20 Most Intense Movie Performances Of All Time

4. Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron) - Monster

Not only is Charlize Theron's performance as Aileen Wuronos stunningly intense, it's also one of the most convincingly transformative of all time. And that's not merely a comment on a beautiful former model making herself ugly - Wuornos' mannerisms and tics make her completely unrecognisable as Theron.

Theron has a real knack for playing fractured characters - and when you learn that her mother killed her abusive, alcoholic father in self-defence you may find some insight into why she's drawn - and her Wuornos is a lot more than merely a physical transformation.

She channels that same irresistible, morbid fascination that the real-life Wuornos managed in her infamous documentary with Nick Broomfield. And while there's a lot of subtlety to her rage and her vulnerability - it's easy to forget Wuornos was a victim of abuse herself - the performance is showy in all the right ways and gripping in its intensity. And crucially, she is powerfully compelling without the film ever stooping to glamourise her.