Best vulnerable actors/actresses of all time?

[Locut0s]

I just saw a post about John C Reilly and after watching a few clips of him I was reminded of the fact that one of his great qualities is his ability to be vulnerable on screen. This is a unique quality not shared by all actors, not even all the best actors. Indeed there are so many different types of acting and actors / actresses that one can't create a simple list of traits that all great actors share. For example few would argue that the great Daniel Day Lewis is not a master of modern method acting, however his characters are very much larger than life, he has a way of overwhelming you with style and "flavour", he crafts capital C characters. However while he CAN be vulnerable it's definitely not the centrepiece of his personality or acting method. Like I said I still rank him among the best actors of this century despite this.

But thinking of John C Reilly got me also thinking of the incomparable late Philip Seymour Hoffman who IMHO was one of the great "vulnerable" actors. Running through almost all of his characters was a deep sense of vulnerability bordering on pain. This is true with even many of the more despicable characters he played. The man had an unnerving way of bearing it all on screen in ways that were awkward, and painful, but deeply open, and masterfully nuanced.

I'm curious who others will choose for this category.

I'm also curious if anyone else agrees with my assessment of Philip Seymour Hoffman's deep vulnerability. Given his sad demise and life long struggle with emotional and substance abuse I also question if it was not also partially symptom as much as brilliant talent

[MrPurple]

1. Agree about PSH - great vulnerable performances, numerous brilliant portrals of addicts

I'll give some thought to what other actors excelled at playing vulerable roles, but Philip Seymour Hoffman definitely did. Some of his portrayals of addicts (Love Liza, Owning Mahoney, Happiness) were spectacularly good. It was probably terrain he knew well. I agree about his ability to show vulnerability - his roles in Boogie Nights and Magnolia nailed that, as did many others.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Jack Lemmon

I'm A Drunk

[Locut0s]

4. Great scene! nt.

[Locut0s]

3. I was first blown away by this quality by his role in Magnolia...

He was willing to go to places emotionally that few other actors were able. He cried on screen and lost his shit like few others did. Most actors when they cry, scream in frustration, etc do so from a place of control. Even great actors. But some clearly manage to dig into something deeper, when these actors break down on screen, one can't help but feel you are watching someone quite literally break down.

Another area in which PSH was also willing to be unusually vulnerable was in his physical appearance on screen. There are plenty of actors that have been or are overweight, or play rolls in which they have to look dishevelled and unkempt. But he had a way of throwing himself physically into his rolls that required him to look unattractive, and he did so so convincingly that many of his rolls are cringe worthy in how self deprecatory they were. While I have yet to see Boogie nights, I know I really need to get on that, the clips I've seen of his acting from it are clearly the portrail of someone crying out for unfelt love. And indeed many of his characters seem to personify this need.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

5. Marilyn Monroe

Some Like It Hot, Misfits, Seven Year Itch, etc, etc!

[Glorfindel]

6. Olivia de Havilland

[wishstar]

10. and her sister Joan Fontaine who starred in Jane Eyre and Rebecca and Suspicion

[Marie Marie]

7. A definite yes on Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Love him!

[mpcamb]

8. In the movie version of "Chicago" John C. Reilly sings "Mr. Cellophane". Very vulnerable move

especially for a non-singer, as are a lot of the performances.

[PassingFair]

9. Most recenty, Riz Ahmed in "The Night Of"

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Those Dondi eyes!

As for female actors, I think Liv Tyler has a presence that shows extreme vulnerability.
In every role she's played.

[smirkymonkey]

11. Rebecca Hall in "Christine"

She played Christine Chubbuck, a newscaster who committed suicide on air in the 70's. She is a British actress and very good in everything she has been in, but not really well known. The film wasn't that well known either, but she played the part with such poignancy and heart. It was such a tragic film, but she played her part beautifully and I think she did justice to the real Christine Chubbuck.

[jalan48]

12. James Dean