Recently some beloved Soluters were shooting the breeze on the virtual porch when discussion turned to favorite movie and TV reveals expressed only through a change by the actor. A twist revealed in their facial expression or their posture or line delivery where new information falls into place without being outlined in dialog (well, sometimes it’s followed up with a gasping “It was you all along!”)

I won’t repeat the examples given by the others so that they can repeat them below and get proper credit. My contribution was Samuel L. Jackson in Django Unchained, where he plays Stephen, a risible toady to slave owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Jackson is nearly unrecognizable and difficult to watch in his character’s introduction as a simpleton who runs down the checklist of stereotypical Uncle Tom-isms as he defers to Candie. But when we see the men in private, the camera reveals a steady, intelligent Stephen (one who sounds a lot more like Sam Jackson) acting as Cadie’s confidant, a conniver in support of an evil empire rather than someone crushed by it.

The camera, score and editing can come in for the assist – a camera pushes into an actor’s face and we read their expression differently. But some actors can turn the moment within a shot – witness Peter O’Toole Max von Sydow go from paternal to menacing in Minority Report for example.

Your turn, Soluters. What are your favorite performance shifts that reveal a character’s true nature?