15 Most Powerful Movie Performances Of All Time

12. Orson Welles - Citizen Kane (1941)

Welles' feature film debut is with just cause held up as one of the greatest films ever made, thanks largely to its technical innovation, unconventional structuring and superb storytelling. However, the film's success hinges just as much on Welles the actor, as it does Welles the director and co-writer.

Following the rise and fall of a newspaper tycoon across decades of his life, Citizen Kane sees Welles develop the title character through youth, middle age and ultimately old age, and he never ceases to convince and captivate. It's all the more remarkable an achievement considering Welles was only 25 at the time.