I liked Meat's performance in Fight Club very much, and Crazy in Alabama. The poll doesn't include Outside Ozona, Everything That Rises, Black Dog or Wishcraft? I liked all of these too, particularly Everything That Rises which showed his touch for light comedy.
However, although Blacktop was at least a solid starring role in which Meat gave a fine performance, for me Focus is the film which so far has best showed his depth/breadth of skill as an actor. I've always felt that the sign of true acting skill is when you can hear the words yet understand what the character is feeling when it's at odds with the words being delivered. Alec Guinness was a master of this as anyone who saw his portrayal of Smiley will know. Meat achieved this with consummate skill as Fred in Focus. A character who could have so easily been portrayed as a one dimensional bully, Meat played him with real finesse. William Macey is of course an exceptional actor, and imo Meat matched him with an equally peerless performance. Had this been a "Hollywood" film on general release I have no doubt that Meat would have been nominated for a best supporting actor award, and it was one of the few I found so compelling that I rewound it and watched it again right away.
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