Can anyone think of any actor or actress who did a better job than any of these examples in my list? Please feel free to add your own examples.
Napoleon Bonaparte - Rod Steiger (Waterloo)
Adolf Hitler - Bruno Ganz (Downfall)
Julius Caesar - Ciaran Hinds (Rome)
Marcus Antonius - James Purefoy (Rome)
Abraham Lincoln - Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln)
Elizabeth I - Cate Blanchette (Elizabeth)
Stonewall Jackson - Stephen Lang (Gods & Generals)
John Adams - Paul Giamatti (John Adams)
Gary Oldman as Churchill in Darkest Hour.
I’m sure I will think of others, but the first one that sprang to mind was:
JFK - Bruce Greenwood (13 Days)
Albert Finney also did a good job as Churchill in The Gathering Storm.
Wheels
Not just one actor.
Queen - Rami Malik, Gyilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello ( Bohemian Rhapsody)
I think that (for me) this is the best casting ever. All of them nailed who they were portraying. Especially the Wembley Concert.
Jeff Daniels as Col. Chamberlain in Gettysburg.
I’m not saying it was better than any of the ones you listed, and Schaffner’s screenplay and direction were a big part, but George Scott’s portrayal of Patton in the eponymous movie was certainly a memorable performance.
Ben Kingsley as Ghandi.
Wheels
That really was brilliant casting and the best I’ve seen for any music biopic.
That reminds me. I think Matthew Broderick was quite good as Col. Robert Gould Shaw in “Glory”.
Who could forget Bob Hoskins indelible portrait of Mario?
and one for real
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Capote
If the assignment is “iconic” rather than “accurate”: Ian McKellen as Richard III in the film adaption of the Shakespeare play… the one reimagined in a fascist 1930s England…
