And the Oscar goes to... Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the most captivating and distinguished acting in films released from 2014 to 2023.
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00:00 This is my chance to finally do some work that actually means something.
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most captivating and distinguished acting in films released from 2014 to 2023.
00:10 You're in the middle of the world.
00:12 Brendan Fraser's stardom had sadly declined through the years.
00:19 Despite his range with genre movies, his incredible return to form was a Darren Aronofsky drama.
00:24 I hate everyone.
00:26 The Whale follows a morbidly obese recluse's struggle to reconnect with the daughter he abandoned.
00:31 Even with heavy prosthetics, Fraser put on a lot of weight for the role.
00:34 Equally impressive is how he humanizes the self-destructive Charlie with empathy and tragedy.
00:39 Ellie, look at me.
00:43 Who would want me to be a part of their life?
00:52 He subtly expresses the dying man's self-loathing and remorse before it all explodes.
00:56 The emotional rollercoaster earned Fraser many accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Actor.
01:01 Certainly, The Whale was a demanding vehicle for several fresh talents.
01:04 Fraser still commanded the ship in one of the decade's great acting comebacks.
01:09 People are amazing.
01:12 After many notable supporting roles, Rosamund Pike truly arrived as a Hollywood headliner with Gone Girl.
01:20 It's you.
01:22 It's you.
01:23 Pike plays Amy Dunn, whose husband is believed to be responsible for her sudden disappearance.
01:27 But this missing person case and Amy herself are not as they seem.
01:30 Meticulously stage your crime scene with just enough mistakes to raise the specter of doubt.
01:38 As shocking as Gone Girl consistently is, Pike leads dramatic tension alongside the psychological.
01:43 Flashbacks show a strong-willed woman slowly unraveling under a dysfunctional marriage.
01:47 The twists reveal a crafty femme fatale with a dangerous plan.
01:50 He tied me up like a dog.
01:52 And then he punished me.
01:56 This chilling evolution was named the highlight of David Fincher's enthralling thriller.
01:59 With Pike soon riding her Oscar nomination into a major career as a lead, she's not going anywhere.
02:04 I've killed for you.
02:06 Who else can say that?
02:08 One of South Korea's most celebrated actors is in top form in Bong Joon-ho's Parasite.
02:16 Song Kang-ho plays Kim Gi-taek, the patriarch of an impoverished family that infiltrates a wealthy estate by becoming servants.
02:23 I'm a bit unlucky.
02:25 The Kim's increasingly bizarre hustle inspires great performances throughout the all-star cast.
02:29 But Gi-taek is the heart of the outfit.
02:31 The shame of his failure and the realization of social inequality drive him to one of the most devastating breakdowns in modern film.
02:37 Song conveys it all with his distinct reliable charm and subtle range.
02:40 Guys, we just got out of that house, right?
02:46 And no one knows what happened, except for our family.
02:51 So nothing happened, okay?
02:55 The sensational Parasite propelled him into a household name around the world.
02:59 Even for his many established fans, Song gave one of the defining performances of his career.
03:03 Mr. Park, I'm sorry.
03:06 I had a hard time surviving in an empty house for a long time until the new owner came.
03:12 No. 17. Kristen Stewart - Spencer
03:15 Hello, Darren.
03:18 Is everybody there?
03:20 Well, apart from Her Majesty, yeah.
03:23 Perfect.
03:24 American superstar Kristen Stewart has been renowned for indie and art projects for years.
03:28 She really showed the full measure of her talent as Diana, Princess of Wales, in Spencer.
03:32 A fictional Windsor family, Christmas delved into the maddening pressures from the reluctant nobles' title and in-laws.
03:38 It was also very candid about her struggles with eating disorders.
03:41 Stewart grounded the intense psychodrama with all the grace and agony that defined this glamorous, tragic figure.
03:46 It seems they're circling just me.
03:49 Not you.
03:51 Just me.
03:53 Perhaps it's because I always take care to close my curtains.
03:58 [Banging]
04:00 Stewart's own staff praised the performance's authenticity.
04:03 Stewart was nominated for an Oscar and showered with Critics Association Awards.
04:06 The whole world took notice of her doing justice to Princess Diana, as well as the burdens of womanhood and public life at large.
04:12 If I stop being really silly in the next few days, just tell me.
04:18 I'll only believe it if it's you who tells me.
04:20 No. 16. Andrew Garfield - Tick, Tick, Boom
04:23 Only after his death at age 35 was Jonathan Larson recognized as a revolutionary genius on Broadway.
04:28 And what exactly do I have to show for myself?
04:31 [Sighs]
04:33 Happy birthday.
04:35 Andrew Garfield's portrayal in Tick, Tick, Boom gave his life the grandeur it deserved.
04:39 The adaptation of Larson's autobiographical musical even showcased the beloved actor's explosive singing skills.
04:45 ♪ I should speak louder, louder than, louder than ♪
04:50 His comedic and dramatic range may not have been as much of a revelation,
04:53 but Garfield still managed to exceed fans' expectations on those fronts.
04:57 The show-stopping performance encapsulated Larson's sacrificial dedication to his art and giving a voice to the marginalized.
05:03 It also won Garfield a Golden Globe and many other awards as an iconic display of just how versatile his talent is.
05:09 ♪ Till I get it right when I burn ♪
05:16 No. 15. Lily Gladstone - Killers of the Flower Moon
05:20 Lily Gladstone was well-regarded for her smaller projects when she joined Killers of the Flower Moon.
05:24 Martin Scorsese's immense Western and crime epic boasts a seasoned cast to hold the drama together.
05:29 My medicine you gave me.
05:35 What was in it shall make us see.
05:38 Gladstone still stands out as an oil heiress at the center of a conspiracy to claim her family's fortune.
05:43 She plays the real-life Molly Cobb with an enchanting charisma.
05:46 Her committed portrayal of diabetes before proper medication is suspenseful enough.
05:50 But as the violence escalates, Molly's grief and terror maintain the humanity in this chapter of injustice against Native Americans.
05:56 It was always sad. Always.
06:01 Much of the film's sweeping acclaim was directed at Gladstone,
06:04 delivering what is already being named one of the most important performances of the 2020s.
06:08 You talk too much.
06:10 No. 14. Daniel Kaluuya - Judas and the Black Messiah
06:13 British actor Daniel Kaluuya first captivated America with Jordan Peele's Get Out.
06:18 I can't move.
06:20 But he achieved a greater esteem for playing a controversial American icon in Judas and the Black Messiah.
06:25 That's the difference between revolution and a candy-coated facade of gradual reform.
06:30 The thrilling biopic follows an FBI informant's infiltration of the Black Panther Party.
06:34 The spotlight is nonetheless commanded by Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton,
06:37 recognized for his left-wing political activism and rhetoric until his assassination.
06:41 The Black Panthers, the Young Lords, and the Young Patriots are forming a rainbow coalition of oppressed brothers and sisters of every color.
06:51 Kaluuya projects that larger-than-life persona with a fiery intelligence between quieter moments of humanity.
06:56 His vocal, physical, and psychological immersion into the role won nearly every major award for Best Supporting Actor.
07:02 If anything, Kaluuya leads Judas and the Black Messiah's complex representation of an often misunderstood movement and man.
07:08 Anywhere there's people, there's power.
07:13 #13. J.K. Simmons - Whiplash
07:15 The key is to just relax. Don't worry about the numbers. Don't worry about what the other guys are thinking. You're here for a reason.
07:25 J.K. Simmons' sprawling filmography has always made him synonymous with lovably abrasive figures.
07:30 With Terrence Fletcher in Whiplash, he truly turned that role into a work of art.
07:34 The volatile jazz orchestra conductor pushes his musicians to their limits by any means necessary.
07:39 "Were you rushing or were you dragging?"
07:44 "Answer!"
07:46 Fletcher's progression from encouragement to verbal, if not physical, abuse downplays ethics in the name of art.
07:51 Few actors can sell the appeal of such twisted mentorship like Simmons.
07:55 His pitch-perfect performance is a suite of catchy, terrifying tonal shifts.
07:59 Beyond sweeping the awards circuit, Fletcher gained recognition as a pop culture sensation and Simmons' definitive role.
08:05 It also launched the already prolific character actor's career into double time.
08:09 "There are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job."
08:16 #12. Amy Adams - Arrival
08:18 Amy Adams leads Arrival as Dr. Louise Banks, a linguist tasked with establishing communication with alien visitors.
08:24 "It's impossible to translate from an audiophile. I would need to be there to interact with them."
08:30 This delicate process not only explores the philosophy of language and sentience, but eventually meditates on the very nature of reality.
08:36 "Human. Human."
08:40 Adams keeps these grand ideas down to earth with the passion and terror of scientific inquiry.
08:45 She also sells incredible plot twists with the most human qualities of love and grief.
08:49 Adams was praised as a whole for pulling off the daunting concept of a metaphysical sci-fi blockbuster,
08:54 but Adams was singled out for anchoring the deep emotion in its intelligence.
08:58 While she has always been a noted dramatic talent, many consider Dr. Banks to be the role of a lifetime.
09:03 "If you could see your whole life from start to finish, would you change things?"
09:10 #11. Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
09:13 From Black Panther to great historical figures, Chadwick Boseman's tragically brief career leaves an endless legacy.
09:19 But the full caliber of his talent was revealed shortly after his passing with Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
09:23 "I'd just like to be inside your head for five minutes just to see how you think.
09:27 You know you got more s*** piled up and mixed up in there than the devil got sinners."
09:31 The drama traces trumpeter Levee Green's collapse under the pressure of his life and ambition during a recording session with a blues legend.
09:37 Green himself is fictional, but represents a whole generation of artists destroyed by hubris and injustice.
09:42 "Bad luck? What I care about bad luck? You talking simple.
09:47 I ain't had nothing but bad luck all my life, couldn't get no worse.
09:50 What the hell I care about some bad luck? Hell, I eat it every day for breakfast."
09:54 Boseman projects that with a theatrical intensity, underlined by quiet desperation.
09:59 The performance received unanimous acclaim and many accolades,
10:01 with some solemnly saying it would have changed the trajectory of the actor's career.
10:05 Ma Rainey nonetheless announced Boseman as a once-in-a-generation talent.
10:09 Number 10. Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
10:12 "I don't think you ever really hear me.
10:16 You just ask the same questions every week.
10:19 How's your job? Are you having any negative thoughts?
10:23 All I have are negative thoughts."
10:27 One of the most iconic supervillains, inspiring, genuinely great acting isn't new.
10:31 One of cinema's greatest actors still raised the role of new prestige in Todd Phillips' Joker.
10:36 Joaquin Phoenix depicts Arthur Fleck as an aspiring comedian struggling with poverty and psychosis.
10:41 As Gotham's cruelty drives him over the edge, Joker becomes a symbol of revolution at its ugliest.
10:46 The film's themes have been deeply debated, though there's no debating Phoenix's commitment.
10:50 "You were the only one that was ever nice to me."
10:52 He lost 52 pounds for the role, seamlessly carrying a madman between heartbreaking tragedy and terrifying brutality.
10:58 This performance, alongside Heath Ledger's, made the Joker the second role ever to win two Oscars.
11:03 While it may just be an affirmation of Phoenix's brilliance, Joker showed how bold genre movies can get.
11:08 "Everybody is awful these days. It's enough to make anyone crazy."
11:13 Number 9. Olivia Colman, The Favourite
11:15 By the late 2010s, veteran British talent Olivia Colman was on track to become Hollywood royalty.
11:20 "Did you just look at me? Did you? Look at me! Look at me! How dare you! Close your eyes!"
11:27 Her ultimate ascension was in taking British royalty down a peg in The Favourite.
11:31 Yorgos Lanthimos' dark comedy satirizes the vindictive culture and politics within the court of Queen Anne.
11:36 The Queen herself is depicted as petty and oblivious, with scandalous speculations about her sexuality.
11:41 Despite this irreverence, Colman delivers genuine charm and grace.
11:44 That is, until her more human moments marry the tragic with the absurd.
11:47 "Stay a while. No, take the day off, I command it!"
11:51 This perfectly composed performance won the lioness' share of the award showered on The Favourite.
11:56 Just as the film inspired a trend of boldly subversive period pieces, it established Colman as a favourite actor of her generation.
12:02 "You shall speak when asked to."
12:04 Number 8. Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
12:06 Christopher Nolan may have achieved his own technical breakthrough with his blockbuster biopic on J. Robert Oppenheimer.
12:12 "A bomb, Alvarez. A bomb."
12:17 But Cillian Murphy held the equally monumental task of humanizing the father of the atomic bomb.
12:22 He certainly nailed the physicality and charisma of a true innovator in a time of war.
12:26 "All minds have to see the whole task to contribute efficiently. Poor security may cost us the race, inefficiency will.
12:33 The Germans know more than us anyway."
12:35 Of course, the realities of his potentially apocalyptic innovation take their psychological toll.
12:39 Oppenheimer depicts a man conflicted by his own ambition and pressured by the modern world he helped usher in.
12:44 Murphy is the very soul of that drama.
12:46 The epic spectacle of everything else in Nolan's masterpiece holds little for one of the most complex performances in an increasingly distinguished acting career.
12:53 "What a chain reaction that would destroy the entire world."
12:58 "I remember it well. Both of us."
13:02 "I believe we did."
13:08 Number 7. Cate Blanchett, Tar
13:10 Cate Blanchett has dominated the last decade alone with vehicles like Carol.
13:14 "What a strange girl you are."
13:16 "Why?"
13:18 "I've long enough space."
13:22 While there's nothing surprising about her carrying every scene of a two and a half hour long movie, she is still most of what makes Tar so hypnotic.
13:28 "Time is the thing. Time is the essential piece of interpretation. You cannot start without me."
13:37 The symphonic slow burner follows renowned composer Lydia Tar as she gradually loses everything to scandal.
13:42 Blanchett conducts that process with almost unreal charisma, then a harrowing fall from grace.
13:47 "You're confused."
13:49 "It's my star!"
13:51 Her subtle gestures and emotional commitment truly shape the meticulous drama.
13:54 Tar's lead was naturally the star of the awards season.
13:57 It's the kind of solo performance that would distinguish any classical actor.
14:00 For Blanchett, it may just be the definitive role of a legendary talent.
14:04 "After all, a soul selects her own society. But remember, the flip side of that selection closes the valves of one's attention."
14:11 Number 6. Michael Keaton - Birdman
14:14 Some could argue that Michael Keaton's talents was once overshadowed by his classic genre movies.
14:18 He effectively disputed that myth by embracing it in Alejandro Iñárritu's Birdman.
14:22 Keaton was the only choice to play Rigan Thompson, a former superhero actor who tries to reinvent himself on the stage.
14:28 He handles the meta and dark comedy with his usual impeccable technique, especially given the movie's notorious long takes.
14:34 In portraying Rigan's personal and psychological turmoil, though, Keaton truly soars.
14:38 "None of this even matters. I don't exist. I don't exist."
14:42 The heavily accoladed performance did indeed reinvent his career.
14:46 He went on to lead a number of award-winning dramas while making a comeback to superhero movies.
14:50 Still, no project encompasses his incredible range quite like Birdman.
14:54 "Leave me alone."
14:55 "You were a movie star, remember? Pretentious, but happy."
14:59 "I wasn't happy."
15:00 Number 5. Francis McDormand - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
15:04 Francis McDormand has always risen above conventions as a character actor.
15:07 "I got nothing to arrest you for."
15:09 "Not yet, you ain't."
15:12 There's still something truly special about her character at the head of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
15:17 This lengthy title refers to a chain of billboards that Mildred Hayes commissioned to condemn the inefficient investigation into her daughter's murder.
15:23 "Could pull blood from every man and boy in this town over the age of eight."
15:28 That certainly plays to the no-nonsense attitude that McDormand always plays to perfection.
15:32 At the same time, she carries Mildred's anger and grief with a force that drives the film's urgency.
15:37 McDormand rode her second Oscar win into some of the most daring projects of her career, landing yet another Oscar for Nomadland.
15:43 Of course, Three Billboards stands out for promoting the full depth of her ability.
15:47 "You ain't trying to make me believe in reincarnation or something, are you?
15:50 'Cause you're pretty, but you ain't her."
15:53 Number 4. Jake Gyllenhaal - Nightcrawler
15:55 As a freelance photojournalist with a macabre eye, Lou Bloom represents the darkest interests in modern culture.
16:01 "I understand. I'm a very, very quick learner. You will be seeing me again."
16:06 Jake Gyllenhaal is one of the few actors capable of carrying such a slimy character with irresistible charm.
16:11 He starved himself 30 pounds lighter to convey Bloom's desolate disposition.
16:15 He still delivers the snappy delivery and steely gaze of an unfeeling hustler.
16:19 It's been cited as a highly authentic portrayal of a high-functioning sociopath, though Bloom is never formally diagnosed.
16:25 "The true price of any item is what somebody's willing to pay for it.
16:28 You want something, and I want you."
16:31 The award-winning Gyllenhaal simply encompasses the horror of American entrepreneurship being consumed by desperation and sensationalism.
16:38 As deeply as Nightcrawler still crawls under the audience's skin,
16:41 that's mostly for Gyllenhaal delivering one of his most intensely realized performances.
16:45 "You filmed him dying."
16:49 "Hey, that's what I do. It's my job.
16:52 I like to say that if you're seeing me, you're having the worst day of your life."
16:55 Number 3. Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
16:57 Best Picture winner Moonlight shows how big of an impact a small movie can have.
17:01 Mahershala Ali showed the impact of a seemingly small role.
17:04 Juan is a drug dealer who bonds with the film's protagonist as a child.
17:08 "I gotta get you home, old man."
17:10 This paternalistic relationship influences a coming of age defined by crime and desperation to be recognized.
17:16 It also sets Moonlight's complicated tone about connection in a despondent community.
17:20 Though Juan doesn't live past the first act, Ali's sternness and sensitivity define the figure's significance.
17:25 The character actor immediately became a household name.
17:28 His Academy Award win settled him as one of the most sought-after charismas in Hollywood.
17:32 More importantly, Ali's brief appearance in Moonlight epitomizes the movie's revolutionary portrayal of race and manhood.
17:38 "At some point, you gotta decide for yourself who you want to be.
17:42 Can't let nobody make that decision for you."
17:46 Number 2. Tony Collette - Hereditary
17:49 Films like Ari Aster's Hereditary popularized horror as a dramatic art form,
17:53 with Tony Collette at the heart of that.
17:55 "I love you so, so much. Oh God, I love you so much."
18:00 She plays Annie Graham, who is driven mad with grief over the deaths of her mother and daughter.
18:04 Her breakdown after a seance, in fact, reveals a horrific conspiracy surrounding her lineage.
18:09 "I never wanted to be your mother."
18:11 What makes the film so nightmarish is how it supernaturalizes the real horrors of trauma and family.
18:17 Collette leads these themes with a visceral balance between unhinged terror and dramatic expression.
18:21 While stigma against horror limited major award buzz, critics hailed the performance as one of the best in Collette's distinguished career.
18:27 It was key to Hereditary breaking that stigma to make elevated horror a major vehicle for respected actors.
18:32 "Well now your sister is dead! And I know you miss her, and I know it was an accident, and I know you're in pain, and I wish I could take that away from you. I wish I could shield you!"
18:44 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
18:47 Carrie Mulligan, Promising Young Woman, an icon of feminist drama, was affirmed by a morally complex form of femme fatale.
18:53 "Can you guess what every woman's worst nightmare is?"
18:56 Adam Driver, Marriage Story, a breakout superstar explores the full range of humanity through a bitter divorce.
19:02 "Every day I wake up and I hope you're dead! Dead like if I could guarantee Henry would be okay! I'd hope you'd get an illness, if he'd get hit by a car and die!"
19:11 Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk, the pain and steadfastness of a desperate mother revealed the extent of this talent's intensity.
19:22 "I know you pay for the lies you tell. You sent a man to jail."
19:29 Ethan Hawke, First Reformed, a priest's crisis of faith confirms one of the great character actors of his era.
19:35 "Well somebody has to do something! It's the earth that hangs in the balance!"
19:39 "Well what if this is his plan? What if we just can't see it?"
19:42 "You think God wants to destroy his creation?"
19:45 Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina, one of the decade's defining stars broke out with the chilling evolution of a calculating machine.
19:51 "What would you like to know?"
19:53 "Whatever comes into your head."
19:55 "Well, you already know my name, and you can see that I'm a machine. Would you like to know how old I am?"
20:04 "Sure."
20:05 "I'm one."
20:06 "One what?"
20:08 "One year, or one day?"
20:10 "One."
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20:26 #1. Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once
20:30 The versatile Michelle Yeoh has shown herself to be capable of playing anything.
20:34 She proved that just with Everything Everywhere All at Once.
20:36 The genre-defying epic follows Evelyn Kwan Wang's journey across countless universes to stop her daughter's plot to destroy all existence.
20:44 This wild concept was driven by Yeoh's mastery of comedy and action.
20:47 At the same time, her emotional scope anchored grand themes of existential angst and family dysfunction.
20:52 "We made a sacred promise."
20:54 The performance was hailed as Yeoh's magnum opus, winning scores of awards.
20:58 Kee Hwee Kwan also rightly got a lot of publicity for his Oscar-winning comeback in Everything Everywhere.
21:03 "I'm quite lucky."
21:05 But Yeoh's was a dynamic performance that defined both an era and an iconic career.
21:09 "And why? No matter what, I still want to be here with you."
21:15 What are your favorite film performances in recent memory? Take the spotlight in the comments.
21:19 "We could call this...the critical moment."
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21:33 [music]