Oscar nominations won’t be announced until Jan. 25 and the awards ceremony is still two months away, but we thought we’d go ahead and make our picks for the best actors and actresses of 2010, a year which saw some tremendous performances by newcomers and veterans alike.
25. Casey Affleck (The Killer Inside Me)
Character: Lou Ford
Affleck continues to cement his status as one of our most indispensable young actors with one of the most chilling performances of the year. His turn as an amoral sheriff’s deputy is hard to watch, but impossible not to admire.—Michael Dunaway
24. Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)
Character: Cindy
Williams continues her transformation from Dawson’s dream into heavyweight actress. Her chemistry with Gosling—in happy times and bad—is palpable, and her sensitive, textured portrayal lives on far beyond the two hours of the film.—MD
23. Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Character: Nic
Bening plays a tightly-wound doctor and mother whose carefully-constructed world unravels when her children meet their biological father—and her wife does as well. Her performance is raw, visceral, and utterly luminous.—Alissa Wilkenson
22. Jim Carey (I Love You Phillip Morris)
Character: Steven Russell
It’s easy to forget how good an actor Carey really is, but on the occasions when he does display it he’s always memorable. I Love You Phillip Morris gave him the rare opportunity to take up a more sophisticated role that plays to his wacky strengths, and the resulting performance transformed the film from just a quirky romp into something with real heart.—Sean Gandert
21. Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
Character: Mattie Ross
Every decade or so a youngster crashes the Oscar party (Patty Duke, The Miracle Worker; Tatum O’Neal, Paper Moon; Anna Paquin, The Piano). Will Steinfeld’s dead-on portrayal of the hard-headed Mattie Ross lead to a statue of her own?—Tim Basham
