The general archetypes and plot conventions featured in a given sports drama tend to facilitate impressive performances from their actors. Basketball has the work of both Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper in Hoosiers (1981), while an amazing performance from a football film came with Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side (2009). Even baseball has its share of memorable roles from Kevin Costner in Bull Durham (1988), Brad Pitt in Moneyball (2011), and Chadwick Boseman in 42 (2013).
With regard to boxing movies, however, even a top ten list might not do adequate justice to the sheer volume of quality performances therein. From Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood to David O. Russell and Ryan Coogler, some of the biggest directors Hollywood has to offer have made outstanding boxing movies. And within those films, certain actors stood out for their unforgettable performances.
Whether they do the dirty work inside the ring themselves, they stand in the corner and coach their athlete, or they simply cheer from the stands as a beloved friend or family member, these are the ten finest performances from American boxing movies.
10 Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in Creed (2015)
Oddly enough, this is the first movie of the franchise where Rocky wasn’t the titular character — and it’s also the entry in which Sylvester Stallone gave his most poignant performance. It’s worth noting that he was also nominated at the Academy Awards for the original Rocky (1976), but for Best Actor instead of Supporting. In both respective years, he fell just short.
His performance here in Creed comes out on top because it felt like the culmination of four dedicated decades for Stallone as the famous fictional boxer. He had played the character from the seventies to the nineties, then all the way into the twenty-first century. And he finally reached the championship with Creed (2015).
9 Melissa Leo as Alice as Eklund Ward in The Fighter (2010)
Directed by David O. Russell, The Fighter (2010) follows boxing brothers Dickey Eklund and Mickey Ward, except Dickey — played to a brilliant degree by Christian Bale — has a crack addiction. The movie chronicles the filming of a documentary centered around drug abuse, and the result is a cinematic masterpiece that explores the dangers of drugs just as prominently as it details the professional boxing career of Mickey, played by Mark Wahlberg.
An accomplished actress before this film was ever released, Melissa Leo plays a supporting role as the boys’ mother, Alice-Eklund Ward. Amy Adams also garnered a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her work in The Fighter, but it was Leo who ultimately stood out in that regard. Her performance hit home for audiences on multiple emotional levels, and her hysteria perfectly mirrored the performance of Bale. But more on that later.
8 Daniel Day-Lewis as Danny Flynn in The Boxer (1997)
Whenever Daniel Day-Lewis pairs up with Irish director Jim Sheridan, the result is a career-defining performance every single time. This was his third collaboration with Sheridan following My Left Foot (1989) and In the Name of the Father (1993), the former of which garnered him his first win for Best Actor at the Academy Awards.
Here in The Boxer (1997), Day-Lewis played Danny Flynn, a former pugilist who gets released from prison in the film’s opening sequences and sets out to restore an old gymnasium and turn it into a boxing gym for boys. What stands out so prominently about Day-Lewis herein isn’t necessarily a scene in particular or the performance as a whole, but the fact that he trained boxing in Ireland for a year to prepare for shooting. He’s cited as a method actor, and this is why his characters always resonate.
7 Cathy Moriarty as Vickie LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980)
Spoilers for the rest of the list, but: this is the first of three performances from Martin Scorsese’s biographical boxing drama Raging Bull (1980). It of course follows prizefighter Jake LaMotta, and while the featured in-ring cinematography is among the finest the genre has seen, the film is just as well-remembered for its standout performances and tantalizing character dynamics.
For her work as Jake’s wife Vickie LaMotta, Cathy Moriarty received nominations across the board of award ceremonies for Best Supporting Actress. She came up short, but still: she’ll undoubtedly go down in Hollywood’s boxing hall of fame.
6 Paul Giamatti as Joe Gould in Cinderella Man (2005)
Similar in a lot of respects to the next entry on the list — but more on that later, obviously — Paul Giamatti put on an absolute masterclass against his fellow supporting actors from 2005. Though he would come up just short against George Clooney for his work in Syriana (2005), this is the best performance Giamatti has ever had, although that could be up for debate.
Directed by Ron Howard, Cinderella Man (2005) also featured thespians such as Russel Crowe and Renee Zellweger, but there’s no denying the star of the show. While maybe not known as a dramatic actor to more casual audiences, Giamatti shines in those roles, and there’s no better example than boxing trainer Joe Gould.
5 Joe Pesci as Joey LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980)
A perennial supporting actor for director Martin Scorsese, and commonly known for his unhinged, psychopathic, trigger-happy characters, Joe Pesci as Joey LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980) remains an anomaly of his career. It’s the best role he’s ever had where he wasn’t the angry, abusive character. And that’s more than okay in this case.
He received a nomination at the Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor — the first nod of his entire career. And it’d be far from his last. While the definitive Pesci role will forever be Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas (1990), there’s no doubt that his work as Jake LaMotta’s brother will go down in the annals of boxing movies.
4 Hillary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby (2004)
To be fair, a few different names could have been included in this list for their work in Million Dollar Baby (2004). Directed by Clint Eastwood, this Oscar darling featured other impressive performances from Morgan Freeman as Eddie “Scrap-Iron” Dupris and even Eastwood as Frankie Dunn, the boxing trainer of the main character at hand: Maggie Fitzgerald.
Hillary Swank won the Best Actress honors at the Oscars for her work in Million Dollar Baby, and it not only remains the best performance of her career but also up there for best boxing movie performances in general. If there’s one reason to rewatch this movie, it’s for the featured portrayals.
3 Denzel Washington as Rubin Carter in The Hurricane (1999)
Though he’s one of the biggest names featured in this list, Denzel Washington’s work here as Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter is among the most underrated of his career. It was his second collaboration with director Norman Jewison, and their chemistry was tangible from start to finish.
As was Washington’s chemistry with his fellow thespians. Following a sentence in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Rubin Carter channeled his inner prizefighter to combat the corruption of the justice system. And what’s more is that his work here in The Hurricane (1998) garnered him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and a Golden Globe win in the same category. It was well-earned, too.
2 Christian Bale as Dickie Eklund in The Fighter (2010)
This is among the more famous or at least recognizable boxing movie roles of the 21st century, and with very good reason. In his first of three films with director David O. Russell, this is without a doubt the definitive role of Christian Bale’s collaborations therewith. Sure — his role in American Hustle (2013) gave Dickie Eklund a run for his money, but in the end, Bale has a Best Supporting Actor win from the Academy Awards that resulted in a flash knockout for Eklund.
As previously mentioned with Melissa Leo’s entry of this list: Christian Bale’s character Dickey used crack here in The Fighter (2010) and was forced to deal with the effects his addiction had on his body, the mental state of his family, and his brother Mickey’s boxing career. Bale’s facial expressions, his vocal intonations — one would imagine they were precisely reminiscent of a crack addict’s physical tendencies, and he garnered widespread acclaim for his performance. It might forever be his best work.
1 Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980)
No actor has collaborated on more occasions with Martin Scorsese than the guy at hand, and Jake LaMotta could very well be considered the definitive role thereof. Robert De Niro invested his blood, sweat, and tears into this role, as if he was actually getting into the ring and fighting for his life against Sugar Ray, and not just pretending to do so.
He won the Academy Award for Best Actor thanks to his performance as Jake, and although it stirred up controversy at the time of release, the film has aged well thanks not only to its unforgettable performances, but also because of its camerawork. Perhaps the most prevalent story of Raging Bull (1980), though, will forever be Robert De Niro’s job as Jake LaMotta.