Best Single Performance of the PT

Ewan McGregor (ROTS)

 

does it mean best performance in the trilogy or best performance in any single film in the trilogy?

you get different answers from me and several others depending on what is meant by the question.

EDIT:

since the original poster limited it to one film we should all answer it that way, but it is an unfair question in that light, some performances like Ian's are not as great in a single film but over the trilogy steal the show.

 

Ian

 

The best single performance? Terrence Stamp, no doubt.

 

Ian McDiarmid in ROTS. I was hoping he would win some type of award for his performance.

 

Ewan McGregor

 

Christopher Lee.

 

Out of the PT, the best single performance I have to say is Ewan Mcgregor. He was the Obi-Wan I imagined who closely resembles Old Ben from the OT. I loved his performance in SW3 the most.

 

Ian McDiarmid in ROTS; he showed us how truly evil and manipulative the Dark Side could be.

 

'nuff said

 

Both McGregor and McDiarmid were spot on but I loved Hayden's performance.

 

Disclaimer: I like Hayden Christensen. I thought he "looked" pretty good as Anakin. I also thought that he was very good at the fighting, swordplay, and stunts. There were even moments in there when his acting was decent.

Having said that, I still cannot understand how ANYONE could say that he gave the best acting performance of the prequels. Even if you really, really like the guy, can you honestly look yourself in the mirror and say, "Hayden's acting in the prequels was very, very good." ??? Could you say, "It was the best of all. Better than ANYONE else in all 3 movies." ???

Can you honestly say that in a sincere, inward manner?

Hayden was OK acting at various points (Shmi's death, the Jedi purge, the confrontation with Padme in episode 3, etc.) But, there were some acting moments from him in each film which were horrendous by any standard. These moments would have to eliminate him from contention as the best actor.

Was he the WORST actor in the movies? No.

Was he the BEST? Absolutely not. It's not even a matter of personal preference here. No way he was better than guys like McDiarmid, Neeson, and/or McGregor. Not by anyone's biased standards.

 

...by the way, my vote goes to Mr. Ralph Brown.

[image=http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/ricolie/img/eu_bg.jpg]

"I was an actor in this movie. My starfighter is yellow."

 

No one comes close to Ian. Played his character with more depth than anyone in the PT. However, I do give special reccomendations to Frank Oz's awesome voice acting and puppetry.

 

Hayden Christensen in ROTS especially his conversation with Obi Wan just before the Mustafar Duel.


His performance wasn't always perfect but I can't image anyone doing what is clearly an incredibly complex character any better.

 

Christopher Lee.

He doesn't miss a beat.

I used to think this honour belonged to Ian McDiarmid without question. But I've begun sympathising with those who see his latter performance in RotS as high camp. I can't pin this criticism on Lee at all. Now, while he was playing a different character, his performance also has the benefit of being more dignified and controlled. Plus... Christopher Lee likes Elvis. So he's alright with me.

 

I'm going to blow everyone's mind here but I have to say it: Natalie as Queen Amidala in Episode I.

Here me out. The knock against Natalie in Episode I was that she was "wooden", especially when she was the Queen. I say, look at the circumstances of the character, her age, and the environment she's surrounded when playing the Queen and then you might get an idea of how good that performance actually is.

 

Ian (Palpidious) Mc Diarmid in all 3 films in any scene.

Christopher lee closely follows.

 

Yeah, Liam is just a great actor.

 

But yeah, I have to agree that the best actors were Liam, Ewan, and Ian.

 

It's a good performance, but I don't think it's that good.

 

Cryo,

I had to stick up for the one performer he gets a bad rap in these films. Personally, I felt everyone did great throughout the three films....Ian's obviously the best. But, that performance as the Queen in Episode I always stuck with me. I really can't explain it.

I just feel there was more to Portman's acting than what was written about at the time or even now.

 

This is a very tough question, because there's some great performances in the PT. In my mind the best performances come from Ian and Ewan.

So, how do i decide?

Ok, considering that both actors had to tie up with performances from the OT, my vote goes to Ewan in ROTS, because he had match his performance with Sir Alec, and he did a fantastic job with it imo. Ian did an amazing job matching up to himself, but i'm gonna give the slight edge to Ewan in this case because he had to study someone else's performance.

 

Hands down Ewan M. in ROTS! I hope they tap him for the new TV series to play Kenobi on Tattooine, that would be awesome!

 

Ian in ROTS with Ewan in ROTS in second place