19 Movie Characters Who Were In Minimal Runtime, But Made Maximum Impact

Taking "15 minutes of fame" to an entirely different level.

This week, redditor u/tapdown asked, "What movie character did the most with the least screentime?" and you better believe people came through with some A+ answers! So, with that in mind, here are just a few characters who did the absolute most with the absolute least:

1. Frozone’s wife, The Incredibles (2004)

Pixar

"One of the most quotable film characters of all time with technically no actual screentime at all."

—u/AnakinsAngstFace

2. Hannibal Lecter, The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Orion Pictures

"He only had 16 minutes of total screentime."

—u/ImpSong

3. Boba Fett, The Star Wars Franchise

LucasFilm Ltd.

"I mean, he had a grand total of 10 minutes of screentime, give or take, and that was enough to spawn dozens of novels, comic books, and basically an entire culture in the wider Star Wars canon, which was then incorporated into the TV shows that came afterward."

—u/amalgamas

4. Blake, Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

New Line Cinema

"He was in it for seven minutes and pretty much stole the entire movie from Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, and Jonathan Pryce — who were all on top form in it."

—u/Stonewalled89

5. Keanu Reeves, Always Be My Maybe (2019)

Netflix

"Even though he technically played himself, it was possibly the best cameo ever."

—u/heidismiles

6. The Inventor, Edward Scissorhands (1990)

20th Century Fox

—u/knram

7. Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Miramax Films

"Dame Judi Dench won an Oscar for only eight minutes of screentime."

—u/BlackWidow1414

8. Betelgeuse, Beetlejuice (1988)

Warner Bros.

"He only has around 14 minutes of screentime, but the movie is named after him."

—u/Ghost_of_Society

9. King Richard, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Warner Bros.

"Great casting, especially if you’ve seen Robin and Marian (1976)."

—u/MikeSizemore

10. Mrs. Miller, Doubt (2008)

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"She has under seven minutes of screentime, but she's brilliant."

—u/PicklestheWise

11. Pinhead, Hellraiser (1987)

Entertainment Film Distributors

"He's maybe in 10 minutes of that movie, but he turned in such a great performance that he's the first thing people think of when you mention that franchise."

—u/Taractis

12. Danny Snyder, Sleepers (1996)

Warner Bros.

"Dustin Hoffman had a small role as a defense lawyer, but he was absolutely brilliant."

—u/scottwax

13. Voldemort, The Harry Potter Franchise

Warner Bros.

"He's barely in any of the movies, yet the entire plot is based around him."

—u/ape-with-keyboard

14. Louise Schumacher, Network (1976)

United Artists

"Beatrice Straight turned five minutes of screentime into a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. It was powerful."

—u/Strokedoutbear

15. The gas station attendant, Wayne's World 2 (1993)

Paramount Pictures

"It's Charlton Heston! He has like a 30-second cameo as a gas station attendant. He gives a performance so touching that classes should show this clip as the difference between reading lines and acting."

—u/square3481

16. Hades, Hercules (1996)

Walt Disney Studios

"I know he's the main villain, but I wish I got to see more of him."

—u/PhantomFlam3

17. Steve and Johnny, Airplane! (1980)

Paramount Pictures

"I haven't seen it in a good long while (sadness and shame, I know). I love the whole movie, but the part when Steve's like, 'What can you make of this?' and Johnny says, 'A brooch, a hat, etc.,' kills me."

—u/KaizokuShojo

18. Sauron, The Lord of the Rings Franchise

New Line Cinema

"He only had one real scene, yet he's still one of the most well-known villains in all of cinema."

—u/LagFox1

19. And finally — that one rat, Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Marvel Studios

"IT BROUGHT ANT-MAN BACK. IF THAT RAT WAS NEVER BORN, ALL THE AVENGERS WOULD'VE DIED. IT GOT FIVE SECONDS OF SCREENTIME AND SAVED THE WORLD."

—u/Darthvaderpopguy

Now it's your turn! Who's a movie character that made an incredible impact with barely any time onscreen? Share your pick(s) in the comments below!

Note: Some responses were edited for length and/or clarity. H/T: Reddit.