10 Phenomenal Big-Budget Movie Performances That Don’t Get Enough Credit

Actors in big-budget blockbusters can often go unnoticed, especially if their movies are part of long-running franchises. Critics and audiences alike both have other things on their mind when discussing such movies, such as the story, action sequences and how it fits into the larger cinematic universe.

Only a few performances in big franchise blockbusters ever get the credit they deserve, like Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, for example. It’s more likely that even a great performance will be forgotten about. There’s a reason that big franchises never get recognized during awards season.

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Philip Seymour Hoffman In Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Hoffman Plays Owen Davian

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Philip Seymour Hoffman was widely heralded as one of the finest actors of his generation before his death at the age of 46. While he’s known for his roles in films like Capote, Doubt and The Master, he also had a couple of memorable performances in big-budget blockbusters like Mission: Impossible III.

Most of Mission: Impossible III‘s good qualities are a direct result of Hoffman’s chilling performance as the villain.

Mission: Impossible III doesn’t hit the heights that the franchise is capable of, but most of its good qualities are a direct result of Hoffman’s chilling performance as the villain. He plays Owen Davian with a detached, almost sociopathic serenity. If Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning really is the end of the line, Davian will go down as the franchise’s best villain.

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Adam Driver In Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)

Driver Plays Kylo Ren

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Fan discourse over the Star Wars sequel trilogy has always been focused on how faithful they are to George Lucas’ original vision, and what direction they’re taking the story. This means that some great performances didn’t get the credit they deserve, particularly Adam Driver as Kylo Ren.

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The Last Jedi sees Kylo Ren wrestling with his doubts, torn between his allegiance to the First Order and his connection with Rey. In some ways, it’s a familiar tussle between dark and light that appears in other Star Wars stories, but Driver’s emotional intensity makes it feel vibrant and fresh.

8

Bill Nighy In Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

Nighy Plays Davy Jones

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Davy Jones is certainly an eye-catching character, but some people fail to see the quality of Bill Nighy’s performance beneath the groundbreaking visual effects which bring the pirate captain to life. Nighy ensures that Davy Jones is more than just a visual spectacle.

Part of the genius of Nighy’s performance is that the actor doesn’t draw attention to himself. He inhabits the role of Davy Jones perfectly, blending his characteristic quirks into the visuals of the character to create a surprisingly lifelike presence. He helps make Dead Man’s Chest one of the stronger Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

7

Judi Dench In Skyfall (2012)

Dench Plays M

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Judi Dench first played M in 1995’s GoldenEye, but her character became more important and more interesting alongside Daniel Craig’s Bond. Her finest hour comes in Skyfall, as M takes center stage and the consequences of her past race to catch up with her.

Every Actor Who Has Played M In The James Bond Franchise
Actor	See more : Who are Alan Menken Parents? Meet Norman Menken and Judith Menken Number Of Movies As M	First Appearance
Bernard Lee	11	Dr. No (1962)
Robert Brown	4	Octopussy (1983)
Judi Dench	8	GoldenEye (1995)
Ralph Fiennes	3	Skyfall (2012)

Dench rises to the occasion in Skyfall, showing hints of uncertainty beneath M’s usually unflappable facade. She also reveals a more caring side to the character in her relationship with Bond and her duty to her country. The next James Bond movie has yet to cast 007, but characters like M could prove to be just as important.

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Josh Brolin In Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Brolin Plays Thanos

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Casting has often been the key to the MCU’s success, even if it doesn’t get mentioned too often. When it came time to cast Thanos, the MCU needed an actor with the requisite power and gravitas for the role. Josh Brolin’s performance proves that he was the perfect choice.

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Avengers: Infinity War is stuffed full of actors from across the MCU, with plenty of great performances which deserve recognition. Thanos’ vital role gives Brolin a little bit more attention than some of the heroes, and he makes the most of it with a performance that humanizes the genocidal villain without making him too sympathetic.

5

Sean Connery In Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade (1989)

Connery Plays Henry Jones Sr.

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The debate over the best Indiana Jones movie usually comes down to Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. If The Last Crusade isn’t the best, it’s hard to argue against it being the funniest, thanks in part to the hilarious dynamic between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.

Connery plays Indy’s father in The Last Crusade, whose overbearing nature immediately causes his son to regress to the role of a flustered teenager. Connery shows off his comedy chops, even though he was known as an action hero for most of his career. Some of his improvised lines made it into the final cut, and it’s easy to see the times when Ford was thrown off by Connery’s quick wit.

4

Charlize Theron In Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Theron Plays Furiosa

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Max Rockatansky isn’t always the protagonist in the Mad Max franchise. He sometimes plays a more supporting role in the story of another hero in the wasteland. In Fury Road, he is swept along in Furiosa’s bloody crusade to free Immortan Joe’s wives from his oppressive rule, and this makes Charlize Theron just as important as Tom Hardy.

Theron does a great job of playing the stoic hero in Fury Road, although she has the emotional depth to sell Furiosa’s outbursts too. Rather than making a direct sequel, George Miller decided that his next Mad Max movie should be a spinoff about Furiosa, possibly because Theron’s performance helped make the character so compelling and memorable.

3

Zoe Saldaña In Avatar (2009)

Saldaña Plays Neytiri

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Zoe Saldaña is now an Oscar winner, so her performances in blockbuster franchises might get cast in a new light. She deserves praise for her portrayal of Gamora in the MCU, but it’s James Cameron’s Avatar movies which routinely get the very best out of her, even if motion-capture performances rarely receive plaudits.

The role of Neytiri asks a lot of Saldaña, but she proves that she’s up to the task, bringing a deeply human edge to her Na’vi character while mixing in one or two animalistic elements to highlight the character’s alien origins. This is particularly important within the thematic context of Avatar, and it provides a strong contrast to Jake. Avatar: Fire and Ash will be the third movie in the franchise, and there are plans for at least two more.

2

Gary Oldman In Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)

Oldman Plays Sirius Black

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The Prisoner of Azkaban was a big turning point for the Harry Potter franchise, with Alfonso Cuarón setting a darker tone that gradually transformed the series. The third Harry Potter movie also adds to the stellar cast, with Gary Oldman, David Thewlis and Timothy Spall all delivering stirring performances.

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Oldman has an interesting role in The Prisoner of Azkaban, and he shows Sirius Black’s volatile, desperate nature. There’s a hint of danger to his portrayal of Sirius, which is balanced out by his fatherly adulation for Harry. The Harry Potter HBO show has cast its first few roles, but it will be hard to replicate the success of the cast from the movies. In particular, Gary Oldman will be one tough act to follow.

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Cate Blanchett In The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)

Blanchett Plays Galadriel

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The cast of the Lord of the Rings trilogy is filled with great performances, from Andy Serkis’ revolutionary motion-capture portrayal of Gollum to Ian McKellen’s iconic performance as Gandalf. However, the trilogy now lives as proof that actors in sci-fi and fantasy movies don’t get the respect they deserve. Of The Return of the King‘s 11 Oscar nominations, none were for acting.

In a trilogy mostly populated by male characters, Blanchett ensures that Galadriel is just as iconic.

Cate Blanchett’s finest hour as Galadriel arguably comes in The Fellowship of the Ring. She brings an ethereal presence to the role that few other actors could muster, but she also has an imposing sense of power as Galadriel towers over Frodo. In a trilogy mostly populated by male characters, Blanchett ensures that Galadriel is just as iconic.

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