Saga The Best Acting Performances in Star Wars

I think Hamill was definitely best in ROTJ but I don't think he was as good as the others in ANH and TESB. He was good, but not AS good in my opinion.

 

Alec Guinness as old Obi-wan is definitely the best actor in the Saga. As I just mentioned in another thread, he unquestionably brought a gravitas to the role that wouldn't have been there otherwise. I can't imagine any other actor in that role.

I also felt Hamill was excellent as Luke in ESB & ROTJ - his pain when he found out DV was his father - and his refusal to join the Dark side - was quite profound. The "I'll never join you!" scene & the subsequent scene when he fell from the parapet in Cloud City is one of the most iconic in all cinema. And, Luke's calm & controlled demeanor in ROTJ was completely different from the enthusiastic kid that we saw in ANH (and to a lesser extent ESB). I liked how he took control at the beginning of ROTJ & walked into Jabba's palace very confidently. It didn't seem like Luke even broke a sweat during this entire Jabba Tattoine sequence, including during the sail barge battle.

LN as Qui-gon in TPM was fantastic as well. I kind of feel that he was intentionally trying to channel Guinness; he was spot-on as the older, wiser Jedi.

And, I know HC gets slammed quite a bit for his role as Anakin in AOTC & ROTS. However, one of the best acting scenes in the Saga was his confession scene to Padme in AOTC - he was superb there! The pain, guilt, and rage that was displayed here when he confessed to taking out all of the Sandpeople (who had tortured & killed his mother) was amazing - these kinds of emotions are tough to pull of convincingly for actors (I know, since I watch a lot of films/TV shows - and, there are a ton of crummy actors/actresses out there). However, HC was excellent in this role & did an amazing job here. It's also telling that this was probably the beginning of Anakin's turn to the dark side.

 

Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine is hands down my favorite performance. I think he played his "both" of his roles great. As the innocent senator from Naboo and as a vengeful Sith Master.

 

If I had to pick the two standouts from each of the films, they'd be:

TPM: Liam Neeson and Natalie Portman.
AOTC: Hayden Christensen and Christopher Lee.
ROTS: Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen.
ANH: Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing.
ESB: Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford.
ROTJ: Ian McDiarmid and Mark Hamill.

Special mention too for Anthony Daniels in all of the films. He didn't have an easy gig but completely sold his character in every aspect.

If I were to pick one notable, unsung performance from each film they'd be:

TPM: Andy Secombe as Watto
AOTC: Jack Thompson as Cliegg Lars
ROTS: Bruce Spence as Tion Meddon
ANH: Phil Brown as Owen Lars
ESB: Kenneth Colley as Admiral Piett
ROTJ: Michael Pennington as Jerjerrod

 

I think Hayden is great.

I don't get the hate for him.

 

Alec Guinness and then everyone else.

Although MVP's for each film....

TPM - Liam Neeson
AOTC - Ewan McGregor
ROTS - Ian McDiarmid
ANH - Alec Guinness
ESB - Frank Oz
ROTJ - Mark Hamill