6. Javert - Les Misérables
A lot was resting on Russell Crowe's shoulders when he took on the coveted role of Javert for Tom Hooper's Les Miserables, especially when one considers how beloved and acclaimed the stage character was, and how integral he is to the central narrative. Though Crowe's singing can't match the superior portrayals from Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman, he does a great job conveying the
physicality of the role, of a man who goes from being a staunch obeyer of the law, to feeling guilty and questioning himself, and then, of course, taking the ultimate decision to do away with himself. His dogged determination and well-rounded sense of morality makes him an unexpectedly complex character for a stage production, imbued with all of the doubts and existential issues that actual people have, ensuring that Javert is no simple baddie, such that when he ends up lobbing himself into the Seine, we actually care.