Top 25 – Male Performances in 2018

A very tough list to put together as it is really hard to narrow it down to 25 performances. I have somehow managed and the order could so easily be interchangeable between different performance types. But here are the 25 male performances that impressed me the most in films from 2018 that I managed to watch over the course of the year.

Take a look at who made the final list . . .

25. Tom Hanks – The Post (Review)
This man can’t do anything wrong really and we got another very impressive performance in The Post which wasn’t quite as great as everyone expected it to be. But one thing is for sure Hanks high level of performance.

24. Chadwick Boseman – Black Panther (Review)

After his brief appearance in Civil War we get to properly see and experience Black Panther. Boseman gets the chance to really show what the character is going to be and is given a very good story and film to do just that.

23. John Krasinski – A Quiet Place (Review)

While I was left slightly disappointed with this film on the whole I was loving Krasinski and thought his performance was rather haunting as the father who was just trying to protect his family, I guess it’s a lot harder to impress when your character doesn’t really speak very much.

22. Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born (Review)

Jackson Maine was a tough role for Cooper to take on considering we have had a few different versions of that character so far. In this though he managed to impress me with the haunting performance and keeping some of James Mason’s character in too, which is something I loved!

21. Henry Golding – Crazy Rich Asians (Review)

Now this was certainly a film I wasn’t too sure about but it ended up being a lot of fun and that was very much to do with Golding and his charming and lovely performance. You certainly need that for a romantic comedy to be successful now!

20. Nick Robinson – Love, Simon (Review)

One of my favourite films of 2018 and Nick Robinson certainly delivers a break through performance as Simon. He manages to capture each and everyone emotion in such a great way and he really does make the film worth watching from start to finish.

19. Stanley Tucci – The Children Act (Review)

Quite possibly one of the best supporting actors ever? That is how I have always felt about Tucci he is just amazing at doing that. While his character in this film is not massively likeable I still thought his performance was impressive and worked very well with Emma Thompson.

18. Ben Whishaw – Mary Poppins Returns (Review)

Michael Banks is all grown up now and we have Whishaw giving him life again, struggling to come to terms with the death of his wife it gives Whishaw the chance to put in a tough performance and even gets to sing a little bit too!

17. Christian Bale – Hostiles (Review)

Showing that he really will take on any genre I thought Bale was utterly brilliant in Hostiles and one of the main reasons I enjoyed it so much. Another character where he gets to go pretty deep and that was something I really enjoyed watching from start to finish.

16. Colin Farrell – Widows (Review)

An actor I have throughly enjoyed watching over the years and seeing that he will try anything once, in Widows he offers the sleazy politician who ended up being very engaging to watch.

15. Colin Firth – The Mercy (Review)

It takes a good performance to really carry a film where the main actor is all alone on a boat and I thought Firth showed another side to his acting ability in this one. A film that I think was not seen by too many people, but he makes it more than worth while.

14. Mahershala Ali – Green Book (Review)

Ali really does seem to be one of the standout actors around at the moment and each role he is in is fantastic. I really was blown away by his level of performance in Green Book and thought it was brilliant to watch from start to finish.

13. Woody Harrelson – Three Billboards (Review)

Another actor I think is truly great in a supporting role and that was no different in Three Billboards where he managed to steal so many scenes. His character probably ended up being the most likeable in the film as well.

12. Lin-Manuel Miranda – Mary Poppins Returns (Review)

My love for Mary Poppins is very big and the fact that Lin-Manuel Miranda got this starring role made me extremely happy considering he has done so much for musical theatre with the shows he has written being so huge. Therefore for him to eventually have a huge role in a movie musical and be so fantastic in it made me very happy!

11. Daniel Kaluuya – Widows (Review)

Kaluuya was the ultimate scene stealer in this film, his character was truly sadistic and personally I would love to see him Oscar nominated for this role (probably a long shot but it would be great). An actor who has shown so much growth in such a short space of time. Haunting in this one!

10. Viggo Mortensen – Green Book (Review)

I have been a huge fan of Viggo for years now and I loved his performance in this film and thought he showed a lot of emotion and growth as the film went on working so well with Ali!

9. Ryan Gosling – First Man (Review)

The strong performances in this film really made it and I thought Gosling did very well to become Neil Armstrong with a very impressive performance from start to finish. His brooding inner was very good.

8. Richard Jenkins – The Shape of Water (Review)

By now you probably all know how much I love The Shape of Water and I feel Jenkins does not get enough credit for his role in this one. A very talented actor (another who is great in the supporting role) and I loved what he brought to this film.

7. Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards (Review)

A truly horrid character that only Rockwell could play in such an impressive manner. He really was great in this film but I guess everyone was that is why Three Billboards was such a big hit!

6. Robert Redford – The Old Man & the Gun (Review)

In what would be his final film role as Robert Redford has now retired from acting. This was a lovely last hurrah for the legendary actor, still showing that he has as much charm and charisma as he has ever had and throughly engaging in this interesting film.

5. John Cho – Searching (Review)

Spending most of the time acting through a computer screen and then phone screen certainly was not the easiest task in the world but John Cho is the main reason this film worked out so well in my opinion I was so impressed with everything he did in it!

4. Timothee Chalamet – Beautiful Boy (Review)

Chalamet is haunting as the young man struggling with his drug addiction and this really was such a special performance from the young actor. Emotionally draining to watch it must have been even worse to then become the character and film it.

3. Daniel Day Lewis – Phantom Thread (Review)

I found myself gripped and engaged in this film which was a slow burner mainly because of Daniel Day Lewis, his performance was mesmerizing as the difficult obsessive character.

2. Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody (Review)

Quite frankly outstanding from Malek who really did manage to transform himself into Queen’s legendary front man Freddie Mercury. He was the driving force behind the film and every time he was on-screen you were loving what he did for Freddie’s memory.

1. Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour (Review)

I guess this is no real surprise. Oldman was out of this world as Winston Churchill. So outstanding that you would actually forget that he was the one in the role. I seriously was blown away by him (I know we usually are in any role) but this time it was on an even higher level than he has set. Throughly deserved his Oscar!

---

Who were your standout male performances in 2018?