7. Kevin Spacey
Spacey's role in The Usual Suspects alone showed his incredible versatility. He played Roger 'Verbal' Kint, a petty con artist with cerebral palsy who spoke of a ruthless crime lord named Keyser Söze, whose acts of violence and influence in the criminal world had become almost mythical amongst criminals and police alike. Anyway, in the final scenes, Spacey loses his trademark limp and reverts to being Keyser Söze and, in a brief moment, the aura he suddenly emits changes the atmosphere of the entire film. Spacey has also played mysterious 'is he or isn't he' alien prot (uncapitalised) in K-Pax, the megalomaniac supervillain Lex Luthor in Superman returns, the likeable Lester Burnham suffering a mid-life crisis in the incredible American Beauty and the heartless scrooge Clyde Northcut in Fred Claus. A truly fantastic actor.