Best of 2018: Movie Performances


We're coming to the end of 2018 and I'm recounting my favorites of 2018. Today I move from TV to movies and begin with my favorite performances. Tomorrow I'll close with my Top 10 and Bottom 5 of the year.

Best Actor
* Bradley Cooper, "A Star is Born"
* John Krasinski, "A Quiet Place"
* Ryan Gosling, "First Man"
* Rami Malek, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
* Viggo Mortensen, "Green Book"

About: This is a great group of actors that created a lot of varied performances. Cooper is probably an Oscar favorite for "A Star is Born," but one of my favorites was Krasinski in "A Quiet Place," one of my favorite movies of the year.

Best Actress
* Lady Gaga, "A Star is Born"
* Emily Blunt, "A Quiet Place," "Mary Poppins Returns"
* Olivia Coleman, "The Favourite"
* Amandala Steinberg, "The Hate U Give"
* Constance Wu, "Crazy Rich Asians"

About: A great group of female performers. I liked Blunt in two movies, so I just named them both. The Oscar front runner here is probably Lady Gaga, but Coleman is great, too. Steinberg carried one of my favorite movies this year, and I was blown away by Wu in this year's most fun romantic comedy.

Best Supporting Actor
* Sam Elliott, "A Star is Born"
* Mahershala Ali, "Green Book"
* Lin-Manuel Miranda, "Mary Poppins Retunrs"
* Chris Hemsworth, "Bad Times at the El Royale"
* Adam Driver, "BlacKkKlansman"

About: A strong group of male performers. Elliott was the overlooked man from "A Star is Born" during the Golden Globes, but I thought he was great. I really enjoyed Ali, too, and think he could be an award winner again. My wild card is Hemsworth, who was great in "Bad Times."

Best Supporting Actress
* Claire Foy, "First Man"
* Cynthia Ervio, "Bad Times"
* Emma Stone, "The Favourite"
* Rachel Weisz, "The Favourite"
* Tessa Thompson, "Sorry to Bother You"

About: This probably isn't the most conventional group, but these are performances I enjoyed. I think any of the three in "The Favourite" could be classified as a lead, but I went with the way they were nominated. Weisz is particularly good. A couple wild cards here, for me, were Ervio in "Bad Times" and Thompson.

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