With only three months of the year to go - eep! -- it's time to look back on the past three months for movies we saw from July through September (excluding films with firm release dates in the next three months). Herewith Nathaniel's 17 favorite male performances from the year's third quarter (plus first week of October to keep us up-to-date), divvied up into three categories. (Movies with asterisks have not yet been released.)
Did these men speak to you with their turns?
7 LEADING ACTORS
Daniel Gimenez Cacho as "Don Diego de Zama" in Zama*
One of my favorite Mexican actors. Though I found the film impenetrable, he's always strong.
Harris Dickinson as "Frankie" in Beach Rats
Here's to debuts that reveal both fully-formed star charisma and film-carrying craft
Ryan Gosling as "K" in Blade Runner 2049
Maybe people think this type of opaque minimalist performance is easy and maybe people think Gosling has done it too many times (see also Drive and Only God Forgives) but those people are not me. He's always riveting.
Jake Gyllenhaal as "Jeff Bauman" in Stronger
Oscar nomination #2 here he comes. (Finally)
Josh O'Connor as "Johnny" in God's Own Country*
Alec Secereanu as "Gheorghe" in God's Own Country*
Can't wait for more people to see this romantic drama which is superbly acted by its central quartet (these two and the grandparents of "Johnny"). Comparisons to Brokeback Mountain are abundant out there but quite surfacey. Yes, the lovers meet doing rural work in a country setting, and one protagonist is inarticulate and closeted while the other is more honest... but they don't have much else in common.
Jeremy Renner as "Cory" in Wind River
Whenever he does straight drama I curse Hollywood's obsession with sticking him in action franchises for which his particular gifts are not all that well suited.
Previous Best ofs... 1st Qtr and 2nd Qtr Lists Combined
- Jon Bernthal as "Sam" in Sweet Virginia*
- Ansel Elgort as "Baby" in Baby Driver
- Sam Elliott as "Lee Hayden" in Hero
- Michael Fassbender as "Walter/David" in Alien Covenant
- Paul Hamy as "Fernando/Antonio" in The Ornithologist
- Hugh Jackman as "Logan" in Logan
- Daniel Kaaluya as "Chris Washington" in Get Out
- Tracy Letts as ""Michael" in The Lovers
- Menashe Lustig as "Menashe" in Menashe*
- James McAvoy as "The Horde" in Split
- Roland Møller as "Sgt Rasmussen" in Land of Mine
- Pierre Niney as "Adrien Rivoire" in Frantz
6 ACTORS IN SUPPORTING ROLES
Gil Birmingham as "Martin" in Wind River
The MVP of this sleeper hit as a grieving father
Willem Dafoe as "Bobby" in The Florida Project
He's wonderfully warm (despite zero sentiment) as the overworked hotel manager trying to reign over transient chaos
Ian Hart as "Martin" in God's Own Country*
Takes the potentially cliche role of the disapproving cold father-figure and breathes wonderful nuance into it.
Cillian Murphy as "Shivering Soldier" in Dunkirk
Mark Rylance as "Mr Dawson" in Dunkirk
Austin Stowell as "Larry King" in Battle of the Sexes
This type of role is thankless for male actors (though female actors are often prized for doing great variations on the forgotten / discarded spouse) but he gives wonderful reaction shots and displays nuanced finesse and backstory within the limitations.
1st Qtr and 2nd Qtr Lists Combined
- Joel Basman as "Helmut Morbach" in Land of Mine
- Lars Eidinger as "Ingo" in Personal Shopper
- Jamie Foxx as "Bats" in Baby Driver
- Jon Hamm as "Buddy" in Baby Driver
- Louis Hoffman as "Sebastian Schumann" in Land of Mine
- LilRel Howery as "Rod" in Get Out
- Angus MacFayden as "Murray" in The Lost City of Z
- John C Reilly as "Hank Marlow" in Kong: Skull Island
- Pavel Nový as "Brona" in Ice Mother*
- Taisto Oksanen as "Alijoki" in Tom of Finland*
- Robert Pattinson as "Henry Costin" in The Lost City of Z
- Nick Offerman as "Jeremy Frost" in Hero
- Ray Romano as "Terry" in The Big Sick
- Andrew Scott as "Mr Sherry" in Handsome Devil
- Patrick Stewart as "Professor Xavier" in Logan
- Ernst Stötzner as "Doktor Hoffmeister" in Frantz
- Amos Tamam as "Shimi" in The Wedding Plan
4 ACTORS IN LIMITED OR CAMEO ROLES
Dave Bautista as "Sapper Morton" in Blade Runner 2049
Jason Mitchell as "Carl" in Detroit
Carlos Sanz as "Carlos" in Stronger
Steve Zahn (mo-cap) as "Bad Ape" in War for the Planet of the Apes
1st Qtr and 2nd Qtr Lists Combined
- Joe Alwyn as "Adrian" in The Sense of an Ending
- Arnošt Goldflam as "Dr. Janusz Korczak" in The Zookeeper's Wife
- Laith Nakhi as "Juba" in The Wall
- Lakeith Stanfield as "Andrew King" in Get Out
- Udi Persi as "'Blind' Date" in The Wedding Plan