Best Performances of 2012 - Dynamic List

My ‘Best Performances’ dynamic lists are a lot like my Film lists, but slightly different.  For starters, while every film I see makes it onto my Film lists… only the most noteworthy performance make it onto my Best Performances lists.  Also, I only rank order what I consider the Top 5 Performances of the year.  However, I also maintain an Honorable Mentions list for each category, which is populated by performances that have either been bumped from the Top 5 or performances that are particularly noteworthy but not Top 5 worthy.  The honorable mentions are listed in alphabetical order by last name and are not rank ordered. 

That said, my Best Performances lists are just as dynamic and ever changing as my Film lists.

Best Performances of 2011:

Best Actor

1.     Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln

2.     John Hawkes - The Sessions

3.     Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook

4.     Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables

5.     Al Pacino - Stand Up Guys

Honorable Mention

• Ben Afleck - Argo
• Paul Dano - Ruby Sparks
• Mark Duplass - Safety Not Guaranteed
• Will Ferrell - The Campaign
• Jamie Fox - Django Unchained
• Zack Galifanakis - The Campaign
• Joseph Gorden-Levitt - Looper
• Logan Lerman - The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• Ewan McGregor - Salmon Fishing in The Yemen and The Impossible
• Dev Patel - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
• Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
• Brad Pitt - Killing Them Softly
• Mark Wahlberg - Contaband
• Denzel Washington - Flight

Best Actress

1.     Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Lining Playbook

2.     Naomi Watts - The Impossible

3.     Zoe Kazan - Ruby Sparks

4.     Sally Field - Lincoln

5.     Aubrey Plaza - Safety Not Guaranteed

Honorable Mention

• Emily Blunt - Salmon Fishing in The Yemen and Looper
• Gina Carano - Haywire
• Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
• Blake Lively - Savages
• Rachel McAdams - The Vow
• Emma Watson - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Best Supporting Actor

1.     Tom Holland - The Impossible

2.     Leonardo DiCaprio - Django Unchained

3.     Robert De Niro - Silver Lining Playbook

4.     Christopher Walken - Stand Up Guys

5.     Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

Honorable Mention

• Alan Arkin - Argo and Stand Up Guys
• Alec Baldwin - Rock of Ages
• Antonio Banderas - Ruby Sparks
• Russell Brand - Rock of Ages
• Russell Crowe - The Man with the Iron Fists 
• Tom Cruise - Rock of Ages
• Ben Foster - Contraband
• James Gandolfini - Killing Me Softly
• Paul Giamatti - Rock of Ages
• John Goodman - Argo, Trouble With the Curve, & Flight
• Tom Hardy - Lawless
• Woody Harrelson - The Hunger Games & Seven Psychopaths
• Richard Jenkins - Killing Me Softly
• Jake Johnson - Safety Not Guaranteed
• William H. Macy - The Sessions
• Dylan McDermott - The Campaign
• Scoot McNairy - Argo and Killing Me Softly
• Ben Mendelsohn - Killing Me Softly
• Chris Messina - Ruby Sparks
• Ezra Miller - The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• Bill Nighy - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
• Giovanni Ribisi - Contraband
• Sam Rockwell - Seven Psychopaths
• Benicio del Toro - Savages
• Amr Waked - Salmon Fishing in The Yemen
• Christopher Walken - Seven Psychopaths
• Bruce Willis - Looper

Best Supporting Actress

1.     Ann Hathoway - Les Miserables

2.     Helen Hunt - The Sessions

3.     Kristen Scott Thomas - Salmon Fishing in The Yemen

4.     Jacki Weaver - Silver Lining Playbook

5.     Maggie Smith - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Honorable Mention

• Sarah Baker - The Campaign
• Elizabeth Banks - The Hunger Games
• Annette Bening - Ruby Sparks
• Rosemarie DeWitt - The Watch
• Salma Hayak - Savages
• Katherine LaNasa - The Campaign
• Lucy Liu - The Man with the Iron Fists
• Kelly Reilly - Flight
• Catherine Zeta-Jones - Rock of Ages