Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Published Nov 10, 2026, 6:21 PM EST
Diego Pineda has been a devout storyteller his whole life. He has self-published a fantasy novel and a book of short stories, and is actively working on publishing his second novel.
A lifelong fan of watching movies and talking about them endlessly, he writes reviews and analyses on his Instagram page dedicated to cinema, and occasionally on his blog. His favorite filmmakers are Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin. He loves modern Mexican cinema and thinks it's tragically underappreciated.
Other interests of Diego's include reading, gaming, roller coasters, writing reviews on his Letterboxd account (username: DPP_reviews), and going down rabbit holes of whatever topic he's interested in at any given point.
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There are plenty of genres that have delivered some of the most elite, industry-defining acting performances in the history of cinema, but one in particular that has made itself worthy of the utmost acclaim is the crime genre. Throughout the years, crime cinema has given us an admirable number of the most widely acclaimed and studied performances in all of big-screen acting.
Here ranked in order of how good the general acting is in them, these are the crime movies that have delivered the highest level of actorial brilliance in film history. From groundbreaking classics like On the Waterfront to modern masterpieces like Prisoners, these movies prove why the crime genre seems to be particularly well-suited for actors to find roles that will completely define the course of their whole careers.
10 'Prisoners' (2013)
Image via Warner Bros. PicturesOne of the most suspenseful movies in film history, Prisoners was Canadian auteur Denis Villeneuve's first foray into Hollywood filmmaking, instantly establishing his voice as one of the freshest and most exciting in modern Hollywood. The movie is an absolute masterclass in mood and suspense, an impeccably crafted psychological thriller marvelously written by Aaron Guzikowski and with some of the greatest camerawork of Roger Deakins' career.
As great as Prisoners' screenplay and visuals are, however, there's another element that's the biggest star of the show: the acting. Hugh Jackman delivers a career-best tour-de-force performance, Jake Gyllenhaal counterbalances his intensity with much quieter tension, and supporting performers like Paul Dano and Viola Davis also give their roles their all. In the end, what audiences tend to remember most about Prisoners is the ensemble's work.
9 'Pulp Fiction' (1994)
Image via Miramax FilmsAfter the tremendous success of Reservoir Dogs, expectations were high for Quentin Tarantino's sophomore effort. Saying that it was even more of a success would be an understatement. Winner of the 1994 Palme d'Or and seven-time Oscar nominee, Pulp Fiction is generally remembered as one of the greatest movies in the history of Hollywood, regardless of genre.
There are many reasons why it's also one of the most ambitious gangster movies of all time, including its vast gallery of characters—all of them played by stars at the very top of their games. Whether we're talking about John Travolta in the role that gave him a short-lived career revival, Uma Thurman in her most iconic non-Kill Bill role, or Samuel L. Jackson in the performance that should have earned him an Oscar, there's nothing to complain about when it comes to Pulp Fiction's acting.
8 'Some Like It Hot' (1959)
Image via United ArtistsBilly Wilder was a filmmaker constantly ahead of his time, unafraid of pushing the envelope even during the highly censorial years of Hollywood's Golden Age. Some Like It Hot came right as the era of Classical American cinema was coming to an end, and since it's one of those classic comedy movies that have aged remarkably well, many would confidently call it Wilder's best work ever.
It's just as much of a gangster picture as it is a rom-com, and its performances work flawlessly in both dimensions. The main attraction here, of course, is the trifecta formed by Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe, who form one of the greatest, funniest, and most unforgettable actorial trios in the entire history of the comedy movie genre.
7 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994)
Image via Columbia PicturesThere are arguably no filmmakers who are better at adapting Stephen King's work than Frank Darabont, and even though the author is best known for his horror books, Darabont's work has particularly shined when adapting King's non-horror works. Case in point: the prison drama The Shawshank Redemption, which has been the highest-rated film on IMDb for many years.
Indeed, it's one of those drama films that are perfect from start to finish, and that perfection includes some of the greatest acting that the prison drama genre has ever seen. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman both deliver what may be the most emotionally layered work of their whole careers, and the supporting ensemble—like James Whitmore and Clancy Brown—are all phenomenally moving as well.
6 'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991)
Image via Orion PicturesThomas Harris' 1988 novel The Silence of the Lambs is one of the greatest thriller books of the 20th century, so it's only fitting that Jonathan Demme's adaptation is one of the most amazing thriller movies ever made. It's a thriller so remarkably dark, violent, and scary, in fact, that Silence of the Lambs is also widely regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces in all of psychological horror cinema.
It happens to be the latest movie to have won all Big Five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress for Jodie Foster's career-defining turn as the brilliant Clarice Starling, and Best Actor for Anthony Hopkins' terrifying performance as the iconic cannibal criminal Hannibal Lecter. Those two titanic performances alone are worth the price of admission, which is without mentioning the exceptional supporting work of actors like Scott Glenn and Ted Levine.
5 'On the Waterfront' (1954)
Made as a form of cinematic excuse for his having named names during the McCarthyist witch hunt that sought to rid Hollywood of its communist sympathizers, Eliza Kazan's On the Waterfront is a crime drama that probably hasn't aged the best ideologically. However, there's no way of denying that as a dramatic character study, it's one of the best crime movies of Hollywood's Golden Age, about as close to perfection as old-school American cinema comes.
The elephant in the room is Marlon Brando, whose performance in On the Waterfront completely re-defined screen acting in Hollywood, inviting actors to shift from pure theatricality to a more naturalistic and subjective style of performance. Then, you get to talking about stars like Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, and Eva Marie Saint, whose supporting turns are every bit as brilliant and masterfully restrained as Brando's, even if they're not often cited with as much historical significance.
4 'Heat' (1995)
Image via Warner Bros. PicturesMichael Mann is one of the greatest action filmmakers of his generation, and Heat is almost universally credited as his magnum opus. One of those classic action thrillers that are perfect from start to finish, it's a three-hour epic which proves that even slow-burning heist flicks and crime thrillers can be as riveting and attention-grabbing as the fastest-paced action extravaganzas out there.
For Heat, Mann brought big-screen titans Al Pacino and Robert De Niro together 21 years after The Godfather Part II, and the result is one of the biggest explosions of actorial talent in Hollywood history. Add to that a quietly intense Val Kilmer to complement the trifecta, as well as some incredible supporting turns by the likes of Jon Voight and Hank Azaria, and you get one of the most unfrogettable crime film classics of the '90s.
3 'Goodfellas' (1990)
Image via Warner Bros. PicturesMartin Scorsese has been widely regarded as one of the most immensely talented voices in Hollywood since pretty early into his career. By the time the 1990s rolled in, audiences and critics alike were already fully aware of the wonders he was capable of, but no one could have possibly been prepared for what many still regard as his best film to date: Goodfellas, one of the best crime movies in film history by a country mile.
The movie, based on Nicholas Pileggi's non-fiction book Wiseguy and recounting a dramatized version of mafioso Henry Hill's rise and fall, has one of the most legendary cast ensembles of the '90s. Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, and De Niro are pure dynamite together, and the cast is nicely rounded out by further tour-de-force performances by the likes of Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino.
Collider Exclusive · Villain Personality Quiz Which Criminal Mastermind Would Be Your Nemesis? Lecter · Joker · Moriarty · Chigurh
Four of the finest criminal minds ever put on screen. One of them would look at you and see something worth their time. Eight questions decide which one comes for you, why they picked you, and what they would want when they arrived.
🍷Lecter
🃏Joker
♟️Moriarty
🪙Chigurh
MEET YOUR NEMESIS →
01
What would a criminal mastermind notice about you first? Great villains choose their opponents carefully. Something about you got their attention.
AMy manners, and everything I am careful not to say. BThat I still believe people are basically decent. CThat I am clever, and quietly enjoy proving it. DThat I handle things myself, and always have.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
How do they make first contact? The introduction tells you everything about what is coming next.
AA polite letter. Beautiful handwriting. Quietly wrong. BSomething on fire, with a message left beside it. CA puzzle, left where only I would look. DNo contact. Just the aftermath, and a coin.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
What do you actually believe about right and wrong? Every nemesis is really an argument about the thing you believe most.
AThere are lines. Mine are private and absolute. BRules are the only thing keeping us from being animals. CMorality is a system, and systems can be solved. DThings happen. Most of it was never up to me.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
What finally gets under your skin? Everybody has a pressure point. Finding yours is the whole plan.
ABeing seen clearly by somebody I cannot read. BWatching good people do something ugly. CLosing to someone who was simply better prepared. DHaving no move left that changes anything.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
They have made their move. How do you fight back? This is the part of the film where the audience finds out who you are.
ACarefully, and never where they expect to be touched. BLoudly. I would rather lose than play their game. CWith a better plan. I can out-think this. DDirectly, once, with whatever is closest to hand.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
What would they use against you? A good villain never brings a weapon you have not already handed them.
AMy privacy. I have kept far too much to myself. BMy conscience. I will not cross the line they want. CMy ego. I cannot resist a worthy opponent. DMy certainty that I can handle it alone.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
What do they actually want from you? The money is never the point. Something else always is.
ATo understand me better than anyone ever has. BTo prove I am no better than they are. CTo finally be beaten by someone worth the trouble. DNothing at all. I stepped into the wrong path.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
How does it end between the two of you? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who comes for you.
AA conversation I will be replaying for years. BA choice forced on me that has no clean answer. COne final move, and the better mind wins. DA coin in the air, and nothing I can say.
REVEAL MY NEMESIS →
The Case File Is Complete Your Nemesis Is…
Four criminal masterminds. One of them was always going to be yours. Here is who comes for you, why they picked you out of everyone available, and what they want from the encounter.
Hannibal Lecter
Your nemesis does not want to beat you. He wants to know you completely, and he is patient enough to wait for it. The frightening part is how good the conversation is.
- Lecter is the most dangerous kind of opponent: the one who finds you interesting. He never raises his voice, because he has never needed to.
- You keep a great deal to yourself and you are careful about what you show. That reserve is exactly the door he would knock on.
- The films understood something other thrillers missed. The horror is not the violence. It is being perfectly understood by the wrong person.
- He would be unfailingly polite about all of it. That is the worst part.
The Joker
Your nemesis is not after money, territory or revenge. He is after a demonstration, and you are the person he has chosen to prove his point on.
- The Joker only picks opponents who believe in something. Your decency is not a defence against him. It is the entire reason he showed up.
- He has no plan you can predict and nothing you can take away, which removes every tool you would normally reach for.
- His whole argument is that you are one bad day away from being him, and you would spend the rest of your life proving him wrong.
- He would call it a magic trick. You would call it the worst night of your life.
Moriarty
Your nemesis respects you, which sounds flattering until you work out what it means. He chose you because nobody else was worth his time.
- Moriarty is the original criminal mastermind, the template every later one borrows from: a mind the equal of the hero's, pointed the wrong way.
- You enjoy being the cleverest person in the room. He is counting on exactly that, and he has already built the room.
- This is the rare nemesis who would be genuinely disappointed if you lost badly. He needs the game to be worth playing.
- It ends the way these things always end. Two people, one problem, and only one way down.
Anton Chigurh
Your nemesis has no personal interest in you whatsoever, and that is precisely what makes him unsurvivable. You are not a rival. You are a stop on the way.
- Chigurh does not negotiate, gloat or explain. He arrives, he asks one question, and the answer was decided long before you opened your mouth.
- You trust yourself to handle things. He is the one problem in the world that has no interest in how capable you are.
- No Country for Old Men rewrote the screen villain by removing the thing audiences quietly rely on: the sense that talking might work.
- Call it. He will wait.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
2 'The Godfather Part II' (1974)
Image via Paramount PicturesAfter the tremendous critical and commercial success of The Godfather, still regarded by many as the greatest film of all time, the bar was set sky-high for its follow-up. Part prequel, part sequel, The Godfather Part II ended up also being one of the greatest crime dramas in film history, an absolutely perfect three-and-a-half-hour-long character-driven epic unlike any other.
It's the ultimate requiem for the American Dream and one of the best films of the 1970s, and the role that its cast plays in that perfection shouldn't be underestimated. Al Pacino delivers the greatest and most complex performance of his career, Robert De Niro deservedly won an Oscar for his masterfully multi-layered take on a young version of Brando's Vito Corleone, and actors like Diane Keaton and John Cazale also deliver career-best work.
1 'The Godfather' (1972)
Image via Paramount PicturesIncredible though its sequel may be in all respects imaginable, most cinephiles would agree that there is simply no topping The Godfather—and certainly not when it comes to acting in the crime genre. Pretty much no one involved in the production of this Francis Ford Coppola picture had any faith that it would be any substantial kind of hit, and they certainly did not predict that it would end up becoming the most universally acclaimed film in Hollywood history.
Indeed, the whole Godfather series is among the most universally acclaimed movie trilogies ever, but when it comes to acting, this is as good as it gets. You get Brando's Oscar-winning turn as Vito, Pacino's career-defining turn as Michael, and people like James Caan, Robert Duvall, Talia Shire, Keaton, and Cazale all also delivering performances so potent that in any other project, they would be the standout pieces of acting. But in a project where the acting all across the board is as flawless as in The Godfather, it ends up being the case that everyone gets their chance to shine.
