20 Incredible Performances From 2015

Audiences were truly spoiled for great performances in 2015. It seems now like we may be in some kind of golden age for exceptional actors and actresses working in their prime - Tom Hardy, Emily Blunt, Michael Fassbender, Brie Larson, Oscar Isaac and the like - as huge stars are pushing themselves further than ever, giving us tremendous performances that continue to leave us wildly impressed. A mere top ten wouldn't do them all justice - this was a vintage year for film, after all, full of fine turns from some of Hollywood's absolute best. So, instead, here are the 20 best movie performances of 2015. Enjoy, and as always, drop a comment letting us know which performances you really dug this year. 20) Jason Clarke in Everest Pity poor Jason Clarke. Since deservedly coming to wider attention in Zero Dark Thirty some three years ago, he's been lumbered with thankless, generic hero roles in good films (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and poorly-written supporting parts in bad ones (White House Down, Terminator Genisys). Then, to top that off, he gave a solid performance in this year's Everest, and hardly anybody seemed to notice. Regardless, Clarke repeats his Zero Dark Thirty success in survival epic Everest by making a blank of a character on the page into a believable living, breathing human being. His Rob Hall in Everest gets no big moments to grandstand or delineate his character, but through Clarke we just know he's a thoroughly decent man, strong in will and stubbornly proud even as he finds himself enduring one of the most wretched situations imaginable. 19) Jason Statham in Spy They don't give out Oscars for straight comedy roles, but if they did, who's to say Jason Statham wouldn't bag himself a nomination or even win this awards season for Paul Feig's Spy? An action-comedy with a promising cast of comedians, Spy looked set to continue the solid comic runs of both Melissa McCarthy and Rose Byrne; which it does, but the real surprise of the film is Jason Statham. Statham works so well in Spy partly because his character, the absurdly self-aggrandizing secret agent Rick Ford, is a bang-on parody of literally years of Jason Statham playing self-serious, nigh-on superhuman action men. That's the element of surprise. There's also the revelation that Statham has surprisingly advanced comic timing and improvisational skills, so much so that you wonder if action movies are where he truly belongs. 18) Adam Driver in Star Wars: The Force Awakens Adam Driver has recently made a stunning resume for himself, starring in Girls and turning up in the likes of Lincoln, Inside Llewyn Davis and not one but two Noah Baumbach movies. But these were all light and/or comedic roles - just what could J.J. Abrams have been thinking when he cast this gangly, awkward-looking actor best known for his sense of humor as the new Star Wars villain? Turns out Abrams knew exactly what he was doing: The Force Awakens' new Big Bad is no out-and-out villain, but an angry, agitated big kid who's been brainwashed into committing deeds he's not always certain are just. And though we've never seen him play anything like this before, Driver relishes the opportunity to give the Star Wars saga its first truly complicated bad guy. Here's a 32-year-old convincingly making Kylo Ren look and act like a petulant teenager, complete with temper tantrums, moody stares and fits of sheer, confused rage. 17) Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road We were all expecting the star of Mad Max: Fury Road to be someone else. The ruthlessly intense Tom Hardy, most likely, or - judging by the demented early trailers - Nicholas Hoult in full-on maniac mode. Surprisingly, though, the most dominating figure in the new Mad Max film isn't Max or his lunatic enemies, but a brand new hero, in the form of Charlize Theron's Furiosa. Sharp, shaven-headed, an independent warrior with a robotic hand: Furiosa was cinema 2015's feminist icon. And while George Miller's barnstorming action movie doesn't need much in the way of powerhouse acting to work, Theron invests Furiosa with the passion and anger of an actress who's spent too long watching the boys get to have all the fun in these types of movies. It's a towering, blockbuster turn, perfectly complementing the blockbuster of the year. 16) Joel Edgerton in The Gift If you want to check out some of the great overlooked films of 2015, The Gift would be a good place to start. A chilling, Haneke-esque psychological thriller set in sunny Los Angeles, the film's writer/director/producer/actor Joel Edgerton somehow juggled all his many roles and still had his indie project done and out in cinemas just six months after he'd finished shooting. Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that he filmed his own part in just seven days, and in that short time found his best performance to date. Playing off of the also-great pairing of Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall, Edgerton is supremely creepy as the old high school 'friend' of Bateman's happily married Simon. Edgerton makes Gordo, a squirm-inducingly awkward character, horribly fascinating to watch, keeping his inscrutable, dead-eyed stare on right until the climax. Then Gordo gleefully reveals his true intentions, and Edgerton allows himself to have the most fun he ever appears to have had on-screen. 15) Brie Larson in Room The issue with depression on film is typically that both filmmaker and actor feel the need to over-egg the pudding, and make grand dramatic gestures in an effort to convey the feeling of being depressed. In his last film, Frank, writer-director Lenny Abrahamson tackled the subject with rare honesty and understanding; perhaps predictably, with Room, he's made another humanistic study of it. Depression is not what the film is about, per se. More so Room is about Jack (Jacob Tremblay) discovering the world for the first time after he has, along with his mother, escaped from confinement by his mother's kidnapper after years. But the Ma character, played by Brie Larson, makes for a totally convincing and unflashy look at a person in the grip of deep depression. It's a quiet and subdued turn from Larson, but an atmosphere of despair surrounds her like a fog, even as she's being playful and joking around with her son - the joy only ever seems like an act. 14) Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation The last time Idris Elba played an African leader, he was fiery and inspirational as Nelson Mandela in Long Walk to Freedom. In Beasts of No Nation, it's a very different story. Here, in Cary Fukunaga's horrifying war drama, Elba is all villain as the merciless head of a regiment of child soldiers rampaging through West Africa. Known only as the Commandant, Elba's swaggering warlord uses his 'troops' to massacre innocent men, women and children, and even rapes the boys he has at his command whenever the mood takes him. It's a cruel, distinctly unglamorous role to take on, but Elba bravely jumps in. He recalls John Huston in Chinatown: a bad man that has no reason to hide his despicable nature, and has instead allowed it to fester and strangle out what decency there ever was. 13) Tom Hardy in Legend It's been a busy year for Tom Hardy: Mad Max: Fury Road, Child 44, London Road, The Revenant. As expected, he excelled in all of them. But there was another film of Hardy's in 2015 in which he outdid himself, by facing probably his biggest acting challenge to date: Brian Helgeland's swinging 60s crime biopic Legend, in which Hardy stars opposite himself in a double lead role. In Legend, Hardy plays both Kray twins: the psychotic, self-destructive Ronnie, and the charming yet volatile Reggie. There are actors that go whole careers without ever giving the impression they've fully inhabited a character; in Legend, Hardy does it twice. The film's nothing much - Helgeland is no great director, and it would appear the Oscar winner is losing his knack for writing, too - but Hardy is the real deal, transcending the weaknesses of his director. If there was an Oscar for Best Performance in a Bad Film, Hardy would win hands-down this year. 12) Paul Dano in Love & Mercy Paul Dano seems destined to be a supporting actor for life. An occasional lead for the indie world, to the mainstream he's just not traditional star material to bag the starring role. Instead, he's a bit-parter who always seems consigned to playing oddballs or men on the edge (think 12 Years A Slave, Prisoners, There Will Be Blood). Love & Mercy follows a similar pattern: Dano again plays someone emotionally and psychologically imbalanced, and again it's not Dano who's the lead, but John Cusack (also very good, FYI). And yet if anyone emerges as the best and most memorable in Bill Pohlad's Brian Wilson biopic, it's Dano - even with his relatively brief screen-time. It's not just that Dano reveals himself as a great mimic, adopting the offbeat manner and energy of the Beach Boys frontman circa the mid-to-late-60s. Dano on top of his usual edgy energy brings to the role an infectious enthusiasm, for his most sympathetic character portrait by miles. 11) Emily Blunt in Sicario 2015 has been a good year for tough women in film. Think Furiosa in Mad Max, Rey in The Force Awakens, Ilsa Faust in Mission Impossible 5. Going in, you're sure Sicario will follow the pattern set out by a year of putting women in pivotal action roles. But it couldn't be more different: Emily Blunt has rarely been better than she is in Sicario, but the ordeal her character, Kate Macer, is put through renders her virtually impotent by the end. Kate is used, beaten and almost throttled to death by the various warmongering men around her. It's a powerful, important feminist statement by screenwriter Taylor Sheridan and director Denis Villeneuve to write Kate's story this way, and Blunt puts in a suitably desperate, passionate turn, in a role made as a reminder of how far gender relations still have to go. As a bonus, Blunt's antagonistic chemistry with Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro is immensely satisfying to watch. 10/9) Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn in Mississippi Grind Anna Fleck and Ryan Boden's American travelogue/gambling drama Mississippi Grind was destined to live and die by the quality of its two lead actors. It's a character study, after all, about two desperately complicated men with tragic and lonely backstories. Of course Ben Mendelsohn, the Australian character actor who has in a ridiculously short space of time become one of American cinema's (his adopted stomping ground) best, kills it as lovable sad sack and compulsive gambler Gerry. More surprising is his co-lead, Ryan Reynolds. So often underserved by blockbusters that don't know what to do with him, Reynolds isn't exactly revelatory in Mississippi Grind - he's been great before, in Buried and Adventureland - but he's used his at-times manic charisma and underlying sensitivity better nowhere else. Together, he and Mendelsohn work in perfect harmony to deliver two of the most fascinatingly layered performances this year. 8) Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina After 2013's Inside Llewyn Davis, it became clear that Oscar Isaac was going to be a major star - but even his staunchest fans couldn't have predicted his 2015. You could pick any one scene of The Force Awakens, in which Isaac's a modern day matinee idol, A Most Violent Year (which went wide in January), in which he recalls a young Pacino, or TV's Show Me a Hero, in which he tragically embodies real-life figure Nick Wasicsko, and find Isaac outdoing most of the leading man competition out there. Alex Garland's science fiction chamber piece Ex Machina was the best showcase for Isaac's talents this year, however. As Nathan, the tech bro with an ego almost as big as his fortune, Isaac is dangerously, brutally charismatic, using his intelligence and powers of manipulation to enforce his superiority over both his human guest and the AIs he builds almost as companions. In particular watch Isaac's eyes dim as Nathan downs one beer too many, and his inner misanthropy begins to take over... 7) Jason Segel in The End of the Tour It seems indecent that Jason Segel fell off the Oscar radar this season so soon. The shock of Steve Carell nailing a dramatic performance out of nowhere in Foxcatcher earned him a Best Actor nomination last year, and yet Segel isn't even in the running for 2016. It's a shame because, once the initial surprise of seeing this former sitcom actor doing drama capably in The End of the Tour subsides, you find yourself watching one of the most brilliant and soulful turns of 2015. As David Foster Wallace, Segel ditches his frat guy comic persona and crawls under the skin of the author, a man seemingly pained by existence. Segel's not always easy to watch here - he can be moody, unpredictable, achingly all too real as Wallace - but he is never less than mesmerizing. It's an almost hypnotic turn, powered by the will of an actor apparently dedicated to completely changing the direction of his career. 6) Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn She's only just 21, but - amazingly - Saoirse Ronan has been doing the acting thing at star level since eight years ago, when she was Oscar-nominated for Atonement aged just 13. Now, having graduated into adult roles for the first time, Ronan stands to be in the Academy's sights again: in John Crowley's 50s-set immigrant tale Brooklyn, Ronan's easily the best she's been since her breakout role. As Eilis Lacey, the Irish girl relocated to New York, Ronan is by-turns vulnerable, steely, despondent and joyous. It's the meatiest part Ronan's ever had, and the film rests largely on her shoulders (though Domhnall Gleeson and in particular Emory Cohen provide fine support). Luckily for director Crowley, she's terrific, announcing herself as a leading actress meant for real drama. 5) Mark Rylance in Bridge of Spies He's adored by Sean Penn, Al Pacino and Steven Spielberg. The last one's obvious - Spielberg just cast Mark Rylance as his BFG, after directing him to a likely Oscar nomination (and heavy favorite win) in Bridge of Spies. But some of the best actors in the world - people like Penn, and Pacino - consider Rylance to be the best actor in the world, and you'd probably never even heard of him until this last year. Thank Steven Spielberg, then, for coaxing Rylance off the stage (his natural home; he's a three-time Tony Award winner) and giving him his first major mainstream movie role in Bridge of Spies. As Soviet agent Rudolf Abel, Rylance is the film's softly-spoken, warm-hearted core, the embodiment of a good man. His movements, his facial expressions are almost infinitesimal - it's the kind of subtle, mannered performance that so few actors dare try, and even less succeed in making work. 4) Michael Shannon in 99 Homes Is there an actor more charismatic and just plain watchable in contemporary cinema than Michael Shannon? Judging by Ramin Bahrani's American housing crisis drama 99 Homes, the answer's probably a no. You simply can't take your eyes off Shannon, whether he's an everyman in Take Shelter, or a wild man in The Runaways, or a sociopath in The Iceman. In 99 Homes, though, he's something else. In Bahrani's film, Shannon is a modern-day monster: smooth, callous, avaricious, and totally embraced by a society that values greed over everything else. He's an e-cigarette-puffing douchebag throwing people out of their homes without a care in the world, all as long as he continues to make his fortune and keep himself from ever becoming another 'loser'. So how come we can't help but find such a person so utterly compelling? It's all down to Shannon, making it look like the easiest, most natural and most fun thing in the world to be a complete bastard. 3) Benicio del Toro in Sicario **This entry contains spoilers** Even better than Emily Blunt, Sicario's lead, is the supporting character that - by the end - reveals himself to have been the subject of the film's title all along. That would be Benicio del Toro, as the secret hitman of the piece, Alejandro. Working alongside the FBI and CIA with his own shady agenda, del Toro is a mystery to Blunt's Kate and to the audience from beginning to almost-end. But even before the big reveal of Alejandro's horrifying past, you know this is a man eaten up inside, and hollowed out by his own frightening demons. Del Toro conveys it without the need for dialogue. It's in his heavy shoulders and sullen, blackened eyes, his sad, ruthless whisper of a voice. Benicio del Toro's been doing this for almost 30 years, and even after an Oscar and a Cannes Best Actor award he's arguably never been this good. 2) Cate Blanchett in Carol Could Cate Blanchett win her third Oscar this year for Carol? She has stiff competition from Saoirse Ronan for Brooklyn and Brie Larson for Room, and her Carol co-star Rooney Mara has been picking up awards notice, too. But it could be that Blanchett has once again - after ruling the roost in Blue Jasmine in 2013 - been the woman to come out on top in the film year. Blanchett plays the title character in Todd Haynes' latest period piece like a woman aware that she's right in her convictions but simply living in the wrong time. For much of Carol she's enigmatic, holding back on her true self if only because she knows her feelings towards the same sex aren't welcomed in 1950s America. The clip they'll use to clinch Blanchett that third Oscar will be the one in which Carol defiantly refuses to deal with her controlling husband any longer, where Blanchett has never been more controlled nor more powerful at once. 1) Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs Great performance, average film? That's what some are saying about Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs, now that the dust is starting to settle and critics come to evaluate the year past. But even if you're one of the people that think the Jobs biopic is a middling affair surrounding a standout performance, you've got to admit that performance is still one magnificent display. Of course, with Michael Fassbender in said title role, it should really have surprised no one. So good in Jobs that he overshadows his other searing 2015 turn (in Macbeth, where he's mad-eyed and raging), Fassbender would be a shoo-in for the 2016 Best Actor award if he wasn't up against Leonardo 'Where's My Oscar?' DiCaprio for The Revenant. He's hard, unsympathetic, and still so curiously compelling.