8. Hugo Weaving as V in V For Vendetta
Hugo Weaving is one of the great character actors of his generation, but hardly ever received a chance to shine, until V For Vendetta. We never see his face, other than a very brief, shadowy glimpse, yet Weaving’s presence is constantly commanding. He creates in us a blend of both sympathy and longing for rebellion without ever showing his face. THAT’S how you act.
7. David Carradine as Bill in Kill Bill
Although his presence isn’t very large in Vol. 1 of Kill Bill, in Vol. 2 we get our fair dosage of Bill. He has long, Tarantino monologues about life, death, and Superman, touched with appropriate amounts of violence and emotion. In fact, I would vote his “Superman” speech the greatest monologue given in a film during that whole decade of movies. From his cold-blooded line delivery, to his emotional death scene accompanied by Ennio Morricone’s “The Demise of Barbara, The Return of Joe”, Carradine definitely should have at least been nominated for Best Supporting Actor.