10 Movie Stars Who Gave Their Best Ever Performance On TV
9. Claire Danes - Homeland
Claire Danes is a remarkable actress with an enviable filmography to her name, surely best known for her big-screen work in Little Women, Romeo + Juliet, The Hours, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Shopgirl, and Stardust, to name just a few.
Despite her decorated movie career, Danes' best work to date also happens to be her true signature role, as bipolar CIA agent Carrie Mathison on the hit spy series Homeland.
Homeland gave Danes a role like audiences had never seen her in before - obsessive, volatile, dangerous, damaged, and yet still strangely appealing.
Even during the show's lowest critical nadirs, Danes received consistent acclaim for her remarkably well-calibrated performance, resulting in two Best Actress Emmy wins.
The majority of Danes' big-screen roles have seen her play composed, dignified characters, so the highly erratic Carrie was totally against-type casting, and yet, Danes nailed it.
The humanity dripping from every pore of her performance served as a fitting counter-balance to Homeland's increasingly outlandish storytelling. Having the incredible likes of Damian Lewis and Mandy Patinkin to work opposite sure didn't hurt, either.