A-aron

All those kids in "The Ringer" ... they were spot-on ...

dom56

Tom Hulce in Dominick and Eugene.

The scene in when Tom's character see his young friend get beaten by his father offsceen was very powerful almost had me in tear.

Yeti4623

Billy Bob Thornton, Sling Blade

islandclaws

Hoffman. I've always been a big fan of Rain Man and I loved his portrayal.

Mr.Briggs

I agree & can't believe it took 58 posts before Hanks was mentioned. Dustin Hoffman has 40 votes & he does not play a retarded character. He is autistic which is completely different from mental retardation. Can't believe that hasn't been pointed out. He has a normal IQ but has a disorder (that is definitely not retardation).

modfather

I guess I should have given a title of "Best Special Needs Portrayal", but being an uncle to an autistic child, I can tell you that - at least in my humble opinion, low-functioning autistic people can require as much attention as retarded people. My sister is fortunate in that her son is high-functioning, but I digress... I should have added Tom Hanks to the list, darn it! But I guess technically, as far as the chart that the school teacher had at the beginning, I don't know that Forrest Gump was even retarded - just not very bright.

By the way, if any of you haven't read Forrest Gump - the book, I *HIGHLY* recommend it. It is the funniest book I've ever read, and it's very interesting to see how the character is so much different from the book to the movie. Both are very good, but I think I prefer the book version of the character a bit more, as he sometimes knows that he's making a bad decision, but goes ahead anyway: wrestling as "The Dunce" against Jenny's wishes is a good example of this.

FantasticVSDoom

Well, to be fair we do not know that Hoffman's character in Rain Man isnt mentally retarded because its never mentioned. Its only mentioned that he has autism but I can guarantee you if he's living in a facility like the one in the movie, odds are he is also diagnosed as mentally retarded. Around 80-90% of individuals who are diagnosed as autistic are also mentally retarded. In fact, the person who the character is based on isnt diagnosed autistic at all, but mentally retarded who had savant tendencies. I know, I know a bit more info then anyone really wanted.

Tarantino

I'd say Adam Sandler in any movie he's in.

= J

modfather

I'm far too lazy to look, but I think someone posted that exact phrase back when this was a new thread.

Cornelius1047

Except at the time, Adam Sandler was played by Keanu Reeves, and then Vin Diesel.

I'd have to go with DiCaprio. Although, if judging by physical appearance, it's close between Juliette Lewis and Giovanni Ribisi, for sure.

K