My 101 Favorite Movie Performances of the 21st Century So Far

(that weren't on The Ringer's list)

Last week, The Ringer dropped a list of the 101 Best Movie Performances of the 21st Century It was a classic Ringer list, mostly unsurprising, sometimes hard to argue (Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive deservedly getting the #1 spot, the inclusion of Léa Seydoux for The Beast) and sometimes very easy to pick apart (there are only 11 non-English speaking performances). It got me thinking about what my own list would look like if I disqualified every performance on their list. Thought turned into action. Here is that list.

Do I think it’s better than The Ringer list? Sure, of course I do. Because it’s mine. A lot of people laughed at their choice for #101 (Kevin Garnett playing himself in Uncut Gems…great performance, but really?) I also put somebody at #101 playing themselves, and if Even Better had the following that The Ringer had, we’d probably be laughed out of the virtual building (not by certified ball knower Lights Camera Jackson though.)

These are 101 performances from this century that move me, fascinate me, make me laugh and cry, and ultimately stick with me. These are technically ranked. But we all know how silly that is. I’ve never claimed to not be silly. And if you’re wondering where my goat Adam Sandler is, he’s getting his own big piece somewhere down the road at Even Better. The time to celebrate guys like Barry Egan and Hubie Dubois will come.

Without further ado, let’s kick things off with some “Dunkaccino!!”

#101 - Al Pacino as Al Pacino in Jack & Jill (2011)

#100 - Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Atticus in Pompeii (2014)

#99 - Paul Giamatti as Marty Wolf in Big Fat Liar (2002)

#98 - Erika Bók as Ohlsdorfer’s daughter in The Turin Horse (2011)

#97 - Kevin McGee as Frank Stone (former professional athlete) in Don’t Let the Riverbeast Get You (2012)

#96 - Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Pansy in Hard Truths (2024)

#95 - John Cena as Ricky Stanicky in Ricky Stanicky (2024)

#94 - Josh Lucas as Mat in The Mend (2015)

S/o to my fellow Gig Harbor High School graduate

#93 - John Carroll Lynch as Arthur Leigh Allen in Zodiac (2007)

#92 - Ashley Judd as Agnes White in Bug (2006)

#91 - Karhi as Meiyazhagan in Meiyazhagan (2024)

#90 - Matt Dillon as Jack in The House That Jack Built (2018)

#89 - Will Forte as MacGruber in MacGruber (2010)

#88 - Rooney Mara as Therese Belivet in Carol (2015)

#87 - Mati Diop as Josephine in 35 Shots of Rum (2008)

#86 - Danny McBride as Fred Simmons in The Foot Fist Way (2006)

#85 - Richard Gere as Dr. Sullivan Travis AKA Dr. T in Dr. T and the Women (2000)

#84 - Paz Vega as Flor Moreno in Spanglish (2004)

#83 - Vincent Lindon as Jean in Friday Night (2002)

#82 - Tara Reid as Melody Valentine in Josie and the Pussycats (2001)

#81 - Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari in Ferrari (2023)

#80 - Timothy Olyphant as Seth Bullock in Deadwood: The Movie (2019)

#79 - Christophe Paou as Michel in Stranger by the Lake (2013)

#78 - Isaach de Bankolé as Lone Man in The Limits of Control (2009)

#77 - Josh Hartnett as Cooper in Trap (2024)

#76 - Jeon do-Yeon as Lee Shin-ae in Secret Sunshine (2007)

#75 - Laurie Babin as Clementine in Red Rooms (2023)

#74 - Arielle Holmes as Harley in Heaven Knows What (2014)

#73 - Michael Martin as Michael in Bloody Noses, Empty Pockets (2020)

#72 - Fred Willard as Buck Laughlin in Best in Show (2000)

#71 - Mel Gibson as Graham Hess in Signs (2002)

#70 - Paula Beer as Undine in Undine (2020)

#69 - Lee Hye-young as Sang-ok in In Front of Your Face (2021)

#68 - Will Sasso as Curly in The Three Stooges (2012)

#67 - Hidetoshi Nishijima as Yūsuke Kafuku in Drive My Car (2021)

#66 - Ilinca Manolache as Angela Raducani/Bobita in Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World (2023)

#65 - Alden Ehrenreich as Hobbie Doyle in Hail, Caesar! (2016)

#64 - Benoit Magimel as De Roller in Pacifiction (2022)

#63 - Javier Cámara as Benigno in Talk to Her (2002)

#62 - Jessica Chastain as Mrs. O’Brien in The Tree of Life (2011)

#61 - Ia Shugliashvili as Manana in My Happy Family (2017)

#60 - Regina Hall as Lisa Conroy in Support the Girls (2018)

#59 - Anaïs Reboux as Anaïs Pingot in Fat Girl (2001)

#58 - François Damiens as Simon in The Wolberg Family (2009)

#57 - Kristen Stewart as Valentine in Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)

#56 - Léa Seydoux as Sandra Kienzler in One Fine Morning (2022)

#55 - Hani Furstenberg as Nica in The Loneliest Planet (2011)

#54 - Daniel Giménez Cacho as Don Diego De Zama in Zama (2018)

#53 - Matt Farley as Matt Farley in Local Legends: Bloodbath (2024)

#52 - Octavia Spencer as Sue Ann aka Ma in Ma (2019)

#51 - Kim Min-hee as Young-hee in On the Beach at Night Alone (2017)

#50 - Gerard Butler as “Big Nick” O’Brien in Den of Thieves (2018)

#49 - Tang Wei as Song Seo-Rae in Decision to Leave (2022)

#48 - Haley Joel Osment as David in A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

#47 - Anna Mouglalis as Claudia in Jealousy (2013)

#46 - Abbie Cornish as Fanny Brawne in Bright Star (2009)

#45 - Matthew Maher as Wallace in Funny Pages (2022)

#44 - Elisabeth Moss as Ashley in Listen Up, Philip (2014)

#43 - Birgit Minichmayr as Gitti in Everyone Else (2009)

#42 - Daniel London as Mark in Old Joy (2006)

#41 - Christopher Mintz-Plasse as McLovin in Superbad (2007)

#40 - Anamaria Marinca as Otilia in 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days (2007)

#39- Virginie Efira as Sister Benedetta in Benedetta (2021)

#38- Tilda Swinton as Jessica Holland in Memoria (2021)

#37- Mia Wasikowska as Agatha Weiss in Maps to the Stars (2014)

#36 - Damon Packard as Bob in Reflections of Evil (2002)

#35 - Nina Hoss as Nelly Lenz in Phoenix (2014)

#34 - Bryce Dallas Howard as Ivy Walker in The Village (2004)

#33 - Shu Qi as Vicky in Millennium Mambo (2001)

#32 - Viggo Mortenson as Saul Tenser in Crimes of the Future (2022)

#31 - Hailee Steinfeld as Nadine Franklin in The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

#30 - Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain (2005)

#29 - Gillian Anderson as Lily Bart in The House of Mirth (2000)

#28 - Willem Dafoe as Tommaso in Tommaso (2019)

#27 - Milla Jovovich as Alice in all Resident Evil films (2002-2016)

#26 - Scout Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strode in Halloween II (2009)

#25 - Ryo Kase as Mori in Hill of Freedom (2014)

#24 - Cynthia Nixon as Emily Dickinson in A Quiet Passion (2016)

#23 - Sally Hawkins in Happy Go-Lucky (2008)

#22 - Steven Yeun in Burning (2018)

#21 - Shah Rukh Khan as Vikram Rathore/Azad in Jawan (2023)

20 - Q’orianka Kilcher as Pocahontas in The New World (2005)

#19 - Anna Paquin as Lisa Cohen in Margaret (2011)

#18 - Tom Cruise as Vincent in Collateral (2004)

#17 - Nicole Kidman as Grace Mulligan in Dogville (2003)

#16 - Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as Bob and Walt in Stuck on You (2003)

#15 - Denzel Washington as John W. Creasy in Man on Fire (2004)

#14 - Lou de Laâge as Sarah in Breathe (2014)

#13 - Josh Brolin as Lt. Dt. Christian F. “Bigfoot” Bjornsen in Inherent Vice (2014)

#12 - Denis Lavant as a lot of different guys in Holy Motors (2012)

#11 - Gérard Depardieu as Devereaux in Welcome to New York (2014)

#10 - Samantha Morton as Morvern Callar in Morvern Callar (2002)

#9 - Rachel Weisz as Hester Collyer in The Deep Blue Sea (2011)

8 - Juliette Binoche as Elle in Certified Copy (2010)

#7 - Eva Löbau as Melanie Pröschle in The Forest for the Trees (2003)

#6 - Zhang Ziyi as Bai Ling in 2046 (2004)

#5 - Norma Kuhling as Jo Mitchell in Fourteen (2019)

#4 - Paul Walter Hauser as Richard Jewell in Richard Jewell (2019)

#3 - Zhao Tao as Tao in The World (2004) (as well as every other film Jia Zhangke has made this century)

#2 - Lee Kang-sheng as Father in Stray Dogs (2013) (as well as every other film Tsai Ming-Liang has made this century)

#1 - Lola Créton as Camille in Goodbye, First Love (2011)