Anthony Perkins - 📽️ Winter Kills (William Richert, 1979) The less I tell you about Richert’s conspiracy thriller opus, the better. Jeff Bridges goes down a rabbit hole involving John Huston, Toshirō Mifune, Eli Wallach, Liz Taylor, murder, and giant tanks. Perkins steals the whole thing. #filmsky

Linda Griffiths - 📽️ Lianna (John Sayles, 1983) Sayles’ queer masterwork featured the role of a lifetime for the late great Griffiths, as the titular unsatisfied housewife falling in love with a woman. Her gradual confusion and discovery is the spine of a subtly played, charming character study.

Christopher Walken - 📽️ The Funeral (Abel Ferrara, 1996) Walken is a muse to Ferrara, and did much of his best acting in his oeuvre. Anchoring an ensemble with Isabella Rossellini, Benicio del Toro, and a career-best Chris Penn, Walken is a great blank centre. He’s chilling as the vengeful gangster.

Michael Clarke Duncan - 📽️ The Scorpion King (Chuck Russell, 2002) The late, great giant among character actors was the brightest spot in Russell’s flawed but charming Mummy spin-off that launched Dwayne Johnson in leading roles. Duncan took every goofy part seriously. RIP Chuck Russell #filmsky

Randolph Scott - 📽️ The Tall T (Budd Boetticher, 1957) The westerns Boetticher and Scott made together (mostly Burt Kennedy scripts) are all worth seeing. Scott is a grumpy but charming hero in all of them, often tinged with darkness. They didn’t love this one, but he’s great with the townspeople.

Ernesto Gómez Cruz - 📽️ Canoa: A Shameful Memory (Felipe Cazals, 1976) Mexican screen legend Gómez lent his gravitas to this chilling and impressive docudrama about the 1968 San Miguel Canoa massacre. This entire era of Mexican cinema remains too underwatched, and he’s one of its greatest icons.

Cate Blanchett - 📽️ Oscar and Lucinda (Gillian Armstrong, 1997) Blanchett’s leading debut instantly got her the role in Elizabeth. Her abilities are fully formed as ever in a dark romance with a red-haired Ralph Fiennes. She’s the heart, and her scenes with Ciarán Hinds are lovely too. 🎥 #filmsky

Brenda Fricker - 📽️ The Field (Jim Sheridan, 1990) Sheridan’s Irish classic is one of the most underrated ‘90s movies thanks in no small part to its ensemble: Richard Harris, John Hurt, Sean Bean, Frances Tomelty, and Tom Berenger. Fricker stands out with quiet resolve as the heartbroken mother. RIP

Ray Winstone - 📽️ The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006) “Francis, you should really see somebody.” With a strong claim as the best of this electric and prestigious ensemble, Winstone is all scary gravitas as Mr. French, an unshowy boogeyman haunting the story’s margins. The accent works. #filmsky

Sam Neill - 📽️ Yes (Sally Potter, 2005) Rest in peace Sam Neill, one of my guys, with a strong claim as New Zealand's greatest screen performer. This villainous husband to Joan Allen is one of his unsung roles. His broad and brash roles were never hammy, and he found nuance to elevate any script. 🎥

Kevin Costner - 📽️ A Perfect World (Clint Eastwood, 1993) Do yourself a favour if you haven’t seen this Eastwood gem, also starring Laura Dern, Bradley Whitford, and Clint himself. The bulk of it is Costner as a convict travelling with a kid he kidnapped, and it’s one of his most interesting roles.

Brion James - 📽️ Crimewave (Sam Raimi, 1986) James (Blade Runner, 48 Hrs.) is such a distinct and memorable character actor and ‘80s heavy. Raimi’s madcap script with the Coen Brothers gives him plenty to play as a Looney Tunes villain complete with high-pitched cartoon voice. He’s still scary.

Seth Gilliam - 📽️ Starship Troopers (Paul Verhoeven, 1997) It’s inexplicable to me why Gilliam doesn’t have more decent film roles. As the “Roughneck” Sugar Watkins, his mini-arc on the margins of the movie is lovely, and his talent is helpful when some of the leads are a touch wooden. #filmsky 🎥

Tammy Grimes - 📽️ The Last Unicorn (Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, 1982) Stage actress and singer Grimes stands out in a stacked voice ensemble among the likes of Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges, Christopher Lee, and Angela Lansbury. Molly Grue is a strange, sad part of a singularly odd movie. #filmsky

Emma Roberts - 📽️ Palo Alto (Gia Coppola, 2014) I find Coppola’s coming-of-age drama generally underrated, with an incredible soundtrack and strong performances from the likes of Nat Wolff and Jack Kilmer. Best in show is Roberts as the lead, conflicted and manipulated in one of her best roles.

Anthony Head - 📽️ Imagine Me & You (Ol Parker, 2006) RIP to a versatile and effortless charmer. Less seen than much of his TV work is his nice supporting role in this English queer romance as Piper Perabo’s troubled dad. He could superpower any ensemble with his gifts for providing heart and tone.

Jürgen Prochnow - 📽️ In the Mouth of Madness (John Carpenter, 1995) Carpenter’s horror cult classic features a brief but unforgettable turn by German legend Prochnow, who was born on this day. The mysterious author Sutter Cane ripping his face into portals can’t be oversold, and he’s chilling.

Rinko Kikuchi - 📽️ The Brothers Bloom (Rian Johnson, 2009) Johnson’s most whimsical film is one of his best, and Kikuchi has had too few great roles since her work as mute explosives expert Bang Bang. Her couple of key scenes in the action really hit, and she’s key to setting the odd tone.

Chris Cooper - 📽️ Married Life (Ira Sachs, 2008) I could do a hundred Cooper posts, and I may. But shouts in particular to this leading role for Sachs, who is always adept at using celebrated actors in new ways. His Hitchcockian, terse marriage with Patricia Clarkson feels so real and lived-in.

William Petersen - 📽️ To Live and Die in L.A. (William Friedkin, 1985) Petersen, an underused film actor, shone as a scuzzy would-be hero in Friedkin’s sleek crime thriller. His loose cannon methods for taking down Willem Dafoe’s counterfeiter get increasingly sweaty and chaotic to glorious effect.

Benedict Wong - 📽️ Nine Days (Edson Oda, 2020) Oda’s fantasy drama stars Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Tony Hale, and Bill Skarsgård. Wong plays a supervisor to Duke as they interview souls seeking to inhabit human bodies. As the odd entity Kyo, who was never alive, he shines as uncannily human-esque.

Rosario Dawson - 📽️ Top Five (Chris Rock, 2014) Top Five is way too underwatched, and is close to the best writing, directing, and acting of Rock’s career. Dawson radiantly steals much of it as the leading lady with a meaty role as she interviews Rock. She really nails the winsome charm offensive.

Mariah Carey - 📽️ Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (Lee Daniels, 2009) Nobody especially expected Carey had this dressed-down turn as a social worker in her, but (like Lenny Kravitz) she blends right into the fabric of the film. Her climactic confrontations with Mo’Nique hit hard.

Tony Jaa - Monster Hunter (Paul W.S. Anderson, 2020) Divisive director PWSA had one of his most energetic and least seen movies in 2020. Jaa and Milla Jovovich ground the action as well as the story in their limited communication in the monster-filled wasteland. He’s one of the best fighter-actors.

Lou Diamond Phillips - 📽️ The Big Hit (Kirk Wong Chi-Keung, 1998) “…ya non-word-rememberin’ motherfucker.” As more or less an outsized, simmering Looney Tunes character, Phillips steals the crime comedy from the margins. His video store-set fight with Mark Wahlberg is the highlight of the movie.

John Turturro - 📽️ Gloria Bell (Sebastián Lelio, 2018) Turturro’s grinning charm and unnerving odd mystery are used by Lelio to equal effect as Julianne Moore’s love interest who becomes increasingly cagey and neglectful. Arnold is frustrating, but you hope he gets it together because of Turturro.

Jane Fonda - 📽️ The China Syndrome (James Bridges, 1979) In a classic that isn’t seen enough today, Fonda and Michael Douglas square off with a top form Jack Lemmon over safety cover-ups at a power plant. For Fonda, it’s one of her great movie star charisma parts driven by indignant furor and verve.

Teyonah Parris - 📽️ Chi-Raq (Spike Lee, 2015) Lee’s ambitious musical adaptation of Aristophanes’ classical Greek comedy play Lysistrata co-stars Angela Bassett, John Cusack, Wesley Snipes, and Samuel L. Jackson. But its beating heart centre is breakout star Parris leading a Chicago sex strike.

Walter Brennan - 📽️ Bad Day at Black Rock (John Sturges, 1955) Sturges’ neo-western, noir-tinged masterpiece accompanies a top form Spencer Tracy with an electric supporting cast. The most memorable is three-time Oscar winner Brennan in one of his last great roles as the sad and conflicted Doc.

Sylvester Stallone - 📽️ Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone, 2006) The strange sixth Rocky is almost entirely a drama, and showcases some of the tenderest acting of Stallone’s career. Rocky as restaurant owner and community leader paves the way for sad and subtle scenes alongside the tense fights.