Academy Awards 2021 acting nominees ranked

The Academy Awards are almost upon us (April 25), and similar to several over categories, this year yielded the most robust crop of acting nominees in decades, perhaps in all of Oscars history.

There are only two outliers (#20 and #19), but even they are mostly better than the collective worst nominees of any other respective year in addition to their minimum amount.

In celebration and anticipation of the upcoming ceremony, I have ranked every performance by quality, regardless of categorization. It is also notable that there is an immense gap in merit between #19 and #18.

20. Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy (Supporting Actress)

Close is the rare thespian who is simply incapable of giving a bad performance, and like her other work, she commits with unwavering verve. However, the melodramatic screenplay and Ron Howard’s heavy-handed direction minimize her portrayal’s impact.

19. Gary Oldman, Mank (Lead Actor)

Congruent with Glenn Close, Oldman is always dependable, but his role as the disheartened screenwriter of Citizen Kane mostly requires him to be a passive and bumbling alcoholic, though this is entirely the film’s intention. This is a textbook case of great filmmaking not necessarily being the ideal showcase for an actor, and it seems Oldman scored this nod off his preexisting pedigree.

18. Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami… (Supporting Actor)

The Hamilton star lends his fictional version of Sam Cooke riveting exuberance, but his character is not given much substantial material until the film’s latter half, though he holds attention throughout.

17. Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Supporting Actor)

Cohen matches the incisive firecracker energy of Sorkin’s filmmaking as wrongfully indicted activist and Vietnam War protestor Abbie Hoffman while also exercising his rugged comedic chops.

16. Steven Yeun, Minari (Lead Actor)

Yeun deploys a sort of sensitive masculinity that is, sadly, not seen enough in cinematic fathers, and his subtly emotive choices as a performer deftly bolster the emotional palette of Lee Isaac Chung’s exquisite autobiographical feature.

15. Paul Raci, Sound of Metal (Supporting Actor)

Raci utilizes his limited screen time to optimal effect, precisely defining the elusive beats of personal loss and devastation with entrancing depth.

14. Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Lead Actress)

Performances as real-life figures can be a challenge because it becomes easy to coast on a rote impression instead of compelling emotional subtext. Singer-turned-actress Day, though, is absolutely showstopping, reaching a caliber of authenticity and vulnerability that even the most established actresses struggle to attain. The film is tawdry and radically uneven, but she is mesmerizing.

13. Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah (Supporting Actor)

It was an utter delight to witness Stanfield’s surprise nomination for his magnetic work as Black Panther Party traitor Bill O’Neil, who was subjugated by the white supremacy of the FBI in the 1960s. His depiction is dually tragic and vulnerable, imbuing this complicated historical figure with thrilling transparency.

12. Olivia Colman, The Father (Supporting Actress)

Colman is utterly heart-shattering as a loving daughter grappling with her father’s crippling dementia. This is classically superb dramatic work, languidly crafting an intricate set of pathos that enthralls.

11. Amanda Seyfried, Mank (Supporting Actress)

Her role as a neglected Golden Age Hollywood actress is the beloved Mamma Mia! star’s best work to date. Like a true supporting player, she beautifully accentuates the arc of the central character to radiant and deeply human effect.

10. Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Lead Actress)

Davis fashions a richly textured demeanor as the titular legendary blues singer that is eminently captivating. She doesn’t need a traditional “Oscar scene” of loud, bombastic acting but instead hauntingly pulsates the bleak social drama with just a meticulous glance or line reading.

9. Youn Yuh-jung, Minari (Supporting Actress)

Youn Yuh-jung is so immensely joyous and unforgettable as the fiercely independent grandmother in Minari, making the love in the film’s jubilant, fervent beating heart all-the-more tangible.

8. Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Supporting Actress)

Imagine being a relative unknown from a foreign country and staging a fake interview with Rudy Giuliani to expose potential misogyny. This was the case for newcomer Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova in her fearless, provocative and truly sensational portrayal as the estranged daughter of Borat in this riotous comedy sequel. Performances like Bakalova’s hysterically bawdy yet earnest work is why the Academy should honor comedic roles more.

7. Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal (Lead Actor)

Ahmed provides a deft, pensive meditation on irreversible personal loss that yields profound rewards. He is able to communicate deep-rooted, internal remorse and sorrow like only the most laudable performers are able to do. It’s elemental and nuanced all at once.

6. Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman (Lead Actress)

Kirby is gripping and poignant as a woman grieving the unimaginable loss of her child. She immaculately and eloquently personifies the almost ineffable sensation of grief.

5. Frances McDormand, Nomadland (Lead Actress)

McDormand evokes quiet and subtle pathos throughout Nomadland, masterfully weaving an intricate, lyrical tapestry of a woman seeking internal fulfillment in the face of the failures of capitalism.

4. Anthony Hopkins, The Father (Lead Actor)

Hopkin’s supremely empathetic and tactful is some of the best and most pristine work of his highly chaptered career. He scrupulously expresses the pure emotional devastation of dementia with gargantuan, sensitive dramatic force.

3. Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah (Supporting Actor)

Kaluuya wholly embodies the crux of the riveting Judas and the Black Messiah, approaching previously opaque historical elements with utmost vitality and unflinching honesty. Rather than resorting to trite melodrama, he lends Black Panther Party chairman Fred Hampton aching humanity and vulnerability in every frame, making the film’s message even more potent. It is some of the most electrifying work of the season.

2. Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Lead Actor)

Boseman is indelibly incandescent in his haunting swan song as an ambitious blues trumpeter traumatized by racial injustice. He delivers extended monologues and expressions with precision and flair that burst with life, empathy and tragedy. It is extremely saddening that we will not receive the gift of more performances from this venerable artist.

1. Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

It doesn’t take long to realize that Carey Mulligan’s mesmerizing work in Emerald Fennell’s searing feminist revenge thriller is something special. In the film’s subversive prologue, Mulligan seamlessly shifts her character from fragile and preyed upon to fierce and assured with the simple yet powerful words “Hey, I said, ‘What are you doing?’” with unencumbered ferocity, and her tight command over facades and deception only increases from there. This film scathingly indicts predatory culture while harrowingly depicting the emotional trauma it afflicts upon countless women, including Mulligan’s Cassie, and she is an integral part of that as Cassie weaponizes conventional perceptions of femininity to exact justice over this toxic system. She masterfully balances the many personas of her character while contextualizing all of them with a provocative and evocative examination of female grief: It is the performance of a lifetime and will almost certainly be the quintessential work of her career.

Photo Credit // Variety