What makes a great actor? Is it their ability to disappear into a role? Or is it their range, their ability to play different types of roles convincingly?
Great actors have the ability to transform themselves into a variety of characters. They make it look easy, but it's really a result of hard work, dedication, and talent. Some even result to extremes, like method acting, to better show their craft.
The truth is, it's a combination of both. And that's why we are so impressed with the actors on this list. They have the range to play a wide variety of roles, and they disappear into each one completely.
Check out this list of versatile actors that reinvent themselves successfully role after role. If you have any suggestions for other great films featuring amazing acting performances, please let me know in the comments!
Becoming Jane (2007) — Jane Austen, the daughter of a village priest who dreams of becoming a writer
Les Misérables (2012) — Fantine, a young grisette in Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name
The Witches (2020) — Grand High Witch Eva Ernst
Total Recall (1990) — Lori, the main character’s false wife
Last Dance (1996) — Cindy Liggett, a woman on death row
Ratched (2020) — Lenore Osgood, an eccentric and cunning heiress
Night at the Museum (2006) — Ahkmenrah, The Egyptian pharaoh
Buster’s Mal Heart (2016) — Jonás Cueyatl, a mountain man and a former concierge,
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) — Freddie Mercury, the frontman of Queen
Cinderella (2015) — the evil Lady Charmaine
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) — Hela, the Asgardian goddess of death
Don’t Look Up (2021) — a glamorous TV presenter
Dallas Buyers Club (2013) — Ron Woodroof, Texas cowboy with AIDS
Interstellar (2014) — Joseph A. Cooper, a farmer, widowed engineer, and former pilot
The Beach Bum (2019) — Moondog, a weird poet
Hocus Pocus (1993) — Sarah Sanderson, one of the sister witches
Ed Wood (1994) — actress Dolores Fuller
Mars Attacks! (1996) — ambitious journalist Nathalie Lake
Misery (1990) — a fan of a famous writer, Annie Wilkes
Titanic (1997) — Molly Brown, an American socialite and one of Titanic’s passengers
American Horror Story (2011–2022) — satanic henchwoman Ms. Miriam Mead
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) — Tom Ripley, a witty swindler,
The Martian (2015) — astronaut Mark Watney
The Last Duel (2021) — Knight Jean de Carrouges
Safe (1995) — housewife Carol White is diagnosed with a strange disease
Far from Heaven (2002) — a flustered housewife who faces a marital crisis when she learns her husband’s secret
The Glorias (2020) — feminist icon Gloria Steinem
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) — Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem
Cracks (2009) — Miss G, a mysterious teacher at an elite boarding school for girls.Dark Shadows (2012) — Angelique Bouchard, a jealous witch
Jerry Maguire (1996) — 26-year-old widow and single mother Dorothy Boyd
Cold Mountain (2003) — active peasant Ruby Thewes
Judy (2019) — American actress and singer Judy Garland
The Matrix (1999) — Trinity, a hacker, and officer of the hovercraft, Nebuchadnezzar
Fido (2006) — Helen Robinson, a housewife, comes across a zombie
Silent Hill: Revelation (2012) — Claudia Wolf, the high priestess of the religious cult, the Order
Dolores Claiborne (1995) — Selena St. George, a New York journalist and the daughter of a housemaid accused of murder
The Machinist (2004) — Stevie, the only friend of the main character
The Hateful Eight (2015) — criminal Daisy Domergue
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) — Sir Francis Walsingham, principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) — pirate captain Hector Barbossa
The King’s Speech (2010) — Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language therapist who helped King George VI manage his stammer
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) — Dr. Abraham Erskine
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) — the host of the Hunger Games
Beauty and the Beast (2017) — Maestro Cadenza
The Fifth Element (1997) — redhead alien Leeloo
Joan of Arc (1999) — French warrior Joan of Arc
Paradise Hills (2019) — the eccentric Duchess, Paradise Hills’ headmaster
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) — Kate McCallister, the mother of the inventive boy, Kevin, who is always left alone
For Your Consideration (2006) — actress Marilyn Hack who finds out that she was probably nominated for an Oscar
Schitt’s Creek (2015–2020) — Moira Rose, the wife of a billionaire who went broke
Gone with the Wind (1939) — Scarlett O’Hara, a flirt and an heiress of a rich family who has to work through the terrors of the Civil War
Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) — The Egyptian queen, Cleopatra
Ship of Fools (1965) — a middle-aged rich woman
Fargo (1996) — a fearless police officer, Marge Gunderson, who is 7 months pregnant
Burn After Reading (2008) — Linda Litzke, a fitness club administrator who dreams about having plastic surgery
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) — Mildred Hayes, a desperate mother who lost her daughter
Great actors have the ability to transform themselves into a variety of characters. They make it look easy, but it's really a result of hard work, dedication, and talent. Some even result to extremes, like method acting, to better show their craft.
The truth is, it's a combination of both. And that's why we are so impressed with the actors on this list. They have the range to play a wide variety of roles, and they disappear into each one completely.
Check out this list of versatile actors that reinvent themselves successfully role after role. If you have any suggestions for other great films featuring amazing acting performances, please let me know in the comments!
#1 Anne Hathaway
Source:
Becoming Jane (2007) — Jane Austen, the daughter of a village priest who dreams of becoming a writer
Les Misérables (2012) — Fantine, a young grisette in Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name
The Witches (2020) — Grand High Witch Eva Ernst
#2 Sharon Stone
Source: © Total Recall / Carolco Pictures, © Last Dance / Touchstone Pictures, © Ratched / 20th Television
Total Recall (1990) — Lori, the main character’s false wife
Last Dance (1996) — Cindy Liggett, a woman on death row
Ratched (2020) — Lenore Osgood, an eccentric and cunning heiress
#3 Rami Malek
Source: © Night at the Museum / 20th Century Studios, © Buster's Mal Heart / Gamechanger Films, © Bohemian Rhapsody / 20th Century Studios
Night at the Museum (2006) — Ahkmenrah, The Egyptian pharaoh
Buster’s Mal Heart (2016) — Jonás Cueyatl, a mountain man and a former concierge,
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) — Freddie Mercury, the frontman of Queen
#4 Cate Blanchett
Source: © Cinderella / Walt Disney Pictures, © Thor: Ragnarok / Walt Disney Pictures, © Don't Look Up / Netflix
Cinderella (2015) — the evil Lady Charmaine
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) — Hela, the Asgardian goddess of death
Don’t Look Up (2021) — a glamorous TV presenter
#5 Matthew McConaughey
Source: © Dallas Buyers Club / Voltage Pictures, © Interstellar / Paramount Pictures, © The Beach Bum / Iconoclast
Dallas Buyers Club (2013) — Ron Woodroof, Texas cowboy with AIDS
Interstellar (2014) — Joseph A. Cooper, a farmer, widowed engineer, and former pilot
The Beach Bum (2019) — Moondog, a weird poet
#6 Sarah Jessica Parker
Source:
Hocus Pocus (1993) — Sarah Sanderson, one of the sister witches
Ed Wood (1994) — actress Dolores Fuller
Mars Attacks! (1996) — ambitious journalist Nathalie Lake
#7 Kathy Bates
Source:
Misery (1990) — a fan of a famous writer, Annie Wilkes
Titanic (1997) — Molly Brown, an American socialite and one of Titanic’s passengers
American Horror Story (2011–2022) — satanic henchwoman Ms. Miriam Mead
#8 Matt Damon
Source: © The Talented Mr. Ripley / Miramax, © The Martian / Scott Free Productions, © The Last Duel / 20th Century Studios
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) — Tom Ripley, a witty swindler,
The Martian (2015) — astronaut Mark Watney
The Last Duel (2021) — Knight Jean de Carrouges
#9 Julianne Moore
Source:
Safe (1995) — housewife Carol White is diagnosed with a strange disease
Far from Heaven (2002) — a flustered housewife who faces a marital crisis when she learns her husband’s secret
The Glorias (2020) — feminist icon Gloria Steinem
#10 Eva Green
Source: © Kingdom of Heaven / 20th Century Fox, © Cracks / Antena 3 Films, © Dark Shadows / Warner Bros.
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) — Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem
Cracks (2009) — Miss G, a mysterious teacher at an elite boarding school for girls.Dark Shadows (2012) — Angelique Bouchard, a jealous witch
#11 Renée Zellweger
Source:
Jerry Maguire (1996) — 26-year-old widow and single mother Dorothy Boyd
Cold Mountain (2003) — active peasant Ruby Thewes
Judy (2019) — American actress and singer Judy Garland
#12 Carrie-Anne Moss
Source:© The Matrix / Warner Bros., © Fido / Lionsgate, © Silent Hill: Revelation / Davis-Films
The Matrix (1999) — Trinity, a hacker, and officer of the hovercraft, Nebuchadnezzar
Fido (2006) — Helen Robinson, a housewife, comes across a zombie
Silent Hill: Revelation (2012) — Claudia Wolf, the high priestess of the religious cult, the Order
#13 Jennifer Jason Leigh
Source: © Dolores Claiborne / Castle Rock Entertainment, © The Machinist / Castelao Producciones S.A., © The Hateful Eight / FilmColony
Dolores Claiborne (1995) — Selena St. George, a New York journalist and the daughter of a housemaid accused of murder
The Machinist (2004) — Stevie, the only friend of the main character
The Hateful Eight (2015) — criminal Daisy Domergue
#14 Geoffrey Rush
Source: © Elizabeth: The Golden Age / Universal Pictures, © Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl / Walt Disney Pictures, © The King's Speech / FilmNation Entertainment
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) — Sir Francis Walsingham, principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) — pirate captain Hector Barbossa
The King’s Speech (2010) — Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language therapist who helped King George VI manage his stammer
#15 Stanley Tucci
Source: © Captain America: The First Avenger / Paramount Pictures, © The Hunger Games: Catching Fire / Lionsgate, © Beauty and the Beast / Walt Disney Pictures
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) — Dr. Abraham Erskine
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) — the host of the Hunger Games
Beauty and the Beast (2017) — Maestro Cadenza
#16 Milla Jovovich
Source: © The Fifth Element / Gaumont, © The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc / Gaumont, © Paradise Hills / Nostromo Pictures
The Fifth Element (1997) — redhead alien Leeloo
Joan of Arc (1999) — French warrior Joan of Arc
Paradise Hills (2019) — the eccentric Duchess, Paradise Hills’ headmaster
#17 Catherine O’Hara
Source: © Home Alone 2: Lost in New York / 20th Century Studios, © For Your Consideration / Shangri-La Entertainment, © Schitt's Creek / CBC
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) — Kate McCallister, the mother of the inventive boy, Kevin, who is always left alone
For Your Consideration (2006) — actress Marilyn Hack who finds out that she was probably nominated for an Oscar
Schitt’s Creek (2015–2020) — Moira Rose, the wife of a billionaire who went broke
#18 Vivien Leigh
Source: © Gone with the Wind / MGM, © Caesar and Cleopatra / MGM, © Ship of Fools / Sony Pictures
Gone with the Wind (1939) — Scarlett O’Hara, a flirt and an heiress of a rich family who has to work through the terrors of the Civil War
Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) — The Egyptian queen, Cleopatra
Ship of Fools (1965) — a middle-aged rich woman
#19 Frances McDormand
Source: © Fargo / PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, © Burn After Reading / Relativity Media, © Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri / Blueprint Pictures
Fargo (1996) — a fearless police officer, Marge Gunderson, who is 7 months pregnant
Burn After Reading (2008) — Linda Litzke, a fitness club administrator who dreams about having plastic surgery
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) — Mildred Hayes, a desperate mother who lost her daughter