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Best Actor Performances of 2021

2021 was a great year for actresses, but not so much for actors. The gentlemen that I’ve chosen for this list all did a great job, but admittedly the slate is weaker than the other one. Still, all five of these actors delivered great work with the best one delivering probably the greatest actor performance in the last five years or so.

5. Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth is one of the best and most underappreciated movies of the year. The film works on multiple fronts, but Denzel Washington himself is among the standouts. His Macbeth is racebent for sure, but it still doesn’t matter as Denzel killed it in a tour de force performance. He particularly excelled depicting the character’s inner disorientation and madness.

4. Andrew Garfield – Tick, Tick… Boom!

Tick, Tick… Boom! is a good, but not a great movie. However, Garfield is the main reason to see it. Finally, he had a chance to make use of his evident singing talents and he was wonderful in that area, but his performance is also emotionally driven and simply committed through and through. Hopefully, some day he will finally get his Oscar as he deserves it so much.

3. Jason Isaacs – Mass

The best movie of the year is also the best-acted one. Mass features four terrific performances from its talented cast. Among the best is Jason Isaacs, who channeled Jay’s immense anger phenomenally in what is probably his career-best performance. This is an actor who is famous for the franchise work that he did, but here he proved that he is first and foremost a terrific dramatic actor.

2. Simon Rex – Red Rocket

Simon Rex has been a B-movie actor for ages and he also dabbled in other professions. He did have somewhat of a pornographic past himself, which made him a perfect choice for this role. What does it say about Hollywood that this immense talent went unnoticed for years? His performance in the phenomenal Red Rocket is so raw, so powerful and incredibly believable that I was honestly blown away by him. He shamelessly got snubbed by all of the major awards shows this season.

1. Anthony Hopkins – The Father

The Father is a heartbreaking movie about dementia that is intense and very difficult to watch. Anthony Hopkins is a true star here. He had been gone for a while, but here he was finally back. He had to do so much here and he excelled in everything that the role demanded of him. This is basically a string of many different roles, thus it was a great opportunity for him to show his acting prowess. At first bitter, then confused, then angry, at the end sad and helpless, Hopkins killed it playing all of these emotions and he rightfully won an Oscar for it. It’s such a forceful performance that it is among the greatest of the century so far.

Honorable Mentions:

Colin Firth – Supernova – This sad gay drama went mostly unnoticed unfortunately, but it should have received more attention, especially for the performance of Colin Firth. He was heartbreaking here.

Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog – I personally found this movie overly slow and boring. It’s very overrated. With that being said, Cumberbatch is still excellent and very believable, but his role is a supporting one instead of a lead.

Bradley Cooper – Nightmare Alley – Bradley Cooper wasn’t on the same level as Tyrone Power was in the original, but he still delivered a very good, confident performance. He was terrific in that powerful last sequence.