1. Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007)
"The best movie performance so far this century? No contest. There's Daniel Day-Lewis' awe-inspiring turn as a greedy oilman in There Will Be Blood, and there is everyone else." - Lou Lumenick in New York Post
2. Kirsten Dunst as Justine in Melancholia (2011)
"Melancholia is a potent beauty of a film, and Kirsten Dunst gives an incomparable performance." - Peter Travers in Rolling Stone
3. Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain (2005)
"Much as it is about love, Brokeback is also a potent study of repression that comes alive in Ledger's shattering performance." - Carrie Rickey in Philadelphia Inquirer
4. Michael Fassbender as Brandon in Shame (2011)
"[Fassbender is] so good as a man completely lost to his baser impulses that it makes "Shame" worth sitting through. Enjoying? That's a relative term. But you'll certainly appreciate it." - Bill Goodykoontz in Arizona Republic
5. Scarlett Johansson as Samantha in Her (2013)
"Johansson's vocal tour de force is award-worthy." - Peter Travers in Rolling Stone
6. Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf in La vie en rose (2007)
"In La Vie en Rose, Marion Cotillard has the role of a lifetime. And she relishes it. "- Tony Macklin in Fayetteville Free Weekly
7. Viola Davis as Mrs. Miller in Doubt (2008)
"It lasts about 10 minutes, but it is the emotional heart and soul of "Doubt," and if Viola Davis isn't nominated by the Academy, an injustice will have been done. She goes face to face with the pre-eminent film actress of this generation, and it is a confrontation of two equals that generates terrifying power." - Roger Ebert in Chicago Sun-Times
8. Ryan Gosling as Dean in Blue Valentine (2010)
"the most explosive and emotionally naked performances you will see anywhere" - Peter Travers in Rolling Stone
9. Meryl Sreep as Susan Orlean in Adaptation (2002)
"But this discursive, unpredictable comedy is more than smoke and mirrors. It's truly astute about a certain diffidence which afflicts the intellectual elite (beautifully caught by Streep as Susan Orlean), about the self-consuming nature of obsession, and about orchids, come to that." - Geoff Andrew in Time Out
10. Tahar Rahim as Malik El Djebena in A Prophet (2009)
"Rahim, with only a few film and TV roles behind him, gives a performance of startling force and subtlety." - Steven Rea in Philadelphia Inquirer
11. Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove in Monster’s Ball (2001)
12. Kate Winslet as Clementine in The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (2004)
12. Kate Winslet as Clementine in The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (2004)
13. Bill Murray as Bob Harris in Lost In Translation (2003)
14. Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers in Black Swan (2010)
15. Gael García Bernal in La mala educación (2004)
16. Gene Hackman as Royal Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
17. Jake Gyllenhaal as Louis Bloom in Nightcrawler (2014)
18. Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
19. Cate Blanchett as Jude in I’m Not There (2007)
20. Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
"Meryl Streep inspires both terror and a measure of awe as the imperious editor of a glossy fashion magazine in the screen version of Lauren Weisberger's best-selling novel." - A.O. Scott in New York Times
21. Audrey Tautou as Amélie Poulain in Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)
22. Naomi Watts as Betty/Diane Selwyn in Mulholland Dr. (2001)
23. Javier Bardem Rámon Sanpedro in Mar adentro (2004)
24. Michael Shannon as Curtis in Take Shelter (2011)
25. Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln (2012)
26. Sean Penn as Jimmy Markum in Mystic River (2003)
27. Rinko Kikuchi as Chieko Wataya in Babel (2006)
28. Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello in The Departed (2006)
29. Alicia Vikander as Ava in Ex Machina (2015)
30. Mo’Nique as Mary in Precious (2009)
"It's a once-in-a-blue-moon experience that tests the boundaries of film, with an electrifying, positively Oscar-worthy performance by salty stand-up comic Mo'Nique, as the most monstrous mother on the planet." - Rex Reed in New York Observer
31. Andy Serkis as Smeagol/Gollum in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
32. Kate Winslet as April Wheeler in Revolutionary Road (2008)
33. Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds (2009)
34. Judi Dench as Barbara Covett in Notes on a Scandal (2006)
35. Michelle Pfeiffer as Ingrid in White Oleander (2002)
36. Ryan Gosling as Dan Dunne in Half Nelson (2006)
37. Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird in Carol (2015)
38. Julianne Moore as Laura Brown in The Hours (2002)
39. Tilda Swinton as Emma Recchi in Io solo l'amore (2009)
40. Tom Hardy as Charles Bronson / Michael Peterson in Bronson (2008)
"This is psychotic behavior as performance art, and Hardy makes it irresistible." - Bill Goodykoontz in Arizona Republic
41. Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy in The Departed (2006)
42. Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight (2008)
43. Jessica Chastain as Maya in Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
44. Michelle Williams as Cindy in Blue Valentine (2010)
45. Charlize Theron as Aileen in Monster (2003)
46. Idris Elba as Commandant in Beasts of No Nation (2015)
47. Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain (2005)
48. Scarlett Johansson as Charlotte in Lost In Translation (2003)
49. Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Quell in The Master (2012)
50. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom in (500) Days of Summer (2009)
"It goes down smoothly, thanks in large part to Joseph Gordon-Levitt's grounded lead performance" - Scott Tobias in AV Club
51. Gabourey Sidibe as Precious in Precious (2009)
52. Adèle Exarchopoulos as Adèle in Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)
53. Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
54. Saoirse Ronan as Briony Tallis in Atonement (2007)
55. Jared Leto as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
56. Charlotte Gainsbourg as She in Antichrist (2009)
57. Meryl Streep as Clarissa Vaughan in The Hours (2002)
58. Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones in The Bridget Jone’s Diary (2001)
59. Adepero Oduye as Alike in Pariah (2011)
60. Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelly in Chicago (2002)
"It's Zeta-Jones who keeps you watching from start to finish." - Manohla Dargis in Los Angeles Times
61. Brie Larson as Grace in Short Term 12 (2013)
62. Penélope Cruz as Raimunda in Volver (2006)
63. Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell in Moon (2009)
64. Anne Hathaway as Kym in Rachel Getting Married (2008)
65. J.K. Simmons as Fletcher in Whiplash (2014)
66. Rachel Weisz as Hester Collyer in The Deep Blue Sea (2012)
67. Saskia Rosendahl as Hannelore Dressler in Lore (2012)
68. Keira Knightley as Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennet in Pride & Prejudice (2005)
69. Ralph Fiennes as M. Gustave in The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
70. Dev Patel as Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
"Based on a novel by former Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup, the film opens with Jamal (played with terrific chutzpah by newcomer Dev Patel)" - Scott Foundas in L.A. Weekly
71. Benedic Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game (2014)
72. Sarah Bolger as Christy in In America (2003)
73. Marion Cotillard as Stéphanie in De rouille et d’os (2012)
74. Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting in Gangs of New York (2002)
75. Meryl Streep as Violet Weston in August: Osage County (2013)
76. Nicole Kidman as Anna in Birth (2004)
77. Colin Firth as George in A Single Man (2009)
78. Cate Blanchett as Sheba Heart in Notes on a Scandal (2006)
79. Michael Fassbender as Bobby Sands in Hunger (2008)
80. Johnny Depp as Cap. Jack Sparrow in Pirates of Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
"Forget the film and check out [Depp], because there's a superlative to be witnessed here: This has gotta rank among the weirdest performances in the zany annals of the silver screen." - Rick Groen in Globe and Mail
81. Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network (2010)
82. Paul Dano as Brian (past) in Love & Mercy (2015)
83. Cate Blanchett as Jasmine in Blue Jasmine (2013)
84. Maggie Gyllenhaal as Sherry Swanson in Sherrybaby (2006)
85. James Franco as Alien in Spring Breakers (2012)
86. Michelle Williams as Alma in Brokeback Mountain (2005)
87. Kate Winslet as Sarah Pierce in Little Children (2006)
88. Sally Hawkins as Poppy in Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
89. Matthias Schoenaerts as Alain van Versch in De rouille et d’os (2012)
90. Scarlett Johansson as The Woman in Under the Skin (2014)
"Johansson is phenomenal in every sense of the word. She joins Glazer in creating a brave experiment in cinema that richly rewards the demands it makes. The result is an amazement, a film of beauty and shocking gravity." - Peter Travers in Rolling Stone
91. Benicio del Toro as Ernesto Che Guevara in Che (2008)
92. Jennifer Lawrence as Ree in Winter’s Bone (2010)
93. Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless in Into the Wild (2007)
94. Elizabeth Olsen as Martha in Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
95. Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in The Aviator (2004)
96. Julie Christie as Fiona Anderson in Away From Her (2007)
97. Carey Mulligan as Jenny Mellor in An Education (2008)
98. Michael B. Jordan as Oscar Grant in Fruitvale Station (2013)
99. Isabelle Adjani as Sonia Bergerac in La Journée de la jupe (2008)
100. Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave (2013)
"At the one-hour mark, Northup finds himself on the plantation of depraved slave owner Edwin Epps (a convincingly monstrous Michael Fassbender), whose harsh antics provide the ultimate threat to Northup’s stamina" - Eric Kohn in indieWIRE
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