6. Steve Buscemi - Reservoir Dogs
In the role of Mr. Pink, the wild eyed jewel thief in Reservoir Dogs, Steve Buscemi put himself on the map, and deservedly so. Buscemi's Mr. Pink is the absolute standout in the ensemble cast of movie tough guys (including Harvey Keitel and Michael Madsen) who all play criminals with a hidden past. Mr. Pink is one of the few main characters from the film that doesn't get a back story flashback to add to his character's arc. Buscemi creates a memorable character without needing a motivation or history, he is a thief, and he is good at what he does (who secretly stashes the stolen diamonds at the beginning of the film). In one of his finest moments, Buscemi and Harvey Keitel's Mr. White have words (and fists) over the next move in the botched robbery. With a gun pointed to his head Mr. Pink talks down Mr. White from making yet another mistake in an already hectic day, trying to give reason as to why they are in this mess and how they are going to get themselves out of it without any more bloodshed. Buscemi catapulted his performance from Reservoir Dogs into a solid career playing quirky and fiery characters in many terrific films and can be seen as the larger than life crime boss Nucky Thompson on HBO's Boardwalk Empire.