People Are Talking About "Small Role" Actors Who Stole The Scene Or Entire Movie, And It's A GREAT List

    The best things come in small packages...even movie roles.

    Crystal Ro
    by Crystal Ro

    BuzzFeed Staff

    A lot of times, the best performance in a movie only lasts a few minutes. In fact, sometimes the actors are SO good in these small roles, they actually win Oscars — for example, Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love, whose onscreen time was only eight minutes; or Anne Hathaway in Les Misérables, whose onscreen time was about 15 minutes. (Both won for Best Supporting Actress, for the record.)

    Miramax

    So when Reddit user u/CherryDamzel posed the question, "What small-role actors stole the scene or entire movie?" to the r/Movies community, they were quick to respond with some really great examples of stars who had a big impact on a particular scene or movie, despite having a relatively small role in the overall film. Here are some of the most popular and top-voted responses:

    1. Ana de Armas as Paloma in No Time to Die.

    Nicola Dove /  MGM / Danjaq / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "She was absolutely stunning and kicked ass. Best part of the film."

    —u/lph1235

    "The fact she was in the film for such a short time is a shame. She was easily the best part of that dull film."

    —u/NoNefariousness2144

    2. Alfred Molina as Rahad Jackson in Boogie Nights.

    Alfred Molina wearing a silk robe on drugs
    New Line Cinema

    "Apparently, Paul Thomas Anderson, the director, gave Molina an earplug and an earpiece, so all he could hear was the dialogue during the scene. That's how he was able to act unfazed through all those firecracker sounds."

    —u/Romulus3799

    3. Lil Rel Howery as Rod Williams in Get Out.

    Justin Lubin / Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection, Universal / © Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I remember my entire theater gasping and whispering, 'NOOOOOOO!' when the flashing lights pull up at the end of Get Out. Then, when the TSA friend got out of the car, the entire theater CHEERED."

    —u/dasher11

    4. Jonah Hill as an eBay customer in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

    Jonah Hill holding a pair of knee-high sparkly boots with goldfish in the soles
    Universal Pictures

    "'I'll just give you some money ... I'm just trying to get these shoes back to my house so I can...wear them.'"

    —u/Knuc85

    5. Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Beatrice in Men in Black.

    Sony Pictures Releasing

    "I quote many of her lines from this movie to this day lol. She absolutely nailed her small part."

    —u/rainedrop87

    6. Mathieu Kassovitz as the mugger in The Fifth Element.

    A man holding a futuristic gun to Bruce Willis and wearing a disguise on his head
    Buena Vista International

    "'GIMME THE CASH!!!' You can see Bruce Willis doing his very best not to burst out laughing. 'That's a very nice hat...' 'YOU LIKE IT??!!'"

    —u/cdncbn

    "His little dance at the end is great."

    —u/alligatorislater

    7. Chris Tucker as Ruby Rod in The Fifth Element.

    Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I mean, clearly the movie was about him."

    —u/Bromogeeksual

    8. Kathy Lamkin as the Desert Aire manager in No Country for Old Men.

    The manager of an RV park sitting behind a desk in an old, junky office
    Miramax Films

    "She took zero shit and even Anton respected it. The Coens are good at unforgettable small roles."

    —u/xavPa

    "I don’t think he respects anyone; I think he hated that woman as he was leaving, but he accepted she 'won' the confrontation, which is just very unusual to him. He couldn’t intimidate her, and he couldn’t kill her in that moment. To him, the situation is probably infuriating."

    —u/I_dont_bone_goats

    9. Tom Cruise as Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder.

    DreamWorks Pictures

    "The character becomes 10 times funnier when you realize it’s Tom Cruise in makeup and prosthetics, except for at the end, where he’s dancing and it’s literally only funny because it’s Tom Cruise."

    —u/xavPa

    10. Evan Peters as Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

    Quicksilver wearing goggles, racing through a room fighting bad guys
    20th Century Fox

    "The kitchen scene was so good at creatively using his speed without relying on an ounce of 'superhero strength.' He pokes a cheek here, redirects a bullet there, but there are no big punches or massive lifts. He’s just doing things anybody could do if they had the time, with all the confidence of someone who ALWAYS has time."

    —u/cooperific

    11. Harish Patel as Karun Patel in Eternals.

    Marvel Studios / Disney

    "He was 100% my favorite part of that movie! Adorable!"

    —u/4ThaLolz

    "The MCU sidekicks are amazing overall, but he is definitely in my top three, along with Luis from Ant-Man and Katie from Shang Chi."

    —u/speedx5xracer

    12. Drew Barrymore as Casey Becker in Scream.

    Drew Barrymore in a blonde bob wig, holding an old house telephone screaming
    Dimension Films / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I honestly have forgotten the rest of the movie, but I can’t forget the opening with Drew Barrymore."

    —u/evmarshall

    "One of the three best opening scenes of all time for me."

    —u/Kodst3rGames

    13. Harold Perrineau as Mercutio in Romeo + Juliet.

    20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection, 20th Century Fox

    "That man stole the show, beyond a shadow of a doubt. My favorite character. Hands down. Brings Mercutio to life for me."

    —u/DiseaseBuster

    14. Sam Rockwell as Guy Fleegman in Galaxy Quest.

    Sam Rockwell in a space suit looking serious and sweaty
    DreamWorks Pictures

    "God, I love Rockwell. He stole Hitchhiker’s Guide, too, although it wasn’t really a bit part. Within about a minute, he’d turned my least favorite character into my new favorite character."

    —u/JimmyLegs50

    15. Peter Stormare as Lucifer in Constantine.

    Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The white suit, dripping oil/acid from his feet, the paleness of him — fuck, that scene is so good. When Tumblr was a thing, I remember saving a bunch of GIFs from that scene because it was so metal."

    —u/Ghrave

    16. Jennifer Coolidge as Paulette in Legally Blonde.

    Paulette with curly hair tied half up and wearing a jean jacket, looking surprised
    MGM / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Truly a treasure."

    —u/Ewww_David_

    17. John Turturro as Jesus Quintana in The Big Lebowski.

    Gramercy Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The Jesus in The Big Lebowski stole his scenes so hard that they gave him his own (ill-advised) movie."

    —u/SlamBrandis

    "John Turturro always stands out to me in movies. Lebowski, Mr. Deeds, Transformers. Just really good at playing the (generally) good kind of unhinged characters prone to making you want to do a spit take."

    —u/KorgX3

    18. Carol Kane and Billy Crystal as Valerie and Miracle Max in The Princess Bride.

    Miracle Max and Valerie with old wrinkly skin, long white hair, arms around each other
    20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Have fun storming the castle!"

    —u/kluivertfan2

    "Carol Kane stole the scene from Billy Crystal — who stole the scene from EVERYONE ELSE."

    —u/propita106

    19. Bill Murray as himself in Zombieland.

    Sony Pictures Releasing

    "I saw that movie without even knowing he was in it, and it blew me away...don't know if that could ever happen with all the moviemaking transparency these days."

    —u/peteoneillbassnyc

    20. J.K. Simmons as the CIA superior in Burn After Reading.

    JK Simmons in a suit sitting in a large leather office chair in an offie looking serious
    Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Honestly, my favorite performance of his."

    —u/BobTheGC

    "His ending scene is so freaking good: 'So what did we learn…?'"

    —u/DashSatan

    21. Bronson Pinchot as Serge in Beverly Hills Cop.

    Paramount Pictures

    "'Tell Ms. Summers that Mr. Achmed Foley is here—'

    "'No, no, "Axel."'

    "'Achmel? Achwel?'

    "'AXEL.'

    "[Pause] 'Foley's here to see her.'"

    —u/NateDogTX

    22. Christopher Walken as Captain Koons in Pulp Fiction.

    Walken in a military suit, holding a watch talking to a kid
    Miramax Films / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Nothing like telling a story about 'wearing' a watch up your ass."

    —u/JoeSaru

    23. Alden Ehrenreich as Hobie Doyle in Hail, Caesar!

    Universal Pictures

    "Alden Ehrenreich had a relatively small role in Hail, Caesar!, but he stole the show from some pretty big-name actors, including Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Channing Tatum."

    —u/The-Mandalorian

    24. Brad Pitt as Floyd in True Romance.

    Brad Pitt as a stoner, lying on a sofa eating Fritos
    Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I don’t think there is a better 'stoner' performance anywhere."

    “Don’t forget the cleaning products.” :)

    —u/dodgycool_1973

    25. Philip Seymour Hoffman as Freddie Miles in The Talented Mister Ripley.

    Paramount Pictures

    "He might have been in the movie for too many scenes to qualify, but he stole every scene in a film that included a murderers' row of good young actors."

    —u/sockpuppetwithcheese

    26. And finally, Paul Brooke as the rancor keeper in Return of the Jedi.

    A rancor keeper with no shirt, and a headdress, crying because his rancor is dead
    20th Century Fox

    "This detail was one of Roger Ebert's favorite parts of the movie."

    —u/ArrakeenSun

    "This was legit the first time I realized that 'the bad guys' are people with feelings too."

    —u/prostheticmind

    Who else would you add to the list? Tell us in the comments below!

    Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.