The 100 Best Movie Performances of 2023

After having discussed my 30 favorite films of the year, let's move onto my favorite performances. Each year, I pick 100 different performances that made a particular impression on me. With so many to go through, I don't have the energy to write about every single one, but it's still one of my favorite lists to compile because of the variety of these performances. Some are from movies I loved, some are from movies I liked, some are even from movies I didn't care for. There are leading performances, supporting performances, dramatic performances, comedic performances, and everything in between. Here are my picks for the 100 best movie performances of 2023.

 

100) Luke Pasqualino as Angel—Medusa Deluxe

99) Nicolas Cage as Count Dracule—Renfield

98) Kate McKinnon as “Weird” Barbie—Barbie

97) Issa Rae as Sintara Golden—American Fiction

96) Claire Foy as Mum—All of Us Strangers

95) Sōya Kurokawa as Minato Mugino—Monster

94) Eva Löbau as Friederike Kuhn—The Teacher’s Lounge

93) Léa Drucker as Marie—Incredible but True

92) Ruby Cruz as Hazel Callahan—Bottoms

91) Kayla Meikle as Divine—Medusa Deluxe

90) Brian d’Arcy James as Trey Ruffa—She Came to Me

89) Julianne Nicholson as Janet Matthews—Dream Scenario

88) Ayo Edebiri as Josie—Bottoms

87) Sakura Andō as Saori Mugino—Monster

86) Meredith Hagner as Shelly—Baby Ruby

85) Kiefer Sutherland as Lt. Commander Phillip Francis Queeg—The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

84) Hinata Hiiragi as Yori Hoshikawa—Monster

83) Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery—The Color Purple

82) Megan Mullally as Evelyn Brock—Dicks: The Musical

81) Lily Gladstone as Molly Kyle—Killers of the Flower Moon

80) Ji-Min Park as Freddie Benoit—Return to Seoul

79) Haven Lee Harris as Emma—Moon Garden

78) Anne Hathaway as Patricia Jessup-Lauddem—She Came to Me

77) Larissa Corriveau as “Steven”/Marie Josée—Viking

76) Da’vine Joy Randolph as Mary Lamb—The Holdovers

75) Mark Ruffalo as Duncan Wedderburn—Poor Things

74) Stella Gonet as Margaret—El Conde

73) Daryl McCormack as Liam Sommers—The Lesson

72) Sally Dramé as Vicky Soler—The Five Devils

71) Jamie Bell as Dad—All of Us Strangers

70) Nicolas Cage as Paul Matthews—Dream Scenario

69) Kayije Kagame as Rama—Saint Omer

68) Ladainian Crazy Thunder as Matho—War Pony

67) Yūko Tanaka as Makiko Fushimi—Monster

66) Michaela Watkins as Sarah—You Hurt My Feelings

65) Heider Ali as Gac—Medusa Deluxe

64) Sandra Hüller as Hedwig Höss—The Zone of Interest

63) Swala Emati as Julia Soler—The Five Devils

62) Leonie Benesch as Carla Nowak—The Teacher’s Lounge

61) Joanna Kulig as Magdalena Szyskowski—She Came to Me

60) Gloria Münchmeyer as Lucía Hiriart—El Conde

59) Ali Junejo as Haider—Joyland

58) Joe Bird as Riley—Talk to Me

57) Jamie Foxx as Willie E. Gary—The Burial

56) Emma Appleton as Thom Hanbury—LOLA

55) Perla De La Rosa as Yocasta—Cassandro

54) Peter Dinklage as Steven Lauddem—She Came to Me

53) Aboubakr Bensaihi as Kamal Wasaki—Rebel

52) Judy Reyes as Celie Morales—Birth/Rebirth

51) Richard E. Grant as J.M. Sinclair—The Lesson

50) Sydney Sweeney as Reality Winner—Reality

49) Dohyun Noel Hwang as Dong-Hyun—Riceboy Sleeps

48) Julianne Moore as Gracie Atherton-Yoo—May December

47) Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as Ragnar—Godland

46) Stefanie Martini as Mars Hanbury—LOLA

45) Adèle Exarchopoulos as Joanne Soler—The Five Devils

44) Steve Laplante as David—Viking

43) Kate Beckinsale as Christiana Dior—Fool’s Paradise

42) Milo Machado-Graner as Daniel Maleski—Anatomy of a Fall

41) Bukky Bakray as Dione—The Strays

40) David Jonsson as Dom—Rye Lane

39) Sherry Cola as Alice—Shortcomings

38) Chieko Baisho as Mishi Kakutani—Plan 75

37) Julie Delpy as Hélène Sinclair—The Lesson

36) Willem Dafoe as Dr. Godwin Baxter—Poor Things

35) Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Beth Mitchell—You Hurt My Feelings

34) Tobias Menzies as Don Mitchell—You Hurt My Feelings

33) Alina Khan as Biba—Joyland

32) Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin—Rustin

31) Guslagie Malanda as Laurence Coly—Saint Omer

30) Charles Melton as Joe Yoo—May December

29) Marina Foïs as Olga—The Beasts

28) Reinaldo Amien Gutiérrez as Martín—I Have Electric Dreams

27) Laure Calamy as Nathalie Cordier—The Origin of Evil

26) Kristine Kujath Thorp as Signe—Sick of Myself

25) Marin Ireland as Dr. Rosaline Casper—Birth/Rebirth

24) Joanna Scanlan as Mary Hussain—After Love

23) Daniela Marín Navarro as Eva—I Have Electric Dreams

22) Choi Seung-yoon as So-Young—Riceboy Sleeps

21) Andrew Scott as Adam—All of Us Strangers

 

20) Sandra Hüller as Sandra Voyter—Anatomy of a Fall

19) Marisa Tomei as Katrina Trento—She Came to Me

18) Ryan Gosling as Ken—Barbie

17) Rasti Farooq as Mumtaz—Joyland

16) Sophie Wilde as Mia—Talk to Me

15) Teo Yoo as Hae Sung—Past Lives

14) Vivian Oparah as Yas—Rye Lane

13) Rossy de Palma as Masilda—Carmen

12) Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison—American Fiction

11) Emma Stone as Bella Baxter—Poor Things

 

10) Souleymane Sy Savane as Father Patrick—Our Father, The Devil

 

9) Kōji Yakusho as Hirayama—Perfect Days

 

8) Natalie Portman as Elizabeth Berry—May December

 

7) Greta Lee as Nora Moon—Past Lives

 

6) Denis Ménochet as Antoine—The Beasts

 

5) Catalina Saavedra as Vero—Rotting in the Sun

 

4) Gael García Bernal as Saúl Armendáriz/Cassandro—Cassandro

 

3) Babetida Sadjo as Marie Cisse—Our Father, The Devil

 

2) Clare Perkins as Cleve—Medusa Deluxe

 

1) Petri Poikolainen as Jaako Järvinen—The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic

 

Some statistics! We have two actors who appear on the list twice: Sandra Hüller for her two much-acclaimed performances which have garnered her much Oscars buzz, and Nicolas Cage who gave two infinitely more off-beat performances including his ridiculously fun turn as Dracula in Renfield. Several films also make multiple appearances. Medusa Deluxe has a sprawling cast which does great ensemble work across the board, but with much difficulty I was able to single out 4 performers for their individual work. Hirokazu Kore-eda's lovely film Monster also has 4 appearances on this list: it's a film that just missed making my Top 30 of the year. But the top performing film on this list is Rebecca Miller's She Came to Me, which has 5 cast members included here.

 

What was your favorite movie performance of the year? Did it make my list? In what I think is a first for me, all top 10 performances of the year are in films that were in my Top 30 films of the year! In fact, outside of Rossy de Palma's truly magnificent work in the flawed but beautiful adaptation of Carmen, the rest of my top 20 performances are all from that list of favorite films. To read about those films (including further thoughts about why these performances are so great) check out the list here.