Bill Paxton: 5 Awesome Performances (And Five That Sucked)

4. Simon - True Lies (1994)

Let's be honest - as is the case for a lot of us, True Lies will mainly be remembered for Jame Lee Curtis' seductive striptease, but aside from that, its standout moments are easily provided by Bill Paxton's Simon.

An immoral, cowardly car salesman who regularly lies to women in an attempt to get them into bed, Paxton again delivers quotable line after quotable line ("the 'Vette gets 'em wet"), and despite his character being a sleazy piece of work, you can't help but laugh at him and you'll probably end up loving him to death.

Everything about the character, from his scruffy, 80s pornstar moustache to his excessive confidence, is pitch perfect, played with complete self-awareness by a Paxton who's clearly having the time of his life.

And that makes it incredibly easy for us to enjoy ourselves too. If Paxton had played the character a little less outlandish and a little more straight he would've come across as irritating, but the actor knew that the only way to make Simon work was to embrace the fact that he was a scumbag and make the best of it.