Actors / Actresses Best Role(s)?

[VirginiaHamilton]

Sometimes, we tend to either forget why an actor / actress became a star in the first place or overlook a role that they'd done justice. Perhaps, you've become / you'd became a fan of their because of a particular role.

With that in mind, I'll ask - what, in your opinion, was an actor / actors' / actress / actresses best role(s)?

I'll start with

While I'm indifferent to her in general, I thought that this role fit her like a glove. She acted out that manipulation behind the sunny smile to the hilt and was the perfect foil to the rest of that cast (Matt Dillon, Joaquin Phoenix, Ileanna Douglas, etc.).

[London]

One of my all time favorites....

Angelina Jolie in... Girl Interrupted, as Lisa.

The scene from this still is my absolute favorite -- the entire monologue/dialogue is just wonderful. I thought Angelina and Brittany did wonderful!

[I Am A Swede]

I'm not sure I can say it's her best role, but it's different from the roles we've become used to seeing her in.

I'm talking about Maggie Smith and her outstanding performance in "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne".

Most people probably associate Maggie Smith with comedic roles now, like the ones she played in "Gosford Park", "Tea With Mussolini" or the one she currently plays in "Downton Abbey".

Her role in "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne" is very different. In it she plays a lonely, middle-aged woman who lives in boarding houses and makes a meager living giving piano lessons. It's a knock-out performance from her, and she's supported by such fine actors as Bob Hoskins, Prunella Scales and Dame Wendy Hiller, in one of her last roles.