Great performances don’t just entertain—they resonate, haunt, and sometimes even redefine what we expect from an actor. Every year, a handful of performances transcend mere acting and become something truly unforgettable—transforming films, elevating storytelling, and leaving audiences in awe. In 2024, we saw performances that pushed boundaries, breathed life into complex characters, and made films unforgettable. It was an insane year that rewarded film lovers with a bounty of riches. Horror saw an influx of quality work from a number of actors and the more prestige films had so many great performances, it felt like it was anyone’s night at the Oscars. Some shattered expectations, some cemented their legendary status, and others became the faces of a new generation. Here are the performances that truly defined cinema in 2024.
These are the 50 Best Movie Performances of 2024.
40. Glen Powell as Gary Johnson in Hit Man
Glen Powell truly has the best chance of becoming the next Tom Cruise and that’s because he’s learning from the best… Tom Cruise. After telling Cruise that he wanted to be one of the GOATs, Cruise revealed to Powell that he doesn’t choose great roles, he chooses great movies and makes the roles great. With that mentality, Powell is set to go far, with his recent movie choices showing that he’s not about to be typecast to any one role or genre.
After wowing audiences as Hangman in Top Gun: Maverick, Powell appeared in the romantic crime comedy Hit Man, loosely based on the real-life figure, Gary Johnson, a college professor who worked for the Houston police in the late 1980s and 1990s, pretending to be a contract killer. Powell is easily the best part of Hit Man, with his co-star Adria Arjona right behind him as a close second. It’s fun watching Powell’s Gary slowly build his confidence the more he pretends to be a hitman, with the effortlessly cool charm he exuded as Hangman in Maverick coming more into play the further the movie gets along in its runtime. Powell may never be as crazy about doing his own stunts as Cruise, but Hit Man shows that he can listen to the A-lister and deliver great roles in whichever movie he signs on to do.
—Marmaduke Karlston
39. David Jonsson as Andy in Alien: Romulus
After a series of disappointing (or in some cases, down right awful) sequels, Alien: Romulus feels like a godsend to fans of the franchise. Despite having my own issues with the film (it relies too heavily on nostalgia and unnecessary callbacks), it does have one undeniable saving grace: the luminous performance of David Jonsson as Andy. Portraying a repurposed android, Jonsson infuses the character with a depth and nuance that transcends the typical synthetic archetype, rendering Andy both endearing and profoundly human. From the moment Andy graces the screen, there’s an undeniable magnetism. Jonsson’s portrayal is imbued with a warmth and sincerity that makes Andy’s loyalty and protective instincts toward Rain (Cailee Spaeny) palpably authentic. This dynamic is not merely a subplot but serves as the emotional nucleus of the narrative, grounding the film’s more fantastical elements in genuine, heartfelt connection. It’s a star making turn and I hope Hollywood is paying attention.
38. Zendaya as Tashi Donaldson in Challengers
One of Luca Guadagnino’s greatest strengths is his ability to get amazing performances from his actors. Every one of his films is perfectly cast with each actor bringing their A game. Hell, he’s one of the only directors to get a good performance from Dakota Johnson and for years, I was convinced she a sentient jar of mayonnaise. That’s how good he is. Before Challengers, I was on the fence on Zendaya’s ability to actually act. I knew she had Disney kid charm and her work on Euphoria was obviously good enough to get her work but I wasn’t sold yet.
This movie proved to me that her sudden stardom wasn’t a fluke, she’s the real deal. She delivers a performance that is both captivating and multifaceted, anchoring the film’s intricate narrative with her portrayal of Tashi Donaldson. As a former tennis prodigy turned coach, Tashi is a character defined by ambition, complexity, and emotional depth. Zendaya embodies these traits with a maturity and nuance that not only showcases her evolution as an actress but also elevates the film beyond the conventional boundaries of sports drama.
37. Chris Hemsworth as Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
There was no film going into 2024 I anticipated more than Furiosa. Fury Road is the best film of the last decade and I couldn’t wait to see Miller’s continuation of the story. But like all prequels, it ultimately ends up telling a pointless story. There is a certain kind of exhaustion that comes from watching a film that mistakes chaos for energy and noise for substance. Despite its grand ambitions and technical prowess, it stumbles into the trap of prioritizing relentless action over storytelling, leaving me dazzled but unmoved. The further I get from the film, the less I can remember. At this point, all that sticks to the grey matter are the flaws. But there is one thing about it that actually works and that’s Hemsworth. He chews the scenery with gusto, making every line feel like a meal. He’s having a blast playing an over the top piece of shit. Each of these films has an amazing villain and Dementus might actually be my favorite. He’s so good, I kind of wish the film was about him and not Furiosa.
36. Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine
Logan is in my top five greatest superhero movies. It’s a near perfect swan song for a perfectly cast character. Hugh Jackman was a relative unknown when he was cast in the first X-Men movie and if the Internet was as pervasive as it is now, insufferable nerds would’ve bitched to high hell that they got a song and dance man from Oklahoma! to play their beloved murderous rage machine. But he would’ve proved them and everyone wrong. He slid into the role like it was an old pair of shoes and only got better with each subsequent sequel. Which is actually why I thought Deadpool and Wolverine was a terrible idea.
Logan set the bar so high, that any attempt to try and top it was foolish and to the movie’s credit, it at least knows this. The only way this could work is if Jackman played a completely different Wolverine and the one he plays in this, might be the best one yet. Since this is the only one that curses, it’s automatically the most comic accurate. He’s a broken down drunk who drinks to escape the sins of his past who bickers and bitches with Wade throughout the film. Their dynamic is golden but the real meat of the film is any monologue where Logan breaks down emotionally. Since Jackman always commits, he’s legitimately great every time he goes full on rage mode. The film may be nothing but nostalgia porn but it’s at least anchored by a truly great performance by Jackman.
35. George MacKay as Preston in Femme
Picking which of the two leads of Femme gave the best performance was nearly impossible. Both of them are incredible but I decided to give the slight edge to George MacKay. As a hyper-masculine thug grappling with his concealed sexuality, he embodies a character whose internal turmoil is as palpable as his outward aggression. From his initial, menacing encounter with Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), MacKay’s portrayal of Preston is both intimidating and layered. His ability to convey the fragility beneath the bravado adds depth to a character that could have easily been one-dimensional.
This complexity is highlighted in moments where he allows glimpses of vulnerability to surface, suggesting a man ensnared by his own fears and societal expectations. The dynamic between MacKay and Stewart-Jarrett is charged with tension, their interactions serving as the film’s emotional and narrative fulcrum. MacKay’s ability to oscillate between aggression and tenderness in his scenes with Stewart-Jarrett adds a compelling layer to their complex relationship, making their shared moments both unpredictable and riveting. If this was an A24 film, both leads would’ve been strong Oscar contenders. That’s how great they both are.
34. Lupita Nyong’o as “Roz” in The Wild Robot
Animation lives and dies by its voice work. The best performances don’t simply match the animation—they elevate it. Lupita Nyong’o does this masterfully, threading a needle between artificiality and feeling, making Roz’s journey from cold, calculated logic to profound, aching empathy feel natural and inevitable. There is a warmth to her voice, a quiet but powerful resonance that invites you into a world of emotion. In The Wild Robot, she doesn’t just narrate—she embodies. Her performance as Roz, a shipwrecked robot learning to survive in the wild, is a testament to how much heart an actor can bring to even the most mechanical of characters. 2024 had a ton of great vocal performances but none were quite as good as Nyong’o is in this. Much like her performance in The Force Awakens, she’s a master of molding her voice to fit whatever character she’s playing. It’s impossible to know it’s her without knowing beforehand. She’s that good in this.
33. Margaret Qualley as Sue in The Substance
I’ve come to really hate the term “Nepo Baby.” It’s an easy way to dismiss to the talents of the children of stars simply because they have perceived advantages. While it’s true that they have a leg up over other actors in the sense that they have access to contacts that others don’t, it’s no more of an advantage over someone who was born hot or someone who came from money. The industry immediately weeds out the untalented, so any advantage is only going to get you so far. Margaret Qualley may have a famous mother but she has already proven to be better and more talented than her in every conceivable way.
She’s the real deal and The Substance proves it. She has one of those rare screen presences—at once ethereal and deeply physical. She moves like a dancer, speaks with a natural rhythm, and carries an emotional openness that makes her impossible to look away from. In The Substance, she takes those qualities and twists them into something haunting, something desperate, something exhilarating to watch. At the end of the day, it’s Demi’s movie but without Qualley, it would only be half as good. She makes Moore better and vice versa.
32. Naomi Scott as Skye Riley in Smile 2
Smile 2 works because Parker Finn was smart enough to know to take the premise of the first film and apply it to a completely different story. That and the fact that he hit the jackpot with Naomi Scott. She sells the terror of being haunted by a force so insane, you can’t wrap your head around it. The character is both well-acted and has a great arc. Since she’s a recovering addict, everyone around her is worried she’s relapsing while she’s desperately trying to keep it together despite losing her mind. These movies are more than just their marketing gimmick, the film deftly intertwines the superficial allure of celebrity with the profound horrors lurking beneath. It is as much a critique of the entertainment industry’s exploitative nature as it is a psychological thriller. Finn’s direction and the premise is strong enough, that it still would’ve worked without Scott in the lead but she’s that ingredient that takes the dish to the next level.
31. Juliette Gariépy as Kelly-Anne in Red Rooms
Juliette Gariépy delivers a performance as haunting and mesmerizing as the film itself. Red Rooms is a deliberately paced mystery that slowly unfolds till it hits the viewer in the head with a blunt force object. The film follows Kelly-Anne, a young woman obsessed with a high-profile murder trial involving a serial killer accused of creating disturbing “red room” livestreams. As the trial unfolds, Kelly-Anne becomes increasingly entangled in the case, raising unsettling questions about her own motivations and morality. Is she a previous victim? Did she know one of the victims personally or does she have a completely different motive altogether?
Gariépy’s portrayal is one of eerie restraint and quiet intensity. She embodies Kelly-Anne as an enigmatic figure—aloof yet deeply invested in the dark world of the trial. Her detached demeanor and inscrutable expressions make her character all the more unsettling, as the audience is left to decipher whether she is a victim, an investigator, or something more disturbing. Through subtle shifts in body language and measured dialogue, Gariépy masterfully conveys an underlying tension that keeps viewers on edge. Once the film reveals what her ultimate game is, her character finally clicks into place and what it was all leading to is quietly devastating. Her final appearance in that courtroom will stick with me for a long time. It’s one of the most unique depictions of this specific character I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to praise a performance you have to be vague when talking about, so just trust me when I say, it’s a truly unforgettable character.
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What are some of your favorite movie performances from 2024? Maybe they will show up later in the list!
