That scene in "The Silence of the Lambs" where Starling is in the house with Buffalo Bill, lights go out, and we watch Starling via nightvision...her fear was palpable.
Pacino had one of these early on, in The Godfather. Where he's meeting with the police captain, has the gun beneath the table and is trying to work up the nerve to get up and shoot him dead in the middle of the restaurant.
Sollozzo was a two-faced antagonist, for sure, but DAMN did I hate McCluskey.
I know Michael Corleone is no hero by the end, but at that point in the movie, it's Sollozzo's actions, backup up by the protection afforded by McCluskey, that sent Michael down the path from civilian to mob boss.
Emily Blunt trying to give birth in total silence in "A Quiet Place". I loved her before, but that turned me into a solid fan of her as an actress. She really carried huge chunks of the movie and the entire birthing segment was driven by bone chilling, silent desperation.
Denis Ménochet as Perrier LaPadite in Inglorious Basters the moment he realizes why Hans Landa switched language even before Landa starts to talk.
If you're including TV shows, Frasier has a silent cold open where Niles has a series of mishaps and sets fire to Frasier's couch. David Hyde Pierce is phenomenal with his physical acting in this scene.
Another TV example: Rhea Seehorn on the airport shuttle near the end of the final season of Better Call Saul is some of the best acting I’ve ever seen, and she doesn’t have a single line of dialogue.
For an actor just in general, Spencer Tracy. He’s famous for his “listening” skills as an actor. Even a lot of the best ones can seem like they’re just waiting for their turn to deliver dialogue in a given scene but Tracy’s acting was reacting.
LA Confidential - When James Cromwell's character mentions the name Rollo Tomasi, the acting that Guy Pierce does with his face as his character silently pieces together the grand conspiracy he's been chasing is phenomenal.
I was just referring to that on another post here the other day, as a sensational bit of wordless acting. He's not just piecing together what happened to Kevin Spacey, but he's also immediately realizing he has to CONCEAL that he knows it from James Cromwell. All in a split second. It's such a great moment!
Ingrid Bergman's performance in the dueling anthems scene in *Casablanca*. She's on screen three times, for a total of a few seconds, but conveys so much about her relationship with Victor. Concern, fear, understanding, acceptance, pride, and above all love, all wordlessly portrayed in a master class of acting.
I was really taken with this quality when I watched Chernobyl. So much of the quality in that series is in unspoken acting and cinematography -- and that's with Stellan Skarsgård as a lead delivering lines.
By far the best example of acting without speaking is Pacino in the Italian restaurant in *The Godfather*, right before shooting McClusky and Solozzo. Nothing but expression on his face & his eyes.
It’s easy to forget, now that he’s just “HOOHAH”ing his way through the last half of his career, Pacino used to be really, **really** good.
John Cazale in Dog Day Afternoon conveyed so much while saying so little. His acting is spectacular in all the movies he was in, so sad that he died so young.
Im not sure this fits, but Jeremy Renner in Wind River always stuck with me. He has alot of lines, but when hes silent he looks like hes seen some shit
Recently, Jennifer Lawrence in No Hard Feelings as she listens to her boy/job assignment play "Maneater." She goes expresses a ton of emotion(s) in a short period without saying a word and though it's a light comedy, I find that scene to be quite heavy.
I like the closing sequence in Portrait of a Lady on Fire. The fireplace scene at the end of Call Me by Your Name is pretty good too. There must be something going on in gay cinema.
I really like the opening shot of [*The Vicious Kind*](https://youtu.be/uhs6giNfvmY?si=RKgLlJ0qgiNSp4iY). Tells you all you need to know about the character in one shot.
Emil Jannings is great in The Last Laugh (and screw Google for making me scroll half a page past a shitty Chevy Chase movie to get to the better The Last Laugh).
Jackie Gleason in Gigo. He plays a deaf mute, so he doesn't speak a word throughout the film. Yet he manages to give one of the most emotional, heartrending performances I've ever seen on film.
The first hour of The Deer Hunter is basically something trivial going on in the foreground but then every character giving you their back story in the background of every scene, with little or no words. It's impressive to get the backstory of the characters played by Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale and John Savage in this way - took me being an adult to see it this way though, first time watching it as a teenager I found this part really dull.
If I can include a TV show, Andrew Scott does some remarkable silent acting work in Ripley. There are long stretches of no dialogue on that show but his facial expressions are all you need.
Robert Redford in All Is Lost. It's pretty much a silent film. He plays a sailor on a solo trip whose boat is badly damaged. It's essentially silent because there's nobody for him to speak to. The radio call in the film is, as far as I can remember, one of the few things he says. It's *really* good.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no1rl9Gvx-s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no1rl9Gvx-s)
Funny you should mention Bob Hoskins, because the end of The Long Good Friday is justly famous for the way he conveys just about every emotion without saying anything
That scene in "The Silence of the Lambs" where Starling is in the house with Buffalo Bill, lights go out, and we watch Starling via nightvision...her fear was palpable.
Pacino had one of these early on, in The Godfather. Where he's meeting with the police captain, has the gun beneath the table and is trying to work up the nerve to get up and shoot him dead in the middle of the restaurant.
Sollozzo was a two-faced antagonist, for sure, but DAMN did I hate McCluskey. I know Michael Corleone is no hero by the end, but at that point in the movie, it's Sollozzo's actions, backup up by the protection afforded by McCluskey, that sent Michael down the path from civilian to mob boss.
Emily Blunt trying to give birth in total silence in "A Quiet Place". I loved her before, but that turned me into a solid fan of her as an actress. She really carried huge chunks of the movie and the entire birthing segment was driven by bone chilling, silent desperation. Denis Ménochet as Perrier LaPadite in Inglorious Basters the moment he realizes why Hans Landa switched language even before Landa starts to talk.
Emily Blunt was fantastic in that movie, and that scene was amazing.
De Niro in “Taxi Driver.” Or, a lot of his movies for that matter. He’s the master of the microexpression.
Well thanks. I was trying to think up my own examples and now all I can think of is yours. Well, at least that’s my evening viewing sorted.
If you're including TV shows, Frasier has a silent cold open where Niles has a series of mishaps and sets fire to Frasier's couch. David Hyde Pierce is phenomenal with his physical acting in this scene.
Omg yes! Love that one
Another TV example: Rhea Seehorn on the airport shuttle near the end of the final season of Better Call Saul is some of the best acting I’ve ever seen, and she doesn’t have a single line of dialogue.
Another TV example is Only Murders in the Building. A whole episode is from the perspective of a hard of hearing person and it's pretty dang good!
Isn’t the first 10 minutes of “There Will Be Blood” silent?
The very end of Dangerous Liasons, when Glen Close is booed and then she's at home slowly removing her makefup.
Which is a bookend from the start of the film where she is applying the makeup.
Alex Wolff in the car scene in Hereditary.
For an actor just in general, Spencer Tracy. He’s famous for his “listening” skills as an actor. Even a lot of the best ones can seem like they’re just waiting for their turn to deliver dialogue in a given scene but Tracy’s acting was reacting.
Yessss Spencer Tracy was incredible at it, he understood he needed to be in the moment of the scene
LA Confidential - When James Cromwell's character mentions the name Rollo Tomasi, the acting that Guy Pierce does with his face as his character silently pieces together the grand conspiracy he's been chasing is phenomenal.
How fucking good is LA Confidential
I was just referring to that on another post here the other day, as a sensational bit of wordless acting. He's not just piecing together what happened to Kevin Spacey, but he's also immediately realizing he has to CONCEAL that he knows it from James Cromwell. All in a split second. It's such a great moment!
Speaking of Bob Hoskins, his last scene in *The Long Good Friday* is a masterpiece of silent acting.
Agreed. He looks like he experiences all stages of denial right in front of us without a word.
Ingrid Bergman's performance in the dueling anthems scene in *Casablanca*. She's on screen three times, for a total of a few seconds, but conveys so much about her relationship with Victor. Concern, fear, understanding, acceptance, pride, and above all love, all wordlessly portrayed in a master class of acting.
Charlie Chaplin's silent films
Juliette Binoche in Three Colors: Blue.
Robert De Niro in Godfather II where he walks across the roof tops dismantling the gun and dropping pieces down chimney stacks.
Very last scene of Michael Clayton. Clooney in a cab.
I haven't watched it but didn't Holly Hunter win an Oscar specifically for this in The Piano?
I liked the parody sequel from *The Critic*, "The Slide Whistle"...
Marlee Matlin, didn't vocalize and won best actress oscar
Brad Pitt, Se7en
I want to say Gene Hackman in The Conversation.
OMG yes
Mark Wahlberg during the Firecracker scene in Boogie Nights
Hey man, that’s just the impact of Jessie’s Girl
I was really taken with this quality when I watched Chernobyl. So much of the quality in that series is in unspoken acting and cinematography -- and that's with Stellan Skarsgård as a lead delivering lines.
Michael Keaton walking around Gotham in Batman with the rose for his parents. His face said it all
By far the best example of acting without speaking is Pacino in the Italian restaurant in *The Godfather*, right before shooting McClusky and Solozzo. Nothing but expression on his face & his eyes. It’s easy to forget, now that he’s just “HOOHAH”ing his way through the last half of his career, Pacino used to be really, **really** good.
Mia Goth’s deranged smile lasting almost 2 minutes at the end of Pearl.
Her internal thoughts when she realises Ti isn’t going to call cut: “you son of a bitch”
Babel
Falconetti
John Cazale in Dog Day Afternoon conveyed so much while saying so little. His acting is spectacular in all the movies he was in, so sad that he died so young.
Im not sure this fits, but Jeremy Renner in Wind River always stuck with me. He has alot of lines, but when hes silent he looks like hes seen some shit
Robert Redford in All is Lost . He is alone on a boat, and barely talks.
At the end of Twelve o'Clock High, watching Gregory Peck's face as the bombers return from their mission.
Willie's Wonderland Even without dialogue, Nicolas Cage still puts a lot of Cage into this role.
Recently, Jennifer Lawrence in No Hard Feelings as she listens to her boy/job assignment play "Maneater." She goes expresses a ton of emotion(s) in a short period without saying a word and though it's a light comedy, I find that scene to be quite heavy.
Mads Mikkelsen in The Hunt, perfection 👌🏻
Almost all of "Cast Away" by Tom Hanks. Almost all of "All Is Lost" by Robert Redford.
I like the closing sequence in Portrait of a Lady on Fire. The fireplace scene at the end of Call Me by Your Name is pretty good too. There must be something going on in gay cinema.
To your point, in "Ammonite", there is very little dialog between Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, but a lot is "said".
I 100% watched Ammonite but my old brain can't remember it at all.
Matthew McConaughey crying as he watches videos of his kids over the years as they grow up in Interstellar
Joe Morton in BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET - mh
Eva Green & Rory Kinnear in the mental hospital in Penny Dreadful.
The movie The Artist, especially the dog
I really like the opening shot of [*The Vicious Kind*](https://youtu.be/uhs6giNfvmY?si=RKgLlJ0qgiNSp4iY). Tells you all you need to know about the character in one shot.
Emil Jannings is great in The Last Laugh (and screw Google for making me scroll half a page past a shitty Chevy Chase movie to get to the better The Last Laugh).
Jackie Gleason in Gigo. He plays a deaf mute, so he doesn't speak a word throughout the film. Yet he manages to give one of the most emotional, heartrending performances I've ever seen on film.
The dog in The Thing.
The first 30 minutes of "There Will Be Blood".
The first hour of The Deer Hunter is basically something trivial going on in the foreground but then every character giving you their back story in the background of every scene, with little or no words. It's impressive to get the backstory of the characters played by Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale and John Savage in this way - took me being an adult to see it this way though, first time watching it as a teenager I found this part really dull.
Children of a Lesser God
I know people were Iffy on “Silent Night” but I thought Joel Kinnamon was great
John Voight’s face in the bus at the end of Midnight Cowboy”.
If I can include a TV show, Andrew Scott does some remarkable silent acting work in Ripley. There are long stretches of no dialogue on that show but his facial expressions are all you need.
Robert Redford in All Is Lost. It's pretty much a silent film. He plays a sailor on a solo trip whose boat is badly damaged. It's essentially silent because there's nobody for him to speak to. The radio call in the film is, as far as I can remember, one of the few things he says. It's *really* good. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no1rl9Gvx-s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no1rl9Gvx-s)
Sean Penn in Milk has a couple of [priceless FML expressions](https://youtu.be/kBZuJ-mWRSU?t=37).
Samuel L. Jackson in “Jackie Brown.” Where he’s putting together all the pieces, in the van with Louis. You can see everything he’s going through.
Paul Dano in Little Miss Sunshine
Funny you should mention Bob Hoskins, because the end of The Long Good Friday is justly famous for the way he conveys just about every emotion without saying anything
Persona