal of, what I believe, the 1960's. But, Peter Fonda's dialogue and character are absent and hollow throughout and I thought Dennis Hopper was a tad too aggressive with his character. Jack Nicholson, though, stole it: