The 90s were a banner year for the Academy Awards. With the timely surge of two superstar actors, Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. Great independent filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson emerged at the shows. The Oscars had films that are still talked about today. 1994 was an excellent year for film, and had three classics – Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump — fighting for awards. Iconic performances were celebrated. Such as Marisa Tomei, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Joe Pesci all won in the supporting categories. The 90s were a decade much like the 70s, celebrating the best performances that pop culture and Hollywood could make. Here are the best Oscar-winning performances from the 90s, ranked.
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10 Daniel Day-Lewis — My Left Foot
Fernadle Films
A film that doubles as a highlight reel for the courageous athleticism of Daniel Day-Lewis’ commitment to acting and embodying the life he’s portraying, My Left Foot kicked off what would become the first of three Best Actor wins for the legendary actor. Playing real-life Christy Brown, a man with a crippling case of cerebral palsy, Day-Lewis pushed his body to the limits to give an accurate and endearing look at a troubled life. He learned how to use his left foot as if it were his two hands. The film opens with him using his foot to put a record on the player. A brief glimpse at what becomes an acting masterclass of raw physicality.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
9 Nicolas Cage — Leaving Las Vegas
MGM
The wonderful sunken face of Nicolas Cage is the center of Leaving Las Vegas. The over-the-top expressionistic actor played the abyss of alcoholism to a miserable but profound note. Struggling with his addiction while trying to navigate the waters of a life lived by the pen, Cage got to the center of what drove his character crazy. While also striking up an unlikely romance with the great Elizabeth Shue. The role earned Cage his only Best Actor Oscar.
8 Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny
20th Century Studios
An Italian gangster comedy turned courtroom drama, Marisa Tomei stole the show as the firecracker cousin to two goons (Ralph Macchio and Joe Pesci) and helps get them out of trouble. Leaning into hilarious Italian caricatures and playing into the Southern stereotypes that cause tension between the characters and the court. Tomei used her character’s litigious, academic automobile knowledge to the hilarious effect that rode her all the way to a surprising Oscar win for My Cousin Vinny.
7 Tom Hanks in Philadelphia
TriStar Pictures
The 90s belonged to Tom Hanks. In one of his most complex, harrowing roles, Hanks had the burden of the AIDS crisis on his shoulders. Mustering the strength to touch a subject that at the time, was taboo. Partnering with the great humanist director Jonathan Demme and screen legend Denzel Washington for Philadelphia, Hanks found the heart of what so many openly gay men had to deal with: the stigma and the heartache of contracting a disease that was killing millions of people. When he won his first of consecutive Best Actor Oscars, Hanks gave one of the best acceptance speeches of the last 40 years.
6 Frances McDormand — Fargo
Gramercy Pictures
The 90s neo-noir classic wasn’t an obvious choice for Oscar glory. But forever muse to the Coen Brothers’ mind-hive Frances McDormand takes over Fargo at about the 20-minute mark. After the classic Coen setup of bumbling men getting mixed up with two-bit criminals, Marge Gunderson shows up as the crackpot, pregnant sheriff tasked with solving a kidnapping and double murder. McDormand plays the hilarious Fargo accent with a comedic beat, but plays it authentic so that the film never feels like a parody.
5 Tommy Lee Jones — The Fugitive
Warner Brothers
In the vein of classic action-thrillers that used to populate the movie theaters weekly, The Fugitive is a straight-laced whodunit with two superstars squaring off. With Harrison Ford in the familiar, “I didn’t kill my wife” role, it was Tommy Lee Jones as the determined, quick-witted, and charismatic cowboy US Marshal that stole the show. Ordering his team around with his classic quick-pitched Texan dialogue, Jones was so goodm he not only won the Oscar, but got his spin-off movie US Marshals years later.
4 Kathy Bates — Misery
Columbia Pictures
In the vein of Stephen King’s pop-horror sensibilities, King took his worst fears and manifested them in Misery. Kathy Bates plays the super-fanatic to its most extreme ends, holed up in a cabin in the snowy pines of Colorado. Torturing her favorite writer, Paul Sheldon (James Caan), the film becomes a physical and psychological battle that turns into Caan fighting for his life. But it is Bates’ tour-de-force performance that will be the film’s lasting legacy.
3 Anthony Hopkins — Silence of The Lambs
Orion Pictures
Even though he was only in the film for 24 minutes, in a near 2-hour runtime, Anthony Hopkins created a persona so evil and eerie, his presence haunted the film throughout. From his sinister smile to the way he never blinks while talking to the curious Jodie Foster, Hopkins got inside the serial-killer mind of Hannibal Lecter, leaving almost no trace of humanity. Instead, dive into the cold, brutal intelligence that he would later embody to its grossest ends in Ridley Scott’s Hannibal. Silence of The Lambs was the last film at the Oscars to win the Big Five awards for Actor, Actress, Director, Screenplay, and Picture.
2 Robin Williams — Good Will Hunting
Miramax
A script shaped by the young Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as they grew into their own in the industry, they needed a star to fill the role of the old, beaten-down therapist to help shape the brilliant Will Hunting (Damon). Robin Williams, who had already been nominated for Dead Poets Society and Good Morning Vietnam! in the Lead category, finally got his win in Supporting for Good Will Hunting. Williams played against Damon perfectly with his charismatic, comedic charm, but also dug into the heartache of losing a wife. Williams was perfect as the wise guardian needed to steer the story and give Damon’s character a roadmap for self-acceptance.
1 Joe Pesci — Goodfellas
Warner Bros.
In Martin Scorsese’s mafia masterpiece Goodfellas, in a world flooded with memorable Mafioso and two-bit criminals, none struck the screen with the same energy as Joe Pesci as the wild violent Tommy DeVito. Not only is the most fearful and raging source of pitbull energy, in Pesci’s small frame too, he was also the source of much of the black humor that comes from Scorsese’s work. Even in a supporting turn, where Ray Liotta tells most of the story, it was Pesci’s “What am I a clown? I amuse you?” scene that will remain forever.
