Seventh Row editors Alex Heeney and Orla Smith pick the 50 best performances of the decade, from Claire Foy to Jada Pinkett Smith. Read more best of the decade coverage.
As we approach the final month of the 2010s, it’s time to look back on the best that this decade’s films have offered us. After we asked our critic and filmmaker friends to weigh in and picked our favourite films of the decade last week, we’ve decided to put together our own list of the decade’s best film performances. Below is the top 50 performances of the decade, as curated through discussions between Seventh Row editors Alex Heeney and Orla Smith. Our aim was to create a list that represents the decade as we see it, our own personal tastes, and the sensibilities of our publication. In other words, if you like these performances, we think you’ll like what we do at Seventh Row.
Riz Ahmed in The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012, dir. Mira Nair)
Gemma Arterton in Their Finest (2016, dir. Lone Scherfig)
Kate Beckinsale in Love & Friendship (2016, dir. Whit Stillman)
Gael García Bernal in Neruda (2016, dir. Pablo Larraín)
Cate Blanchett & Rooney Mara in Carol (2015, dir. Todd Haynes)
Sonia Braga in Aquarius (2016, dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho)
Timothée Chalamet & Armie Hammer in Call Me by Your Name (2017, dir. Luca Guadagnino)
Jessica Chastain & Mia Wasikowska in Crimson Peak (2015, dir. Guillermo del Toro)
Tom Courtenay & Charlotte Rampling in 45 Years (2015, dir. Andrew Haigh)
Tom Cullen & Chris New in Weekend (2011, dir. Andrew Haigh)
Essie Davis in The Babadook (2014, dir. Jennifer Kent)
Laura Dern, Lily Gladstone, Kristen Stewart, & Michelle Williams in Certain Women (2016, dir. Kelly Reichardt)
Elizabeth Debicki in The Tale (2018, dir. Jennifer Fox) & Vita & Virginia (2018, dir. Chanya Button)
Ralph Fiennes in Coriolanus (2011, dir. Ralph Fiennes)
Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson, Matthias Schoenaerts, & Tilda Swinton in A Bigger Splash (2015, dir. Luca Guadagnino)
Ben Foster & Thomasin McKenzie in Leave No Trace (2018, dir. Debra Granik)
Claire Foy in Unsane (2018, dir. Steven Soderbergh)
Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha (2012, dir. Greta Gerwig)
Hugh Grant in Paddington 2 (2017, dir. Paul King)
Eva Green in Proxima (2019, dir. Alice Winocour)
David Gulpilil in Charlie’s Country (2013, dir. Rolf de Heer)
Adèle Haenel & Noémie Merlant in Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019, dir. Céline Sciamma)
Rebecca Hall in Christine (2016, dir. Antonio Campos)
Regina Hall in Support the Girls (2018, dir. Andrew Bujalski)
Eili Harboe in Thelma (2017, dir. Joachim Trier)
Anne Heche & Sandra Oh in Catfight (2016, dir. Onur Tukel)
André Holland in Moonlight (2016, dir. Barry Jenkins)
Nina Hoss in Phoenix (2014, dir. Christian Petzold)
Anders Danielsen Lie in Oslo, August 31st (2011, dir. Joachim Trier)
Ellie Kendrick in The Levelling (2016, dir. Hope Dickson Leach)
Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games (2012, dir. Gary Ross)
Garance Marillier & Ella Rumpf in Raw (2016, dir. Julia Ducournau)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw in Belle (2013, dir. Amma Asante)
Samantha Mugatsia in Rafiki (2018, dir. Wanuri Kahiu)
Lupita Nyong’o in Us (2019, dir. Jordan Peele)
Jack O’Connell in ‘71 (2014, dir. Yann Demange)
Josh O’Connor in God’s Own Country (2017, dir. Francis Lee)
Théodore Pellerin in Genèse (2018, dir. Philippe Lesage)
Jada Pinkett Smith in Magic Mike XXL (2015, dir. Gregory Jacobs)
Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl (2014, dir. David Fincher)
Jack Reynor in What Richard Did (2012, dir. Lenny Abrahmson)
Haley Lu Richardson & John Cho in Columbus (2017, dir. Kogonada)
Saoirse Ronan in Brooklyn (2015, dir. Saoirse Ronan) & Lady Bird (2017, dir. Greta Gerwig)
Andrew Scott in Pride (2014, dir. Matthew Warchus)
Kristen Stewart in Personal Shopper (2016, dir. Olivier Assayas)
Devon Terrell in Barry (2016, dir. Vikram Gandhi)
Tessa Thompson in Dear White People (2014, dir. Justin Simien)
Karidja Touré in Girlhood (2014, dir. Céline Sciamma)
Rachel Weisz in The Deep Blue Sea (2011, dir. Terence Davies)
Zhao Tao in Mountains May Depart (2015, dir. Jia Zhang-ke)
