TOKM's Top 10 Theatrical Performances

1.) John Goodman as Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski: Goodman should have won an Oscar for this performance, but, not surprisingly, he was not even nominated. Memorable line: "The chinaman is not the issue here, Dude. I'm talking about drawing a line in the sand, Dude. Across this line, you DO NOT... Also, Dude, chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian-American, please."

2.) Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York: While not as critically acclaimed as some of his earlier performances, I believe this to be DDL's best. Memorable line: "He was the only man I ever killed worth remembering."

3.) Robert Duval as Sonny in The Apostle: This is one of the best films ever made, in my humble opinion. Duval is a genius and paints a realistic, if not disturbing, picture of evangelical Christianity. Memorable line: "I may be on the devil's hit-list, but I'm on God's mailing list."

4.) Heath Ledger as the Joker in Dark Knight: I held out on seeing this movie for weeks, but it was worth the wait. Ledger made Jack Nicholson look like a clown. Memorable line: "I took Gotham's white knight, and brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard. Y'see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little...push."

5.) Paul Giamatti as Miles Raymond in Sideways: Before he was John Adams, Giamatti was wine fanatic Miles Raymond. Memorable line: "Quaffable, but uh... far from transcendent."

6.) Bill Murray as Herman Blume in Rushmore: Murray has come a long way since Caddyshack. Memorable line: "Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you."

7.) Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood: This was not a very popular film; it's long and, at times, tedious. That being said, Plainview, the old-time California oilman, is one of the most dynamic characters I've ever seen on screen. Memorable line: "We offer you the bond of family that very few oilmen can understand...and this is why I can guarantee to start drilling and put up the cash to back my word. I assure you, whatever the others promise to do, when it comes to the showdown, they won't be there."

8.) Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello in The Departed: Since clowning Nicholson earlier, it seems appropriate to give him a spot in the top 10. In truth, though, any one of five characters from this movie could have made it. Memorable line: "One of us had to die. With me, it tends to be the other guy."

9.) Matt Damon as Will Hunting in Good Will Hunting: This movie never gets old. Memorable line: "Do you like apples? Well, I got her number, how do you like them apples?"

10.) Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday in Tombstone: There was a time in my life when I could quote more than half of this movie, including all of Kilmer's lines. Memorable line: "Why Johnny Ringo, you look like somebody just walked over your grave."

Honorable mention: Frances McDormand as Marge Gunderson in Fargo; Gene Hackman as Royal Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums; Michael Rispoli as Spinner Dunn in Death to Smoochy; Jack Nicholson as Colonel Jessop in A Few Good Men; Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall in As Good As It Gets; Susan Sarandon as Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking; Tommy Lee Jones as Marshal Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive; Kevin Spacey as John Doe in Seven; Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men; Billy Bob Thornton as Karl Childers in Sling Blade; John Malkovich as Teddy KGB in Rounders; Ben Affleck as Jim Young in Boiler Room; R. Lee Ermey as Gny. Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket; Kevin Kline as George Monroe in Life as a House; Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote in Capote; Robin Williams as John Keating in Dead Poets Society; Morgan Freeman as Red in Shawshank Redemption; Dustin Hoffman as Raymond Babbitt in Rain Man; Chevy Chase as Clark W. Griswold in Christmas Vacation; Robert De Niro as Leonard Lowe in Awakenings; Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump; Geoffrey Rush as David Helfgott in Shine; Ed Norton as Derek Vinyard in American History X; Sean Penn as Emmett Ray in Sweet and Lowdown; Adrien Brody as Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist; Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby; Owen Wilson as Dignan in Bottle Rocket; Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line; Ellen Burstyn as Sara Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream.