The idea of this blog-a-thon is "to shine a spotlight on the 'unsung heroes' if you will, the overlooked performers who add so much richness/entertainment value to the film no matter how brief their appearance is, but yet they don't get the credit they so deserve." For general rules and other details, if you are interested in participating, click here: http://flixchatter.net/2012/08/30/small-roles-big-performances-blog-a-thon/
When I first received Ruth's email, I had to think long and hard and even leave it for another day to actually find a performance like she was asking, I don't know why I found it so difficult to do or find. I am sure I have forgotten many great small performances, but this is what I thought of when I got the proposition. I have several choices: a very small part that maybe isn't very powerful, but that had an impact over me, a bigger, more appreciated role, and the last, the one I like and think fits the best Ruth's request. So taking that into consideration, here are my 3 choices:
1. The cigarette guy aka Carlos in A Single Man- there's no surprise in finding out that the part of the mysterious, yet highly attractive man who asks for a cigarette outside a supermarket in Tom Ford's A Single Man is a famous model that goes by the name of Jon Kortajarena. He may have an extremely small role in this stunning adaptation of the Christopher Isherwood novel, but for me it was quite memorable. It may have been for the predictable and shallow reason of me considering him to be a very attractive man, but I also think he had real charisma and appeal, making that scene ten times more sexier and sensual than a normal model/actor would have managed. Plus, it helped us understand George better and it was visually, very well made. Here's a clip of that moment:
2. Jared Leto in American Psycho- people don't give him as much credit as he deserves. I never actually understood how good an actor he was until this movie, and I haven't even seen Requiem for a dream, in which I've heard he is fantastic. He always has smaller, yet interesting and memorable parts, and American Psycho is no exception. He plays Paul Allen, one of Bateman's colleagues, who Patrick has a grudge on, because of Allen's success and charm. Leto portrays the wacky, cocky character wonderfully and blends into the crazy, unbelievable world quite easily. Here's a clip of the movie- he is in it for a short time, but the whole scene is pretty great:
3. The housekeeper from Schindler's list-Helen Hirsch played by Embeth Davidtz- Schindler's list is one of my favorite movies of all time and, in a sea of amazing actors, stunning scenes and memorable performances, I still remember her very well. Firstly for her beauty and quiet demeanour. Secondly, for the way she brought humanity to the story, the environment and the house, and more specifically, to Ralph Fiennes' character. I absolutely love the scene in the basement when he discovers her bathing, the fascinating conversation between the two and change in attitude of Amon. This could have been a turning point for him, but it wasn't, just because of his nature- no matter how much he tried to look at things from different perspectives or listen to his heart, he couldn't change. Still, Embeth's performance is breathtaking and I loved it.
With the exception of the third choice, I am not very convinced that the first two are awards-worthy or fantastic performances, but I just wanted to highlight them one way or another. You can call them Honorable Mentions, as number 3 is the final and, probably, best choice!
Hope you enjoyed it, can't wait to see what the others chose!