The ten Finest Films With Solely One Principal Actor, Ranked

There’s a lengthy historical past in theater of the “one man present,” by which a single performer should maintain the eye of the viewers for all the runtime. Generally they play multiple character, generally they play only one character, however they’re all the time the main focus. Over time, cinema has created its personal model of the one man present, the place just one actor seems onscreen for almost all of the runtime. Sometimes we would hear somebody offscreen or in voiceover or get a fast flashback with different actors, however for the overwhelming majority of the film, we’re caught only one face. That takes some critical ability to tug off, irrespective of how handsome the face could be. 

Right here I’ve collected and ranked 10 of the most effective movies that includes just one actor, ranging throughout the years and several other completely different genres. I didn’t embody comedy specials like Bo Burnham’s spectacular “Inside” or true one-person-shows that have been filmed, for the reason that focus right here is how the actor carried out onscreen and comedy specials aren’t (normally) technically appearing, and filmed theater items have a really completely different vibe. 

Although that they had the assistance of their administrators and crews, every of those actors needed to carry all the movie on their shoulders, and every confirmed that they have been as much as the problem. 

The 2007 post-apocalyptic thriller “I Am Legend” is definitely the third movie (loosely) primarily based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the identical title, following “The Final Man on Earth” in 1964 and “The Omega Man” in 1971, starring Vincent Worth and Charlton Heston, respectively. It is Will Smith’s efficiency as U.S. Military virologist Robert Neville, who has survived a virus that has seemingly turned all of humanity into mutants, that makes “I Am Legend” emotionally highly effective sufficient to make the record. Directed by “The Starvation Video games” helmer Francis Lawrence, “I Am Legend” follows Neville as he tries to determine a remedy to the virus, as he’s seemingly immune however would not know why. He should journey round a destroyed Manhattan that has partially returned to nature along with his solely good friend within the phrase, his German Shepherd canine Samantha (Sam). Most of “I Am Legend” is simply Neville and Sam, and Smith conveys his character’s love for the canine and his intense loneliness extremely nicely.

The true issues with “I Am Legend” lie with its script, most particularly within the movie’s ending, however the first three-quarters of the film are nonetheless a reasonably improbable watch and Smith’s efficiency is well amongst his finest. 

Director Robert Altman created films like no different, utilizing an fascinating concept on how audiences engaged to construct his films “like sandcastles,” as a result of sandcastles stay in our recollections, not actuality. His 1984 movie “Secret Honor” makes use of his expertise to spotlight the brilliance of actor Philip Baker Corridor portraying a fictionalized model of former president Richard Nixon. Although primarily based on the play of the identical title, “Secret Honor” is a fully-fledged movie and never a recording of a theatrical efficiency, and it is an interesting try to know the thoughts of ol’ Difficult Dick following the fallout of the Waterhouse scandal. 

In his overview of “Secret Honor,” critic Roger Ebert stated that Corridor performs Nixon “with such savage depth, such ardour, such venom, such scandal, that we can’t flip away.” He additionally notes that Corridor’s Nixon “shouldn’t be an impersonation, it is a efficiency.” Corridor focuses much less on making an attempt to copy Nixon and extra on making an attempt to get into the spirit of the person and the challenges he confronted. “Secret Honor” does require at the very least a fundamental understanding of Nixon and American politics, but it surely additionally options one severely unbelievable efficiency from Corridor that deserves to be seen.

Generally a true-life story requires an actor to be in faux isolation, as is the case with Danny Boyle’s 2010 movie “127 Hours,” primarily based on the memoir “Between a Rock and a Onerous Place” by Aron Ralston. In April 2003, Ralston turned trapped in a slot canyon in Bluejohn Canyon, Utah, with no actual hope of being rescued if he stayed put. Sadly, his hand was pinned between two rocks, and he finally needed to resort to some “Noticed” trap-like strategies to outlive, slicing off his personal hand with a uninteresting pocket knife. He additionally documented all the expertise on his camcorder, and “127 Hours” recreates that camcorder footage with actor James Franco as Ralston. 

“127 Hours” is a harrowing expertise that actually must be seen to be believed, and understanding how intently it hewed to actual occasions makes it all of the extra uncomfortable. Boyle’s artistic filmmaking can also be a star, however Franco’s efficiency is noteworthy as a result of he manages to promote Ralston’s early exuberance and later exhaustion. He is additionally completely charming, although watching the movie within the wake of his sexual misconduct allegations is usually a little powerful. Franco was nominated for an Academy Award for his efforts, although he ended up dropping out to Colin Firth for “The King’s Speech.”

If there’s one actor who all the time manages to take advantage of out of each function he is in, it is Willem Dafoe. The professionally skilled performer of each stage and display is all the time entertaining, whether or not he is taking part in a Protean lighthouse keeper or a comedian guide supervillain. In “Inside,” the directorial debut of Vasilis Katsoupis, Dafoe performs Nemo, an artwork thief who breaks right into a high-rise penthouse to try to steal a number of the practically priceless artwork inside, however finally ends up trapped inside as a substitute when it goes right into a safety lockdown. Whereas the penthouse is kind of soft, it is also not significantly well-stocked on the necessities. There is no working water (save for sprinklers that water the vegetation on a timer) and little or no meals, and issues begin getting tough for Nemo fairly shortly.

“Inside” is a decent little thriller about survival and self-interrogation that includes an outstanding efficiency (as all the time) from Dafoe, who imbues Nemo with sufficient humanity to make the viewers care about him whereas additionally subtly reminding us that he’s barely different, caring extra about objects than folks. It is not a masterpiece, but it surely’s extraordinarily watchable and price testing. 

If there’s one ridiculously handsome face one may need to stare at for 2 hours, fairly a number of folks would most likely choose that of Ryan Reynolds; in any case, he was named Folks’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2010. Proper round that point, Reynolds starred in “Buried,” an intense survival thriller from director Rodrigo Cortés. Reynolds performs an American civilian working in Iraq in the course of the Second Gulf Battle. He wakes up sooner or later in 2006 to find that he has been buried alive in a picket coffin with solely a Zippo lighter, a pen, and an early smartphone. He discovers that he has been taken by terrorists and is being held for ransom, however the U.S. authorities will not negotiate with terrorists. They will attempt to rescue him, but it surely’s uncertain that he’ll ever see the sunshine of day once more. Quickly, his kidnappers name, and issues get much more difficult…

“Buried” premiered at Sundance to largely rave critiques (together with ours), which praised Reynolds’ efficiency particularly for being “highly effective however plausible.” This is not the cocky persona Reynolds normally places on, or one among his goofier characters, however a possibility to show that he can actually act. And boy, did he show it. 

There’s fairly a little bit of rigidity in watching a person who’s buried alive and making an attempt to cease terrorists, however what about 85 minutes of Tom Hardy alone in a automotive? In “Locke,” written and directed by Steven Knight, building foreman Ivan Locke (Hardy) discovers {that a} former colleague he had an affair with goes into untimely labor. He abandons the whole lot to drive throughout England to be together with her as she provides start, resulting from an outdated grudge in opposition to his personal father for abandoning him as a baby. It is the night time earlier than the most important day of his profession and his spouse and son expect him dwelling for an evening in, however he decides to explode his complete life and drive to the start of his baby anyway. After the primary minute and a half or so, we’re within the automotive or simply beside the automotive with Locke for all the runtime. He fields plenty of telephone calls from his coworkers, admits his infidelity to his spouse, and way more, all whereas driving on nighttime roads. 

“Locke” is not overly showy and would not depend on too many visuals methods to make the film extra fascinating, as a substitute honing in on the drama of Locke’s life-changing conversations. It is actually a one-man present exterior of the voices who name in, and Hardy makes Locke an interesting, compelling protagonist who feels plausible regardless that what he is doing feels so surprising. 

There are a number of issues to be blown away by in Alfonso Cuarón’s 2013 sci-fi thriller “Gravity.” There’s the completely bonkers one-shot opening sequence that exhibits astronauts Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) as they’re hit with catastrophe when a Russian rocket sends critical house particles their means throughout what was alleged to be a routine house stroll mission. Then there’s the seemingly not possible particular results that make house really feel actual — and terrifying. Nevertheless it’s actually Bullock’s efficiency that holds the whole lot collectively.

Stone is shipped hurtling into house, although Kowalski saves her and the 2 got down to try to discover a means again to Earth regardless of injury to their ship. Kowalski finally ends up sacrificing himself to avoid wasting Stone fairly shortly after, and the remainder of the film depends on simply Bullock’s Stone to hold us by means of. It was a reasonably tough filming expertise for the actor, who was typically remoted for as much as eleven hours a day within an enormous mild field of kinds used to assist create the movie’s particular results. However the ache paid off when Bullock was nominated for an Academy Award for her efficiency and the movie went on to win seven Oscars, together with Finest Director for Cuarón. “Gravity” gives a unique type of claustrophobia and isolation horror than one thing like “Buried,” but it surely delivers on sheer terror all the identical. 

“No One Will Save You” is a very distinctive one-actor film in that it is also just about dialogue-free, that means most of what we study Kaitlyn Dever’s Brynn is thru facial expressions and physique language. Brynn lives in a small city and customarily avoids different folks, so there are a number of temporary interludes the place she sees different actors, however there’s hardly any interplay and Brynn is on her personal so far as people go for the overwhelming majority of the film. You see, most of “No One Will Save You” options Brynn preventing an alien invasion in and round her distant, classic dwelling. 

There actually aren’t many films like “No One Will Save You.” It takes its self-imposed constraints and makes use of them to make a really tight science fiction thriller that completely speeds by regardless of a near-total lack of dialogue. (Critically, learn our overview: this film guidelines.) Very similar to the opposite movies on this record, “No One Will Save You” requires a fantastic deal from Dever, who should assist audiences join with Brynn whereas additionally sustaining some thriller and relating the truth that Brynn is a bit odd. “No One Will Save You” is improbable alien invasion horror from a contemporary new perspective, and it is a showcase for simply how nuanced however highly effective Dever’s performances could be. 

Director Robert Zemeckis is well-known for making deeply sentimental movies concerning the human situation, with a generally uncomfortably earnest bent that may really feel corny at occasions, however “Forged Away” is a good instance of his expertise as a storyteller. The movie stars Tom Hanks as FedEx techniques analyst Chuck Noland, who finally ends up marooned on a abandoned island after his aircraft crashes within the ocean close by. With solely the packages to maintain him firm, he is compelled to outlive for 4 lengthy, brutal years. Actually, his solely good friend is a volleyball with a bloody face painted on it that he calls “Wilson.” That final half is a element that has been spoofed to excessive heaven, however fortunately Hanks is aware of promote the film’s explicit model of sincerity. 

So as to precisely painting the results that surviving on a abandoned island would have on Chuck, Zemeckis had the crew take a break from filming in order that Hanks may develop out his hair and beard and lose a substantial amount of weight, which was a significant burden for the actor. Hanks was nominated for an Academy Award for Finest Actor and gained a Golden Globe for Finest Actor for his efficiency within the movie. Hanks has all the time been nice in comedic roles, however seeing him battle to outlive the island and endure a nice deal of emotional trauma as nicely actually confirmed simply how a lot vary he has as a performer. 

Every of the actors on this record do an outstanding job taking part in the protagonist of their movies, carrying the film on their shoulders by means of their performances. However within the Duncan Jones science fiction movie “Moon,” Sam Rockwell not solely has to play the protagonist, but additionally his clone. In “Moon,” Rockwell stars as Sam Bell, the one human engaged on a helium-3 mining station on Earth’s moon. He is nearing the tip of his three-year contract and is happy to go dwelling, however then communications issues begin main him to consider he will not be going dwelling in any respect. Sadly, it seems that communications along with his “spouse” have been faux and he is really one in an extended line of clones which can be simply changed every time one will get killed doing the damaging work of fixing the mining gear. 

To make the invention of that whole mind-blower even wilder, Bell is injured and the station’s AI begins up the subsequent clone, main them to satisfy each other. Suppose “Multiplicity” meets “Blade Runner” and also you’re getting someplace, as Rockwell largely acts on his personal or with himself, taking part in two characters interacting onscreen collectively by means of film magic. “Moon” is a stupendous, heartfelt sci-fi flick with Rockwell as its beating human coronary heart. He is one among our greatest working actors, and seeing him undergo such a full vary of feelings as two completely different variations of the identical character is really one thing to behold.