The best performances of this decade

[randomguy 0]

I did the exact same thing. I was thinking last 10 years.

 

George would win that hands down.

[Mole 0]

One of the best characters of all time.

[humanoid92 0]

Some people say that the show is about Vince and while I won't argue against it I think that it's just as much about Ari too.

 

I quote this because I was actually just having a similar discussion with a friend about what the show is really about. He thinks it's all about Vince. My take on it is that Eric is actually the main character. I didn't realize it at first, but everything that happens revolves around him. He's at the center. Sure, the show is about the whole crew, but at the heart of it, everything goes through E.

 

First off, he's the one that's in the middle of Vince and Ari and has to deal with both of them, which is no easy task since they're completely opposite personalities. It's E's romantic relationships that are always the focus, from Kristin to Emily to Sloan. The other guys may constantly be chasing tail, but Eric has already had several relationships that have been given more attention than any of the others (with the exception being the Mandy Moore stuff... which ultimately led to more problems for Eric than Vince). Even Turtle's character kind of goes through Eric in subtle ways, like when he questions why he doesn't make as much as E and implies that he could do his job.

 

They explore Eric's backstory more than the others. They all came from nothing and they might mention Vince and Drama's alcoholic father from time to time, but there are constant reminders that Eric is the one with the most to lose. He's constantly being reminded that he's a college dropout and could very well be running a pizza joint if not for his friend's success.

 

Just look at any episode and it's clear after awhile that Eric has more scenes and more dialogue than Vince.

 

I don't think the show is about Vince and his movie-star life. I think it's about E and how he finds himself in the middle of this life. His relationship with Vince, his relationship with Ari, and his romantic relationships are all explored more than any other single relationship on the show. He's in the middle of everything. The focus is on him.

 

Just something I picked up on after getting into the show. I had seen a few episodes here and there and assumed Vince was the main character, but he's really not. This was reinforced when I realized that Kevin Connolly's name is first in the opening credits (and it's not an alphabetical issue). And deservedly so.

 

Anyway, that said, I definitely second the Ari nomination.

 

I also second the nominations that have already been handed out to members of Scrubs, The Office, and Arrested Development. Three incredible shows.

 

It's impossible to single anybody out from AD. They're all brilliant. Arnett, Bateman, Cross, Cera, Tambor... it's all good.

 

But a few names from the aforementioned shows that I haven't seen mentioned yet:

 

Kevin Dillon, Entourage: Everything about Johnny Drama cracks me up.

 

John Krasinski, The Office: My favorite character on the show. I can't picture anyone else making all the Jim/Pam stuff work. The facial expressions at the camera and the way he interacts with Dwight is classic stuff.

 

Zach Braff and Neil Flynn, Scrubs: Maybe it's just the Jersey thing, but I'm a big Braff guy. I love the JD character, even if they've progressively gayed it up over the years. And Flynn is hilarious as the Janitor. Supposedly he ad-libs a lot of his lines. His presence adds such a great dynamic to the show. His ongoing feud with JD is the perfect comic relief for that setting. Their interaction in Season 1 especially was gold. These days the Janitor gets what's coming to him once in awhile, but in the beginning JD didn't get the upper hand a single time. Funny stuff.

[C Dubya 04 0]

Well, I see that female actors are underrepresented on this list, so I'll put forth Rachel Griffiths from Six Feet Under (and really all of the women on the show were terrific in their roles). Brenda was a very all over the place character and Rachel always found a way to bring out the chaotic parts of her life while still making her seem human.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Curry'll give the ladies some love:

 

Sonja Sohn as Detective Kima Greggs, The Wire. It's a fine line between lesbian and complete bulldyke and Kima tows this one perfectly.

[Narcoleptic Jumper 0]

Ian McShane is the winner of this thread, hands down. I would put him above anything else on TV, ever, and most performances in film.

 

Clancy Brown as Brother Justin on Carnivale is a near second.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

Well, even though the show got the ax, I'm going to nominate Jay Mohr for his role as Peter Dragon in Action. Brilliant black comedy sadly put on network TV (before the movie channels started looking at having weekly shows). Took a role intended for an older actor (Oliver Platt) and made it his own. Scathing, selfmocking, and hilariously profane.

[SuperJerk 0]

 

Alyson Hannigan

[Red Baron 0]

JAMES SPADER as "Alan Shore" in "Boston Legal" (ABC)

 

 

James Spader is a two-time Emmy award winner for his portrayal of ethically-challenged lawyer Alan Shore, first on "The Practice" and then on the spin-off "Boston Legal", and with good reason. His performances over the last 3 years are some of the best work ever produced on television. Spader has taken advantage of great writing to produce one of the most unique characters on television. Spader manages to be repulsive and charming at the same time, and unlike a lot of male dramatic leads, isn't consumed with personal demons that manifest as a brooding intensity. Instead, he's direct and uncompromising, just as likely to launch into a vitriolic tirade as he is to crack a joke or make a leud comment to a member of the opposite sex. Spader's interactions with William Shatner's character Denny Crane (who gets an honorable mention for this thread) are the highlight of every episode, and their chemistry is unmatched anywhere on TV.

 

 

Your a fag for mentioning him. He's a tool, and not that good of an actor

[CanadianChris 0]

Josh Charles as Dan Rydell on "Sports Night" (ABC). Brought more depth to his character than anyone on any comedy that I've seen.

[Special K 0]

Jeremy {iven is indeed great in 'Entourage', but I pretty much hate that show, and Piven can't even try to compete against any actor on AD.

 

EDIT: Ok, I've watched pretty much the first season of Entourage and I fucking hate it. Every single masturbatory second of it. I know it's supposed to be a parody of Hollywood, but how could ayone like any second of this show? Jeremy Piven is great. Unless he's 90% of the show in the future, I fucking HATE it. How is this funny?

[Coolclint 0]

I really wish I had one I could throw on here, but all of my picks are taken (Bauer, NPH, Braff, Dr. Cox, GOB, Michael, even Alyson...though I'm not sure if Y2Jerk is talking about her on Buffy or HIMYM).

 

Hm. We'll go with Billy West as Fry from Futurama.

[Angelus 0]

Dennis Leary ... He's brillant as Tommy Gavin

[The Niggardly King 0]

If the show Saved lasts for a few years, I can see Tom Everett Scott being mentioned.

 

Right now it's Dennis Leary, Ian McShane, and Josh Holloway.

[Ripper 0]

Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof.

 

Their performances in "A hole in the World" in the final season of Angel and in "Not Fade Away" as Denisof's character is dying are two great examples of incredible acting.

 

James Marsters might well be my favorite actor, but the closest thing that he has done that came close to this was his performance at the end of "Beneath You" in season 7 of buffy. But that was more of a Shakesperian monologue than what Denisof and Acker were doing.