Good acting

Sean is watching Ice Age II, a really dreadful movie that barely holds his attention. It's basically a journey film with comic interludes. Ray Romano's performance is great though. It's amazing how he can make anything sound funny in his cantankerous without-a-clue personna. It got me wondering if it's possible to give a great performance without attracting attention to oneself. Ideally that would be the goal. But is it really possible?