32 Actors Who Nailed A Role So Hard, No One Will Ever Compare
Some performances are simply *chef's kiss.* Reddit user thepoutingmom recently asked, " Who's an actor who nailed a role so hard that nobody else will ever be able to live up to it?" Here are the fan favorites worth adding to your watchlist:
1. "I think some of us forgot that James Gandolfini was an actor and not Tony Soprano."
2. "Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean. You know you've nailed a role when most of the world knows you by your character's name, not your real name."
3. " Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall."
4. " Johnny Depp at Jack Sparrow."
— u/sherlock_jr
"Ahem, Captain Jack Sparrow."
— u/idwthis
5. " Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight is one of those performances that will likely never be topped."
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6. "Try as they might, there will never be a Willy Wonka better than Gene Wilder."
7. "Christopher Lloyd nailed it as Doc Brown in the Back to the Future movies."
8. "Leonard Nimoy as Spock. Zachary Quinto and Ethan Peck are fine in their rights, but Mr. Nimoy's performance made Spock a cultural icon."
9. "Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers. So good he's ended up voicing Shaggy in lots of further adaptations of Scooby Doo.
10. "Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly."
11. "Jack Gleeson as Joffrey in Game of Thrones. Never wanted to punch a character so bad…"
12. "Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad."
13. "Only Mike Myers could make Austin Powers work."
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14. "Jeff Bridges as The Dude."
15. "Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Iconic."
16. "Tim Curry as Frank-N-Furter."
17. "Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, by miles and miles."
18. "Hugh Laurie as Dr. House."
19. "Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy. He owned that role."
20. "Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator."
21. "Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire."
22. "J.K. Simmons as J.J. Jameson."
23. "Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther/T'Challa."
24. "Jon Hamm as Don Draper."
25. "Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister."
— u/TheThreeRocketeers
"A performance so good they can never realistically reboot the series. When anyone else tries to play that character, it just doesn't feel right."
— u/MixGroundbreaking622
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26. "Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man/Tony Stark."
27. "Steve Carell as Michael Scott."
— u/melissapurtle
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28. "Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury. I felt he absolutely nailed it, and I only associate him with Freddie."
Nick Delaney / © 20th Century Fox Film Corp. / Courtesy Everett Collection
— u/angelbabie4132
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29. "Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump."
© Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection
— u/punk0mi
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30. "Everyone in The Princess Bride."
© 20th Century Fox FIlm Corp. / Courtesy Everett Collection
— u/dragonbliss
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31. "There's no way anyone else can live up to Henry Cavill's portrayal of Geralt. Sorry, Liam."
Katalin Vermes / © Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection
— u/MasticatedBrain
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32. "Ian McKellen as Gandalf."
© Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
— u/Jay-Dee-British
"Basically everyone in the trilogy — it was nearly perfectly cast."
— u/Yazim
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Which TV or movie role was SO good that it could never be played by another person? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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