Any number of factors, from method acting to madness, from a great script to a fantastic director, from the right dialogues to an actor's predilection for risk-taking.

And even as great performances are subjective, here's a look at the Top 10 picked by Premiere magazine. While you may disagree (I do too -- where are Peter Sellers and Laurence Olivier?), it is undeniably an interesting list.

10. Jake La Motta
Robert De Niro in Raging Bull

The boxing ring as metaphor was never explored better than in this visceral 1980 Martin Scorsese masterpiece.

De Niro, famously gaining 60 pounds for his portrayal of the great boxer, delivers a magnificent performance running seamlessly through high drama and overriding emotion: from arrogance to anger, humiliation to despair, loneliness to vanity. Over the years, this has become the textbook acting-school performance. And deservedly so.

Text: Raja Sen | Design: Reuben NV