Tim Roth: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

1. Mr. Orange - Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Without a doubt, Tim Roth's best - and most memorable - performance can be glimpsed in Quentin Tarantino's miraculous, blood-soaked debut feature, Reservoir Dogs, where he plays undercover cop Freddy Newandyke, who gets more than he bargained for during a jewel heist gone wrong. In a way, Roth plays the most important character in the movie - it's thanks to him, ultimately, that everything turns to total chaos in the aftermath. Adopting a flawless American accent to pull off the role, Roth commands each and every scene he appears in. As soon as the narrative kicks in after the infamous breakfast scene, it's Roth's iconic screams that we hear as Harvey Keitel's Mr. White races to find a place to stow his wounded friend away. Roth's part is fairly complex, given that it requires him to play a cop (and in flashback scenes, he's marvellous), whilst also allowing us to understand that he's come to respect Mr. White at the same time. The agony of his cries and of his emotional turmoil witnessed in the film's gut-wrenching final sequence resonates today: we can still here him screaming.