Best Actor 1965: Results

5. Laurence Olivier in Othello- Laurence Olivier is always a master of the language of Shakespeare, but his performance as Othello is not as finely attuned as his other screen performances. It is a theatrical work, that is odd in many ways but I still think it was effective.

 4. Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou- Marvin is properly menacing as the bad brother, and is hilarious as Kid Shelleen the good brother. It is a very enjoyable performance that I  really do not mind that it won at all.

3. Oskar Werner in Ship of Fools- Werner gives a strong performance, and with Simone Signoret create a charming, yet tragic story of two people who find each other for a time. It is terrific, natural work in an otherwise bad film.

2. Rod Steiger in The Pawnbroker- Steiger gives an uncompromising powerful performance, as man who has become pessimistic and lost his humanity due to his horrific treatment. He creates an excellent portrait of this man and gives a truly dark, but an incredibly effective one.

1. Richard Burton in The Spy Who Came in From The Cold- Richard Burton is excellent in showing the dark sad history of this spy, and also his pessimistic view (Another pessimistic character no wonder Marvin won) of his current condition. He handles both the pretending to be a drunken defective and in being in reality a tired yet still functioning and technically loyal spy fed up with loss of humanity with perfection. Burton and Steiger was a hard choice for me, their performances are both equally great.

Deserving Performances:
Sean Connery in The Hill
Omar Sharif in Doctor Zhivago
Sidney Poitier in A Patch of Blue
Lee Van Cleef in For A Few Dollars More
Terrence Stamp in The Collector