What does it take to become a phenomenal actor/actress? We are sure that there are plenty of techniques and methods used to perform well on screen, but for us – the viewers, we just want to be convinced of the character and feel connected with them. That is basically what it comes down to for somebody to be an incredible actor/actress, and over the last 10 years, we’ve been treated to some unreal performances.
We’ve produced a list of our favorite on-screen performances right here, these people really do deserve every award they get based on these movies.
1. Bette Midler – Hello Dolly!
At the age of 75, Bette Midler has had a career few can dream of but she has no plans to retire. With more than 30 million albums sold worldwide, three Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, one Tony Awards, and six American Comedy Awards, Midler has made more than a few outstanding performances. If we must pick one, it has to be “Hello Dolly” for which her performance earned her a Tony Award for “Best Actress in a Musical” in 2017. About her own career, Bette Midler has said “I already have a Tony for my Broadway concert in ’73. It’s one of the most precious things I’ve won.”
2. Leonardo DiCaprio – Wolf of Wall Street
In our humble opinion, the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio did not win an Oscar for this movie is just a travesty. In The Wolf of Wall Street, he plays the infamous Jordan Belfort, who ripped investors off of millions of dollars while struggling with his drug addiction at the same time. With everything from the mannerisms to the insanity that DiCaprio is able to portray in this movie, it is one of the best performances that we’ve seen in the last 10 years.
As many of us know, DiCaprio is a phenomenal actor. He’s been in some of the best movies of the last decade, not to mention all times. In this movie, DeCaprio was required to perform many scenes where Belfort would be intoxicated by either drugs or alcohol, and he captured it all in such a clever, convincing way. It’s truly a movie you could watch over and over again.
3. Joaquin Phoenix – Joker
Batman is a franchise to be reckoned with. Not only does it span across TV, cinema, video games, even online slot games as you can see on www.gamblersbet.com, action figures, and a lot more. It also brought us some of the best characters. The Joker is an absolutely classic movie that takes us deep inside the mind of a psychotic character, the Joker, and shows how he fell into madness from his early childhood days. The Joker in this movie is played by Joaquin Phoenix, and not only did he lose an insane amount of weight to play the role, but he also studied the laughter of those suffering from something referred to as ‘pathological laughter’.
As you watch Joker’s descent into madness and obsession, it’s just thrilling to see how Phoenix plays the character. He is able to display the mental fragility of someone in this position, show the resent towards humanity that is intended, and also displays a degree of emotional intelligence throughout. We just hope that after so much work and such a long time playing a psychotic character, Joaquin Phoenix can return to his normal self – that’s how real he made it feel!
He absolutely deserves his listing here, and we take our hats off to him for such an exceptional performance.
4. Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
“You don’t win Best Actress for anything”, and Meryl Streep deserved every inch of the reward she received for this role. In this movie, she portrays Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister who became famous for her stern mannerisms and cold demeanor. Needless to say, those are some big boots to fill and some difficult personality traits to mirror, but Streep did this to absolute perfection.
The plot of the movie itself is always particularly enticing, as it shows how a young and inferior feeling Thatcher made her way to the House of Commons and as we all know, became the Prime Minister of Britain. This in itself is just a phenomenal achievement, and some would say that she changed the political world in the UK forever.
5. Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody
Back in 2018, Rami Malek absolutely blew us away with his performance as Freddie Mercury in the film Bohemian Rhapsody. His performance was so good that he won an Oscar for his troubles, and when you look back through the movie, it really is incredible what he was able to achieve. This is especially evident during the Live Aid scene of the movie where his mannerisms are almost a perfect mirror image of the legendary Freddie Mercury.
He was clearly able to become totally immersed in the character, and it wasn’t just his on-stage performances from the movie that made it so good. He was able to flow into the personality traits of Mercury that those closest to him reported in his personal life, and from start to finish he just has viewers gripped!
