Two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern doesn't get off to a slow start with his performances. Dern may have started his career with an uncredited performance in Elia Kazan's Wild river (1960), but since then the actor has built up quite a portfolio and even won Best Actor at Cannes for his role in Nebraska (2019). Over the years, Dern has dipped his toes in a variety of performances, from standout supporting roles to memorable performances as a lead actor. Here are some of Bruce Dern's best performances:
10 The Hateful Eight (2015)
What happens when eight strangers, with questionable backgrounds, are forced by a blizzard to seek refuge in a remote cabin? Well, Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight gives a lot of insight into this. The western mystery thriller brings together an ex-slave turned bounty hunter (Samuel L. Jackson), another bounty hunter (Kurt Russell), his captive (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a sheriff (Walton Goggins), a mysterious stranger. (Demian Bichir), a former Confederate general (Bruce Dern), a British executioner (Tim Roth), and a sniper (Michael Madsen) in the dead of winter for a violent, unexpected confrontation. Dern's General Sandy may be sitting in a corner observing violence among the others. However, it becomes clear that the old general knows more than he lets on.
9 Monster (2003)
It's Hard To Forget Charlie Theron's Oscar-Winning Performance As Serial Killer Aileen Wuornos In The Biographical Crime Drama Movie Sample. The film follows Aileen, a street prostitute who murdered seven of her male clients and was later arrested in 2002. Bruce Dern's Thomas is one of the memorable characters of the movie. He portrays a haunted Vietnam War veteran, who is Aileen's only male friend. Thomas's relationship with Aileen is so different from the relationships she has with other men, most of whom have pushed her down a dark, horrific path.
8 Silent Operation (1972)
Douglas Trumbull's debut science fiction film, Silent running, takes place in a future, where life on Earth no longer exists. It stars Bruce Dern as botanist Freeman Lowell, who is responsible for tending a variety of plants in a space station greenhouse. However, things get complicated when Lowell is ordered to destroy some plants to make room for an oncoming cargo. Lowell goes against these orders to protect the last remnants of Mother Nature. Despite being one of the few people on screen, Dern does a great job and practically carries the entire movie on his shoulders.
7 The 'Burbs' (1989)
Joe Dante's black comedy The Burbs may have been rejected when it was first released, but the movie has since garnered quite the cult following. The film stars Tom Hanks as Ray Peterson, who returns home for a week-long vacation. However, all plans for a peaceful, stress-free holiday are thrown out the window when Ray hears strange noises coming from the basement of the new and reclusive neighbours, the Klopeks. Ray, along with his other neighbors, suspect that the Klopeks may be satanic killers. It's Dern's character, Mark Rumsfeld, who really steals the spotlight, with his over-enthusiastic attitude and his overactive imagination. The military veteran really makes the audience laugh thanks to his over-the-top personality.
6 Smile (1975)
Film by director Michael Ritchie Smile hits all the right notes when it comes to satirical comedies. Set in Santa Rosa, California, the film revolves around the beauty pageant held in the small town. It highlights the hypocrisy and deception of the pageant. Dern plays Big Bob Freelander, a scruffy but hilarious used car salesman who serves as one of the main judges on the panel for the election. You can't help but laugh and cringe at the same time at the antics of the people on screen. Dern in particular brings the audience to tears of laughter with the way he acts and judges the contestants.
5 The Great Gatsby (1974)
Jack Clayton's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby may not live up to the source, but comes pretty close, all thanks to the performances of the cast. The film follows Robert Redford's Jay Gatsby, a millionaire, who is obsessed with his lost love Daisy, played by Mia Farrow, who is now married to Bruce Dern's cold, ruthless Tom Buchanan. Dern's Tom is pretty close to Fitzgerald's Tom, with his cold demeanor. His stellar performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
4 The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)
by Bob Rafelson The King of Marvin Gardens follows two brothers who become involved in a get-rich-quick scheme that ultimately leads them to tragedy. Dern plays the extravagant and enthusiastic Jason Staebler, while his moody and depressed brother, David Staebler, is played by Jack Nicholson. It's very interesting to see how Dern goes from enthusiastic and eager to get rich to more somber and serious as disaster strikes.
3 Black Sunday (1977)
Based on the Thomas Harris novel of the same name, Black Sunday is an action thriller film inspired by the real Munich massacre. Dern's performance in the film as Michael Lander, the mentally battered veteran who was also a prisoner of war, is hard to forget. Deep in his depression, Lander is desperate to commit suicide and teams up with the leader of a terrorist group to blow up the Goodyear blimp, which would fly more than 800,000 people, including the US president. One can't help but feel sympathy for Lander, yet worry about the lives he might take if his suicide attempt succeeds.
2 Coming Home (1978)
Coming home is the film that earned Dern his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Dern plays Captain Bob Hyde, a US Marine who is deployed to Vietnam and must leave his wife Sally behind. Initially, the film follows Sally as she tries to navigate her developing feelings for a paraplegic Vietnam War veteran. But as soon as Dern's Hyde also returns, it becomes clear that the film wants to focus less on romance and more on the aftermath of the war. It's pretty heartbreaking to watch Hyde take the world out for what he did during the war. Dern spectacularly plays the injured captain suffering from PTSD.
1 Nebraska (2013)
Dern really comes to the fore in Alexander Payne's Nebraska. The film follows Dern as Woody Grant, an elderly alcoholic who travels to Nebraska with his estranged son, played by Will Forte, to collect a million dollar Mega Sweepstakes prize. Although it seems like a silly message, the trip to Nebraska brings the two closer together. Dern played Grant so wonderfully that he received numerous Best Actor nominations at the Oscars, Golden Globes and BAFTA. He also won an award for Best Actor at the renowned Cannes Film Festival.
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