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Forgotten Great Film Performances

@performances.bsky.social
1.1K followers 2.4K following 806 posts

Underseen, undersung, and/or underrated. Let us recall them. boxd.it/ewHZ

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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Theresa Randle - 📽️ Girl 6 (Spike Lee, 1996) Thanks to Suzan-Lori Parks’ script, this might be Lee’s funniest movie, and it’s certainly among the most incisive. It feels like Randle deserved to be a major movie star when you watch this brave, blank, and hilarious leading turn. These reaction shots!
Theresa Randle as Judy A.K.A. Girl 6 wears a phone headset in the film Girl 6.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
David Paymer - 📽️ Quiz Show (Robert Redford, 1994) Paymer is one of the ultimate character actors, and Quiz Show is one of his money roles. As the network executive, he gets to show off his dry rapid-fire patter while scheming. His scenes with Hank Azaria are some of the film’s most fascinating.
David Paymer as Dan Enright peers through his glasses in the film Quiz Show.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Margot Kidder - 📽️ Sisters (Brian De Palma, 1973) Kidder has a fascinating, difficult, repeatedly twisty dual role in De Palma’s underrated thriller. Co-starring with Jennifer Salt and the great Charles Durning, Kidder steals scenes left and right, keeping you guessing with twinkle-eye. 🎥 #filmsky
Margot Kidder as Danielle Breton in the film Sisters.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Dean Martin - 📽️ Some Cane Running (Vincente Minnelli, 1958) As Bama Dillert, Martin gives a contender for his best performance while Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Martha Hyer, and Arthur Kennedy do the same. Martin is the alcoholic gambler, and gets the movie’s huge emotional payoff. #filmsky
Dean Martin as Bama Dillert in the film Some Came Running.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Jeff Daniels - 📽️ Terms of Endearment (James L. Brooks, 1983) Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson won Oscars; Debra Winger and John Lithgow were nominated. Daniels was deserving too as the other major role, Professor Flap Horton. He has a tender, subtle redemption and killer chemistry with Winger.
Jeff Daniels as Flap Horton smiles and tilts his head in the film Terms of Endearment.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Josh Hartnett - 📽️ The Black Dahlia (Brian De Palma, 2006) Hartnett is a talent who was oft wrongly utilized in his heyday. But a hardboiled noir lead for a great director was such a good fit, and the solid film was underrated. He and Aaron Eckhart sound like detectives who emerged from the ‘50s.
Josh Hartnett as Detective Dwight Bleichert A.K.A. Bucky in the film The Black Dahlia.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Isabelle Huppert - 📽️ Story of Women (Claude Chabrol, 1988) Most of Chabrol’s films should be better-known today than they are, and this is one of the finest. Huppert’s role as a WWII-era abortionist in nazi-occupied France contends as the best of her dozens of powerhouse performances. #filmsky
Isabelle Huppert as Marie Latour tears up in the film Story of Women.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
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
Cate Blanchett as Lucinda Leplastrier in the film Oscar and Lucinda.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
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
Anthony Perkins as John Cerruti in the film Winter Kills.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Charles S. Dutton - 📽️ Cookie’s Fortune (Robert Altman, 1999) I miss seeing Dutton in movies. He was a totally unexpected de facto lead of Altman’s ensemble Southern Gothic black comedy opposite Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler, and a conniving Glenn Close. The lovable actor deserved more roles this good.
Liv Tyler as Emma Duvall and Charles S. Dutton as Willis Richland lock eyes next to prison bars in the film Cookie’s Fortune.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Raúl Juliá - 📽️ Eyes of Laura Mars (Irvin Kershner, 1983) This John Carpenter mystery script presents Faye Dunaway with a host of suspects and ace scene partners: Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif, René Aubrrjonois. But Juliá is special as her depressed, drunk ex. He could be so magnetic while tragic.
Raúl Juliá as Michael Reisler leans while seated on a couch in a suit and tie. The film is Eyes of Laura Mars.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Stephen Dillane - 📽️ King Arthur (Antoine Fuqua, 2004) Fuqua’s movie has its fans but is unsuccessful in many regards. But the ensemble is commendable, from Stellan Skarsgård’s long-bearded Saxon villain to Dillane’s stoic warrior Merlin. He’s often untapped for badass character roles. #filmsky
Stephen Dillane as Merlin shouts in the film King Arthur.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Leslie Mann - 📽️ Funny People (Judd Apatow, 2009) Mann shone doing a modern Gatsby love triangle routine with a top form Adam Sandler and Eric Bana. The role starts out comedic then, like many an Apatow movie, takes a lengthy turn for the dramatic while showcasing Mann’s warm naturalism. #filmsky
Leslie Mann as Laura in the film Funny People.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Clifton Powell - 📽️ Bones (Ernest R. Dickerson, 2001) The underrated actor (Ray, Menace II Society, Deep Cover) has a strangely tender villainous role in Dickerson’s fascinating pulp horror movie. Starring Snoop Dogg, Pam Grier, and Bianca Lawson, Bones has some fun style to recommend. #filmsky
Clifton Powell as Jeremiah Peet peers through glasses in the film Bones.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Omar Sharif - 📽️ Hidalgo (Joe Johnston, 2004) This largely forgotten Arabian horse racing biography starring Viggo Mortensen has some passionate defenders. It also has Sharif’s last Hollywood role of note, granting commanding gravitas to his scenes opposite Mortensen as a powerful sheikh. #filmsky
Omar Sharif as Sheikh Riyadh in the film Hidalgo.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Parker Posey - 📽️ Clockwatchers (Jill Sprecher, 1998) The chemistry among the central quartet here - Posey, Toni Collette, Alanna Ubach, and Lisa Kudrow - really makes it one of the unheralded ‘90s comedies. Posey shines bitterly in one of few indies with writing worthy of her performance. #filmsky
Parker Posey as Margaret Burrell in the film Clockwatchers.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Danny DeVito - 📽️ Tin Men (Barry Levinson, 1987) A movie barely mentioned at all anymore, Tin Men is one of the peaks for DeVito as a leading man. Bitter and caustic per his signature persona, he gets all the biggest laughs in a feud with Richard Dreyfuss. Barbara Hershey and John Mahoney shine too.
Danny DeVito as Ernest Tilley smashes a car window in the film Tin Men.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Powers Boothe - 📽️ Southern Comfort (Walter Hill, 1981) As shell-shocked stick in the mud to contrast Keith Carradine’s smirking survivor, Boothe brings a lot of personality to a stoic protagonist. It’s one of his few film leads, and the simmering builds to a hell of an explosive climax. #filmsky
Powers Boothe as Corporal Charles Hardin in the film Southern Comfort.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Matthew Macfadyen - 📽️ Anna Karenina (Joe Wright, 2012) Wright’s Tolstoy adaptation has a contender for the most stacked ensemble of its decade. Macfadyen as Stiva opens the film, and his blustering demeanour is key to immersing you in the setting. He’s tremendous with Domhnall Gleeson. #filmsky
Matthew Macfadyen as Prince Stepan Arkadyevich Oblonsky in the film Anna Karenina.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Tim Curry - 📽️ The Shout (Jerzy Skolimowski, 1978) This is a unique psychological thriller starring John Hurt, Susannah York, and Alan Bates as a man with a fatal yell. Curry charms in the frame story. RIP to a Legend who only gave us lovely performances nobody else would do similarly. #filmsky
Tim Curry as Robert Graves in the film The Shout.
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Peter Cullen, the legendary voice actor known for voicing Optimus Prime in the "Transformers" franchise, has died at 85
tmz.com
'Transformers' Voice Actor Peter Cullen Dead at 85
Peter Cullen, famous for voicing Optimus Prime in the 'Transformers' franchise, is dead.
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The Resister Linda Cardwell 🦋💙 @cardwell4u.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Dolly Parton spoke.
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Ursula Dorada @sulamoon.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
RIP Tim Curry :(
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Kevin J. O’Connor - 📽️ Deep Rising (Stephen Sommers, 1998) It’s a divisive choice, but I’m a sucker for O’Connor in general and in this fun boat creature feature. He’s the ideal version of the screw-up sidekick alongside greats Wes Studi, Famke Janssen, Cliff Curtis, and the late Treat Williams.
Kevin J. O’Connor as Joey Pantucci in the film Deep Rising.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Jeffrey Wright - 📽️ Cadillac Records (Darnell Martin, 2008) A rare great and authentic true story movie about music, Cadillac Records is underrated in general, and Wright sizzles starring as Muddy Waters. He stands out even more than Eamonn Walker’s Howlin’ Wolf and Beyoncé’s Etta James. #filmsky
Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters wears a suit and plays guitar on an orange couch in the film Cadillac Records.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Wes Studi - 📽️ A Love Song (Max Walker-Silverman, 2022) A romantic drama between character actor stalwarts Studi and Dale Dickey as widowed childhood friends was completely unexpected. It’s also completely charming, with Studi singing and cracking jokes throughout one of his best showcases ever.
Wes Studi as Lito in A Love Song.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Halle Berry - 📽️ B.A.P.S. (Robert Townsend, 1997) Berry’s rise to stardom included this divisive bomb, but the bad reviews she got make no sense today. Berry (like Natalie Desselle) does everything possible to elevate flawed material and Townsend satire, including an extended Carol Burnett routine.
Halle Berry as Nisi beams with gold teeth in the film B.A.P.S.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
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
Michael Clarke Duncan as Balthazar in the film The Scorpion King.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
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.
Christopher Walken as Ray Tempio in the film The Funeral.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
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.
Linda Griffiths as Lianna uses a pay phone in the film Lianna.

Behind her is a sign advertising boneless beef bottom round roast.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 18/08/2026
Phyllida Law, prolific performer across stage and screen, dies aged 94
theguardian.com
Phyllida Law, prolific performer across stage and screen, dies aged 94
As adept at comedy and musicals as she was drama, Law acted alongside daughters Emma and Sophie in a career spanning eight decades Phyllida Law, whose prolific acting career encompassed a wide range of stage, TV and film roles – a number of which were alongside her daughters Emma and Sophie Thompson – has died aged 94. Her personal manager Jacky Leggo said in a statement that she “died supremely peacefully at home, surrounded by all of her family”. Born in Glasgow in 1932, Law was accepted at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre school – initially intending to be a stage designer but then switching to acting. She appeared in a number of Bristol Old Vic productions in the 1950s, and it was there she met Eric Thompson, a fellow actor, whom she married in 1957. Continue reading...
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Ricky Davila @therickydavila.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
RIP Hayden Panettiere. So damn sad. 🙏
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Mary Kay Place - 📽️ The Big Chill (Lawrence Kasdan, 1983) Glenn Close got the Oscar nomination, but Place’s role is the heart. She’s the attorney who wants one of her old friends to father her child. Her interactions with all the film’s male leads as potential options are the emotional throughline.
Mary Kay Place as Meg Jones sits in a church pew in the film The Big Chill.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
Isiah Whitlock Jr. - 📽️ Corporate Animals (Patrick Brice, 2019) When Whitlock showed up in a comedy of uncertain quality (Cedar Rapids, CHiPs, Cocaine Bear), he was likely to be a highlight. In this Demi Moore cave survival comedy, him losing his mind is the most hysterical subplot. RIP #filmsky
Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Derek in the film Corporate Animals.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
Jude Law - 📽️ The Holiday (Nancy Meyers, 2006) “Yes. I am daddy.” Even in her popular movies, the movie star acting in Meyers films is often a smidge underrated. In one of the last theatrical hit romcoms, Law snipes jokes and charm opposite Cameron Diaz, and disappears fully into Mr. Napkin Head.
Jude Law as Graham Simpkins as Mr. Napkin Head wears a napkin and glasses over his head and holds a spoon like a cigar. Emma Pritchard as Olivia Simpkins sits with him in the film The Holiday.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Gordon Pinsent - 📽️ Away from Her (Sarah Polley, 2007) Polley’s masterful drama nearly won Julie Christie a second Oscar for her depiction of Alzheimer’s. But Pinsent as the even larger role is equally crucial to the film’s heartbreaking impact, and he was one of Canada’s most unheralded talents.
Gordon Pinsent as Grant in the film Away from Her.
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New York Magazine @nymag.com · 14/08/2026
Mark Rydell, director of ‘On Golden Pond’ and ‘The Rose’ died today at the age of 97. His films earned 26 Academy Award nominations in total.
vulture.com
Mark Rydell, Director of On Golden Pond, Dies at 97
Mark Rydell, director of ‘On Golden Pond’ and ‘The Rose’ died today at the age of 97. His films earned 26 Academy Award nominations in total.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Joe Pantoliano - 📽️ Bound (Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, 1996) The Wachowskis’ wonderful queer erotic crime thriller is one of the best debuts you’ll ever find. Key to its success is Pantoliano with a huge role as the volatile, slippery villain Caesar. He’s equally detestable and mesmerizing.
Joe Pantoliano as Caesar stands in a bathroom shirtless, wrapped in a towel around his waist, and holding another towel. The film is Bound.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Dennis Haysbert - 📽️ Suture (Scott McGehee and David Siegel, 1994) The great Haysbert has led too few movies. His singular and infectious voice makes him a chilling noir protagonist in this esoteric mistaken identity story. He plays memory loss and will generally keep you guessing what’s going on.
Dennis Haysbert as Clay Arlington wears an eyepatch in the film Suture.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Isabelle Huppert - 📽️ Story of Women (Claude Chabrol, 1988) Most of Chabrol’s films should be better-known today than they are, and this is one of the finest. Huppert’s role as a WWII-era abortionist in nazi-occupied France contends as the best of her dozens of powerhouse performances. #filmsky
Isabelle Huppert as Marie Latour tears up in the film Story of Women.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Josh Hartnett - 📽️ The Black Dahlia (Brian De Palma, 2006) Hartnett is a talent who was oft wrongly utilized in his heyday. But a hardboiled noir lead for a great director was such a good fit, and the solid film was underrated. He and Aaron Eckhart sound like detectives who emerged from the ‘50s.
Josh Hartnett as Detective Dwight Bleichert A.K.A. Bucky in the film The Black Dahlia.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
You know what’s a good movie? Catwoman.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Jeff Daniels - 📽️ Terms of Endearment (James L. Brooks, 1983) Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson won Oscars; Debra Winger and John Lithgow were nominated. Daniels was deserving too as the other major role, Professor Flap Horton. He has a tender, subtle redemption and killer chemistry with Winger.
Jeff Daniels as Flap Horton smiles and tilts his head in the film Terms of Endearment.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
John Amos - 📽️ Coming to America (John Landis, 1988) “They got the Big Mac, I got the Big Mick.” This is a real instance of almost everything he says is funny. Cleo McDowell, the knock-off McDonald’s owner, is a constant opportunist and Eddie Murphy’s funniest scene partner. His is the Golden Arcs.
John Amos as Cleo McDowell sits at his office desk in the film Coming to America.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Romola Garai - 📽️ Atonement (Joe Wright, 2007) Saoirse Ronan and Vanessa Redgrave earned several nominations, but Garai as the young adult Briony has to shoulder a lot of the film, too. With impressive mirroring of Ronan’s body language, she ought to have got bigger and better roles after this film.
Romola Garai as Briony Tallis studies at a desk in the film Atonement.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Linda Cardellini - 📽️ Legally Blonde (Robert Luketic, 2001) This movie guaranteed enduring status as a modern classic largely by stacking the ensemble so well. In particular, Elle (Reese Witherspoon) vs. Chutney is a climactic comic sequence that helped buy Cardellini gigs of all genres forever.
Linda Cardellini as Chutnry Windham sits for cross-examination in the film Legally Blonde.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
Michael Lonsdale - 📽️ Munich (Steven Spielberg, 2005) “You could have been my son, but you’re not.” The supporting roles in Spielberg’s historical dramas are often so rich. French screen legend Lonsdale (of Moonraker fame) is the heart of Munich as Papa. He seems to possess infinite information.
Eric Bana as Avner Kaufman and Michael Lonsdale as Papa sit outside in the film Munich.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
John Glover - 📽️ Batman & Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997) Every other performance in this now-camp classic is either rightly maligned or reclaimed as kitsch excellence (mostly Uma Thurman). But Glover’s brief part opposite Thurman gives you a sense of the batty cartoon Schumacher was aiming to craft.
John Glover as Dr. Jason Woodrue gawks with a green tongue in the film Batman & Robin.
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Glenn Close - 📽️ The Stepford Wives (Frank Oz, 2004) Close is the best part of Oz’s odd remake, stealing scenes opposite Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, and Christopher Walken. As the sneaky-mysterious Claire, she savours the best role, complete with a memorable electrocution scene.
Glenn Close as Claire Wellington in the film The Stepford Wives
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Forgotten Great Film Performances @performances.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Theresa Randle - 📽️ Girl 6 (Spike Lee, 1996) Thanks to Suzan-Lori Parks’ script, this might be Lee’s funniest movie, and it’s certainly among the most incisive. It feels like Randle deserved to be a major movie star when you watch this brave, blank, and hilarious leading turn. These reaction shots!
Theresa Randle as Judy A.K.A. Girl 6 wears a phone headset in the film Girl 6.
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