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 2025, we saw performances that pushed boundaries, breathed life into complex characters, and made films unforgettable. It was an incredible year that spawned multiple instant classics, as well as plenty of other gems. From massive films with huge ensembles to intimate family dramas, a wide range of talent was on display. Several young stars asserted their arrivals, while a few familiar faces reminded us of their prowess.
These are the performances that truly defined cinema last year. These are the 50 Best Movie Performances of 2025.
10. Wunmi Mosaku as Annie in Sinners
Wunmi Mosaku as Annie in Sinners completely blew me away. She brings such an incredible mix of strength, vulnerability, and quiet fire to the role that makes you feel every emotion she’s going through. Annie is the story’s heart, not to mention its intelligence. Her knowledge as an herbalist and Hoodoo conjurer helps the core group of characters understand exactly who and what they are dealing with when Remmick shows up and begins wreaking havoc. It’s such a subtle performance, but it’s so effective and devastating. Watching Mosaku work is mesmerizing, and it’s easy to see why she was chosen as one of the five strongest supporting performances at this year’s Oscars. Her recognition for this role is so richly deserved.
–Romona Comet
9. Sally Hawkins as Laura in Bring Her Back
At one point considered the dark horse in this year’s Oscar race, Sally Hawkins gave probably one of the greatest horror movie performances of all-time in Bring Her Back. Her vulnerability in a role that’s ultimately sinister and downright revolting is almost too good. She really does it all here: playing things up to a 10, then back down to a whisper. The movie as a whole is a triumph, but Hawkins’ performance is at its core. The whole thing hinges on her performance as a young mother whose daughter died in a freak accident, and you really, really believe it by the time the credits roll. Despite the atrocities she commits, it’s her that you feel for the most in the film’s final moments, and that’s the power of a great performance.
–Valerie Morreale
8. Jacob Elordi as the Creature in Frankenstein
I’ve always wanted a Frankenstein’s monster that was able to convey both the rage and the erudition that I remember from the book, and was hoping to get that from Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation. And I did absolutely get that. I wasn’t expecting to get a heartbreakingly vulnerable performance from Jacob Elordi, making the monster as sympathetic as Boris Karloff’s creature in James Whale’s film. From a childlike wonder and dependence to a terrifying and powerful rage, from growing empathy and an attachment to humanity to a blind hatred for his creator. Elordi captures elements of humanity itself – that part of us that wants to know why we are here and why life is so hard. Does our creator not love us? Is there no acceptance to be had for being born the way we are? In the absence of answers sometimes rage feels like the only response. Somehow (and somewhat unearned) the monster finds its way to forgiveness. And if the writing didn’t help make me believe that, Elordi’s performance did.
–Bob Cram
7. Rose Byrne as Linda in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
There aren’t many performances on this list that are as visceral and upsetting as this one. Rose Byrne really embodies a young mother who is trying to keep everything going while parenting a child with a rare disease. You get as frustrated as she is just watching her, as she’s practically begging for help while the people around her seem indifferent at best to her suffering. It’s one of those performances that could easily be categorized as “just too real.” It’s a knockout performance and probably Rose Byrne’s best despite an already impressive filmography.
–Valerie Morreale
6. Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier in Train Dreams
Train Dreams quietly made its way onto Netflix late last year, and the more people saw it, the more it gained traction as a solid period drama anchored by a quietly assured Joel Edgerton. Ever since I was introduced to him in 2011’s Warrior, I’ve admired his remarkable ability to say so much by saying very little, and this latest offering is no different. We follow his character, Robert Grainier, through several years as he builds a life for himself in post-World War 1 America. The voice-over narration gives us the facts of Grainier’s life, but Edgerton supplies us with his soul – a performance built from glances, silences, and the slow accumulation of a life lived. Should he have been nominated for an Oscar? Well, with only 5 slots it’s impossible to say definitively, but his performance is one that will stay with me for a few years to come – a huge accomplishment in a world where we forget most media we consume almost instantly.
–Thomas Riest
5. Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser in Marty Supreme
There’s a reason Timothée Chalamet is the frontrunner for Best Actor as we hit the final stretch of awards season. His turn as Marty Mauser, a narcissistic young man with an all-consuming goal of becoming the top table tennis player in the world, may be his best yet—even if some people charge that it’s only because the character cuts so close to the real nature of Chalamet. Very few actors could embody Mauser with the charisma and energy necessary to make this story work, but Chalamet makes it look easy. And for me, at least, he finds a way to make you root for the success of Marty even as he takes advantage of the ones closest to him to reach his goals.
–Jacob Holmes
4. Jesse Plemons as Teddy Gatz in Bugonia
It’s a stacked year, but it’s a real shame that Jesse Plemons just missed the cut for a Best Actor nomination. He steals the show just about every time he pops up in a film, and in Bugonia, he even manages to outshine the immensely talented Emma Stone in what is nearly a two-hander. Plemons carries a difficult task of portraying a conspiracy-addled man who seems to be completely off the deep end, and yet making the audience sympathize with him even as he does some twisted things in his pursuit to prove Stone is an alien hell-bent on destroying the Earth. The movie is practically just dialogue between Plemons and Stone in a room, which means both performances have to be mesmerizing. Plemons rises to that challenge and delivers possibly his best performance in a portfolio of great work.
–Jacob Holmes
3. Amy Madigan as Gladys in Weapons
Despite her absence for most of the film’s runtime, Madigan is the most memorable performance in Weapons. She fully embodies the character of Aunt Gladys, a sinister force who’s shown only in flashes but still provides ample scares. When we finally get to see her up-close, she really shines. It’s not just the moments of deceit, but the moments where she gets to go full evil and monologue maliciously. Even when she’s silent, the way she carries herself and looms in the background is straight up creepy. Madigan herself is unrecognizable from her on-screen counterpart, both in voice as well as appearance and countenance. What she’s done here is masterful, and established herself as a skilled character actress for (hopefully) many films to come. She’s already won Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes, and the Oscar certainly seems within reach.
–Valerie Morreale
2. Sean Penn as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw in One Battle After Another
Easily the most electric, propulsive component of Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film is Sean Penn’s performance. As Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, he is a wrecking ball of a human being, a caricature and a symbol of an overzealous military man wrapped into one muscle-bound body. From his overly-tight shirts, hawk-like expression, and hilarious gait, he’s a mass of projections packaged into a delightfully improbable human being. Whenever Penn is onscreen, you know you’re in for a riot; just watching his rigid stance as he walked was enough to make me crack up in the cinema.
–Cian McGrath
1. Jessie Buckley as Agnes Shakespeare in Hamnet
There’s a reason Jessie Buckley has been the frontrunner for Best Actress for months. Her performance as Agnes Shakespeare, the wife of William Shakespeare, is arguably not just the best female lead performance of the year, but the best performance period. She particularly shines in her portrait of a grieving mother in the back half of the movie and the film hinges on her ability to make you feel every inch of what Agnes is going through. And the final 15 minutes are electric despite having to convey all the emotion of the finale through little more than facial expressions.
–Jacob Holmes
20-11
What were some of your favorite performances of 2025 that didn’t show up on the list? Share them with us down in the comments!