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Best performances by non-professional actors

bridge.jpg The 1959 West German film ``The Bridge`` based on true events at the end of WW2. Blew my mind---chilling. Australian director; amatuer kids. English subtitles. Most of the films mentioned here I have seen--fabulous.
 
Not been mentioned yet I think - most of the cast of Kes.

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Including the brilliant Brain Glover -

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"Casper!"
 
Some excellent calls here, peeps :)

Seeing Bruno S mentioned here reminds me of Herzog's "Even Dwarves Started Small", where the entire cast was non-professional:

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Mention of "City of God" also brings to mind the 1981 film "Pixote", and it's leading person, Fernando Ramos da Silva:

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The director of "Pixote", Hector Babenco, used a non-professional cast for his later prison drama, "Carandiru" (2003):

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Finally got around to seeing Battle of Algiers - imagined it to be a bit dry - what a film - and many great non pro performances
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Of course the cast of 'City of God' were non-professionals. But, they had been picked from hundreds of people who auditioned, and given a couple of years acting training. Unlike the non-professional actors of many films who were literally picked off the street and told "just do what you do and we'll stick a camera here" a la Winterbottom's In This World, and other neorealism flicks.

Not detracting from their performances, just saying theirs is a funny 'non-professional' status (i.e. that's why they're so good).
 
Watching the interview with the director of Battle of Algiers Gillo Pontecorvo, he makes the point that non-professional actors wouldnt cut it on stage, but cinema allows you to work through a scene, place the camera a certain way and redo takes. Also so much 'acting' is about the face you have on your shoulders - if you look the part you've already done 90% of the acting necessary (Im paraphrasing him here). That said in films like The Return in the OP there's a lot of very real acting going on, and excellent it is too. Sometimes people then go on to have a career as pro-actors - you do get some naturals out there.

*Just saw that Saadi Yacef, who wrote the book on which the film is based, and who really was a commander in the FLN (the book is his life story, which he wrote in his head in jail), also acted in the film as, I think Jaffer? - effectively himself. In an interview he said he took convincing to be in the film, but what swung it was the chance to be on set and make sure they kept it real.
 
Zabriskie Point,Mark Frechette the male lead went on to live in a commune during which he tried his hand at armed robbery died in jail,Daris Halprin lived for a while in the same commune then got married to Dennis Hopper for a bit.Antoniono does early 70's America.I quite liked it,but that was 40 years ago,cinematography was great:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066601/
ive got this on a rip but not got around to watching...will give it a try over the BH weekend
 
Zabriskie Point,Mark Frechette the male lead went on to live in a commune during which he tried his hand at armed robbery died in jail,Daris Halprin lived for a while in the same commune then got married to Dennis Hopper for a bit.Antoniono does early 70's America.I quite liked it,but that was 40 years ago,cinematography was great:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066601/

Mark Frechette was one of the most beautiful looking men to ever appear on screen. :oops:

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Shame he was such a fuck up. :(
 
There are quite a few non-professional actors who got plucked from obscurity to go on to have successful acting careers. Shelley Duvall was discovered by Robert Altman working at a cosmetics counter in a Texas department store. He cast her in Brewster McCloud and she went on to star in many films.

In Altman's 3 Women she gave one of my favourite performances of the 70s, as a superficial, deluded care home worker who develops a symbiotic, identity shifting relationship with her room mate, played by Sissy Spacek.
 
Zabriskie Point,Mark Frechette the male lead went on to live in a commune during which he tried his hand at armed robbery died in jail,Daris Halprin lived for a while in the same commune then got married to Dennis Hopper for a bit.Antoniono does early 70's America.I quite liked it,but that was 40 years ago,cinematography was great:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066601/

A Molotov cocktail is a mixture of kerosene and gasoline. A white radical is a mixture of bullshit and jive!
 
And also has in his mental database the single largest selection of original and unique insults in human history. And that's a Bakunin Fact.

If you also have innovative methods of dealing with hysterical mariners then you've earned yourself your own stamp.
 
My favorite movie for non pro actors is The Ringer. Johnny Knoxville fakes mental disability in order to try and win the Special Olympics. I know: it doesn't sound good, does it?

But whatever you might think about the plot, the film uses people with disabilities in quite major roles, along with lots of bit parts. Tbh, I think some of them did a better acting job than Knoxville.

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BUMP

I got a lot out of Nomadland, which aside from the leads has lots of real camping people in it
Supposeldly director Chloe Zhao cast nonpros in her earlier films. Am curious

Best film Ive seen in years is
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Barfly vibes, with a brilliant non-pro cast <really recommend tracking that down

Any other good recent ones not mentioned yet?
 
Anyone seen these and can recommend?
I've seen The Rider, which I liked, but didn't love. The most interesting thing about it is that the non-professional actors basically re-enact their own story as it happened to them, they are a real family. Lean on Pete by Andrew Haigh came out at the same time, similar subject matter but I preferred it despite taking the more conventional route of casting real actors and being a literary adaptation. Nomadland benefits from a professional actor at its centre who is surrounded by non-professionals and there also is a progression in Zao as a filmmaker.
 
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