10 Best Performances in Robert Altman Movies, Ranked

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Robert Altman

Director Robert Altman was the brains behind gems like 3 Women, Nashville, and the original M*A*S*H movie. He was particularly adept at wrangling sprawling ensemble casts, meaning that there are countless brilliant acting performances to be found in his filmography. These range from the charming Meryl Streep in A Prairie Home Companion to The Player's coldly confident Tim Robbins and the haunting Shelley Duvall in 3 Women.

Many of these performances are probably the result of Altman's directorial approach. He was collaborative and light-touch, allowing his performers to improvise and put their own spin on the characters. This collaborative method resulted in performances that feel authentic and organic. Altman's ability to create an atmosphere of trust and creative freedom made him a beloved director among actors, and many of Hollywood's finest relished the opportunity to work under his direction. With this in mind, here are the ten best performances in Altman's movies, ranked.

10 Meryl Streep

'A Prairie Home Companion' (2006)

"I think that you gotta be grateful for everything that happens to you." The musical-focused A Prairie Home Companion is one of Altman's weaker efforts, essentially Nashville meets A Mighty Wind. However, Meryl Streep wows as usual. She turns in a tender, emotionally resonant performance as Yolanda Johnson, a seasoned singer in a fading radio variety show. her performance is a masterclass in subtlety, blending humor with a deep sense of nostalgia, melancholy, and quiet dignity.

Streep also shows off her strong singing voice once again, a reminder of her varied talents. Not to mention, the actress has great chemistry with co-star Lily Tomlin. The rest of the film is whimsical to the point of being lightweight, but Streep lends it some much-needed weight. Some viewers may find the whole movie a little too cutesy and saccharine, but fans of opera and bluegrass are sure to get a kick out of it.

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9 Keith Carradine

'Thieves Like Us' (1974)

"I come from the Ozarks. All we grow there is rocks and tomatoes." Thieves Like Us is basically Altman's riff on a Bonnie & Clyde story but told with a hefty dose of realism. Set in the 1930s, with the country in the grip of the Great Depression, it revolves around three young criminals who get by robbing banks. All the lead performances are solid, but Keith Carradine’s performance as Bowie, a young and impressionable outlaw, is a poignant study of lost innocence.

Carradine brings a soft-spoken, almost boyish quality to Bowie, which contrasts sharply with the violent and chaotic world he finds himself in. His character is thrust into a life of crime but yearns for something more normal and decent. The vulnerability he conveys, particularly in his scenes with Shelley Duvall’s Keechie, are consistent highlights. Carradine does a lot of heavy lifting here, helping to elevate Thieves Like Us above similar, more mediocre crime films.

8 Ronee Blakley

'Nashville' (1975)

"Last night I thanked my lucky stars that I could be here at all to sing for ya." Among the best cinematic snapshots of the 1970s, Nashville is a sprawling drama featuring all kinds of characters, from rockers to politicians. Ronee Blakley delivers one of the central performances as Barbara Jean, a fragile country music star whose career and mental health are on the brink. Blakley is both powerful and heartbreaking in the part, utterly believable as someone struggling under the glare of the spotlight.

Her character is thus a statement on the darker side of fame; her on-stage breakdowns are especially poignant. Blakley was a musician herself, adding to the realism and further blurring the line between character and performer. She even performed in support of political candidates in the 1970s, paralleling the movie's plot. Blakley's work here was widely acclaimed and for good reason, earning her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

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7 Helen Mirren

'Gosford Park' (2001)

"I'm a good servant; I'm better than good, I'm the best; I'm the perfect servant." Written by Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes, Gosford Park is a drama-slash-murder-mystery about the lives of aristocrats and their servants at an opulent British estate. It features a bevy of British talents from Michael Gambon and Emily Watson to Charles Dance and Clive Owen. One of the standout performances comes from international treasure Helen Mirren, who plays the head housekeeper with a secret past.

Mirren is most famous for playing nobility (like her Oscar-winning performance as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen), so it's refreshing to see her playing a commoner for a change. Throughout the movie, Mirren exudes a quiet authority, and her character's keen awareness of the social dynamics makes her a pivotal figure within the story. It's in the film's final act, as Mrs. Wilson's carefully constructed facade begins to crumble, that Mirren truly shines. The scene in which she reveals her devastating secret is a masterclass in intensity.

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6 Tim Robbins

'The Player' (1992)

"I was just thinking what an interesting concept it is to eliminate the writer from the artistic process." The Player is Altman's sharp-edged sendup of Hollywood, inspired by his own often-frustrating experiences in the movie business. Tim Robbins leads the cast as Griffin Mill, a cold and calculating studio executive. The plot kicks into gear after Mill starts receiving death threats which he believes come from an aspiring screenwriter.

He imbues the character with a slick, almost reptilian charm, making Mill both repellent and oddly sympathetic. He also nails the subtle movie references and in-jokes that litter the film. Moreover, Robbins's ability to oscillate between arrogance and paranoia, often within the same scene, keeps the audience riveted. He's assisted by Altman's light-touch direction, which gives him free to fully inhabit the role and put his own stamp on it, resulting in a performance that is as satirical as it is chilling. Both star and director received Oscar nods for their work.

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5 Maggie Smith

'Gosford Park' (2001)

"If there's one thing I don't look for in a maid, it's discretion. Except with my own secrets, of course." The finest servant performance in Gosford Park goes to Helen Mirren, but the most memorable aristocrat is Maggie Smith's Constance, Countess of Trentham. She's witty and superior, something Smith excels at (Constance is like a richer, entitled Professor McGonagall). She would play essentially the same character in Downton Abbey.

Smith practically dominates every scene she's in. In particular, she does a great job with the more comedic elements of the character, speaking in a sharp, biting tone that captures the essence of a woman deeply entrenched in the upper echelons of British society. Her best moments are her caustic remarks, delivered with impeccable timing, which serve to underscore the class tensions that run through the film. Smith even improvised one of her most memorable lines; the only actor who was allowed to deviate from Fellowes's meticulous script.

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4 Elliot Gould

'The Long Goodbye' (1973)

Elliott Gould in a suit smoking a cigarette at the beach while waves splash behind him

The Long Goodbye is Altman's take on a Philip Marlowe detective story but reworked to fit with the malaise of the early '70s. In this regard, it's an early example of a 'stoner noir', standing out with its more burned-out, apathetic protagonist. The movie owes much of its success to the lead performance from Elliot Gould as the offbeat investigator. Here, he redefines the hard-boiled detective archetype, bringing a laid-back, almost lackadaisical quality to his portrayal of Marlowe.

Indeed, Gould’s Marlowe is a man out of time, seemingly detached from the changing world around him, yet deeply principled in his own, unconventional way. He mumbles rather than speaking rapidly, exuding a deep world-weariness. He's thus the perfect complement to the story and themes. Gould has one especially great scene at the beginning of the film. It's a ten-minute sequence where he goes out to buy food for his cat, but Altman and Gould infuse this mundane activity with drama and paranoia.

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3 Lily Tomlin

'Nashville' (1975)

"Do you believe in Jesus?" Lily Tomlin delivers an understated performance in Nashville as Linnea Reese, a gospel singer and devoted mother of two deaf children. Linnea's life is marked by quiet desperation and unspoken longing, which Tomlin conveys through her expressive eyes and restrained body language. Few performers are better at communicating so much wordlessly.

The character handles her hard lot with grace and sensitivity, coming across as deeply likable in the process. The performance is not one-note, however. Her character is also capable of romance and desire, evident in her interactions with Keith Carradine's character, Tom Frank. As a result, Linnea becomes torn between love and duty. The scene where Linnea listens to Tom sing "I'm Easy," realizing the song is meant for her, is one of the film’s most emotionally charged moments. Like Blakley, Tomlin received an Oscar nomination for her efforts. "When I got the script, I didn't even know what part I was being considered for," Tomlin once said. "But I thought, I could play any one of these parts. Even the boys."

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2 Julie Christie

'McCabe and Mrs. Miller' (1971)

"They couldn't make a deal if you wanted. They get paid for killing. Nothing else!" If The Long Goodbye was a noir film filtered through a '70s cultural perspective, McCabe and Mrs. Miller is a Western given the same treatment. Warren Beatty and Julie Christie lead the cast as a gambler and brothel owner who join forces. Constance is strong-willed and independent, more than a match for the harsh environment she inhabits.

Christie is spellbinding here, playing the character with steely determination. She's pragmatic, intelligent, and tough, but there's also some vulnerability hidden beneath the surface. She's three-dimensional rather than a stock character, both a survivor and a tragic figure. For example, she escapes her pain through destructive habits like opium use. The movie wasn't widely embraced on release but has since been recognized as a path-breaking revisionist Western. It was ahead of its time in deconstructing the genre's myths. Impressively, Christie received the film's lone Oscar nomination.

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1 Shelley Duvall

'3 Women' (1977)

"Ever since you moved in here you've been causin' me grief." When it comes to the strongest performances in Atlman's filmography, none can top Shelley Duvall's haunting turn as Millie Lammoreaux in the ethereal 3 Women. The movie is about the twisted relationship between Millie and Pinky (Sissy Spacek), with the characters beginning to take on the other's personality.

Duvall's appearance is a remarkable exploration of loneliness and self-delusion. She brings an awkward charm to Millie, a character who is desperately trying to fit into a world that barely acknowledges her existence. Her portrayal is a study in contrasts—Millie’s outward confidence, evidenced by her constant chatter and obsession with fashion and cooking, masks a deep-seated insecurity and fear of isolation. This is heightened further when Millie starts to mimic Pinky's timidity, with Duvall doing an impression of Spacek's performance from earlier. This was a challenging role to pull off but Duvall absolutely nails it, lifting the whole movie up in the process.

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