20 Most Intense Movie Performances Of All Time

18. Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) - Gangs Of New York

Though there's a lot to be said for the production design and Leonardo DiCaprio's performance, the crowning glory of Gangs Of New York is the scintilatting, irresistible turn by Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill The Butcher.

He's brilliant enough, in fact, to make Scorsese's epic period piece look a lot less flawed than it actually is.

Legitimately terrifying and utterly captivating in a way that only the most memorable of villains are, Cutting is a towering presence - deep and measured in his evil but also explosively physical. He is charming like a political colossus and practically shakes with barely contained anger at times.

It's no wonder nobody else on the cast could possibly compete with him.