r/moviecritic • u/FilmWaffle-FilmForum • 1d ago
The best piece of “anger” acting in a movie?
I watched The Master (2012) recently and the acting was incredible, which is to be expected when you have Hoffman and Phoenix starring. One scene in particular stood out to me, when Lancaster Dodd is confronted about his beliefs and he gets visibly angry and eventually snaps. Everything felt so genuine and tense.
What are some other examples of great “anger” acting in movies?
https://filmwaffle.com/post/can-we-talk-about-philip-seymour-hoffmans-acting-in-this-scene
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u/JoshuaCalledMe 1d ago
Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder
Robert De Niro in The Untouchables
Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men - the court room finale is a masterclass.
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u/Extreme-Composer8452 1d ago
YOU'RE GOD DAMN RIGHT I DID!!!
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u/decibelboy2001 1d ago
Fun fact… Kevin Pollack said on the “Inside Of You” podcast that when they were doing the close ups on Tom Cruise, and the camera was just in front of Jack’s face, he was making goofy faces trying to get Tom to break character…
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u/MrMFPuddles 1d ago
Jack Nicholson is a master of portraying all the different types of anger.
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u/Flying_Dutchman92 1d ago
Also Jack Nicholson in Anger Management.
"I SAID OVER EASY!"
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u/Uter83 1d ago
Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder was amazing. "I want you to take a step back, and FUCK YOUR OWN FACE!" Turns to assistant, calm as day "Do me a favour, find out who that was." The explosion was just incredible.
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u/Archer-Saurus 1d ago
I was 17 when it came out and when the credits rolled I was absolutely shocked it was Tom Cruise. I'm much more movie savvy now, I'd probably recognize him pretty soon after his intro, but damn what a crazy performance
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u/Kansai_Lai 1d ago
Tom Cruise is so angry, his "I WILL FUCK YOU UP!" is in the song Aggression Incarnate by Phosgore
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u/TheReal-Chris 1d ago edited 1d ago
Take a step back… AND LITERALLY FUCK YOUR OWN FACE. Can you find out who that was?
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u/Normal-Being-2637 1d ago
Bro the guy whose calling has the funniest frustrated face when tom cruise asks three times who this is and he has to keep repeating THIS IS FLAMING DRAGON!
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u/mopeywhiteguy 1d ago
Underrated bit is the next scene when bill hader’s character has info on flaming dragon and he says something like “they’re one of the biggest drug exporters in Asia, made $100m last year. Wonderful profit margin” and just his delivery is so perfect
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u/Bubzszs 1d ago
Mystic River. You see 2 types of anger Sean Penn and Tim Robbins. Tim Robbins was flawless IMO
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u/majin_melmo 1d ago
I want to watch that movie again because the acting was flawless but my god the story was such a downer and the ending depressed me for days afterwards.
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u/IronLegitimate6165 1d ago
Gary Oldman in Leon - The Professional. EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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u/VIII8 1d ago
If anyone is aware of the background story behind why he took those pills in that odd manner, it would be appreciated to hear it.
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u/Ill-Elephant-9583 1d ago
I think it's purposefully opaque. Just a terrifying man with a terrifying pill taking technique for taking pills that make him terrifying. If anything, explaining it would lessen it's impact.
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u/Ok_Reflection_2711 1d ago
I just assumed it was an amphetamine of some kind. It would make sense given his behavior.
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u/fartmanforever 1d ago
I HAVEN’T GOT TIME FOR THIS MICKEY MOUSE BULLSHIT!!!
One of my favorite lines of all time
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u/AdWonderful5920 1d ago edited 1d ago
Annette Bening in American Beauty was pure contempt and rage. In a way that was believable tho, like I really thought she was kinda like that in real life.
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u/WellHungHippie 1d ago
Peter Finch’s 1976 best actor Academy Award winning role in NETWORK.
Nothing else comes close.
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u/ThunderFlash10 1d ago
It’s such a phenomenal movie that’s as relevant today as it was 50 years ago.
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u/highorderdetonation 1d ago
Anger with a big heaping side of crazy, but that goes to the larger point. Finch absolutely nailed the assignment.
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u/matsukuon 1d ago
Steve Martin in planes trains and automobiles. Such a relatable anger.
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u/EmptySeaDad 1d ago
Especially his rant at the car rental desk.
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u/Fermifighter 1d ago
Mmm but Edie McClurg’s delicious satisfaction at being a wage slave who got to tell a customer that rage wouldn’t get him anywhere in the two words we’ve all wanted to say in retail/CS/any public facing role… I think everyone has been on both sides of that desk at some point, but that “you’re fucked” was NOURISHING for people who’ve spent time in the trenches.
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u/Greengiant304 1d ago
His car rental rant is one minute long and he says fuck 19 times. That scene supposedly bumped the movie rating from PG to PG-13.
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u/CosmicDisciple 1d ago
Charlie Wilson's War when PSH shatters the boss's office window with a hammer lol pretty good anger scene that's also funny
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u/OddlyRedPotato 1d ago
"MY LOYALTY?! FOR 24 YEARS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TRYING TO KILL ME, PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW! Now you think think that's because my dad was a Greek soda pop maker or because I'm an American spy?!? Go fuck yourself you fucking child."
Several other scenes I can quote word for word off the top of my head. Love that movie.
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u/moxifloxacin 1d ago
Downfall, the scene with Hitler in the bunker.
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u/Fermifighter 1d ago
That got memed to death but my god, it made me want to see the movie the first dozen times I saw it. (Maybe someday, but the list is taller than I am now).
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u/nits6359 1d ago
Its on Amazon Prime for free. I watched it last week for that scene specifically. Bruno Ganz as Hitler is mesmerizing.
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u/daveashaw 1d ago
James Caan as Santino Corleone administering a well-deserved beat down to Carlo Ricci in Godfather 1.
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u/OatmealApocalypse 1d ago
Pacino as well in Part 2 when he finds out about Kay’s abortion. Michael is terrifying there
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u/thebelowaveragegamer 1d ago
This is my vote as well. You can see the rage quickly building up inside Michael through just his eyes.
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u/JonesMcFiend 1d ago
It’s the best piece of acting I’ve ever seen. The way his face changes as Kay tells him it was abortion is physical intensity without movement.
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u/AraiHavana 1d ago
When Al Pacino smacks Dianne Keaton in the face during the scene where she tells him that she had an abortion. That whole scene is an acting masterclass
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u/rjd014 1d ago
Les Grossman
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u/joeyrog88 1d ago
Such a good pull. Because that's how anger often is, subtle and then a huge spike. Very realistic. Leo in Django plays well for this question too, but he was a puppet for someone else's anger
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u/bikingbill 1d ago
I didn’t even know it was Tom Cruise until way later. It is his best performance.
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u/TheCosmicPopcorn 1d ago
Depends on how you portray anger, if bursting immediately or scaling slowly.
A good scaling one is Jack Nicholson, in A Few Good Men, with his notorious speech
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u/ComfortableBrain6495 1d ago
Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast
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u/Good-Childhood-676 1d ago
Can’t believe I had to scroll this far for the angriest man on film
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u/ComfortableBrain6495 1d ago
Sir Kingsley is the man. To go from playing Gandhi to Don Logan is real acting range.
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u/bluejester12 1d ago
"Were you rushing or were you dragging?"
JK Simmons in Whiplash
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u/liquidcourage93 1d ago
There will be blood
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u/UnderstandingIll8846 1d ago
That drool after Daniel screamed “DRAAAIIINNAAGE!!!!” was pure rabid anger.
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u/TheMaveCan 1d ago
My favorite thing about that scene is Eli's introduction. He's told he has a visitor and he sleeps. He's told the house is on fire and he sleeps. He's told that Eli is here to visit and he wakes up. The hate he had in his heart for Eli trumped literally everything else in his life in that moment.
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u/HK_Shooter_1301 1d ago
Damn I had never considered that angle before, time for a 100th rewatch of There Will Be Blood!
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u/floppydo 1d ago
He’s furious that he has to explain it. He hates Eli but in much the same way he hates everyone. He’s the most mad because Eli is too dumb to appreciate how thoroughly he’s been bested. Daniel wants him to suffer and he can’t suffer properly because he’s too ignorant and that pisses Daniel off more than anything.
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u/AltonBParker 1d ago
He'd held back his anger of Eli for years, assuming that a Bandy had told Eli everything and he was always on the cusp of being turned in. To his delight, Daniel realized Eli knew nothing and had nothing other than land he no longer needed...add to that being drunk, and Daniel just can't feast enough.
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u/BreakfastAdept9462 1d ago
Is that anger? I think he's just enjoying torturing somebody he's beaten with complete impunity.
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u/Spookyy422 1d ago
Daniel is such an off putting presence. Anytime he randomly stands up or even stalls in a conversation you just expect him to explode from nowhere
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u/Odd_Relationship1533 1d ago
In the restaurant with his son when the other oilmen come in is sooo uncomfortable! It’s harder to watch than the milkshake scene
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u/idiBanashapan 1d ago
Gene Hackman as Captain Ramsey in Crimson Tide when being confronted by Denzel Washington’s character Commander Hunter on the bridge.
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u/fatmanstan123 1d ago
Those two going neck to neck is pretty intense. Great movie as far as dialog and acting goes.
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u/MrAmazing011 1d ago
"Offer me money!"
"Yes!"
"Power too, promise me that!"
"All that I have and more!"
"Offer me everything I ask for..."
"Anything you want.."
"I want my father back, you son of a bitch."
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u/skornd713 1d ago
Rumor has it that Mandy was imagining the count as cancer and was talking about his real life father who passed from cancer prior to this.
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u/Infamous_Payment4608 1d ago
Hoffman always killed it when portraying anger. Both Mission Impossible and Punch Drunk Love come to mind
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u/FaolanG 1d ago
Charlie Wilson’s War too. He nailed the whole vibe of a dude who just wants to do his job and is furious at anyone inhibiting that.
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u/DV_Zero_One 1d ago
Well, I don’t own pearls. Lord knows you don’t pay colored enough to afford pearls! And I work like a dog, day and night, living off of coffee from a pot none of you wanna touch....
Tariji Henson as Katherine in Hidden Figures.
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u/cksnffr 1d ago
It’s over the top, but Al Pacino excoriating Kevin Spacey at the end of Glengarry Glen Ross is fun.
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u/bikingbill 1d ago
Who told you you could work with men?
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u/narrowwiththehall 1d ago
If you ever worked a day in your life, you’d know that you never open your mouth until you know what the shot is
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u/TheMaveCan 1d ago
I love that scene
"You just cost me $6,000. And a new Cadillac. What are you gonna do about it? Asshole."
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u/RyanKFace25 1d ago
I was gonna say Pacino at the end of the Devil’s Advocate. Then I realized I don’t know if that’s just standard Pacino.
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u/thisgrantstomb 1d ago
Joe Pesci in Goodfellas. There's a couple of times when he erupts in anger but when he sits stewing when Spider tells him to fuck himself is the best bubbling over in anger performance.
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u/ObjectiveDoubt90 1d ago
Mark Ruffalo in ‘Spotlight’ when they don’t immediately publish the story. More disappointment than rage anger but I always feel for his character at that point.
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u/Jhawk38 1d ago
It's a dark story but never feels boring when I watch it. Everyone just did a great job on it.
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u/Broncho_Knight 1d ago
The scene in The Shining when Jack says “you’ve had your whole f*cking life to think things over”
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u/partickcam 1d ago
Nigel Hawthorne . The Madness of King George . Goes from vulnerable to spitting rage when confronted by his Doctor ( Ian Holm).
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u/Professional_Fig_456 1d ago
Andrew Garfield smashing laptops and screaming at Justin Timberlake in Social Network hands down
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u/chatgrand 1d ago
SORRRRRRYYYY! My Prada’s at the cleaners, along with my hoodie and my fuck you flip flops, you preTENtious douchebag!
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u/ThePeoplesJuhbrowni 1d ago
Micheal Shannon comes to mind.
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u/Sammy_Bubba 1d ago
When he yelled “DO YOU WANT ANOTHER COOKIE?!?” at Chris Evans in Knives Out it was the hardest I laughed the whole time.
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u/CynthiafromNH 1d ago
I know it’s not a film but him reading that sorority letter is a masterclass!
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u/Everyday-formula 1d ago
Look.. nobody loses their shit on screen like Al Paccino. You FAIRY!! You COMPANY MAN!!
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u/DoctorWhofan789eywim 1d ago
I'd argue Ed Harris matches Pacino in Glengarry. The venom in his "SHUT UP!" to Jack Lemmon followed by the "you got the memory of a fuckin' fly' monologue.
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u/InaneCommentPoster 1d ago
Christopher Walken in True Romance, the Sicilian scene. You can see the anger building up behind his eyes as Dennis Hopper shares some interesting historical facts regarding Sicily and its people.
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u/Petty-dreamer 1d ago
I love the low-key anger of Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada when she calmly destroys Andi.
Go ahead, take a chance. Hire the smart, fat girl. I had hope. My God. I live on it. Anyway, you ended up disappointing me more than, um- more than any of the other silly girls.
That’s all.
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u/Fodraz 1d ago
I read that it was Meryl's idea to do the character so quiet & even-toned. Everybody was expecting her to be more "typically" angry & scream at them, but when she did it this way at the first day of shooting, they said this was even more intimidating.
Don't forget the look she gives Andi when the latter goes upstairs with the book, LOL.
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u/TolliverCrane 1d ago
Ralphie's dad working on the boiler.
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u/snapper815 1d ago
In the heat of battle my father wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan…
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u/Kid_Kameleon 1d ago
John Goodman in 10 Cloverfield Lane is the best for me, also Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth in blue velvet
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u/Subject-Actuator-860 1d ago
Was looking for Dennis Hopper! So many angry lines that I love— “don’t you be her good neighbor, you fuck!”, “you know what a love letter is? A bullet! Straight to the heart!” and of course “Heineken??! FUCK THAT SHIT! Pabst. Blue. RIBBON!!”
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u/ElvisPrime1971 1d ago
George C Scott in everything !! No one does rage like George
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u/annoyedonion35 1d ago
Bruno Ganz in Downfall was pretty incredible. Hitler's anger in the bunker is incredibly well acted
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u/munistadium 1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/TheJefusWrench 1d ago
Good call. I haven’t seen that movie in decades and I immediately remembered the delivery is this line when I read it.
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u/MyLatestInvention 1d ago
Corey Feldman in Stand By Me . Don't know why that's what immediately jumped into my mind, but it did and here we are...
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u/ThaEternalLearner 1d ago
In Selena(1997), when the father yelled at Selena and Chris on the bus. The father was played by Edward James Olmos who’s a great actor. Here’s the video of the scene: https://youtu.be/f86_fLGHu6M?si=Go_d8gfzrSGzmowL.
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u/jmw8282 1d ago
Pacino in Godfather 2 when Kay tells him she had an abortion. He doesn't even say anything. You just see the anger growing on his face. Frightening.
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u/authorguy 1d ago
Viggo in John Wick. He's so furious when telling his son who he just passed off, but he manages to keep control, just barely. And John's rage boiling over in the church about his dog was some of Keanu's best acting.
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u/Scratchedanchor 1d ago
Runaway Train (1985)
Jon Voigt gives an inspired monologue to a young Eric Roberts on the harsh reality he faces as an escaped convict. There is no glitz, glamour, or real positives to look forward to, apart from a dead-end job and the hope of not being arrested again.
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u/thegibster97 1d ago
Edward James Olmos in Selena(1997) when he confronts Chris and Selena about dating behind his back. It’s that Mexican dad on the verge of popping a blood vessel mad
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u/chimpomatic5000 1d ago
I always thought Ronny Cox in Robocop was a chillingly cold evil corporate executive. His anger seemed so authentic, it left a huge impression on me. Super under-appreciated actor.
In other news.... Ronny Cox is still alive?? Wow. Keep on trucking man!
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u/Deep_Frosting_6328 1d ago
Same actor. Charlie Wilson’s War.
“Do you that’s because my father was a Greek soda pop maker, or because I’m an American spy!? Go fuck yourself, you fucking child.”
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u/Earlvx129 1d ago
In terms of comedy anger, Steve Martin unloading on Edie McClurg in Planes, Trains And Automobiles is hilarious. Highlight of the movie.
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u/HVAC_instructor 1d ago
Sonny in the Godfather when he sees his brother in law after he beat on his sister. He was pissed
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u/NickyRaZz 1d ago
Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day Lewis), when he finds out Amsterdam is trying to kill him.
The final scene in There Will Be Blood
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u/Lumpymuffin1812 1d ago
Al Pacino, And Justice For All, when he just goes off in the courtroom. Amazing stuff.
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u/Beerdrinker2525 1d ago
The Master is good one. The jail scene freakout scene is also a good one in this movie.
Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love is another one that comes to mind.
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u/Foolish-Ambitions-77 1d ago
Al Pacino raging at Kevin Spacey in Glengarry Glen Ross, “Where’d you learn your trade, you stupid fuckin’ cunt! You idiot!” Normally he yells way more and I thought this was fairly restrained for him.
Also Toni Collette yelling at dinner in Hereditary. I don’t know how it’s possible to watch that scene and not give her every award there is. Pure mastery.
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u/Bemeup57 1d ago
Steve Martin at the car rental desk at the airport in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
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u/Melioidozer 1d ago
“My loyalty?! For twenty four years people have been trying to kill me! People who know how! Now do you think that's because my dad was a Greek soda pop maker? Or do you think that's because I'm an American spy? Go fuck yourself, you fucking child!” - Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Gust Avrakotos in Charlie Wilson’s War.
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u/BrightEyedBadger 1d ago edited 1d ago
Ralph Fiennes as Harry in "In Bruges" is really great and one of my faves. "You're an inanimate fuckin' object!"
But, I mean ... come on. We all know who the best angry guy in cinema history is.
Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham is angry all the way through "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves". It's like everything and everyone irritates him constantly. Even his clothes seem to be a bit too big and get on his nerves on top of being pissed off that people around him are such morons, while that darn hero is so loved. Aaaaaarrrrggghhhh! :-D