44. AL PACINO
Donnie Brasco (1997)

For a while in the early '90s, it seemed as if Pacino would forever deliver his lines in that patented talk-talk-SCREAM! cadence. Brasco finds him turning the volume down, playing a sad-sack gangster who attempts to bond with an undercover cop (Johnny Depp). He's a perfectly miserable grouch, yet Pacino finds the humor beneath, lending this brutal killer a rueful humanity that anticipates The Sopranos and splendidly complements his twice-nominated Godfather work.