Emily Flores
The lights went down in theaters across 2025, and what came back up was nothing short of extraordinary. Rolling Stone just dropped their list of the year’s 17 best movie performances, and honestly? It reads like a masterclass in what happens when actors stop playing it safe and start playing for keeps. From returning legends to breakthrough stars who seem to have been dropped onto Earth fully formed, this year proved that great acting is about fearlessness.
The Comebacks That Reminded Us Why We Fell In Love
Daniel Day-Lewis doesn’t do things by halves. After an eight-year retirement that felt like cinema holding its breath, the three-time Oscar winner returned in “Anemone”, a film he co-wrote with his son, director Ronan Day-Lewis. Playing Ray Stoker, a former British soldier living in self-imposed exile, Day-Lewis delivers what Rolling Stone calls a performance of “technical meticulous” work that feels “utterly spontaneous.” There’s a scene involving a scatological revenge monologue against a priest that’s both hilarious and heartbreaking.
Jennifer Lawrence, meanwhile, went full throttle in Lynne Ramsay’s “Die My Love”, tackling postpartum psychosis with the kind of abandon that makes other “brave” performances look polite. Lawrence prowls, spits beer like a fountain, and stabs the ground while her hand wanders south—all while capturing something devastatingly real about a woman’s mental unraveling. Rolling Stone describes her work as “free,” noting how she’s “liberated from anything resembling propriety.” It’s the sort of performance that reminds you why Lawrence became a star in the first place: she’s never afraid to look ugly, messy, or completely unhinged when the role demands it.
The Rising Stars And Double Trouble
Jacob Elordi turned into The Creature for Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein”, and the result is a revelation. Del Toro cast him for his eyes, and Elordi delivers something that blends childlike vulnerability with rage-filled monstrosity. His wordless expressions of woundedness cut deep, and when his character evolves into an eloquent outcast, Elordi affects a guttural growl that suggests shame, resentment, and readiness to strike simultaneously. It’s a performance that reinvents the iconic character without losing its tragic essence.
Michael B. Jordan pulled double duty—literally—playing twin brothers Smoke and Stack in Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.” Each twin possesses distinct gestures, rhythms, and vulnerabilities so defined that they seem like entirely different actors.
The Performance Everyone’s Still Crying About
But if there’s one performance that’s being talked about as the frontrunner for everything, it’s Jessie Buckley in “Hamnet.” Playing Agnes Hathaway (Shakespeare’s wife), Buckley delivers what many are calling a career-defining turn. Rolling Stone notes that people “will be talking about Jessie Buckley’s performance for years,” and they’re not exaggerating. Her portrayal of a mother processing the death of her son Hamnet blends quiet nuance with volcanic emotion. The howl of anguish she lets loose is gutting. Watching her character rediscover her soul through art—specifically through watching her husband’s play “Hamlet”—Buckley makes you see light literally shining out of her. It’s the kind of performance that leaves audiences in puddles on theater floors.Rounding out the list are scene-stealers like Amy Madigan’s horror-perfect turn in
“Weapons” (think Joker energy meets Halloween costume inspiration), and power pairings like Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another”, plus Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett’s morally ambiguous spy duo in “Black Bag.”