I feel as if it boils down to how good of an actor you are. Perkins actually didn't always play psychotic characters. He was very good in The Tin Star and Friendly Persuasion, which preceded the psychotic roles. I just think that he was forever typecast after his legendary performance in Psycho. Rock Hudson was also a pretty good actor in his day. He may have been no Brando, but he gave some convincing, excellent performances (Giant, Pillow Talk, Seconds). He made the viewer believe in the character he was playing.
I don't put Hunter in the same league as either Perkins or Hudson. But I agree about Hunter here. He really nailed the role of the tough, silent loner, perfectly balancing menace with comedy. He was really funny here.
I'm probably not the biggest Kurt Russell fan (at least early in his career) as I thought some of the characters he played in the 80s seemed to piggyback off of the Snake Pliskin persona, like his character in The Thing, for example. The exception is probably Big Trouble in Little China, where his character was more tongue-in-cheek. I liked Russell in that role. I'm more of a fan of later Russell, where I feel he did an excellent job essaying a variety of roles, especially in Breakdown, Miracle, and Death Proof.
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