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- Silence of the Lambs
- Orion Pictures
Since the invention of the Academy Awards, actors and actresses have worked relentlessly on their biggest parts in their most highly-anticipated films, hoping to secure the sought-after Oscar. Understandably, these stars might have assumed that the more screentime they received in a film, the more likely they were to snag the coveted award for their trophy collections.
However, critics and fans have agreed that quantity does not always equal quality. The best Oscar-winning performances are sometimes awarded to actors and actresses with little face time throughout their award-winning films. With most movies averaging around two hours of promised entertainment, the Academy Award-winning actors and actresses listed below only needed between five to 20 minutes to deliver the memorable performances that secured their spots in cinematic history.
While some may assert that other, more worthy actors were robbed of the prestigious awards by these stars, we can't argue that the Oscar holders below didn't make every moment of their screen time count.
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Film: Silence of the Lambs (118 minutes)
Total Screentime: 16 minutes
Oscar: Best Actor in 1992
Why He Deserved It: Through his iconic portrayal of the imprisoned sociopathic murderer, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Anthony Hopkins used his 16 minutes on camera to provide audiences with one of the most bone-chilling, fear-inducing characters throughout horror film history.Despite playing most of the role behind a glass prison door, Hopkins as Lecter remains (arguably) the most memorable face in the film.
- Age: 87
- Birthplace: Margam, Port Talbot, Wales, UK
Made every minute count?- Photo:
Film: Little Miss Sunshine (101 minutes)
Total Screentime: 14 minutes
Oscar: Best Supporting Actor in 2007
Why He Deserved It: As a dysfunctional family embarks on a road trip to support the youngest member, Olive (Abigail Breslin), in her first beauty pageant, her grandfather, Edwin Hoover (Alan Arkin), becomes her biggest fan and modeling coach.Arkin's portrayal of Hoover illustrates the depth of love and intricacy of family relationships that elevates the film above its dark comedy. As a former nursing home resident who was kicked out because of his lately-developed heroin addiction, Hoover contributes to the film's message of not taking anything in life too seriously.
- Age: Dec. at 89 (1934-2023)
- Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, USA
Made every minute count?- Photo:
Film: Les Miserables (157 minutes)
Total Screentime: 15 minutes
Oscar: Best Supporting Actress in 2013
Why She Deserved It: During her brief moments on film, Hathaway delivered a painstakingly heart-wrenching portrayal of Fantine, a young woman suffering from tuberculosis in 19th-century France.As memorable as her performance was, Hathaway's dedication to preparing for the role proved she deserved the Oscar. In addition to starving herself to make her character's illness more believable, Hathaway revealed to Vanity Fair that she also insisted her husband leave her presence during the filming process so that she could harness the emotional pain Fantine felt for the silver screen.
- Age: 42
- Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, USA
Made every minute count?- Photo:
Film: Moonlight (111 minutes)
Total Screentime: 20 minutes
Oscar: Best Supporting Actor in 2017
Why He Deserved It: Despite his limited time on screen, Ali used his supporting role to dismantle common stereotypes regarding people of color in America by providing a complex and layered persona through his character, Juan.Playing a drug dealer who happens upon a young child in need of parental guidance, Ali's brief 20 minutes in the limelight leaves a lasting impact on audiences.
- Age: 50
- Birthplace: Oakland, California, USA
Made every minute count?- Photo:
Film: LA Confidential (138 minutes)
Total Screentime: 15 minutes
Oscar: Best Supporting Actress in 1998
Why She Deserved It: All but capsized by the sheer magnitude of another film produced that year, Titanic, Kim Basinger's Oscar marked the only Academy Award that the otherwise highly-praised film, LA Confidential, collected from the Oscars in 1998.With then-obscure foreign actors Guy Pearce (as Ed Exley) and Russell Crowe (as Bud White) as the main characters of the 1950s set neo-noir film, Kim Basinger's portrayal of Lynn Bracken was the only acting the voting committee recognized as noteworthy and helped cement the film's place in cinematic history. During her 15 minutes on film, Basinger greatly aids in humanizing Crowe's character in a moment critical to the film's plot development.
- Age: 71
- Birthplace: Athens, Georgia, USA
Made every minute count?- Photo:
Film: Shakespeare in Love (123 minutes)
Total Screentime: 8 minutes
Oscar: Best Supporting Actress in 1999
Why She Deserved It: Judi Dench's portrayal of the curious, theater-loving Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love adds an indelible gravity to an otherwise frothy romantic comedy. Dench made the most of every moment on camera, making her character as memorable as the leading roles held by Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes.- Age: 90
- Birthplace: York, North Yorkshire, England, UK
Made every minute count?
