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Best Actor Performances of 2022

2022 was not a good year for actors as actresses had it much better. There are so many overrated performances from actors this year, which I am not going to include on my list. With that being said, the five that I chose represent the best from both supporting and lead roles. All five are also coming from either upcoming talent or underrated performers, so here we go.

5. Jeremy Pope – The Inspection

A drama about a gay man who joins the military to find purpose while also dealing with his homophobic mother, The Inspection is a movie that is flawed in execution, but the actors elevated their somewhat underwritten roles effortlessly. Jeremy Pope is a young actor hailing from Ryan Murphy’s ‘Hollywood’ and here he finally got a movie role that was worthy of him. His performance is quite moving, subdued and grounded.

4. Brian Tyree Henry – Causeway

Causeway is an underappreciated independent drama that is about these two broken people and the connection that they develop. It is difficult to steal the movie from Jennifer Lawrence herself, but that is exactly what Brian Tyree Henry did in this deservedly Oscar-nominated turn. His performance is powerful in its understated realism and casualness. He feels like a genuinely real person, which was important for this authentically grounded story.

3. Bill Nighy – Living

Bill Nighy has always been one of the best British actors of his generation, but up until this point he never quite got a role worthy of his talents. But this year Oliver Hermanus directed Living, which starred Nighy in the main role of a man who gets a terminal illness, so he sets out to live his life to the fullest until he inevitably dies. Smartly subtle and still deeply moving, Bill Nighy’s performance is powerful throughout and by far his career-best work so far.

2. Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin

The Banshees of Inisherin features three (and one could even say four) powerhouse performances from its talented cast. Brendan Gleeson is one crucial part of this amazing ensemble. He has always been one of the more underrated actors of his generation and here he delivered one layered and powerful performance in the role of the sinister Colm. He was perfectly cast and he was consistently memorable in the best male supporting role this year.

1. Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin

And the best male performance of 2022 has to be Colin Farrell’s. His Padraic is an instantly memorable character and the actor elevated what had already been a very well written role. He played both the confounding and the innocent nature of his character effortlessly, and just watching his facial expressions spoke volumes of the characters’ emotions. This entire list is filled with underrated actors and Farrell is one of them for sure. He did get numerous strong roles throughout his career, but this is his best one so far and one that will undeniably define him in the years to come.

Honorable Mentions:

Brendan Fraser – The Whale – Although undeniably constituting an Oscar-bait, Brendan Fraser’s performance in The Whale is still strongly emotive and quite striking.

Ralph Fiennes – The Menu – The Menu is a chilling genre movie that features a phenomenal main villain superbly performed by the always great Ralph Fiennes, who was so well cast here.

Eden Dambrine – Close – The best child performance of the year goes to Eden Dambrine from the Belgian movie Close. He plays the tumultuous emotions of the protagonist effortlessly well.