17 Actors Who Stole The Movie Even Though They Were Only In Them For Less Than 20 Minutes

BuzzFeed
·6-min read

We asked the BuzzFeed Community which actors gave showstopping performances, despite having very little screen time. Here's what they said:

1.Anthony Hopkins earned an Oscar win for his portrayal of Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs, despite only appearing in about 24 minutes of the movie.

Scene from "The Silence of the Lambs" with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in a bloody white T-shirt inside a dimly lit holding cell
Orion Pictures Corp / ©Orion Pictures Corp/Courtesy Everett Collection

2.Patty Guggenheim, who played Madisynn King, had about five minutes of screen time in all nine episodes of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. She even became a meme!

Vanessa Bayer in a floral-patterned dress, sitting in a wooden-paneled room

3.Viola Davis earned an Oscar nomination for appearing as Mrs. Miller in one scene in Doubt.

Viola Davis in character, wearing a wool coat and hat, looking serious in an outdoor setting

4.Michael Keaton played the titular role in Beetlejuice, despite only having about 17 minutes of screen time.

Beetlejuice, wearing a striped suit, with wild hair and pale makeup, in a dramatic scene from the movie "Beetlejuice."

"A freaking classic! Very much looking forward to the sequel."

—lmclaughlin

Warner Brothers / courtesy Everett Collection

5.Sebastian Stan was in Captain America: The Winter Soldier — aka the movie literally titled after his MCU character — for only about 20 minutes.

Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes in a scene from a movie, wearing tactical armor with a serious expression

6.Alan Rickman played Severus Snape in all eight Harry Potter movies but was only on screen for 1 minute and 15 seconds in the first Deathly Hallows movie. He actually has only 43 minutes of total screen time in all eight Harry Potter films.

Severus Snape dramatically casting a spell in a dark, garden maze setting from "Harry Potter."

7.Bill Murray, who played himself, was actually only in about five minutes of Zombieland.

Bill Murray in a scene from a movie, looking up with a weary expression and tousled hair, wearing a collared shirt and a sweater

"Bill Murray played himself in Zombieland, and it was the best 'cameo' ever."

—marcsauve

Sony Pictures Releasing

8.Donnie Wahlberg played Vincent Grey in about three minutes of The Sixth Sense.

A man with a serious expression, shirtless, appears to be perplexed or anxious, standing indoors with a bathroom backdrop

9.Drew Barrymore played Casey Becker in Scream but only appeared for the first 12 minutes of the movie.

Drew Barrymore, in a cream sweater, is screaming into a cordless phone in a scene from the movie "Scream."

10.Mariah Carey gave a showstopping performance as Ms. Weiss in Precious, even though she only appeared in a few short scenes.

America Ferrera sits at a desk, holding a pen and notepad, dressed in a buttoned blouse with contrasting fabric design

11.Rhys Ifans played Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, but only appeared for a few minutes.

Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, in "The Witcher," dressed in tattered medieval clothing, looking at the camera while his hand rests on a document

12.Matthew McConaughey plays Mark Hanna in The Wolf of Wall Street. The movie is three hours long, but Matthew is only onscreen for about five minutes.

Matthew McConaughey in a blue pinstripe suit with a red tie and vest, gesturing animatedly under a digital clock reading "9:28" in an office setting

13.Rick Hoffman plays a security guard in Conspiracy Theory, but his appearance lasts less than a minute.

Movie poster for
Movie poster for

Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images, Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros

"He stole the scene and made the movie."

—stanemarlarj

14.Michelle Willams earned an Oscar nomination for playing Randi Chandler in less than 10 minutes of Manchester by the Sea.

Michelle Williams in a plaid coat with a fur-trimmed hood talks to Casey Affleck, who has his back to the camera. Scene from TV/movie

15.Jesse Plemons appears as an unnamed soldier in Civil War for only about seven minutes. His wife Kirsten Dunst was starring in the movie and suggested Jesse for the role when an actor dropped out days before filming.

A man in military uniform holds a rifle and wears red-tinted sunglasses, standing outdoors with trees in the background

16.Brad Dourif gives a thrilling performance as The Gemini Killer in The Exorcist III, even though he only appears in the movie for mere minutes.

Man with curly hair screams with expression of intense anger or fear in a dramatic scene

17.Finally, Michael Shannon earned his first Oscar nom for playing John Givings in Revolutionary Road. He appeared in three scenes totaling about nine minutes of screen time.

Man in a suit and tie sits at a dining table with a glass of tea, appearing serious. There are curtains with a leaf pattern in the background

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