Every movie begins on the page - as the saying goes - but it's the responsibility of the actors to convey what's on the page and make it believable onscreen. For decades, movie stars were the reason people went to the movies; it's because of Julia Roberts' movie star power that a biopic about a single mother taking on a giant corporation in "Erin Brockovich" was able to make $200 million.
Movie star wattage has dimmed in recent years, and what attracts people to theaters now is spectacle. There are a handful of directors (Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino come to mind) who can get butts in seats, but the amount of movie stars who can carry a movie on their shoulders has greatly diminished.
That doesn't mean we don't have great actors anymore; we're just seeing a trend where some movies offer better performances than "the movies" overall. As we are in the midst of awards season, all the actors who lit up screens this year are out doing the interviews and roundtables, luncheons and tributes, trying to stay in minds of voters who have to put some names on ballots in the coming months.
While the two best performances of the year are likely to get Oscar nominations, I also wanted to highlight some of my favorite performances, which are good even if they aren't in the "conversation."
The Best Performances of 2025 are:
Timothée Chalamet ("Marty Supreme") and Rose Byrne ("If I Had Legs I'd Kick You")
Timothée Chalamet and Rose Byrne's respective performances show two people in desperate situations reaching their breaking points. Chalamet's Marty is an obnoxious hustler in 1950s New York City, trying to make enough money to travel to Japan to prove himself a great ping pong player. Linda, Byrne's character at the center of "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You," is a mother of a medically complex child who might not be able to take the societally inflicted pressures of motherhood any longer. Chalamet's performance is much more verbose than Bryne's, but both actors are playing characters with big emotions. What's great about their respective performances is that they never slip into histrionics or become distracted from trying to convey their characters; they simply become Marty and Linda. Chalamet and Byrne are already collecting nominations from various bodies and are likely going to be nominated for much-deserved Academy Awards (and both should win).
While those performances deserve the spotlight, they are going to be spoken about for months to come. Here are some of the year's best performances that might get lost in the shuffle (in no particular order):
Austin Butler ("Caught Stealing"):
Austin Butler received an Oscar nomination for 2022's "Elvis" and based on his precursor haul (he won the Golden Globe and the BAFTA), he seemed like he came close to winning the Oscar. He's perfectly serviceable playing Elvis but as a big breakout performance, there's a limitation to those biopic roles. Darren Aronofsky's "Caught Stealing" is the first time I got the magnetism of Butler and saw the possibility of him being one of the best new movie stars. The physicality of the performance (Aronofsky loves putting his actors through hell-and-back), coupled with the spectrum of emotions he's required to play, proves Butler's is one of the unsung performances of the year.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph ("Eternity"):
There's no better secret weapon to any movie than the comedic scene stealer. Da'Vine Joy Randolph hasn't had a great role since her Oscar-winning performance in "The Holdovers" in 2023, but she gets to be the comedic heart of this year's "Eternity." Joy radiates a calming warmth in the sweet tale of the afterlife, and she gets the majority of the charming movie's big laughs.
Channing Tatum & Kirsten Dunst ("Roofman"):
Channing Tatum gives a charismatic performance as the titular "Roofman," who is the kindest robber any movie character may cross paths with on a heist. When he is arrested for a string of McDonald's robberies, he eventually breaks out of prison and seeks refuge in a Toys-R-Us. He begins dating one of the store's employees, played by Kirsten Dunst, and the two performers have terrific chemistry together. Tatum's charm pairs well with a world-weary Dunst, complementing each other because both characters seem to find each other at the right time in their lives. It's too bad Tatum's Jeffrey is keeping such a big secret from Dunst's Leigh.
Liam Neeson & Pamela Anderson ("The Naked Gun"):
Liam Neeson desperately needed "The Naked Gun." The schtick of "one word title movies where Neeson is running around for two hours holding a gun and trying to settle a score" has become tiresome. He has a gun in "The Naked Gun," but this time the actor gets to show his considerable timing and comedic delivery, and work in a completely different register than we are used to. He's paired perfectly with Pamela Anderson, coming off a career-defining and -rejuvenating performance in last year's "The Last Showgirl." Any time Anderson previously appeared in a studio comedy, it was a chance for her to be humiliated playing an exaggerated version of her tabloid persona. She finally gets to show her true range with "The Naked Gun" and her gift for comedic timing.
Joshua Burge ("Vulcanizadora"):
It's impossible to talk about Joel Potrykus' "Vulcanizadora," because it's a movie that must be experienced to discuss what makes it a great movie. Also, it's impossible to talk about Joshua Burge's simmering performance as Marty without getting into what's really happening in Potrykus' film. "Vulcanizadora" starts off in a plodding fashion, with two friends roaming about the Michigan forests, but the climax of the movie resets everything, especially Burge's performance, when "Vulcanizadora" becomes a morality tale. "Vulcanizadora," running at a mere 85 minutes, has a lingering effect that makes it one of the best movies of the year and Burge's performance one of the most haunting.
Anthony Hopkins ("Locked"):
This is my fun pick, because no one plays menace as congenially as Anthony Hopkins does. His iconic and Oscar-winning performance as Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs" showed he can send a chill down your spine while barely raising his voice. In "Locked" - a movie no one saw, and those who did have likely forgotten about it - he spends most of the movie being a voice over a phone. As Hopkins' character torments Bill Skarsgård, who he has trapped in his car, he becomes increasingly deranged and frightening. "Locked" was a ludicrous - and fun! - thriller from earlier in 2025, and Hopkins' performance elevates such silly material.
That's a wrap on 2025! Happy New Year to all our Big Picture Big Sound readers and see you at the movies in the new year!
