2. Mitch Leary - In the Line of Fire
Malkovich unquestionably excels best when given a meaty, villainous role he sink his acting chops into, and here he plays spine-tingling psychopath Mitch Leary, an assassin determined to kill the President of the United States by any means necessary. This is a film with much to boast about - Clint Eastwood is excellent as the grizzled hero, Wolfgang Petersen's direction is stellar - but it's Malkovich who rises to the top as a callous, seemingly inhuman killer who will go to any and all lengths to do away with his target. When we see Leary preparing for the assassination, we get to see just how charming, even suave Malkovich can be, before exploding into furious, gut-wrenching violence. While the actor imbues his part with the occasional drop of dark comedy, he never allows the crazed performance to veer into silly caricature or hamminess. It is as perfectly controlled as these performances get.