The seasoned actor Brad Dourif has done a ton of films, which makes it nearly impossible to choose just a few of his best, most intriguing, or most intense performances. After all, he is one of those performers who perpetually elevates the quality of any movie he is a part of. Not only this, but he challenges himself even more to do roles that are difficult and require more intensity. One of these roles includes voicing the terrifying Chucky. This allowed him to reach new heights in the world of acting. Fans were amazed with his menacing and intense voice acting, whether it was when his character killed people or tried to scare the main character. This is the reason why his performance remains forever engraved in viewers’ minds. In order to celebrate his other work, here are some of Brad Dourif’s best performances, ranked.
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6 Graveyard Shift (1990)
Paramount PicturesColumbia Tri-Star Film Distributors International
Stephen King is the king of the horror world, and Dourif has been in movie adaptations of his work. One of the core examples is Graveyard Shift. The film follows vagrant John Hall, who is on the lookout for employment in Maine. He is recruited to work the “graveyard shift”, cleaning a rat-infested textile mill’s basement. However, things take a turn when he discovers a predatory beast waiting to pounce on the workers.
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Dourif plays a quite prominent role by being a local exterminator, Tucker Cleveland, who is employed by the mill’s foreman to deal with the rat issue. He believes the factory is doomed since there are so many rats that appear to be more intelligent than usual, but he is unaware of just how much more dangerous things actually are. Dourif’s portrayal of Tucker Cleveland enhances the fantastic character’s appeal. He is charming and smart, which will make the audience get attached to him from the get-go. When he encounters the creature himself, his expressions and actions make the predator even scarier than before.
5 Wise Blood (1979)
New Line Cinema
Wise Blood is yet another masterpiece where Dourif plays the leading role of Hazel Motes, who is unlike most of his characters. Hazel Motes is a gloomy, dissatisfied veteran of unnamed combat. He struggles while moving and exhales bile in the direction of everything that irritates him. He decides to become a street preacher by creating his own “Church Of Truth” with no Christ. Motes is a complex character who is suffering externally and internally, and Dourif portrays this distinctive character beautifully. His role as a desperate helpless man who has no hope from God will pull on the heartstrings of the audience. This role is very different from his previous works; however, it screams the diverse acting range Dourif has. Especially in the last third of the film; he has almost no dialogue, but he expresses it all through his eyes and face.
4 Lord of the Rings Series (2001-2003)
He plays the role of Grima Wormtongue, a vicious henchman of the power-thirsty wizard Saruman from the bestselling Lord of the Rings book series by J. R. R. Tolkien, which eventually made it into even more well-liked motion pictures. Dourif made a first appearance in The Two Towers, the sequel, and later returned to The Return of the King. While the films were based on the novels, director Peter Jackson mandated that each actor give the parts their own unique spin. This entangles Jackson suggesting that Dourif shaves his eyebrows in order to make the character uneasy. While this may be a task many will refuse as the role isn’t that huge, Dourif, being the actor who gives it all to his role, ends up doing it immediately.
Not only this, but all actors were also encouraged to provide their own ideas for their characters. This indicates that Dourif has his own creative input on this character. It further implies that he is mostly responsible for what the audience sees from Wormtongue on screen, making him hauntingly more memorable.
3 Exorcist III (1990)
20th Century Studios
Exorcist III takes place 17 years after the first film, ignoring the events of the first Exorcist sequel. In Exorcist III, Brad Dourif plays a crucial part as the Gemini Killer, a serial killer who draws inspiration from the Zodiac Killer. Despite the fact that the figure had long since been put to death, a recent string of killings that fit Gemini’s style has occurred. Turns out, he is possessed.
Even though it wouldn’t be the first time in his career that Dourif would portray a deranged murderer, it stands out as one of his spookiest performances. Acting possessed is quite difficult and challenging because if done poorly, one would look comedic instead of terrifying. However, Dourif gives an extremely bone-chilling performance that makes it believable. Whenever he is on-screen, the audience will feel a shiver run down their spine, and will have a hard time falling asleep that night.
2 Dune (1965)
Hallmark Entertainment
Brad Dourif is ideal for a role in a David Lynch movie. Audiences finally got their prayers listened to when Dune was released. Dune is essentially a sci-fi movie set in the year 10191. It tells a tale of two families fighting against one another to get their hands on the spice – an incredibly valuable object which cannot be found anywhere else. Dourif portrays the role of Piter De Vries, who is a Mentat, which means he is a kind of human that is trained to mimic a computer’s functions.
Dourif initially turned the role down, by Lynch personally went to convince him, as he could see no one else pulling off this role other than him. Dourif finally accepted the offer and embraced Piter to his fullest, by adding his quirks into the character, which made Piter shine brighter than the rest on screen. Acting robotic and human at the same time requires a good balance and great acting, which felt like a morning walk for Dourif. Especially in the scene where he delivers the iconic line, “It is by will alone I set my mind in motion", the audience will find themselves applauding because his performance of being like a programmed machine is baffling.
1 One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
United Artists
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest has to be one of Dourif’s best, if not the best role, despite being his first-ever film role. This film shows how much talent this man withholds. Directed by Miloš Forman, the film tells the tale of McMurphy, a prisoner that fakes insanity in order to get admitted into a mental asylum, rather than being sent to prison. While there, he encounters some interesting characters, which include the eternally memorable character of Dourif’s Billy Bibbit, an anxious stutterer that the audience will find to be a little misfit who is there just to seek companionship. However, similar to other patients, there is definitely something off about it.
Despite it all, the audience will fall for Dourif’s charm. Especially when the nurse is forcing him to talk about his past in a therapy session; Dourif’s performance is exceptional. Billy is having a hard time keeping his cool facade, and he keeps eating his own words in his mouth. Dourif expresses it all through his spell-bounding eyes and body language. Not only this, but his facial expressions keep changing from maniacal to innocent boy in split seconds. Because of his remarkable acting, doors of appreciation and recognition opened for Dourif. He was even nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards. He was also able to take home the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In addition, he also won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.
