Tues Top Ten: Best Performance of the Decade (Thus Far)?
Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at 10:30AM 
Today's top ten was inspired by Robert MacFarlane who asked what the greatest performance of the decade was on twitter to a quick flurry of responses involving some usual suspects: Phoenix, Hoffman, Cotillard, Blanchett and some unusual suspects: O'Connell, Culkin, Pitt. But the question naturally lingered because who doesn't love ranking such unrankables?
Let's do this!
BEST PERFORMANCES OF THE DECADE (THUS FAR)
Ranking likely to change tomorrow. Oscar nominated roles marked with asterisk. Oscar winning roles with double asterisk
Honorable Mentions (No Particular Order): Binoche in Certified Copy, * Keaton & Norton in Birdman, * Riva in Amour, ** Day-Lewis in Lincoln, ** Bale in The Fighter, * Rampling in 45 Years, and many others...
10 James Franco, Spring Breakers (2013) --look at his shittttttttt
09 * Marion Cotillard, Two Days One Night (2014) --transcendent
08 * Cate Blanchett, Carol (2015) --daringly stylized, mesmerizing
07 * Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom (2010) --she did a great thing, sweetie
06 Charlize Theron, Young Adult (2011) --the layers. the layers
05 * Viola Davis, The Help (2011) --smart. kind. important. (and other wonderful adjectives)
04 Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike (2012) --lawbreaker in the house
03 Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy (2012) --Bless Charlotte Bless
02 ** Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine (2013) --from airplane to park bench, perfection
01 Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
What are yours?
Reader Comments (70)
Love your list! The backlash for Blanchett's performance in "Carol" is just baffling, isn't it?
I'm a little surprised to see Franco in your top 10. My top 5 would probably include, in no particular order, your top 2, Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke from Boyhood and Oscar Isaac from Inside Llewyn Davis. (Two leading male roles! But they're both so good.)
Your list is pretty much correct.
Although I'd swap out Viola for McGregor in Beginners. Or Dujardin in The Artist. Or Pitt in Tree of Life. Or Hanks in Captain Phillips. Or Gerwig in Frances Ha.
I knew I could count on you to remember the blessing that is Charlotte Bless! Still love that performance!
01. Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Color
02. Denis Lavant, Holy Motors
03. Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
04. Juliette Binoche, Certified Copy
05. Rooney Mara, Carol
06. Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
07. Michael Fassbender, Shame
08. Cate Blanchett, Carol
09. Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
10. Lesley Manville, Another Year
Denis Lavant - Holy Motors
Charlize Theron - Young Adult
Lesley Manville - Another Year
Nina Hoss - Phoenix
Emanuelle Riva - Amour
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Anne Dorval - Mommy
Charlotte Rampling - 45 Years
Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Today I'd pick those. Honorable Mentions to Jean-Louis Tritignant, Juliette Binoche, Suzanne Clement, Oscar Isaacs and Olivia Colman.
Favorite performances I still think about, in no particular order:
Brie Larson - Short Term 12
Quvenzhané Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild
Viola Davis - The Help
Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Tom Hardy - Locke
J.K. Simmons - Whiplash
Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
Emily Blunt - Edge of Tomorrow
Michael Shannon - Take Shelter
Runners-up: Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave; Michael Keaton - Birdman; Anna Paquin - Margaret ('course this one doesn't really count cuz it was made in the previous decade); Greta Gerwig - Frances Ha
I'd give shout outs for Chris Evans & Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer), Leo di Caprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)... but I will just sit here and make a call to Hollywood to give better, meatier roles to Ewen Bremner, Anna Paquin, Anna Faris, Cameron Díaz, John Travolta, Sacha Baron Cohen (he really needs to do drama), among other performers that can create icons at the slightest chance. Bremner's case is specially painful, given his appearance, but his Spud in Trainspotting is probably one of my top 10 favorite performances of all time.
Yasssss. This is a good list!
THE PAPERBOY - such a misunderstood trash classic.
I'd swap Viola Davis and Ralph Fiennes. And I'd probably tie Melissa Leo and Christian Bale for The Fighter. It's very hard for me to separate the two.
I recently rewatched The Fighter and I doubt I'll ever see another David O Russell movie like that again - one with a coherent plot and people who act their age (minus all the acting tics his later movies seem to be known for).
My ten:
Honourable Mentions:
Chris Evans, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine, Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln, Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia, Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina and Patricia Arquette, Boyhood. All were fighting for that tenth slot, frankly.
10. Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
9. Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike
8. Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
7. Brie Larson, Short Term 12
6. Amy Poehler, Inside Out
5. Simon Pegg, The World's End
4. ScarJo, Her
3. Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy (Yeah, I know. People are resenting Marvel's place in the pop-culture landscape. And I know that Ralph Fiennes and Keaton are the more "respectable" 2014 comedy choices. But Fiennes is just playing a slacker, softer, less critical version of the Royal Tenenbaum outline and Keaton is playing himself too much. Raw, low depth, energy has it's place too. So, sorry, but I love this performance more than I know I "should.")
2. Christian Bale, The Fighter
1. Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Charlize in YOUNG ADULT is my unquestionable #1. "The layers" and then some - there's not a moment where she doesn't complicate our perceptions of Mavis, good or bad.
Great list, Nathaniel!
This is tough--how do you measure degrees of the purely sublime? Well, lasting impact is a good way to start.
Here goes:
1. Cate Blanchett—Blue Jasmine
2. Charlotte Rampling—45 Years
3. Daniel Day-Lewis—Lincoln
4. Michael Keaton—Birdman
5. Jessica Chastain—Zero Dark Thirty
6. Charlize Theron—Young Adult
7. Saoirse Ronan—Brooklyn
8. Nicole Kidman—The Paperboy
9. Michael Caine—Youth
10. Tom Courtenay—45 Years
Honorable mention: Bruce Dern, Nebraska; Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel; Elizabeth Banks, Love & Mercy; Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina; Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave; Albert Finney, Skyfall; Sally Field, Lincoln; Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty; Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe
That list is utter perfection. Every genre, size and type of performance is remembered.
Here's how it would go for me:
10) Charlize Theron - Young Adult
9) Michael Keaton - Birdman
8) Nicole Kidman - The Paperboy
7) Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln
6) Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
5) Michael Fassbender - Shame
4) Brad Pitt - Moneyball
3) Viola Davis - The Help
2) Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
1) Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Picking a top 10 is too hard. Two performances that resonated with me but haven't been mentioned yet are Agata Kulesza in "Ida" and Jessica Chastain in "Zero Dark Thirty."
Ooh, I loved Michael Shannon in Take Shelter. What a marvelous, Oscar-worthy performance. There's no question 2011 was a banner year for acting, and including Viola Davis, Michael Fassbender, Kirstin Dunst, Jean Dujardin, Brad Pitt, and, first and foremost, Charlize Theron in there feels so correct. (And I'm so happy Charlize got another iconic role in Furiosa last year.)
1. Marion Cotillard - Rust & Bone
2. Jackie Weaver - Animal Kingdom
3. Marion Cotillard - Two Days, One Night
4. Charlotte Rampling / Tom Courtney - 45 Years
5. Lesley Manville - Another Year
6. Matthias Schoenaerts - Far From The Madding Crowd
7. Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
8. Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
9. Quvenzhané Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild
10. Viola Davis - The Help
If anything is clear, I need to re-watch Young Adult. I mean, I always think Charlize is great, but clearly I missed 'something' there.
1. Kim Hie-ja - Mother
2. Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
3. Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
4. Charlize Theron - Young Adult
5. Marion Cotillard - Two Days One Night
6. Adèle Exarchopoulos - Blue is the Warmest Color
7. Greta Gerwig - Frances Ha
8. Carey Muligan - Shame
9. Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
10. Tilda Swinton - Snowpiercer
I'm aghast at the amount of lists above that don't make room for at least one Cotillard performance and also at my own for only featuring the one. If I were to list the Top 10 actors of the decade so far based on collective work, she'd certainly rank at the top (with Moore, Binoche, Swinton, Blanchett and Fassbender following).
1. Cate Blanchett, Carol
2. Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
3. Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
4. Bel Powley, Diary of a Teenage Girl
5. Juliette Binoche, Certified Copy
6. Julianne Moore, Still Alice
7. Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
8. Anna Paquin, Margaret
9. Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
10. Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant
@goran: Do not be aghast anymore. I'm totally with you on the Cotillard bandwagon (and she's higher on my list than yours.)
@Nathaniel: YES to your top 10, but especially your top 2! Here is my list (I purposely omitted any work from 2015. It's too soon.)
1. Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant
3. Diane Kruger, Farewell, My Queen
4. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
5. Brad Pitt, Moneyball
6. Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
7. Emily Blunt, Edge of Tomorrow
8. Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
9. Juliette Binoche, Certified Copy
10. Christopher Plummer, Beginners
With apologies to so many others, including Gosling and Williams in “Blue Valentine,” Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole” and “The Paperboy,” James Gandolfini in “Enough Said,” Matthew McConaughey in “Magic Mike,” and Michael Fassbender in everything, but especially “Fish Tank.”
I purposely omitted any work from 2015, because it’s too recent.
I just love that Cotillard is mentioned for The Immigrant. This woman exudes anguish. She can break my heart and bring me to tears. Piaf, Rusty and Bone, Two Days, One Night... The only other actress that comes to mind that had the same effect on me is Sophia Loren, particularly in Two Women, Sunflower and A Special Day.
Goran - cosign! Her output this decade has been nothing short of genius. The peerless level of work Marion (and Cate) have been doing this decade reminds me of Gong Li's output in the 90s.
1. Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
2. Kim Hie-Ja, Poetry
3. Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
4. Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
5. Michael Fassbender, Shame
6. Viola Davis, The Help
7. Adele Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Color
8. Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia
9. Charlize Theron, Young Adult
10. Matthias Schoenaerts, Rust & Bone
I wish I had room for Sareh Bayat (A Separation), Carey Mulligan (Shame), Cate Blanchett (Carol), Rooney Mara (Carol), and Marion Cotillard (The Immigrant). This is like Sophie's Choice!
Some inspired choices. Hard to argue with #1 - it was a masterpiece.
Completely off the top of my head:
1. Fiennes - TGBH
2. Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
3. Fassbender - Shame
4. Moore - TKAAR
5. Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
6. Gosling - Drive
7. Swinton - Snowpiercer
8. Tony Revolori - TGBH
9. Weaver - Animal Kingdom
10. Wasikowska - Tracks
This is a nearly impossible, but fun, game. I'll go with:
1. Joaquin Phoenix, Her
2. Charlize Theron, Young Adult
3. Logan Lerman, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
4. Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
5. Ralph Fiennes, Grand Budapest Hotel
6. Ed Norton, Birdman
7. Lesley Manville, Another Year
8. Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
9. Juliette Binoche, Clouds of Sils Maria
10. Nicole Kidman - Stoker (that monologue of hers is one of my favorite film moments of the decade)
With apologies to the also terrific Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia (could make my list, but I haven't watched it lately), Amy Adams in Her, and Cate Blanchett and Marion Cotillard (I love and respect both of them but I can't decide which performances of theirs I think are their best in the decade so far).
These were the first 10 that came to mind!
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs (although it could be Shame, or 12 Years a Slave)
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Ralph Fiennes, Grand Budapest Hotel
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Viola Davis, The Help
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
10. Nicholas Hoult "Mad Max: Fury Road"
9. Marion Cotillard "Rust and Bone"
8. Cate Blanchett "Blue Jasmine"
7. Matthew McConaughey "The Paperboy"
6. Michael Keaton "Birdman"
5. Michael Fassbender "Shame"
4. Marion Cotillard "Two Days, One Night"
3. Jared Leto "Dallas Buyers Clyb"
2. Edward Norton "Birdman"
1. Anne Dorval "Mommy"
God, that's a good list. And mine has just one crossover which shows what a rich decade it's been.
1. Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Colour
2. Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha
3. Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
4. Rooney Mara, Carol
5. Suzanne Clément, Laurence Anyways
6. Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia
7. Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
8. Cynthia Nixon, James White
9. Emilie Dequenne, Our Children
10. Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
It hurts to leave out Anna Paquin but it is hard to know where in time that performance should be placed. I also can't believe I haven't room for either Cate or Marion, who as has been noted are probably the most consistently outstanding actors of the decade so far. (And long may they reign.)
And a few other runners-up:
Ewan McGregor, Beginners; Emma Stone, Easy A; Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine; Adepero Oduye, Pariah; Lesley Manville, Another Year; Isabelle Huppert, White Material
Happy to see Brie Larson in Short Term 12 on several lists. That was a star-making turn if ever I saw one.
One that I haven't seen on any lists yet is Gugu Mbatha-Raw in Belle. Beautiful work.
Sandra Bullock anchors Gravity.
Ejiofor. Eisenberg. Day-Lewis. Blanchett in Blue Jasmine. David Oyelowo in Selma. Brendan Gleeson in Calvary.
I'm gonna have to think about this some more.
Top 10 Performances (That i thought of today), too many runner-ups to list:
Mary Elizbath Winsted - Smashed ( Best Female Lead of 00s)
Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel (Best Male Lead of 00s)
Tilda Swinton - Snowpiercer (Best Supporting Female in 00s)
James Franco - Spring Breakers (Best Supporting Male in 00s)
Guy Pearce, Lockout (Best Action Performence/ Best Bruce Willis)
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine (Best Oscar Winning Performence)
Macon Blair - Blue Ruin (Best Thriller Performence)
Oscar Issac -Ex_machina (Best Sci-fi Performence)
Reese Witherspoon - Wild (Best Role by an uneven actress)
Marion Cotillard- Two Nights, one day (Best Forigen Film Performence)
And just to be a bit provential, here are the two best performences by male and female in Israeli films:
Sivan Levy, Six Axts (Runner Up:Dvora Kedar, Fire Birds)
Itay Zvulun, Freak Out (Runner up: Menashen Noy, Gett)
also, Top 2 Line Reading so far will have to be - Michael Shannon's "I'M NOT CRAZY!!! THERE'S A STORM COMING!!" and James Franco's " look at my SHIIIT"
In no particular order cause it changes all the time:
Marion Cotillard - Two Days, One Night & Rust and Bone
Emily Blunt - Edge of Tomorrow
Charlize Theron - Young Adult
Gugu Mbatha-Raw - Beyond the Lights
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years A Slave
Émilie Dequenne - Our Children
Suzanne Clément - Laurence Anyways
Benicio Del Toro - Sicario
Olivia Colman - Tyrannosaur
Honorable mentions: Michael B. Jordan - Creed, David Oyelowo - Selma, Keith Stanfield - Short Term 12
BVR: I count Fish Tank as 09. Because first non-festival release ANYWHERE.
My first draft had 37 on the list.
1. Daniel Craig in four Bond films
2. Cate Blanchett, Carol
3. Agata Kulesza, Ida
4. Michael Keaton, Birdman
5. James Gandolfini, Enough Said
6. Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
7. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Jon
8. Elle Fanning, Super 8
9. Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
10. Gary Oldman, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Here's a list of runners-up:
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies, Nicholas Hoult, Mad Max Fury Road, Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler, Emma Stone, Birman, Joaquin Phoenix, Her, Tom Hanks, Captain Philips, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Color, Rooney Mara, Side Effects, Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight, Miles Teller, The Spectacular Now, Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now, Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook, Michael Shannon, The Iceman, Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike, Charlize Theron, Young Adult, Jean Dujardin, The Artist, Olympia Dukakis, Cloudburst ,Ryan Gosling, Drive, Christina Hendricks, Drive, Christopher Plummer, Beginners, Amy Ryan, Win Win, Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit, Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network, Colin Firth, The King’s Speech, Natalie Portman, Black Swan, George Clooney, The American
01. Adele Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Color
02. Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night
03. Juliette Binoche, Certified Copy
04. Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
05. Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
06. Kristin Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria
07. James Franco, Spring Breakers
08. Amy Adams, American Hustle & Her
09. Bradley Cooper, American Sniper (I know, I know, but he was so utterly complex...still think about this perf all the time)
10. Lupita Nyongo, 12 Years a Slave
11. Suzanne Clement, Laurence Anyways
12. Emmanuelle Reva, Amour
13. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
14. Michelle Williiams, Blue Valentine
15. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant (just kidding!)
Haven't seen Lincoln or Animal Kingdom!
OMG - Elizabeth--How could I have forgotten about Olivia Colman in Tyrannosaur!!
I have always loved these top 10 lists and seeing what everyone else comes up with. Wonder how these lists will shake up by the end of the decade...
Deborah, thank you for calling out Amy Ryan in Win Win! What a fantastic performance! And her work in Birdman is so underrated.
Honorable Mentions: Christian Bale (The Fighter), Viola Davis (The Help), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), Adele Exarchopoulus (Blue is the Warmest Color), James Franco (Spring Brekers), Essie Davis (Babadook), Michael Keaton (Birdman), Edward Norton (Birdman), Cate Blanchett (Carol), Jacob Tremblay (Room), Ryan Gosling (Drive).
10. Rooney Mara (Carol)
9. Denis Lavant (Holy Motors)
8. Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewin Davis)
7. Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia)
6. Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
5. Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)
4. Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)
3. Nicole Kidman (Paperboy)
2. Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)
1. Cate Blanchett (Blue Jazmine)
Kim Hie-Ja in Poetry is my runaway #1 of the decade so far!
I'm ashamed to have left off Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis and Jeong-Hie Yun in Poetry. Both are stellar and I would have given each the Oscar in their years (but I would have made Yun's a tie with Juliette in Certified Copy).
brookesboy - I so agree about Amy Ryan. How did no one talk about that performance in its year?
1 Marion Cotillard in The Immigrant
2 Juliette Binoche in Camille Claudel 1915
3 Juliette Binoche in Certified Copy
4 Cate Blanchett in Carol
5 Adele Exarchopoulos in Blue is The Warmest Color
6 Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips
7 Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine
8 Hilary Swank in The Homesman
9 Marion Cotillard in Rust & Bone
10 Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln
11 Benicio del Toro in Sicario
12 Emmanuelle Seigner in Venus in Fur
12 Ralph Fiennes in The Grand Budapest Hotel
13 Paulina Garcia in Gloria
14 Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars
15 Shinobu Terajima, Caterpillar
16 Javier Bardem, Biutiful
17 Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin
18 Jean Dujardin, The Artist
19 Josh Charles, Bird People
20 Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
This is how I'm feeling today in this particular moment...
Brie Larson (Short Term 12)
Jeff Bridges (True Grit)
Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)
Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Albert Brooks (Drive)
1. Tang Wei (LUST, CAUTION)
2. Michelle Williams (BLUE VALENTINE)
3. Jeon Do Yeon (SECRET SUNSHINE)
4. Sareh Bayat (A SEPARATION)
5. Cate Blanchett (CAROL)
6. Juliette Binoche (CERTIFIED COPY)
7. Tahar Rahim (A PROPHET)
8. Yoon Jeong-Hee (POETRY)
9. Kim Ok-Bin (THIRST)
10. Vidya Balan (THE DIRTY PICTURE)
I like that you're not afraid to go populist with your choices, though I will never quite understand all the hosannas for Cate Blanchett's work in 'Blue Jasmine.' The performance, character, and film make less sense the more you think about them. She's much stronger in 'Carol' and 'Truth.'
10. Anna Paquin, Margaret
09. Sareh Bayat, A Separation
08. Juliette Binoche, Certified Copy
07. Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
06. Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
05. Gaspard Ulliel, Saint Laurent
04. Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
03. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
02. Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
01. Jessica Chastain, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (That this performance received absolutely no attention boggles my mind. She's spectacular).
I am really not into ranking actors or performances, but looking at these various names discussed thus far, I would agree that the following from this decade are still very memorable to me and will be remembered:
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Viola Davis, The Help
Benicio Del Toro - Sicario
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
1. Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
2. Rosamund Pike - Gone Girl
3. Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
4. Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
5. Rooney Mara - Carol
6. Ralph Fiennes - The Grand Budapest Hotel
7. Marion Cotillard - The Immigrant
8. Charlotte Rampling - 45 Years
9. Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
10. Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Whoa! I really need to watch The Paperboy!
Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Colour
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Lesley Manville, Another Year
Joaquin Phoenix, Her
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Subject to change moment to moment.
Biggest consensus choices: Ralph Fiennes for The Grand Budapest Hotel and Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine. Oddest "Single count" (As in, only appeared once as either a full top 10 citation or an honourable mention): Simon Pegg, The World's End. I absolutely understand why I'm the only one who singled out Amy Poehler for Inside Out, ScarJo for Her (Voice work) or either of my Marvel Studios mentions (superheroes as ACTING, how gauche). And I absolutely understand why a lot of the other single count turns are single count turns. But only ONE mention for the 2010s finale of the Cornetto trilogy? Can anyone explain, please?
Honorable Mentions:
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Amy Adams - American Hustle
Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies
Jessica Chastain - The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
Ok, I've scanned through old lists, and this is what I have come up with, in no particular order (I took off Day Lewis and Blanchett and focused on actors that felt relatively undersung)
Brie Larson-Short Term 12
Gugu Mbatha Raw-Belle
Eisenberg-Social Network
Ejiofor-12 Years a Slave
Bullock-Gravity
Brendan Gleeson-Calvary
David Oyelowo-Selma
Nick Nolte-Warrior
Portman-Black Swan
Emma Stone-Easy A
and...I'm sorry but:
Mel Gibson in The Beaver
it is a really good performance, and Jodie Foster's film deserved more attention
This is SUCH a baiting list to throw out. I got stressed as soon as I read the headline. So tough! But here are ten in no real order that really got my acting chakras surging:
Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine
Rooney Mara in Carol
Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom
Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler
Michael Fassbender in Shame
Michelle Williams in Blue Jasmine
Emmanuelle Riva in Amour
Olivia Colman in Tyrannosaur
Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher
Joaquin Phoenix in Her
Lots of great choices here!
Here are mine:
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Judi Dench, Skyfall
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Colour
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Samuel L. Jackson, Django Unchained
Saiorse Ronan, Brooklyn
Toni Servillo, The Great Beauty
Kristen Stewart, Still Alice
Here are mine:
1. Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
2. Rooney Mara - Carol
3. Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia
4. Cate Blanchett - Truth
5. Brie Larson - Short Term 12
6. Tom Hardy - The Revenant
7. Benicio Del Toro - Sicario
8. Rooney Mara - Side Effects
9. Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn
10. Lupita Nyong'O - 12 Years a Slave
There wee so many phenomenal performances in the last decade, it was nearly impossible to chose just a mere 10... Some others that I would say are worth mentioning are Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave, Kate Winslet in Steve Jobs, Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook, Emily Blunt in Sicario, and then Cate Blanchett in absolutely everything she does - she is a goddess.