Greatest Film Performances by Year (US/UK) 1990 - 1999

Criteria: Film Performances are ranked based on initial and lasting acclaim, popular and cultural recognition, plus influence. In order to qualify for a list the performance has to come from a predominately English-language film produced or co-produced by American or British production companies.

1999
  1. Kevin Spacey - American Beauty
  2. Hilary Swank - Boys Don't Cry
  3. Brad Pitt - Fight Club
  4. Russell Crowe - The Insider
  5. Annette Bening - American Beauty
  6. Jim Carrey - Man on the Moon
  7. Edward Norton - Fight Club
  8. Tom Cruise - Magnolia
  9. Matt Damon - The Talented Mr. Ripley
10. Reese Witherspoon - Election
11. Julianne Moore - The End of the Affair
12. John Malkovich - Being John Malkovich
13. Richard Farnsworth - The Straight Story
14. Angelina Jolie - Girl, Interrupted
15. Jim Broadbent - Topsy-Turvy
16. Chris Cooper - American Beauty
17. Denzel Washington - Hurricane
18. Haley Joel Osment - The Sixth Sense
19. Michael Caine - Cider House Rules
20. Michael Clarke Duncan - Green Mile

1998
  1. Ian McKellen - Gods and Monsters
  2. Edward Norton - American History X
  3. Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth
  4. Jeff Bridges - The Big Lebowski
  5. Tom Hanks - Saving Private Ryan
  6. Gwyneth Paltrow - Shakespeare in Love
  7. Emily Watson - Hilary and Jackie
  8. Jane Horrocks - Little Voice
  9. Jim Carrey - The Truman Show
10. John Goodman - The Big Lebowski
11. Dylan Baker - Happiness
12. Philip Seymour Hoffman - Happiness
13. Joseph Fiennes - Shakespeare in Love
14. Kathy Bates - Primary Colors
15. Ed Harris - The Truman Show
16. Elias Coteas - The Thin Red Line
17. Billy Bob Thornton - A Simple Plan
18. Michael Caine - Little Voice
19. Christina Ricci - Buffalo '66
20. Bill Murray - Rushmore

1997
  1. Jack Nicholson - As Good as It Gets
  2. Robert Duvall - The Apostle
  3. Robin Williams - Good Will Hunting
  4. Julianne Moore - Boogie Nights
  5. Anthony Hopkins - Amistad
  6. Burt Reynolds - Boogie Nights
  7. Peter Fonda - Ulee's Gold
  8. Samuel L. Jackson - Jackie Brown
  9. Helena Bonham Carter - The Wings of the Dove
10. Helen Hunt - As Good as It Gets
11. Dustin Hoffman - Wag the Dog
12. Pam Greer - Jackie Brown
13. Al Pacino - Donnie Brasco
14. Judi Dench - Mrs Brown
15. Russell Crowe - L.A. Confidential
16. Kim Basinger - L.A. Confidential
17. Greg Kinnear - As Good as It Gets
18. Minnie Driver - Good Will Hunting
19. Matt Damon - Good Will Hunting
20. Aaron Eckhart - In the Company of Men

1996
  1. Emily Watson - Breaking the Waves
  2. Geoffrey Rush - Shine
  3. Frances McDormand - Fargo
  4. Ralph Fiennes - The English Patient
  5. Edward Norton - Primal Fear
  6. Julliette Binoche - The English Patient
  7. Brenda Blythyn - Secrets and Lies
  8. Kenneth Branagh - Hamlet
  9. Billy Bob Thornton - Sling Blade
10. Tom Cruise - Jerry Maguire
11. Woody Harrelson - The People vs. Larry Flynt
12. Cuba Gooding Jr. - Jerry Maguire
13. William H. Macy - Fargo
14. Ewan McGregor - Trainspotting
15. Steve Buscemi - Fargo
16. Laura Dern - Citizen Ruth
17. Marianne Jean-Baptiste - Secrets and Lied
18. Courtney Love - The People vs. Larry Flynt
19. Kate Winslet - Hamlet
20. Robert Carlyle - Trainspotting

1995
  1. Nicolas Cage - Leaving Las Vegas
  2. Sean Penn - Dead Man Walking
  3. Susan Sarandon - Dead Man Walking
  4. Kevin Spacey - The Usual Suspects
  5. Ian McKellen - Richard III
  6. Emma Thompson - Sense and Sensibility
  7. Meryl Streep - The Bridges of Madison Country
  8. Morgan Freeman - Seven
  9. Mira Sorvino - Mighty Aphrodite
10. Elizabeth Shue - Leaving Las Vegas
11. Sharon Stone - Casino
12. Anthony Hopkins - Nixon
13. Julianne Moore - Safe
14. Brad Pitt - 12 Monkeys
15. Richard Dreyfuss - Mr. Holland's Opus
16. Nicole Kidman - To Die For
17. Joan Allen - Nixon
18. Kate Winslet - Sense and Sensibility
19. Robert De Niro - Casino
20. Al Pacino - Heat

1994
  1. Tom Hanks - Forrest Gump
  2. Johnny Depp - Ed Wood
  3. Morgan Freeman - The Shawshank Redemption
  4. Samuel L. Jackson - Pulp Fiction
  5. Jessica Lange - Blue Sky
  6. Tim Robbins - The Shawshank Redemption
  7. John Travolta - Pulp Fiction
  8. Jodie Foster - Nell
  9. Martin Landau - Ed Wood
10. Dianne Wiest - Bullets over Broadway
11. Nigel Hawthorne - The Madness of King George
12. Gary Sinise - Forrest Gump
13. John Turturro - Quiz Show
14. Hugh Grant - Four Wedding and a Funeral
15. Kate Winslet - Heavenly Creatures
16. Melanie Lynskey - Heavenly Creatures
17. Paul Scofield - Quiz Show
18. Paul Newman - Nobody's Foul
19. Helen Mirren - The Madness of King George
20. Ralph Fiennes - Quiz Show

1993
  1. Daniel Day-Lewis - In the Name of the Father
  2. Tom Hanks - Philadelphia
  3. Holly Hunter - The Piano
  4. Anthony Hopkins - The Remains of the Day
  5. Angela Bassett - What's Love Got to Do with It
  6. Ralph Fiennes - Schindler's List
  7. Bill Murray - Groundhog Day
  8. Emma Thompson - The Remains of the Day
  9. Denzel Washington - Philadelphia
10. Tommy Lee Jones - The Fugitive
11. Leonardo DiCaprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape
12. Liam Neeson - Schindler's List
13. Val Kilmer - Tombstone
14. Harrison Ford - The Fugitive
15. David Thewlis - Naked
16. Al Pacino - Carlito's Way
17. Winona Ryder - The Age of Innocence
18. Michelle Pfeiffer - The Age of Innocence
19. Stockard Channing - Six Degrees of Separation
20. Robin Williams - Mrs. Doubtfire

1992
  1. Denzel Washington - Malcolm X
  2. Gene Hackman - The Unforgiven
  3. Robert Downey Jr. - Chaplin
  4. Emma Thompson - Howard's End
  5. Al Pacino - Scent of a Woman
  6. Clint Eastwood - The Unforgiven
  7. Judy Davis - Husbands and Wives
  8. Michelle Pfeiffer - Love Field
  9. Jack Lemmon - Glengarry Glen Ross
10. Al Pacino - Glengarry Glen Ross
11. Steve Buscemi - Reservoir Dogs
12. Stephen Rea - The Crying Game
13. Marisa Tomei - My Cousin Vinny
14. Jack Nicholson - A Few Good Men
15. Harvey Keitel - Bad Lieutenant
16. Sharon Stone - Basic Instinct
17. Miranda Richardson - Enchanted April
18. Tim Robbins - The Player
19. Susan Sarandon - Lorenzo's Oil
20. Tom Cruise - A Few Good Men

1991
  1. Anthony Hopkins - The Silence of the Lambs
  2. Jodie Foster - The Silence of the Lambs
  3. Nick Nolte - The Prince of Tides
  4. Geena Davis - Thelma & Louise
  5. Robin Williams - The Fisher King
  6. Robert De Niro - Cape Fear
  7. Susan Sarandon - Thelma & Louise
  8. River Phoenix - My Own Private Idaho
  9. Warren Beatty - Bugsy
10. Mercedes Ruehl - The Fisher King
11. Laura Dern - Rambling Rose
12. Bette Midler - For the Boys
13. Harvey Keitel - Bugsy
14. Jack Palance - City Slickers
15. John Turturro - Barton Fink
16. Val Kilmer - The Doors
17. Laurence Fishburne - Boyz n the Hood
18. Tommy Lee Jones - JFK
19. Gary Oldman - JFK
20. Anjelica Huston - The Addams Family

1990
  1. Jeremy Irons - Reversal of Fortune
  2. Kathy Bates - Misery
  3. Anjelica Huston - The Grifters
  4. Joe Pesci - Goodfellas
  5. Robert De Niro - Goodfellas
  6. Julia Roberts - Pretty Woman
  7. Robert De Niro - Awakenings
  8. Al Pacino - Dick Tracy
  9. Johnny Depp - Edward Scissorhands
10. Robin Williams - Awakenings
11. Ray Liotta - Goodfellas
12. Lorraine Bracco - Goodfellas
13. Kevin Costner - Dances with Wolves
14. Al Pacino - The Godfather Part III
15. Meryl Streep - Postcards from the Edge
16. Whoopi Goldberg - Ghost
17. Mia Farrow - Alice
18. Joanne Woodward - Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
19. Alan Rickman - Truly, Madly, Deeply
20. Richard Harris - The Field


Last Updated: 2019-07-07