We’ve all heard the laundry list of classic, life-altering performances every actor has to watch—from “The Godfather” and “Taxi Driver” to “Sophie’s Choice” and “Raging Bull.” The list below serves up a mix of the Old Faithfuls that every actor dedicated to craft should know about, as well as some other noteworthy films off the beaten path. Tell us which movies you’d recommend to inspire your fellow actors in the comments below!
“Waiting for Guffman”
If you want to see a group of skilled improvisers at work, watch this hilarious film written, directed, and co-starring Christopher Guest about an aspiring director who gathers a ragtag bunch of small-town thespians to perform in a musical for a Broadway hotshot visiting out from New York City. The star-studded comedy cast includes Parker Posey, Fred Willard, Catherine O’Hara, and Eugene Levy.
“Every Little Step”
A documentary about a musical about actors looking to make it on Broadway? For a spot of true-life inspiration watch “Every Little Step.” This 2008 doc follows a group of dancers as they audition for the Broadway revival of “A Chorus Line.” You’ll likely see a bit of yourself in every Great Way hopeful who appears.
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
Yes, the majority of the performances in this apocalyptic 2014 remake of “Who Run the World (Apes)” were caught with motion capture technology, but one shouldn’t discredit players Andy Serkis, Judy Greer, and Toby Kebbell, who bring as much if not more emotional gravitas to the screen playing their respective roles as Caesar, Cornelia, and antagonist Koba. “A lot of people think with the technology of performance capture and the acting, somehow it’s like there’s a genre of performance capture acting,” Serkis told Backstage in 2014. “But my approach to acting is acting, and it doesn’t matter if you’re playing a live-action character in costume and makeup or a creature. You’re still accessing parts of yourself, of your psychology, of your emotions, and then somehow putting it in a Venn diagram and crossing it over with the character.” Serkis brilliantly captures Caesar’s presence as a leader and said he often looked to Nelson Mandela for inspiration.
“Mulholland Dr.”
Naomi Watts serves us a lesson in the thrills and gains of playing up a script’s subtext in this 2001 drama from David Lynch. Watts’ initial blithe disposition as the starry-eyed actor from Canada touching down in Los Angeles gives this ominous murder mystery one of its most gripping contrasts. She and voluptuous co-star Laura Harring manage to transcend archetypes, providing a head-first dive into the fine line between the surreal and real.
“All About Eve”
A classic look at the acting vet facing off against the fresh ingenue, Bette Davis commands as the hard-edged Margo Channing, a stage star who refuses to be pacified when she begins to suspect up-and-comer Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) is encroaching on her spotlight. Directed by Joseoph Mankiewicz in 1950, Davis is the perfect lesson in on-screen bitchiness. Take notes.
“Training Day”
One of the finest villains to ever grace the big screen, Denzel Washington picked up an Oscar for his fascinating portrayal of a crooked narcotics cop working out of Los Angeles. Starring opposite Ethan Hawke as a rookie cop, Washington plays Det. Alonzo Harris with a nuanced ability to switch between varying personas. This performance is one of Washington’s best and one to examine.
“Tootsie”
How could we not include this gem? Dustin Hoffman has been lauded as one of the best actors of his generation and proves why in the 1982 filmic look at one way to take control of an acting career. As the notoriously difficult Michael Dorsey, Hoffman does the story from Don McGuire and Larry Gelbart justice, and expertly captures the plight of the actor—too tall, too short, too old—before disguising himself as a woman to land a role. Hoffman is both sides of the sword as the brutish Michael and the confident Dorothy Michaels. The film garnered 10 Oscar nominations (supporting actor Jessica Lange took home the sole win) and proves that versatility on the screen is worth its weight in Academy gold. If you have not seen it already, what are you waiting for?
“A Woman Under the Influence”
Gena Rowlands and director John Cassavetes whipped up a brilliant piece of work with 1974’s “A Woman Under the Influence.” Playing Mabel Longhetti, Rowlands is adept at keeping audiences waiting as she delicately reveals the profound loneliness of a woman trying to play the role of the perfect doting mother and wife to Nick (Peter Falk). But when Mabel’s words about how she really feels fail to appear, it’s Rowlands’ physicality that gives actors something to study.
READ: Our “Standing Ovation” for Gena Rowlands
“Being John Malkovich”
It doesn’t get much weirder than this 1999 flick from the then-first-time feature director—now an Oscar winner—Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman (“Anomalisa”). A quirky comedy starring John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, and of course, the indomitable John Malkovich, it follows a puppeteer (Cusack) who takes his skills of pulling strings to surreal dimensions after he discovers a portal into the mind of the titular Oscar-nominated actor. Malkovich demonstrates the comedic value of a restrained caricature as he pokes fun at his real-life persona. It’s a finely crafted look at the power of dry comedy with a phenomenal cast and cameos from Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Charlie Sheen to boot.
“Y Tu Mamá También”
Gael García Bernal, now starring on “Mozart in the Jungle,” and co-star Diego Luna were only 20 and 19, respectively, when they took on this hot-blooded beast of a film from Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón. The story follows two kids on a spontaneous road trip with an older woman (Maribel Verdu) who’s joined their jaunt to spite her philandering husband. An exploration of budding sexuality and mortality, the two bring a youthful spontaneity to their performances that can guide performers looking to touch the same vein.
APPLY: Now Casting: Amazon’s ‘Mozart in the Jungle’ and More
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Ralph Fiennes is a revelation as Monsieur Gustave, the concierge of this film’s lush, titular hotel, situated in the mountainous of fictional Zubrowka. Fiennes captures the impeccable mix of panache, capriciousness, and sophistication in a man who finds only “faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity.”
In supporting roles are the usual Wes Anderson suspects—Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jeff Goldblum—along with a few who are newer to his whimsical world, such as Adrien Brody, Saoirse Ronan, and Tony Revolori in his breakout performance as Zero, the lobby boy in training. The sum of its parts, this ensemble astounds.
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