Top 20 Best One Scene Movie Performances

If these characters had appeared in two scenes, it would have started to rain Academy Awards. For this list, we’ll be looking at actors who had a major speaking role for a single scene in a film. Our countdown includes Chris Evans, Vanessa Redgrave, Viola Davis, Christopher Walken, and more! Tell us which single scene performances stole the show for you in the comments below.

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[WatchMojo]

Tell us which single scene performances stole the show for you!

[MRgOfF]

Not Peter Stormare as Lucifer in Constantine? He was really amazing!

[michaelgreico]

Robert Duvall in To Kill a Mockingbird as Boo Radley. Even without uttering a single line he leaves an impression.

[AngelicusImmortus]

1917 - Andrew Scott, having worked with Benedict Cumberbatch in “Sherlock” was shown how great a friend Benedict is.
They wanted someone who could make an impact in a tiny space of dialogue. Benedict told everyone from the start to get Scott because “He can communicate an entire mood of a film in one small section of dialogue, with tone of voice, movement and just pure style”
Scott got the job and was paid for five days filming, even though he was there for about an hour and got the piece right on the first take.

[KhaledAlfaris]

The conversation scene in the beginning of Inglorious Bastards.

[noznaree]

Gary Oldman in True Romance definitely deserved a spot on this list

[batgurrl]

You missed Christopher Walken in True Romance. That scene with Dennis Hopper was like a master class in acting from both.

[aphylorne]

The watch scene from Pulp Fiction was one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen.

[Connor-fjrc]

I would have liked to have seen John Hurt from the first Harry Potter movie. He was only in the film for four minutes but his performance perfectly captured the tone of the early Harry Potter films. Whimsical with a hint of darkness just beneath the surface.

[joeyeulo]

Javier Bardem's one scene in Collateral as Felix was also great, he managed to be so calm and menacing at the same time

[SarahRenz]

Good call on Alfred Molina in Boogie Nights. That scene was bats**t insane, and it was the one that stuck with me long after I left the theater.

[thomasgreen]

7:18 "👊💥....What's up. How's life. He seems nice" I'm sorry but that got me good 🤣

[BigFella]

“1917” was one of my favorite movies I’ve ever seen about World War I, and I loved how it felt like a continuous shot, never skipping between scenes, and feeling extremely realistic

[randyjohnson]

Christopher Walkin and Dennis Hopper in True Romance is top 5 greatest scenes of all time.

[littlee]

I probably wouldn’t put it in a top 20 but Jonah Hill’s cameo in Django Unchained always makes me crack up. It’s always fun to see the antagonists portrayed as bumbling idiots.

[IvyHilts]

1.- Donald Sutherland - JFK
2.- August Diehl - Inglorious Basterds
3.- Ian McKellen - Last Action Hero
4.-Montgomery Clift - Judgement at Nuremberg
5.- Walter Brennan - Meet John Doe
6.- Bette Davis - Pocketful of Miracles
7.- Harvey Keitel - Pulp Fiction
8.- Joe Viterelli - State of Grace
9.- Benicio del Toro - Sin City
10.- Buster Keaton - Limelight

[trinaq]

Viola Davis is such an incredible actress. She stole the show with just one scene in "Doubt", cementing her as a star on the rise! 🌟

[carlwinters]

Is anybody else disappointed that Samuel L. Jackson's robbery scene from "Coming to America" wasn't included in this?

[horrorfan]

Drew Barrymore in scream is my choice she was on the poster so people thought she was the lead but she fooled them and was killed it was a shock

[shuigor]

Robert Duvall as Arthur "Boo" Radley in To Kill A Mockingbird: making his performance even more amazing is he didn't have a single word of dialogue in the film.