Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
11
Premium Benefits
24/7
Access Available
21K+
Active Members
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information, you confirm you are aged 16 or over, have read our Privacy Policy and agree to the Terms & Conditions. Geographical rules apply.

Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Buying Guides
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
  • Home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Buying Guides
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Video
    • View Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

50 Greatest Scene Stealing Performances

Features
By Joshua Winning published 2 April 2013

Theatrical thieves

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Subscribe to our newsletter

Anna Kendrick Up In The Air (2009)

The Performance: Ferocious and uptight as newbie Natalie, Anna Kendrick proved she could do more than just grin sweetly in Twilight by pulling the rug out from under George Clooney in this high-flying drama.

If They Had Their Own Movie: It would be more about youngsters struggling to make their way in the world than silver foxes avoiding commitment.

With Clooney putting in a cameo appearance.

Klaus Kinski Doctor Zhivago (1965)

The Performance: A super-smart anarchist who’s being shipped off to Siberia in chains, Kostoyed (Kinski) is a mere punctuation point in this grand epic, but boy does he make an impression.

“I am the only free man on this train! And the rest of you are CATTLE!” he bleats.

If They Had Their Own Movie: We wish he had – it would be just as involving as Zhivago’s story, though with more mad eye-rolling.

Latest Videos From
Watch full video here:

Rowan Atkinson Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)

The Performance: Atkinson does the ‘bumbling thing’ as priest Gerald, who keeps fluffing his lines up at a wedding ceremony, getting names wrong and talking about the ‘Holy Goat’.

If They Had Their Own Movie: It would basically be a more verbal version of Mr Bean.

Leonardo DiCaprio Whats Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)

The Performance: Lasse Hallström’s film pretends to be a coming-of-ager centred on Johnny Depp, but it’s a young DiCaprio who makes the film as Depp’s mentally-challenged younger brother.

If They Had Their Own Movie: Well, he does – just because the film’s not called What’s Eating Arnie Grape? doesn’t mean DiCaprio doesn’t own Hallström’s film.

You may like
  • Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights 20 best movies on HBO Max to watch right now
  • Scytale standing among the Fremen I can't wait to see Robert Pattinson in Dune 3 – it's about time he played a blockbuster villain
  • Nicolas Cage as the Spider in Spider-Noir The 6 best new shows and movies streaming this week on Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Apple TV and more (May 29–May 31)

Steve Martin The Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)

The Performance: Addicted to nitrus oxide and tending to his patients with all the sensitivity of a serial killer, Steve Martin’s performance as sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello is a comedy tour-de-force.

With really good hair.

If They Had Their Own Movie: It’d have the tone of I Married An Axe-Murderer and make us even more terrified about visiting the dentist.

Rutger Hauer Sin City (2005)

The Performance: “When he came to me, he was a tormented boy,” rasps Rutger, bald as a plucked chicken and swathed in shadow as Cardinal Roark.

He gets some of the most poetic lines of the film, and does the unthinkable by stealing our attention away from Mickey Rourke as plastered bruiser Marv.

If They Had Their Own Movie: It would be a savage indictment of modern-day religion with Hauer doing his best teeth-gritting angry face.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Benicio Del Toro The Usual Suspects (1995)

The Performance: Sure, Kevin Spacey has that iconic moment at the end of the film, but Del Toro is effortlessly enigmatic way before that in Bryan Singer’s brain-melting thriller.

Examples? Just check out the line-up scene. “Hand-me-the-fuckin-keys-what-the-fuhhh?”

If They Had Their Own Movie:
It’d be a really dark comedy with some very loud shirts.

Forest Whitaker Platoon (1986)

The Performance: “I don’t know brothers, but I’m hurting real bad inside.”

Though the cast includes the fantastic likes of Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen and John C. McGinley, it’s Whitaker who delivers sucker-punches to the heart here as Big Harold.

If They Had Their Own Movie: It would be a riveting chronicle of one soldier’s bruising experiences in Vietnam.

Er, starring Forest Whitaker.

William Hurt A History Of Violence (2005)

The Performance: Just one scene, but such a blinder that it earned Hurt an Oscar nomination for playing Joey Cusack’s brother, a total psychotic who has no qualms about ordering his sibling’s assassination.

If They Had Their Own Movie: It would probably resemble Scarface .

Judi Dench Shakespeare In Love (1998)

The Performance: Bringing a regal reserve and a rattlesnake tongue to the ‘character’ of Queen Elizabeth I, Dench is unforgettable despite only appearing in John Madden’s film for a total of eight minutes.

It’s all quality over quantity there, eh?

If They Had Their Own Movie:
Cate Blanchett would play a younger version of her.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Current page: Page 1

Next Page Page 2
Joshua Winning
Social Links Navigation

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.  

Read more
Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights
Movies 20 best movies on HBO Max to watch right now
 
 
Scytale standing among the Fremen
Sci-Fi Movies I can't wait to see Robert Pattinson in Dune 3 – it's about time he played a blockbuster villain
 
 
Nicolas Cage as the Spider in Spider-Noir
Streaming Services The 6 best new shows and movies streaming this week on Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Apple TV and more (May 29–May 31)
 
 
Bill Skarsgård as Tony Kiritsis and Dacre Montgomery as Richard Hall in Dead Man's Wire
Thriller Movies Bill Skarsgård plays a scorned kidnapper in Dead Man's Wire, a surprisingly funny crime thriller
 
 
An alien food vendor voiced by Martin Scorsese in The Mandalorian & Grogu trailer.
Star Wars Movies Martin Scorsese's unexpected cameo in The Mandalorian and Grogu explained
 
 
Adam Scott as Ohm in Hokum
Horror Movies 5 horror movies made by comedy stars to watch after Adam Scott's new scary flick Hokum
 
 
Latest in Movies
jurassic park
Adventure Movies Steven Spielberg reveals Harrison Ford turned down Alan Grant in Jurassic Park
 
 
Milly Alcock and Matthias Schoenaerts in Supergirl
DC Movies James Gunn didn't want Supergirl to be too similar to Superman: "Make it distinctive"
 
 
Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin and Baby Yoda in the snow in The Mandalorian and Grogu
Star Wars Movies The Mandalorian and Grogu star defends the Star Wars movie's box office and hints at Dave Filoni's grander plan
 
 
Milly Alcock as Supergirl in Supergirl character poster
DC Movies Supergirl writer says the DCU movie is "completely different" from her DCEU Supergirl script: "Nothing carried over"
 
 
Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Marvel Movies Spider-Man: Brand New Day tickets go on sale very soon – here's when you can buy them
 
 
Mad Max: Fury Road
Action Movies George Miller reportedly wants to make a final Mad Max movie and TV show, but Warner Bros has already turned it down
 
 
Latest in Features
Toniebox 2 playing Game of Life lifestyle photo with two kids
Board Games My kids won't stop asking to play this new version of The Game of Life
 
 
Stuntman: Hollywood
Racing Games Stuntman: Hollywood was the best 15 minutes of my Summer Game Fest
 
 
Simon Ordell looks at a gadget in his hands in a dark, misty town in key art for Silent Hill Townfall, cropped for a header, with the orange GamesRadar+ Summer Preview 2026 frame
Silent Hill Silent Hill: Townfall would be a better horror game if it had nothing to do with Silent Hill
 
 
My Adventures with Superman season 3
DC TV Shows My Adventures with Superman is what James Gunn's DCU should be
 
 
A Space Marine in worn blue armor and gold trim looking to his left in Total War: Warhammer 40K
Total War Total War: Warhammer 40K is getting a closed beta, and its latest gameplay has sold me
 
 
An angled photo of six pro controllers on a gaming desk
Gaming Controllers I've been reviewing gaming controllers for years; these are my top-tested ones to look out for this Prime Day
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Zuko in Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender
    1
    Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 will only be 7 episodes, as executive producer reveals a completed script was cut
  2. 2
    Matt Smith still doesn't know if the House of the Dragon writers will give Daemon a book-faithful Gods Eye
  3. 3
    Sonic lead says AAA studios can learn from indies in the same way movies should take notes from Backrooms and Obsession
  4. 4
    Toy Story 5 director Andrew Stanton thinks Buzz and Woody have seen each other since they parted ways in Toy Story 4
  5. 5
    SteelSeries' South Park collab is live and you can't stop me adding this Towelie mouse pad to my collection

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...