4. Brad Stand - I Heart Huckabees (2004)
Reviews for David O. Russell's bizarre, existential comedy I Heart Huckabees (which clings to a plot about detectives you can hire to find out the meaning of your life) were mostly mixed. Critical attitude towards Jude Law's performance in the movie, however, were not of the mixed variety - there's no doubting that, despite the quality of the picture itself, Law is fantastic here. As Brad, an employee of department store chain, Huckabees, Law very nearly steals the show. It's a shame, then, that nobody really ever talks about this movie (or Law's performance in this movie). Law's turn here is also one of his very few dips into comedic acting. Okay, so this isn't a comedic performance in the same way that it might have been in an Adam Sandler movie, but Law clearly shows he has the timing and skills necessary to make a deceivingly multi-layered character like Brad work. Along with I Heart Huckabee's protagonist, Albert (as played by Jason Schwartzman), Law ensures not to waste a second of screentime. And, you know, on a purely superficial level, it's also just brilliant fun to watch such a brilliant a*shole of a character doing their thing.