10 Actors Who Just Smashed It Out Of NOWHERE

9. Alicia Witt - Longlegs

Furiosa Dementus
Neon

It's always great to see a veteran performer show up in a movie totally out of nowhere and just knock it out of the park. 

That's certainly true of Alicia Witt's superb performance in Osgood Perkins' recent horror hit Longlegs, where she portrays Ruth Harker, the mother of protagonist Lee (Maika Monroe).

There's far more to Ruth than first meets the eye, and Witt does a mesmerising job of nodding towards something being off with her in earlier scenes, before of course the penny drops.

Shedding her distinctive auburn hair, peppy personality, and typically fresh-faced allure, Witt instead dresses down and portrays a character quite unlike any she's inhabited before - the unnerving sort primed to leave audiences on edge every time she's on screen.

The result is one of the best performances in the movie - going toe-to-toe with both Monroe and Nicolas Cage despite her limited screen time - and the most impactful of her entire career.

 
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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.