4. Gene Hackman - The Royal Tenebaums
Gene Hackman always had the ability to perform comedy but never got a chance to fully embrace it. He had a short cameo in Young Frankenstein, was in the aforementioned Superman, and appeared in films like The Birdcage and Get Shorty. But he finally got to shine his natural comedic ability in Wes Andersons The Royal Tenebaums. And with Wes Andersons quirky sensibility, Hackman was able to find the perfect fit especially with Anderson writing the role with Hackman in mind. In The Royal Tenebaums, Hackman portrays the patriarch of an extremely dysfunctional family in which he is no longer apart of due to a divorce. He finds his way back to the family when he gets kicked out of the hotel and was living in to disastrous results. Hackman has the ability to portray a thoughtless person with such conviction because of the earnestness that he brings to the role. He is trying his best but the problem is not only that he is selfish but that he is stupid, and how delightful it is to watch that in the Wes Anderson world.