Top 20 Greatest Acting Debuts in Movies

nice suit john phillips london welcome to watch mojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 acting debuts in movies [Music] what do you mean it's like i have espn or something for this list we'll be looking at the best debut performances in movie history this must be the actor's first appearance in a film even if they had previously acted on stage or television what do you think is the best debut performance of all time let us know in the comments number 20. alan rickman die hard hans gruber is one of the greatest antagonists in movie history and he was played by first time film presence alan rickman two three i don't know it i'm telling you get on the jet to tokyo and ask the chairman i'm telling you you're just gonna have to kill me okay rickman was an accomplished stage actor at the time a member of the royal shakespeare company having trained at london's royal academy of dramatic art i can't take the time now to mention all the shakespearean roles you've done in 1985 rickman starred in productions of as you like it and troilus and cressida and he was nominated for a tony award for his performance in le liaison dangerous one year prior to die hard but it was hans gruber that made rickman a star his suave performance impressing critics and general moviegoers alike gruber was different from many 80s action villains stylish calm and wickedly intelligent when alexander saw the breadth of his domain he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer benefits of a classical education and rickman played it all perfectly enough jokes you made a pretty good cowboy yourself hans oh yes what was it you said to me before yippee cayet number 19. jason schwartzman rushmore directed by wes anderson and co-written with owen wilson rushmore concerns a love triangle between an elementary school teacher a rich businessman and a 15 year old private school student max can i ask you something sure it ever crossed your mind that you're far too young for me the latter is portrayed by jason schwartzman a member of the iconic coppola family the 17 year old schwartzman met the movie's casting director at a party and he earned the role of max fisher over 1 800 other teenagers the collaboration between schwartzman and director wes anderson proved an enormous success and schwartzman received critical acclaim for his debut performance sick transit gloria maybe we'll meet again someday when the fighting stops he's since become a frequent collaborator of anderson's both starring in his movies and co-writing the likes of the darjeeling limited and isle of dogs i'm not doing this because you commanded me to i'm doing it because i feel sorry for you number 18. kate winslet heavenly creatures this is juliet hume kate winslet is one of the most acclaimed actresses of our time the recipient of seven academy award nominations and she began her film career playing a murderer winslet debuted in peter jackson's heavenly creatures which dramatizes the parker home murder case of 1954. one of the criminals was juliette holm a teenage girl who conspired with her best friend pauline parker to murder parker's mother i know what to do about mother we don't want to go to too much trouble some sort of accident holmes served five years for the murder and 40 years later she was played by future hollywood legend kate winslet winslet was widely acclaimed for her disturbing performance and walked away with various accolades including an empire award and a london film critics circle award your mother is rather a miserable woman isn't she number 17. barbara streisand funny girl serving as one of the most popular and acclaimed musicals of all time funny girl tells the semi-autobiographical story of broadway star fanny bryce and her relationship with con artist nikki arnstein i'd rather be blue over you then be happy with somebody else i'm crazy about you debuting on broadway in 1964 funny girl was nominated for eight tony awards including best performance by a leading actress for barbara streisand the performance proved so instantly iconic that streisand reprised the role of fanny bryce for the 1968 film adaptation making her film debut in the process and what a debut it was streisand put just as much effort in front of the camera as she did on stage and she won the academy award for best actress in the process don't tell me don't tell me not to live just sitting butter life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade [Music] number 16 haley steinfeld true grit well lawyer jacob would not wish me to consider anything under 325 but i will settle for 320 if i am given the 20 in advance haley steinfeld was introduced to acting through her emmy award-winning cousin true o'brien who has garnered fame playing paige larsen on the soap opera days of our lives when steinfeld was 13 years old she landed the role of maddie ross in the coen brothers adaptation of true grit it's an incredibly difficult role with steinfeld needing to deliver complex outdated dialogue and starring opposite the legendary jeff bridges it would be a challenge for experienced actors let alone a 13 year old girl but steinfeld was up for the challenge and she was consistently praised by critics for her debut performance for her efforts steinfeld received her first and so far only oscar nomination for best supporting actress i don't think you're enjoying it what do you see now oh one of my short ribs bro you killed my father when he was trying to help you i have one of the gold pieces you stole from him now give me the other number 15. anya taylor joy the witch when she was just 14 years old anya taylor joy dropped out of school to pursue acting she found modeling work instead having been discovered outside london's herod's department store she subsequently found acting work through her modeling and made her film debut in robert egger's period horror movie the witch she plays thomason a banished puritan who was accused of witchcraft by her family i'm into a bargain my soul belongs to christ i made no black people have no interest in this i am no witch father what did i put see in my house oh you not hear me pretty comfortable why have you turned against me taylor joy is excellent in the role balancing passivity with outrage fear and eventual confidence the witch proved one of the most acclaimed horror films of 2015 with the screenplay direction atmosphere and performances earning particular attention it made taylor joy a star and she subsequently became one of the most popular actresses of the latter 2010s yes number 14. sidney poitier no way out one of the greatest most influential and most groundbreaking actors in movie history sidney poitier was the star of many iconic films dealing with rhys relations in mid-century america oh shut up shut up you're talking to a doctor a doctor him you lie back and lie still you're in my charge in 2002 poitiers earned an honorary academy award for his historic accomplishments in film poitier made his debut in the controversial 1950 movie no way out playing dr luther brooks an african-american doctor confronted with racism in a hospital prison ward the film proved poitier's talents as an actor and signaled his prolific career in films dealing with racial tensions he's not even human he's a mad dog you kill mad dogs don't you don't you think i'd like to don't you think i'd like to put the rest of these bullets through his head then go ahead i can't why not because i've got to live too almost 13 years after the release of no way out poisier became the first black man to win the best actor oscar which he received for lily's of the field well how'd you get that before i came along we walked every sunday now we got you now you ain't got me good night schmidt now get that very strange number 13. qavenjane wallace beasts of the southern wild [Music] wallace auditioned for beasts of the southern wild when she was just five years old having lied about her age to break the minimum age requirement of six the director ben zeitlin was reportedly impressed by her ability to burp on command winning her the part of hush puppy the movie sees hush puppy and her temperamental father wink living in a secluded louisiana bayou wallace gave an impassioned complex and mature performance of someone far beyond her years and won a slew of accolades throughout the 2013 awards season okay no crying she also became the youngest actress ever nominated for the academy award for best actress beating whale writers keisha castle hughes by four years number 12. robert duvall to kill a mockingbird dale i don't want you playing around that house over there there's a maniac lives there and he's dangerous see i was just trying to warn him about boo but he wouldn't believe me prior to his role in to kill a mockingbird robert duvall was an accomplished stage actor working in new york in 1957 he starred in a play called the midnight collar which was written by horton foote duval's performance impressed foot and when he adapted harper lee's iconic novel for the screen he recommended duvall to the movie's producers duvall was cast as the famous recluse boo radley and the rest is movie history miss gene louise mr arthur radley i believe he already knows you like the novel to kill a mockingbird was a resounding success earning eight nominations at the 35th academy awards unfortunately duvall was not one of them no matter he would later earn seven the first of which came one decade later with the godfather number 11. oprah winfrey the color purple this period drama proved an enormous departure for director steven spielberg who prior to this had been known for his summer blockbusters the color purple on the other hand is a dramatic and introspective look into the african-american experience of the early 20th century your children are so clean would you like to work for me see my maid hell no it's based on a pulitzer winning novel and stars whoopi goldberg as a rural georgian named celie oprah winfrey stars opposite goldberg as sophia a strong-willed woman who refuses to be oppressed at the time winfrey was working as a morning talk show host in chicago with the color purple she proved her incredible capabilities as an actress and earned both a golden globe and academy award nomination i never thought i had to fight in my own house i lost harpo god knows i do but i kill him number 10 edward norton primal fear for his film debut edward norton was forced to play two people kind of he plays a sociopathic murderer named roy who pretends to suffer from dissociative identity disorder in order to get out of a murder charge the other personality is the innocent passive and stuttering altar boy aaron stampler i surely be great grateful for anything you could do for him you're welcome ah now your full name is one um aaron luke stan at the time norton was a struggling new york actor working in theater he was then discovered by a casting director named shirley rich who introduced norton to the executive producers of primal fear he obviously got the job and was often singled out in reviews as the best aspect of the movie it sounds to me like they're gonna shoot old aaron so full of poison it's gonna come out his eyes where is erin i am crying off in some corner somewhere you scared him off you gotta deal with me now boy i'll give you a beating on principle norton earned an academy award nomination for best supporting actor the movie's only oscar nomination and norton's first of three there never was a roy jesus christ marty if that's what you think i am disappointed in you i don't mind telling you there never was an errand number nine gabare sidibe precious a harlem native gabare sidibe was working as a receptionist when she decided to audition in a nationwide casting call for precious the movie is based on the novel pushed by sapphire and concerns the illiterate and pregnant clarice jones living in poverty in 1980s harlem jones lives in section 8 housing with her unemployed and mean-spirited mother mary she said i eat all the time but she always making me eat and she called me a fat mess she said your apartment a little because of me only time she ever leaves to play her numbers sidibe proved an exceptional and natural actress thrilling critics with her tender debut performance she was also one of the leading names of the 2010 awards season receiving best actress nominations at the golden globes baftas screen actors guild awards and academy awards no i never knew what you was until this day not even after all the things you did everybody was too stupid maybe i just didn't want him you ain't gonna see me no more sidibe rode this success to a prominent career in television starring in fox's empire and numerous seasons of american horror story i didn't know that there even wore black witches as it turns out i'm an heir to tituba she was a house slave in salem she was the first to be accused of witchcraft number eight jennifer hudson dream girls [Music] like funny girl dream girls is often hailed as one of the greatest broadway musicals of all time debuting in 1981 dream girls won six tony awards during its initial broadway run including best performance by a leading actress for jennifer holliday playing effie white [Music] [Applause] [Music] 25 years later american idol contestant jennifer hudson took the reigns proving herself both a commendable actress and a tantalizing performer in the process the movie was praised for its musical numbers and performances particularly those of hudson and eddie murphy both received academy award nominations with hudson winning for best supporting actress [Music] [Applause] effie white is one of the all-time great broadway characters and hudson beautifully inhabited the role in a thrilling movie debut number seven eddie murphy 48 hours and speaking of eddie murphy he enjoyed a commendable movie debut himself in the buddy cop comedy 48 hours i'm hungry let's go get something to eat i know a place all right all right let's go all right with some mandolins it's a violin yeah there's your goddamn dinner murphy plays an imprisoned criminal named reggie hammond who reluctantly teams up with a cop to help catch his criminal boss murphy had made a name for himself on saturday night live serving as both a cast member and writer 48 hours proved his acting capabilities and the movie received praise for the chemistry and comedic interplay between murphy and co-star nick nolte take game man and blow his brains out he ain't gonna try it right cop are you crazy man i was just bluffing murphy received a golden globe nomination for new star of the year and it would prove to be his first of six number six jamie lee curtis halloween oh god help me please hello hello oh hello help me man please help me please can't you hear me by october of 1978 jamie lee curtis the daughter of hollywood legends tony curtis and janet lee was a little-known television actress having starred in an episode of colombo and the first season of an abc sitcom called operation petticoat she was subsequently cast as lori strode in halloween with producer and co-writer deborah hill admitting that curtis was mainly cast for the publicity her mother being such a prominent horror actress luckily curtis proved an excellent actress in her own right and helped popularize the morally pure final girl trope through her performance she exuded intelligence and proved a great screamer becoming the seminal example of the scream queen [Applause] she carried this reputation into numerous future slashers including prom night and terror train number five julie andrews mary poppins an afi life achievement award recipient julie andrews is one of the all-time greatest performers with a career spanning nine decades the qualifications item one a cheery disposition i am never cross item two rosy cheeks obviously andrews was a prominent stage actress throughout the 50s and 60s starring in broadway productions of my fair lady and camelot she earned a tony award nomination for both after being passed over by producer jack l warner for his my fair lady movie adaptation disney approached andrews about starring in their upcoming movie mary poppins she agreed to star as the title character and it launched one of the greatest careers in movie history andrews won the academy award for best actress and mary poppins herself quickly became a cinematic icon it's super color fragilistic expialidocious even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious number four natalie portman leon the professional natalie portman got off to quite a weird and disturbing start in 1992 she became an understudy in the off-broadway play ruthless which is about an ambitious young actress who commits multiple murders including matricide she then made her film debut in luc besson's leon the professional which is about a hitman training a 12 year old girl to commit murder so she can avenge her dead brother if you couldn't stand them were you crying because they killed my brother what the hell did he do he's four years old he never used to cry just used to sit next to me and cuddle the young portman was continuously praised for her mature performance with many finding her a great companion to seasoned french actor jean renau it was a movie and a performance beyond portman's years and the breakout role helped ensure portman's reputation as one of hollywood's greatest child actors it's barely big enough for me we said no discussion no i'm not letting he's not number three anna paquin the piano this period drama concerns aydah and flora mcgrath a mother-daughter duo who traveled to new zealand after aydah is sold into marriage by her father we can't leave the piano let's not discuss this any further i'm very pleased that you arrived safely directly for it to cast flora the producers hosted an open casting call that resulted in over 5 000 auditions the role went to a young new zealand canadian girl named anna paquin both paquin and lead actress holly hunter were unanimously praised by movie critics and they both won academy awards for their performances hunter for actress paquin for supporting actress paquin was just 11 years old when she won the coveted oscar which makes her the second youngest performer to win a competitive academy award the first being number two tatum o'neill paper moon young tatum o'neill was born to actors joanna moore and the oscar-nominated ryan o'neill in 1973 tatum and ryan starred together in the road comedy paper moon which sees a con artist taking a young girl under his wing during the great depression i want my 200 dollars i heard you through the door talking that man it's my money you got now wanted the movie received strong reviews with most of the praise going to first-time actor tatum o'neill o'neil won the most promising newcomer award at that year's golden globes and just a few months later she took home the academy award for best supporting actress being just 10 years old o'neil became and remains the youngest performer to win a competitive academy award i give her a 20 bill i know i did it was a birthday present for maya and helen in wichita and she wrote happy birthday on the anime you just go look and see [Music] that's it right there that's my twenty dollar bill it's a once in a lifetime achievement for a once in a lifetime child performance before we unveil our number one pick here are some honorable mentions owen and luke wilson bottle rocket the wilson brothers make extraordinary debuts in this wes anderson crime comedy two minutes okay put on your map put on your map you've already seen our faces don't worry about it charltoe copley district nine the south african actor makes his movie debut as a bureaucrat in this sci-fi classic hello okay seems like we didn't understand each other there properly okay so you've got a little one there hey do you have a license for that little one well you see this litter out here this is dangerous conditions for your child cameron diaz the mask this comedy launched the career of diaz a model with no prior acting experience sort of a lady godiva or something of course what do you see mr epis suraj sharma life of pie sharma beat out three thousand people including his own brother for the role of pai patel are you ready for the miracle event well then i give to you the astounding bengal tiger amanda seyfried mean girls seifrid a model and soap actress made us all laugh as the idiotic karen smith karen used her special talents to do the morning weather announcements hi this is karen smith it's 68 degrees and there's a 30 chance that it's already raining before we continue be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos you'll have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them if you're on your phone make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications number one orson welles citizen kane orson welles was just five days shy of his 26th birthday when citizen kane premiered at new york's palace theater it's an extraordinary accomplishment considering the young wells wrote produced directed and starred in the now iconic film wells was prominent in radio at the time and in 1939 he signed a controversial contract with rko radio pictures to create two films on the other hand i am the publisher of the inquirer as such it's my duty and i'll let you in on a little secret it's also my pleasure to see to it the decent hard-working people in this community aren't robbed blind by a pack of money mad pirates the first was citizen kane which is now regarded as the most influential movie ever made well stars as the titular charles foster kane proving himself just as capable in front of a camera as he was behind a microphone the decent ordinary citizens know that i'll do everything in my power to protect the underprivileged the underpaid and the underfed the movie was well received and earned nine nominations at the 14th academy awards including best director and best actor for wells do you agree with our picks check out this other recent clip from watchmojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos

Channel: WatchMojo.com

Views: 203,084

Rating: 4.8905134 out of 5

Keywords: Drama, Movies, acting debuts, acting debuts in movies, alan rickman, anna paquin, anya taylor-joy, award winning debut performances, best acting debuts, best breakout acting performances, breakout acting roles, breakout roles, debut performances, debuts in movies, eddie murphy, edward norton, jamie lee curtis, jason schwartzman, julie andrews, kate winslet, list, mojo, orson welles, top 10, watch mojo, watchmojo, mojo top 10, Best acting debuts, Actors and their debut films

Id: -wcNYJ3U-cU

Length: 27min 2sec (1622 seconds)

Published: Thu May 27 2021