The ’90s were a hell of a time for movies. Not coincidentally, they were also notably great for film acting. From timeless comedic performances to legendary Oscar-winning turns, and from powerhouse breakout roles to career-best performances by legendary established actors, the best acting performances in ’90s movies are proof that this was an exceptional decade for the craft.
Going into the ’90s, actors started turning in performances that felt significantly more natural and vulnerable than those of the ’70s and ’80s, which has ensured their endurance in audiences’ memories as the years have passed. It’s only fitting that the authors of all ten of these performances went on to become absolute legends of the art form. This list will rank the best performances of the 1990s, based on their impact, their role in their respective movies, and how well they have stood the test of time.
10
Robin Williams — ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ (1993)
The legendary Robin Williams started experimenting with more and more dramatic roles throughout the ’90s, but this comedic icon was a laughter-generating machine at heart. Logically, most of his best films of the 1990s were comedies. From these movies came Williams’ best-ever comedic performance: as the titular cross-dressing nanny in Mrs. Doubtfire, one of the sweetest family comedies of the decade.
Williams is hilarious here, nailing both the vocal and physical idiosyncrasies of his colorful character to perfection, and improvising so much that nearly 2 million feet of film were amassed by the time the shoot was done. But the real merit of this performance lies in Williams’ masterful sense of balance, keeping his hugely inspired comedy and some of the most tender and nuanced drama of any ’90s comedy in perfect equilibrium.
9
Jodie Foster — ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991)
Only three films have ever won the Big Five Academy Awards: It Happened One Night in 1935, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1976, and most recently, The Silence of the Lambs in 1992. The wins, of course, included a Best Actress award for Jodie Foster, who used this legendary turn to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was more than ready to deliver some stunning adult performances.
Foster’s work in this seminal horror movie is perhaps the best performance of 1991, a huge compliment, considering her co-star usually gets all the attention. Intelligent, hugely capable, perfectly relatable in the movie’s darker and scarier moments, and flawlessly framed by director Jonathan Demme, Foster is a powerhouse in The Silence of the Lambs, crafting one of the most memorable and likable protagonists of any thriller of the decade with surprising subtlety.
8
Joe Pesci — ‘Goodfellas’ (1990)
Joe Pesci‘s collaborations with Martin Scorsese are the stuff of Hollywood acting legends. They’ve all resulted in some of the best performances of the actor’s career, but the question of which one is the best of all has a pretty easy answer: It would have to be Goodfellas, Scorsese’s best gangster film, which won Pesci the only Oscar he’s ever obtained.
Pesci’s Tommy DeVito, based on real-life gangster Thomas DeSimone, is one of the best over-the-top movie villains of all time, a bombastic bundle of rage, sadism, and terrifying charisma. Embodying DeVito’s volatile nature with the perfect blend of humor and violence, Pesci is undeniably stellar and scene-stealing in Goodfellas. He singlehandedly turns his character into one of the most iconic criminals in the history of film, an explosive ball of fire that keeps shocking viewers with every new scene.
7
Frances McDormand — ‘Fargo’ (1996)
The role that earned Frances McDormand her first-ever Oscar was as police chief Marge Gunderson in Fargo, one of the best dark comedies ever made. The movie itself is phenomenal, with a delightfully sharp script by the Coen brothers and equally tonally strong direction, but the beating heart and glowing soul of Fargo is McDormand and her endlessly charming portrayal of Marge.
It’s not a particularly flashy performance, which the crime genre tends to favor, but that’s precisely what makes it so unique. Displaying some unbelievably nuanced range, but without ever losing Marge’s cheerful and naturalistic edge, McDormand embodies the complicated themes of Fargo perfectly, proving herself fully worthy of her Oscar. It’s a remarkable piece of acting that grounds the film’s violent tone on a story that feels deeply human purely thanks to its star.
6
Ralph Fiennes — ‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)
Ralph Fiennes‘ breakout role came when he starred as Austrian SS functionary Amon Göth in Steven Spielberg‘s Schindler’s List, arguably the greatest and most emotionally stirring war film of the 1990s. It’s said that, while meeting members of the cast on set, Holocaust survivor Mila Pfefferberg was absolutely terrified of Fiennes, because he reminded her of the real Göth so much.
Indeed, Fiennes’ performance is twistedly evil and utterly horrifying, yet so lifelike that he never lets the audience forget that this ghastly monster he’s playing was a real person. There is a distinct lack of showmanship in his portrayal, making Göth seem all the more chilling. This kind of veracity is precisely what makes Schindler’s List one of the best-ever movies based on true events, and what makes Fiennes’ chameleonic performance so soul-scarring.
5
Michael Clarke Duncan — ‘The Green Mile’ (1999)
Stephen King is the king of horror, but he’s also written plenty of non-horror stories over his career—and plenty of those have been turned into equally fantastic films. Case in point: Frank Darabont‘s The Green Mile, a 3-hour-long character-driven epic that mixes profoundly affecting melodrama with some beautiful fantastical elements to great effect.
Michael Clarke Duncan’s towering yet gorgeously sensitive portrayal of mysterious death row inmate John Coffey is so effective, layered, and gut-wrenching.
The Green Mile lives and dies by its cast. However, one player in particular delivers a performance so stunning and complex that he became one of only five actors from Stephen King adaptations to make their way to an Oscar nod. Of course, it’s Michael Clarke Duncan, whose towering yet gorgeously sensitive portrayal of mysterious death row inmate John Coffey is so effective, layered, and gut-wrenching that no viewer with a heart should be able to get to the film’s credits without shedding some tears.
4
Liam Neeson — ‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)
As jaw-dropping as Ralph Fiennes’ work in Schindler’s List is, the film’s star is its greatest hero. The movie made Liam Neeson a household name and launched him into Hollywood superstardom, and deservedly so. As beautifully directed, effectively written, and visually potent as Schindler’s List is, it wouldn’t work nearly as well as it does with any lesser actor in the lead role.
Neeson’s portrayal of Oskar Schindler is nothing short of one of the most legendary war film performances in history, every bit as morally complex as it is emotionally impactful. It’s a fittingly layered embodiment of a deeply complicated historical figure, and at no point does Neeson fall into cheap melodrama or sensationalistic heartstring-tugging. His Oscar-nominated performance in Schindler’s List works as well as it does because it’s so refreshingly honest and raw.
3
Kathy Bates — ‘Misery’ (1990)
One of the most surprising yet inspired Academy Award victories in the history of the ceremony was Kathy Bates earning a Best Actress Oscar in 1991 for her turn as Annie Wilkes in Misery, one of the greatest villains from any horror film ever. To this day, Annie is still one of the legendary actress’ most essential performances, and a must-see for all fans of the genre.
This isn’t just a one-note scary performance, though; it would never have made its way to Oscar gold that way. Instead, Bates portrays Annie with such an admirable level of sympathy that she never feels like the bombastic monster any other actress might have been tempted to play her as. In this exceptionally talented thespian’s hands, Annie Wilkes’ deeply tortured mind becomes as believable as it is sympathetic, yet her inexcusably sadistic actions make for a distinctly horrifying experience nonetheless.
2
Robin Williams — ‘Good Will Hunting’ (1997)
If there’s any actor that deserves to appear in any “best performances” list of the ’90s twice, it’s Robin Williams. This singular talent was on top of the world throughout the decade. Granted, he starred in plenty of flops, but the great ’90s films that he starred in have aged as some of the decade’s greatest. For proof, one needn’t look any further than Good Will Hunting, the drama that earned Williams the only Oscar he ever won.
Oscar gold isn’t the only reason why this is one of Robin Williams’ most essential movies, however. Delivering the most sincere, believable, poignant, and profoundly impactful dramatic turn that he ever offered, Williams steals every second he’s on the screen in Good Will Hunting. He injects humor into the performance without ever reducing it to absurdity, making Dr. Sean Maguire one of the most endearing and emotionally nuanced characters in any ’90s drama.
1
Denzel Washington — ‘Malcolm X’ (1992)
It’s an absolute travesty that Spike Lee‘s Malcolm X was only nominated for two Oscars. One of those was a Best Actor nod for Denzel Washington, and it’s perhaps even more of a travesty that he walked home empty-handed, making his one of the best Oscar-nominated performances that didn’t win. Even still, the court of public opinion matters most in the end, and Washington’s portrayal of the titular revolutionary and human rights activist has indeed aged as the greatest performance of the entire 1990s.
Washington’s performance as Malcolm X is more than just astonishingly transformational: It’s transcendental beyond all measures, flawlessly capturing the tumultuous evolution of a man who changed the very cultural fabric of his environment throughout his life. He’s angry, articulate, intelligent, and charismatic; every good thing that an acting performance can possibly be, Washington delivers in Malcolm X, cementing his place as one of cinema’s all-time greatest.
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