Items19The creator’s order
  1. 1John C. ReillyJohn C. ReillyBorn 24 May 1965Magnolia (1999) gives Reilly's lonely police officer a difficult task: offer another person attention without immediately understanding her distress. His scenes with Melora Walters depend on awkward pauses and imperfect reassurance. In a film full of emotional eruptions, he makes a hesitant attempt…0i
  2. 2Catherine O'HaraCatherine O'HaraBorn 4 Mar 1954In Best in Show (2000), O'Hara's Cookie Fleck brings a history of romantic adventures into every encounter with her husband. Her relaxed confidence gives Eugene Levy's embarrassment somewhere to land. Their partnership makes a marriage feel established before the dog-show farce has really begun.0i
  3. 3Song Kang-hoSong Kang-hoBorn 17 Jan 1967Parasite (2019) relies on the Kim family behaving like a practised unit, even when their scheme requires them to appear unrelated. Song's Ki-taek adjusts to his children, wife and employers with revealing changes of assurance. Watch the reactions he holds back: the South Korean thriller makes those…0i
  4. 4Philip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour HoffmanBorn 23 Jul 1967Hoffman's nurse Phil in Magnolia (1999) supplies care without turning himself into the centre of the story. He listens to a dying man and tries to reconnect a damaged family, giving more demonstrative performances a patient presence to work against. A useful choice for noticing how sympathy can…0i
  5. 5William H. MacyWilliam H. MacyBorn 13 Mar 1950William H. Macy makes Magnolia's former child quiz champion painfully aware of the distance between being recognised and being loved. His neediness introduces a different rhythm from the film's more forceful personalities. Follow his exchanges with people who barely notice him to see how an actor…0i
  6. 6Eugene LevyEugene LevyGerry Fleck in Best in Show (2000) gives Eugene Levy plenty of opportunities to register humiliation without stopping the conversation. His increasingly strained reactions make Catherine O'Hara's breeziness funnier. The appeal is in their shared timing, with each new encounter adding another small…0i
  7. 7Parker PoseyParker PoseyBorn 8 Nov 1968Parker Posey's anxious dog owner in Best in Show (2000) finds a perfectly combustible partner in Michael Hitchcock. Their characters amplify each other's fears until ordinary arrangements become emergencies. Watch how a complaint changes hands between them: the comic momentum belongs to the pair…0i
  8. 8Imelda StauntonImelda StauntonBorn 9 Jan 1956Pride (2014) gives Staunton's Hefina a directness that can cut through both embarrassment and resistance. She helps the film's Welsh community feel capable of change without making everyone immediately agreeable. Her exchanges with visiting activists and fellow villagers show how a firm supporting…0i
  9. 9Bill NighyBill NighyBorn 12 Dec 1949Bill Nighy's Cliff in Pride (2014) makes quietness an active contribution to a crowded film. His measured speech and watchful manner create room for other people's enthusiasm, while exchanges with Imelda Staunton suggest a long shared history. Choose him as a counterweight to the more exuberant…0i
  10. 10Paddy ConsidinePaddy ConsidineBorn 5 Sept 1973As the miner Dai in Pride (2014), Considine helps two communities approach each other without pretending their differences have vanished. He gives uncertainty a thoughtful, receptive quality. The pleasure is in watching his responses change as conversation becomes cooperation, a grounded centre for…0i