I was recently thinking about various actors and their swan songs. My definition for that may not be exactly their best movie but it's the one you like the most or remember them in the most. What do y'all have that stand out for different actors and actressss? Dead or alive.

Tom Cruise: the Top Gun movies
Mel Gibson: tough one but I think I lean Braveheart
Bernard Hill: LOTR
Daniel Craig: Casino Royale

These are just a few off the top of my head. It can get pretty difficult pretty fast with a lot of tossups.

Three of the four you listed are still alive and active, so you can't say what their swan song is. For Bernard Hill, it would be The Moor

Richard Harris - Dumbledore

Mark Hamill - the Star Wars movies

Ed Asner - "Cobra Kai"
Christopher Lloyd - "Nobody"
Christopher Lee - "LOTR: The Two Towers"
Vincent Price - "Edward Scissorhands"

Bruce Almighty said:

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Swan song means final performance.

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I know. I'm taking it a step farther. "Final" performance as in 100 years from now what is the 1 thing they may be or should be remembered for in your mind.

Yea I meant dead or alive just to open it up to more people. For all intents and purposes you can choose someone's best work even if they're still alive. Chances are it may be their best work even after death.

Alright that's fine. I admit it's a bad label that I didn't caveat enough in the OP. Staff feel free to update the title if you'd like to "Favorite or Most Memorable Performances".

Quote:

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The swan song is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song just before their death while they have been silent (or alternatively not so musical) for most of their lifetime.

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Guess I was latching more to the beautiful part and not the timing part.

It doesn't help that Aggie sports is getting everyone on edge.

Sigourney Weaver as Ripley
Bruce Willis as John McClane

username kinda checks out

The Last Full Measure was both Peter Fonda's and Christopher Plummer's final film.

GrapevineAg said:

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John Wayne in The Shootist

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and Eastwood in The Unforgiven

Paul McCartney - Help!

Lathspell said:

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Ultimate swan song would be Heath Ledger as the Joker.

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Not his swan song.

Alan Rickman in Harry Potter. Clearly many will argue Die Hard is his most memorable, but depends on generation.

Another one that comes to mind is Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He had been in so many great movies and with exceptional performances, but probably will be most remembered (again, depending on generation) in his true Swan Song performance in Hunger Games 2

Edit: Continuing on with Harry Potter. Richard Harris in Chamber of Secrets. Maggie Smith another HP alum.

Also would be remiss to not mention Brandon Lee in The Crow (even though probably the only movie he was known for).

Bruce Almighty said:

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Lathspell said:

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Ultimate swan song would be Heath Ledger as the Joker.

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Not his swan song.

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I would debate that. That was his last film he completed, right? I know he was in Dr. Parnassus with Jude Law and Johnny Depp, but I thought that was a result of him dying midway through shooting and they called an audible with that strategy. Maybe I'm not remembering another film?

That lady who acted with Alec Baldwin in that movie they were filming when he shot her

Jake Lloyd - The Phantom Menace.

In the immortal word of Jake, "Yippppeeeeeeeeeeee."

Orson Welles in Transformers: The Movie.