Top 50 Performances of the 21st Century

 

            In late August 2025, The Ringer published a list of the best performances of the 21^st century (so far). Like every other such list, it caused a great hullabaloo online. Here’s my own take on the subject:

 

1.      Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

-           Fun, whimsical, and totally original

2.      Christoph Waltz as Officer Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds (2009)

-           Insanely evil and entertaining

3.      Shaun Patrick Flannery as Edward Brady in Nefarious (2023)

-           A huge range of emotions and personalities

4.      Bruno Gantz as Adolf Hitler in Downfall (2004)

-           It’s hard to create empathy for one of the most evil men of all time, but Gantz does it

5.      Robert Downey Jr as Kirck Lazarus in Tropic Thunder (2008)

-           A hilarious and definitely not PC performance

6.      Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Night (2008)

-           A legendary end to a great career

7.      Tony Kotsur as Frank Rossi in CODA (2021)

-           A father who loves his daughter and fights for his family

8.      Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006)

-           A moving portrait of a titian of the 20th century

9.      Ian McKellen as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)

- Warm, caring, but also intense and serious

10. Nicholas Cage as Charlie and Donald Kauffman in Adaptation (2002)

- Two great performances for the price of one

11. Colin Firth as King George VI in The King’s Speech (2010)

                  - A regal performance from an often overlooked actor

12. Michael Surburg as Larry Gopnik in A Serious Man (2009)

                  - He just wants to be a good man and know God’s will

13. Russel Crowe as John Nash Jr in A Beautiful Mind (2001)

                   - His best performance

14. Michael Jordan as Elijah and Elias Moore in Sinners (2025)

                  - A brilliant performance of two very different characters

15. Jennifer Lawrence as Ree in Winter’s Bone (2010)

                  - Her best performance was her first leading role

16. Michael Fassbender as Brandon Sullivan in Shame (2011)

                  - A heart breaking portrayal of a high functioning addict

17. Tom Hanks as Captain Richard Phillips in Captain Phillips (2013)

                  - A tense and breathtaking performance, especially the end

18. Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI in The Two Popes (2019)

                  - A fantastic performances of one of my heroes

19. Forest Whitaker as Ibi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006)

                  - A terrifying but memorable performance

20. Leonardo DeCaprio as Johnathon Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

                  - A manic, crazy fall

21. Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (2012)

                  - The role he was born to play

22. Sandra Bullock as Dr. Ryan Stone in Gravity (2013)

                  - She finally learned how to pray

23. Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie (2023)

                  - He’s more than “just Ken”

24. Jack Nicholson as Warren Schmidt in About Schmidt (2002)

                  - The most un-Jack Nicholson performance, and it’s one of his best

25. Keira Knightly as Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice (2005)

                  - Proper, direct, and full of life and love

26. Masey McLain as Rachel Scott in I’m Not Ashamed (2016)

                  - An underrated rising star

27. Iris Alba as The Commandant in Beasts of No Nation (2015)

                  - A terrifying role that is unfortunately all too real

28. Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men (2007)                                                                                                                             

                   - A deliciously evil villain

29. Mickey Rooke as Randy Robinson in The Wrestler (2008)

                  - A wrestler who just wants one last hurrah

30. Abigail Breslin as Olive in Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

                  - A cute, fun role that brings a broken family together

31. Tom Cruise as Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder (2008)

                  - Every over-the-top executive

32. Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (2001)

                  - Like totally amazing

33. Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain (2005)

                  - A fantastic and mournful performance, full of so much pain

34. Emma Watson as Hermoine Granger in the Harry Potter films (2000-2011)

                  - There’s many good performances in this series, but hers was consistently the best

35. Emma Stone as Amelia Dolan in La La Land (2016)

                  - Great portrayal of a desperate aspiring actress

36. Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly in Bombshell (2019)

                  - She nails the cadence and look

37. Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

                  - A fun and witty performance

38. Naomi Watts as Betty and Diane Selwyn in Mulholland Drive (2001)

                  - You’re never sure what’s happening, but she sells it nonetheless

39. Anne Hathaway as Kym Buchman in Rachel Getting Married (2008)

                  - Jealously and pain coming out in heartbreaking ways

40. Matt Dillon as Sargeant John Ryan in Crash (2004)

                  - It’s hard to create empathy for a horrible person, but Dillon does a great job

41. Leonardo DeCaprio as Rick Dalton Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

                  - A has-been actor has one last great shot

42. Jeremy Renner as Sergeant First Class William James in The Hurt Locker (2009)

                  - A man can love anything, even explosives

43. Jean Dujarden as George Valentin in The Artist (2011)

                  - A fun, light hearted performance that is sadly forgotten

44. Brenden Gleeson as Father James in Calvary (2014)

                  - A good priest in a difficult situation

45. Sasha Baron Cohen as Borat Sagdiyev in Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) 

                  - Very nice!

46. Margot Robbie as Naomi Lapaglia in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

                  - A fantastic breakout role

47. Jeffrey Rush as Lionel Logue in The King’s Speech (2010)

                  - Helping the King as both a speech therapist and a friend

48. Kristen Dunst as Torrance Shipman in Bring It On (2000)

                  - Eager, serious, and still adorable

49. Paul Gimatti as Miles Raymond in Sideways (2004)

                  - A despicable loser you still root for

50. James Franco as Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist (2017)

                  - Oh, hi Mark.

                                                                                                       

List Trivia

-            There are two actors who have two performances on the list: Leonardo DiCaprio and Heath Ledger

-            There are four films that have two performances listed: The King’s Speech, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tropic Thunder, and The Wolf of Wall Street

-            Men make up 72% of the list, women 28%

-            2008 had the most films on the list (five) followed by 2001, 2006, 2013, and 2019 (tied with four each). 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024 were the only years with no top performances.