The films of Martin Scorsese have featured some of the greatest movie performances of all time, but there are so many roles that have been vastly underrated by general viewers. While most will be aware of the incredible legacy of Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver or Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street, this was truly just the tip of the iceberg. Although Scorsese is known for having many male-centric movies, he’s also had some truly astounding performances from female actors in his nearly six decades of filmmaking.

The best Scorsese movies all featured intense and memorable characters, so many that even his most successful films feature performances that get left behind in wider conversations surrounding his work. While his collaborations with De Niro and DiCaprio have been key to his longstanding appeal, there are so many more notable names who have given transformative and compelling performances in his work. With dozens of films to his name, there are just so many great Scorsese roles to appreciate.

10

Griffin Dunne as Paul Hackett

After Hours (1985)

The protagonists of Martin Scorsese movies are commonly ᴀssociated with being ruthless gangsters or deeply troubled outsider types, yet this was certainly not the case for the computer data entry worker Paul Hackett in After Hours. As a wild and surreal black comedy about a strange and eventful night in New York City, Paul Hackett perfectly captured the yuppie nightmare cycle of 1980s neoliberalism with a performance that blended the best of screwball comedies with film noir.

What began with Paul striking up a conversation with a beautiful woman soon devolved into an endless series of misadventures as he painstakingly attempted to make his way home from Manhattan’s Soho district. Along the way, Hackett captured the Sєxual frustration and emasculation that come with trying to find Sєx, or even love, in the big city. As the most recent Scorsese film that’s not an adaptation or biopic, After Hours showcased the director’s underappreciated talent for capturing wildly original characters.

9

Sandra Bernhard as Masha

The King of Comedy (1982)

While many film fans will agree that Robert De Niro gave one of his most unusual and interesting performances in a Martin Scorsese movie as the struggling stand-up Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy, this satirical film was packed with incredible supporting performances. Alongside De Niro, Sandra Bernhard stood out as Masha, another mentally unstable fan of the late-night TV host Jerry Langford, who becomes wrapped up in their sinister abduction plan.

Masha was truly one of Scorsese’s most fascinating and unsettling female characters, as she captured the unhinged psychology of an obsessive stalker to perfection. As a delusional romantic who was more than willing to spur Rupert into increasingly frantic and haphazard impulsive actions, her spontaneous nature was central to understanding how the pair’s friendship enabled each other’s fractured mental health. With an ability to steal scenes from the all-time great actor De Niro and the iconic comedian Jerry Lewis, Bernhard held her own and stood out among this stacked cast.

8

Willem Dafoe as Jesus

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

When Martin Scorsese made the controversial decision to adapt Nikos Kazantzakis’ divisive novel The Last Temptation of Christ, he had a difficult task on his hands when it came to casting the role of Jesus Christ. Luckily, Scorsese landed on Willem Dafoe, an actor who possessed the emotional range and the striking otherworldly presence needed to capture the literal son of God. In a raw and human performance, Dafoe tapped into the conflicted nature of Christ in Kazantzakis’ novel as he struggled to come to terms with the burden of sacrifice his father had placed on his existence.

Through a tortured and doubtful portrayal, Dafoe as Jesus stood outside traditional depictions of Christ to highlight a man who questioned his own divinity and even resisted his role as the Messiah. There’s a vulnerability and a longing for romance that added a deep sense of loss to Christ’s story that’s not often explored, as his crucifixion vision showcased him imagining an alternate life where he was allowed to grow old with Mary Magdalene. While Scorsese dealt with accusations of blasphemy, in truth, The Last Temptation of Christ was a deeply spiritual look at the human side of Jesus.

7

Andrew Garfield as Sebastião Rodrigues

Silence (2016)

While Andrew Garfield first made a name for himself with roles in great movies like The Social Network or as the web-slinging teenager Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man, it was in Martin Scorsese’s Silence that he got to show a totally new side to his acting talents. As Sebastião Rodrigues, a 17th-century Jesuit priest traveling through Japan to locate his missing mentor and spread Christianity, Garfield captured the anguished intensity of Shūsaku Endō’s original novel as he suffered through a serious crisis of faith.

Silence continued Scorsese’s long tradition of wrestling with faith in his films. The calculated way Garfield played his restrained character while also littering the performances with big emotional outbursts added to its intensity and emotional power. With an equally impressive turn from Adam Driver as the fellow priest Francisco Garupe, despite its тιтle, Silence was a movie filled with loud and memorable performances that deserve far more acclaim from the average filmgoer.

6

Michelle Pfeiffer as Ellen Olenska

The Age of Innocence (1993)

As a thoughtful exploration of the restrained nature, emotional longing, and unspoken etiquette of 19th-century New York high society, the subtle power of The Age of Innocence is often forgotten among the crime and gangster movies for which Martin Scorsese is better known. This was a real shame, as it not only boasted great performances from Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder but also featured Michelle Pfeiffer in one of her best and most underrated roles.

As Ellen Olenska, Pfeiffer embodied the quiet defiance of a rebellious young woman among the elegant world to which she refuses to entirely conform. While the character has a strong-willed and determined nature, there’s also a quiet sadness, knowing that she will never be able to truly escape society’s grip and the expectations it has placed on her. The Age of Innocence was a film about characters trapped in a certain time and place, and through small gestures and unspoken language, Pfeiffer captured this beautifully.

5

Cathy Moriarty as Vickie LaMotta

Raging Bull (1980)

While Raging Bull has been remembered today as perhaps the greatest sports movie ever made, and Robert De Niro’s transformative performance has rightfully received widespread praise, this legacy fails to recognize Cathy Moriarty as Vickie LaMotta. As an unknown actress at the time, Moriarty was just 18 when she was cast in Raging Bull, yet still managed to stand out among De Niro and Joe Pesci. With confidence and intensity, it’s easy to see why the up-and-coming boxer Jake LaMotta was so smitten by the young woman.

However, the early romance between Jake and Vickie soon turned dark as the boxer was revealed to be an abusive, controlling, and jealous husband. It was in her portrayal as a wife stuck in a violent marriage that Moriarty truly stood out, as her character maintained her intensity and was never portrayed as a weak victim. Watching as Vickie overcame her situation, pursued a divorce, and claimed custody over their children was a masterclass performance.

4

Jonah Hill as Donnie Azoff

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Jonah Hill’s astounding and outrageous performance as Donnie Azoff in The Wolf of Wall Street was central to overcoming his reputation as a crude comedy actor in Judd Apatow-related productions. Not only did Hill stand out among a cast that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, and Matthew McConaughey, but his total commitment to his role earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. With fake teeth, unique mannerisms, and a willingness to disappear into his role, the mix of greed, insecurity, and depravity that Hill imbued into this part aligned perfectly with his brutal world of fraud and corruption.

While Donnie Azoff was a pretty despicable character, the incredible chemistry that Hill had with DiCaprio meant that there was also a likable bromance aspect to their increasingly drug-fueled and excessive antics. The Wolf of Wall Street balanced comedy and drama as, like DiCaprio’s Belfort, audiences went on a journey as Donnie’s life spiraled out of control with reckless abandon. The role of Azoff was a defining moment in Hill’s character and signaled the dawning of a new chapter for the actor.

3

Ellen Burstyn as Alice Hyatt

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)

While there have been plenty of great female characters in Martin Scorsese movies, many will be shocked to learn that Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore was the only example of a woman protagonist in the director’s filmography. This was a real shame because Ellen Burstyn’s role as Alice Hyatt represented one of Scorsese’s most psychologically rich and engaging characters. As the story of a recently widowed woman’s difficult journey toward finding a better life for herself and her son, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore captured the thankless challenge of being a young, single, struggling mother.

What was so impressive about Burstyn’s performance as Alice was that she portrayed her as far more than a one-dimensional woman-on-the-run style character. Alice had a complexity and depth that made her difficult and sometimes abusive relationships all the more tragic. As a vulnerable, strong, but also flawed character, audiences could relate to Alice as a woman on a quest for personal growth, just trying to do her best in the moment.

2

Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello

The Departed (2006)

While Jack Nicholson had some more film roles before unofficially retiring from acting, his time as Frank Costello in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed represented the actor’s last truly great part. With a cast that also included Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Mark Wahlberg, Nicholson’s role in The Departed sometimes feels underappreciated, as he truly bolstered this film into its Best Picture-winning status with a performance that was brutal, chaotic, and sadistic.

Watching as Nicholson chewed the scenery in a Scorsese movie, the only disappointing thing about seeing him in The Departed was wishing he had worked with a director far earlier. The over-the-top nature of Costello made the stakes of The Departed ever more nail-biting, as audiences eagerly anticipated the consequence of him realizing that Billy Costigan was actually an undercover agent infiltrating his crew. As one of the all-time great Nicholson performances, his role in The Departed deserves to stand alongside One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Chinatown in his esteemed legacy.

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Nicolas Cage as Frank Pierce

Bringing Out the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (1999)

Across Martin Scorsese’s vast career, Bringing Out the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ just might be his most underrated film, with Nicolas Cage’s leading role being the most underappreciated performance. This haunting and intense story followed 48 hours in the life of Frank Pierce, a depressed New York City paramedic. As a glimpse into the emotional and psychological exhaustion of a burnt-out, sleep-deprived ambulance man, Frank is riddled with guilt for those he has not saved and suffers hallucinations of a homeless teenager whose resuscitation he botched.

As a man teetering on the brink of sanity and madness, Bringing Out the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ was the perfect role for Cage’s unique acting style. As a performance that’s rooted in trauma, Frank Pierce can be added to the long list of conflicted protagonists created by screenwriter Paul Schrader for Scorsese movies, as he also wrote Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ. While Bringing Out the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ may be too dark for some viewers, its pain-filled narrative made it one of Martin Scorsese’s most interesting and riveting movies.