10 Best Performances In Stanley Kubrick's Films

Without Peter Sellers’ comedic talents, Dr. Strangelove wouldn’t work as a satire. His natural talent for playing multiple characters with different accents prevents you from taking the film too seriously, and his tendency to improvise leads to some of the funniest lines and moments. But it’s not all fun and games. Sellers' characters stand between us and nuclear annihilation, and considering how ineffectual and insane they are, the tension is unbearable.

As the bland President Muffley and stoic Capt. Mandrake, Sellers gets to play the straight man against all the loonies who want to destroy their enemies. These two are the only voices of reason in the film, but Sellers injects them with enough comic ineptitude and anxious energy to keep them from going stale. It’s in his portrayal of the titular Dr. Strangelove, however, where Sellers is entirely unrestrained. A caricature of a German mad scientist, Strangelove may not be the source of chaos in the film, but he rides it with sinister glee.

With this much screen time, the comedy chameleon could turn Dr. Strangelove into the Peter Sellers show, but he gives his co-stars time to shine too. He is one component in the machine, like everyone else in a Kubrick film. But as the person who provides both the grim urgency and fun absurdity, he is a crucial component.