9. Elisabeth Shue - Leaving Las Vegas
Elisabeth Shue started out playing a bunch of nice girl next door types, in movies such as
The Karate Kid,
Adventures InBabysitting and
Back to the Future, which helped to procure her image as a wholesome girl who you could trust your kids with. Though she went toe-to-toe with Tom Cruise in the more adult but undoubtably camp
Cocktail, she still played a character of virtuous attribute, so it wasn't all that out of the ordinary for her. So when
Leaving Las Vegas came along in 1995, which cast Shue in the role of a prostitute, the world stood up and took notice: was this the same actress? For her role in Mike Figgis' heartbreaking movie (which co-starred Nicolas Cage in an Oscar-winning role), Shue had to expose herself entirely (she's naked a lot). There's even a dark scene where she gets raped by a trio of frat boys. This turn could've ruined her career, but it actually marks her best performance to date. Bravo, Elisabeth.