10 Great Supporting Roles in Western Films by A-list Actors

One of cinema's most celebrated and celebrated brands, the Western the genre has played host to some of Hollywood's most prominent and lauded A-Listers. From classic genre blockbusters like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood to more modern stars like Jeff Bridges and Samuel L. Jackson, the best Western films ever made feature some of the most memorable and widely imitated performances in history. cinema, bringing to life a diverse range of lawmen, gunmen and bandits.

However, the foundations for the success of the Western genre are not only built on the backs of its protagonists. Some of the best Westerns owe a lot to a top-notch supporting role, whether it's a loyal right-hand man or a despicable villain who serves as the film's antagonistic foil. From the best spaghetti westerns to the westerns where the villain wins, a number of great supporting characters were brought to life by an A-Lister who could rival the film's protagonist, serving to elevate the quality of the film through his assured presence and on-screen charisma.

10

Leonardo DiCaprio as Calvin Candie

Django Unchained (2012)

Quentin Tarantino's blood-soaked revisionist Western masterpiece, 2012 Django Unchained has an enviable cast. Led by Jamie Foxx as the eponymous character, the film also features big names like Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Kerry Washington. However, even though Waltz won an Oscar for his performance as King Schultz, the largest supporting role played by an A-list actor in the entire film Django Unchained is, without a doubt, Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin Candie.

Putting on a prim facade of Southern civility that serves as a veil for the sadistic tendencies that lurk beneath, Candie is one of Tarantino's most memorable and compelling villains, brought to life through a joyfully unrestrained performance in one of Tarantino's best films. DiCaprio. The six-time Oscar nominee is gloriously wicked as Candie, a cruel plantation owner who delights in delightful activities such as watching slaves fight to the death or having his dogs tear fugitives to pieces.

9

Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday

Tombstone (1993)

Loosely based on real events, 1993 Tombstone is a stylish western Rambo: First Blood Part II director George P. Cosmatos. Boasting a cast led by Kurt Russell as lawman Wyatt Earp, the film received highly positive reviews, with particular praise directed towards the excellent performance of Superior weapon alumnus Val Kilmer in the supporting role of Earp's old friend Doc Holliday.

Taking a scene-stealing bow as the sickly, smooth-talking gunslinger who somehow failed to get nominated for an Oscar, the liquor-swilling Holliday is one of the most memorable and instantly quotable characters in all the western genre. Batman Forever star Kilmer delivers what is controversially career-best performance set against the backdrop of a seminal offering for the genre, a bow that's further aided by top-notch chemistry with his on-screen rival, Michael Biehn's Johnny Ringo.

8

Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh

No Country for Old Men (2007)

It says a lot about the cultural impact of Javier Bardem's take on Anton Chigurh that the enigmatic killer is the name most closely associated with 2007's neo-Western standout. There is no country for old peopledespite him not being the main focus of the film. A ruthless killer with a supernatural ability to track his prey based on Cormac McCarthy's character of the same name, Chigurh spends the film trying to track down cartel money stolen by Josh Brolin's Llewelyn Moss.

Whether he's literally flipping lives or catching them brutally with the help of his cattle gun, there's not much to say about Bardem's generational shift as Chigurh that hasn't already been said. With the actor winning an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for his chilling take on the killer, McCarthy's live-action version of the psychopathic killer is widely considered the best Western villain in cinema history and is arguably longtime A-Lister Bardem's most impressive role in a long and storied career.

7

Charles Bronson as Bernardo O'Reilly

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

One of the seminal releases of the genre, 1960s The Magnificent Seven is a Wild West-style remake of the iconic 1954 action epic, Seven Samurai. Chronicling the titular group of gunslingers' attempts to defend a Mexican village from a gang of ruthless bandits, the film features a cast for the ages, many of whom became superstars in their own right following the successful departure of John Sturges. .

However, the gold standard for supporting roles among the cast is undoubtedly Bernardo O'Reilly, brought to life in an unforgettable role by the late Western cinema icon Charles Bronson. An A-list name in the action, war and western genres, Bronson's take on the Irish-Mexican gunslinger who has fallen on hard times is one of his most celebrated roles. A self-assured and stoic presence, the actor's role as O'Reilly likely helped solidify Bronson's reputation as the strong, silent type in future genre outings.

6

Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue

The Hateful Eight (2015)

The second genre offering in the celebrated career of illustrious filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, the 2015 revisionist Western The Hateful Eight follows eight strangers who take refuge in a blizzard, who are soon caught up in a web of murder and deceit. Set in the aftermath of the American Civil War, the film's eight titular characters feature a number of prominent celebrities, including Kurt Russell and Walton Goggins.

However, The highlight of the film's excellent supporting performances is that of Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue. A merciless killer and lethally cunning outlaw with a ten thousand dollar bounty on her head, Domergue serves as The Hateful Eight main antagonist. Leigh demonstrates her remarkable range through an intense, all-ages performance that earned her an Oscar nomination, effortlessly capturing the pathos of a chained woman in many cases before switching to an unhinged banshee without a second warning in others.

5

Josh Brolin as Tom Chaney

True Courage (2010)

A remake of the 2010 John Wayne-led film of the same name True courage is one of the most critically acclaimed western films in modern cinema. Receiving 10 Oscar nominations and boasting a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the Coen brothers' offering features an enviable cast of Hollywood blockbusters in supporting roles, with Josh Brolin's Tom Chaney serving as the pick of an impressive bunch.

Known for his roles in highly successful franchises such as The Avengers, Duneand Dead PoolThe man who brought Thanos to life is one of the most instantly recognizable faces in Hollywood, but he does some of his most underrated work as True Grit's overarching antagonist. Chaney is no Machiavellian schemer, but the deeply human nature of his brutal tendencies and his subsequent lack of remorse mean that he simultaneously comes across as an extremely pathetic and deeply frightening character in one of Brolin's best Western films.

4

Tom Hardy as John Fitzgerald

The Revenant (2015)

The revenge story to end all revenge stories Birdman director Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2015 The Return It is without a doubt the Leonardo DiCaprio show. The film that finally won The Wolf of Wall Street Starring his long-awaited Oscar win, the film chronicles an almost literal return from the dead for DiCaprio's protégé Hugh Glass, a fur trapper during the 1800s who is left for dead by his companions after being savagely attacked by a gigantic grizzly bear. .

Colleague Tom Hardy takes on the supporting role of Hugh's main tormentor in John Fitzgerald. The actor takes an Oscar-nominated bow as the brutal Fitzgerald, a morally bereft villain who rubs salt in the wounds by murdering Glass's son and burying the injured hunter alive in a shallow grave before abandoning him. Fitzgerald's cowardly actions prove to be the film's driving force, leading the vengeful Glass to defy all odds just to get revenge on him during The Return visceral ending.

3

Jeremy Irons as Randall Bragg

Appaloosa (2008)

Directed by Ed Harris and boasting some of the best performances in the history of modern Western cinema, Appaloosa is an underrated picture from the 2000s. Featuring Harris and The Lord of the Rings megastar Viggo Mortensen in the lead roles, the 2008 film follows two prolific peacekeepers hired to restore law and order in the film's titular city. The main antagonistic foil to the main duo takes the form of murderous farmer Randall Bragg played by fellow A-Lister, Die with revenge star Jeremy Irons.

A cowardly criminal who murdered the former marshal and now frequently terrorizes the city, Irons' protégé rounds out an all-star cast that also features Renée Zellweger. A polished villain from an actor known for producing them, the nefarious Bragg serves as a worthy antagonist against the backdrop of one of the most underrated Western films the 2000s have to offer.

2

Morgan Freeman as Ned Logan

Unforgiven (1992)

Widely considered Clint Eastwood's best Western film since 1966 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, 1992 Unforgivable see the Dirty Harry The star takes on the role of William Munny, an aging gunslinger who is tempted to come out of retirement for one last score. In addition to Eastwood and Gene Hackman in an Oscar-winning performance as Sheriff Bill Daggett, Unforgivable also features a supporting arc from film icon Morgan Freeman.

The Oscar-winning star of seminal performances in the style Million Dollar Baby, The Shawshank Redemptionand The Dark Knight trilogy, Freeman plays Munny's old friend and retired outlaw, Ned Logan, in the 1992 western. It's not one of Freeman's greatest roles, but it's definitely one of his most memorable, with his character's death serving as the catalyst for Munny's murderous rampage that stands as one of cinema's best revenge sequences.

1

Paul Dano as Paul and Eli Sunday

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Featured roles in acclaimed names Prisoners, 12 years of slaveryand Batman left Paul Dano with a reputation as one of the most prominent faces in Hollywood in recent years. However, despite his more recent success, the performance to which the American finds his name most inextricably linked is that of his dual supporting role as twin brothers Eli and Paul Sunday in 2007. There will be blood.

One of the best neo-Western films ever made, Paul Thomas Anderson's film received universal acclaim upon release and is widely considered one of the most influential films in cinema history. In addition to the exemplary cinematography, Jonny Greenwood's soundtrack and Daniel Day-Lewis' Oscar-winning performance as Daniel Plainview, special praise must be highlighted. A-Lister Dano's eye-catching supporting performance and his impressive ability to play his famously mercurial co-star.