Actors with Great Performances in One Year
That is such a wordy title. I couldn’t figure out how to make it shorter. But let me explain what I’m counting down if it’s still not clear. I am going to highlight 10 times that actors had several career defining movies in one year. If that doesn’t make sense let’s just get right into it.
Timothée Chalamet (2024) ‘A Complete Unknown’ & ‘Dune: Part Two’- Though he wasn’t the inspiration for this list, I’m putting Timmy first because he had two of the best performances in what is already legendary career. He followed up the brilliant ‘Dune’ by portraying Paul Atreides in the sequel in what is an ever more powerful performance (the scene where he gives his monologue to the Fremen is phenomenal). Then ‘A Complete Unknown’ came out right at the end of 2025 where Chalamet played Bob Dylan, and that very well could be an Oscar-winning performance.
Jim Carrey (1994) ‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,’ ‘The Mask,’ & ‘Dumb and Dumber’- Now Carrey was the inspiration for this list. When I was putting together his Mt. Rushmore, I realized that three of his top, most iconic performances all happened in 1994. This is hands down the best comedic run for an actor in a single year.
Scarlett Johansson (2019) ‘Jojo Rabbit’ & ‘Marriage Story’- In the history of the Academy Awards, there have been a dozen individuals who received multiple acting nominations in the same year. Four of those have come post-2000 & the most recent came in 2019 with ScarJo. She received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for playing a mother in Nazi Germany in the satirical comedy ‘Jojo Rabbit’ & Best Actress nomination for playing a woman going through a strenuous divorce in ‘Marriage Story.’
Margot Robbie (2019) ‘Bombshell’ & ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’- Another actress who had a great 2019 was Margot Robbie, who filled out a great trio of performances (with Leonardo DiCaprio & Brad Pitt) when she played Margot Robbie in Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’ She then earned herself an Oscar nomination when she played a composite character based on several real life Fox News employees.
Nicolas Cage (1997) ‘Con Air’ & ‘Face/Off’- Now I’m really not a big Nic Cage fan. But I can identify that these are two of his greatest roles & two of the greatest action films of the 90s. I think what makes it even more impressive released in the same month & that just a year before, ‘The Rock’ debuted in theaters as well.
Sandra Bullock (2009) ‘The Blind Side’ & ‘The Proposal’- While many people believe Bullock’s best performance came in 2013 with ‘Gravity,’ the film that earned her an Oscar for Best Actress was ‘The Blind Side.’ Though the film is caught under some controversy of the real life story, the film itself & Bullock’s performance are both still very good. In 2009 Bullock also had the rom com ‘The Proposal’ come out, which I consider one of the very best in the genre.
Anne Hathaway (2012) ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ & ‘Les Misérables’- In 2012 Hathaway transitioned to the world of comic book movies when she starred in her highest grossing film, Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ in which she plays Catwoman. The same year she starred in Les Mis as Fantine, a prostitute dying of Tuberculosis, & won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Leonardo DiCaprio (2010) ‘Inception’ & ‘Shutter Island’ and (2013) ‘The Great Gatsby’ & ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’- Of course, if any actor was going to have two different years here it would be Leo. While I wouldn’t even say that any of these are his top performances, any year with multiple DiCaprio performances is bound to be packed with amazing roles, because that’s just what he does. ‘Inception’ & ‘Shutter Island’ are both mind bending roles that need a rewatch or two to really make sense. Then you get to 2013 and he plays two stupidly rich characters with a ton of issues who do very different things with their wealth.
Jennifer Lawrence (2012) ‘The Hunger Games’ & ‘Silver Linings Playbook’- Katniss Everdeen is one of those roles that will always stick with the actress who brought her to screen. Perhaps no role will ever be as synonymous with J-Law. She portrayed the character for the first time in 2012, skyrocketing her to becoming a household name. But somehow, that wasn’t even her most successful role that year. She also starred in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ and became the youngest ever winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress at age 22. That’s younger than I am now. Tough.
Hugo Weaving (2003) ‘The Matrix Reloaded,’ ‘The Matrix Revolutions,’ & ‘The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King’- What a world to live in, where a film and its sequel both come out within 6 months of each other. That’s unheard of in 2024. Anyways, the second & third ‘Matrix’ movies both came out in 2003, then a month later Weaving reprised his role as Elrond in the third ‘Lord of the Rings’ film that would go on to win Best Picture.
