Top 20 Actors of the Last Decade

There are few greater stories of redemption in show business than that of this iconic actor. Following a roughly five year stretch in the late ‘90s and early 2000s that saw Robert Downey Jr. lost to addiction, he got clean and began rebuilding his career. In 2008, after proving himself in a number of critically-acclaimed roles, he made his first real blockbuster film, “Iron Man”. Over the course of the following decade, this role would serve as the very heart of Marvel’s groundbreaking cinematic universe. As Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr. gave us one of longest-running character evolutions in cinematic history. And though sometimes overlooked because of the genre in which it plays out, it was a powerful and emotionally driven performance - one that defined the decade.

This talented actor first came to the public’s attention in the early ‘90s, breaking out with performances in “Friday” and “Jerry Maguire”. But it’s between 2010 and 2019 that she truly cemented herself as one of the most formidable talents of her generation. King’s best work has primarily been on TV, where’s she’s held critically-acclaimed roles in various series spanning the decade, including Detective Lydia Adams in “Southland”, various characters in “American Crime”, Erika Murphy in “The Leftovers”, Latrice Butler in “Seven Seconds” and, among her greatest roles to date - Angela Abar in HBO’s “Watchmen”. In 2019, she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her powerful performance in the film “If Beale Street Could Talk”.

Though his character’s actions often made him hard to watch, Adam Driver distinguished himself as a talented performer and one-to-watch over the course of the six seasons of “Girls”. After rising to prominence on the series, he promptly began picking up increasingly significant roles, from his supporting part in 2012’s “Lincoln”, to a co-starring role in Martin Scorsese’s “Silence”. Few actors have managed to simultaneously cultivate a reputation as a serious dramatic actor and star in blockbuster films, but Driver can apparently do it all! As Kylo Ren, he stepped into one of the biggest franchises of all time, while his performances in films like “Silence,” “BlacKkKsman” and “Marriage Story” have him earned numerous accolades.

Speaking of actors who can score big both at the box office and in terms of award nominations, Jennifer Lawrence has made an impact like few others. The ‘Hunger Games” franchise, in which she starred as heroine Katniss, pulled in nearly 3 billion dollars at the box office. This decade also saw her playing a very prominent role in the “X-Men’ franchise as Mystique. Over the last 10 years, she’s simultaneously starred in a number of critically-acclaimed dramas, which have cumulatively seen her nominated for four Academy awards, including a Best Actress win for her starring role in 2012’s “”Silver Linings Playbook”. Across the various organizations that recognize acting, she’s earned a massive amount of award nominations, most of them over the 2010s, before the age of 30.

Nothing solidies your status as one of the acting greats quite like ending off the decade with a Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress nomination in the same year! Alongside Robert Downey Jr., ScarJo is a member of the team that redefined the superhero genre over the last decade as the Infinity Saga played out. When filming one juggernaut MCU film after another, she’s kept her resume balanced with more grounded roles - not to mention daring and experimental ones. Her willingness to sign up for sci-fi and action films has limited her award potential over the last 10 years, but every time she does step into a challenging role, Johansson reminds us that she’s an A-lister in every way.

It might be hard to believe considering her current pop culture omnipresence, but, like Jennifer Lawrence, this talented actor ended the decade while still in her 20s. Margot Robbie was catapulted into the spotlight with“The Wolf of Wall Street”. And despite it being a supporting role, she proved herself to be an absolute scene-stealer. Since then, she’s further distinguished herself as an extremely versatile actor. Regardless of how a film performs, be it at the box office or with critics, she shines bright. Her performance as Harley Quinn in “Suicide Squad,” as well as in films like “Mary Queen of Scots”, “Bombshell” and “I, Tonya” have been especially powerful, with the latter rightfully earning her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Not every actor has their talents recognized in their twenties. An established TV performer, Mahershala Ali first really caught the eye of cinemagoers in 2008’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” As the new decade began however, his name recognition and clout quickly snowballed. His supporting role in “The Place Beyond the Pines” garnered praise, and he soon found himself landing roles like Boggs in the “Hunger Games” franchise and Remy Danton in “House of Cards”. 2016 was a real turning point though; “Moonlight” enabled him to showcase the depth of his acting ability. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and again two years later for 2018’s “Green Book”, and also starred in the third season of the critically-acclaimed “True Detective.”

Just look at that acting resume! Between the performances that she’s delivered in films like “Lady Bird”, “Brooklyn” and “Mary Queen of Scots”, Saoirse Ronan has established herself as an incredibly versatile, yet consistent, actor. She can play an immature character without making them seem two-dimensional, and yet she’s equally confident when playing a royal with the weight of the world on her shoulders. In 2008, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Atonement”. Over the last decade, she’s added three more Oscar nominations, including for Best Actress in “Little Women”, and three Golden Globes noms, including a win for her role as Ladybird. The sky’s the limit for Ronan.

This icon only appeared in two films over the course of the last decade, but Daniel Day-Lewis is not a performer whose worth is measured in quantity, but rather quality. Heck, since 1989 he’s only acted in 13 films, and 9 of those have resulted in major award nominations. He’s been nominated for Best Actor by the Academy a staggering 6 times and has a 50% rate of winning. Daniel Day-Lewis is considered by many to be among the greatest living actors. And so, despite only turning in two roles this decade, he nonetheless made a significant mark on it. 2012’s “Lincoln” was one of his greatest performances to date, and while “Phantom Thread” had less wide appeal, Day-Lewis still received universal acclaim for his performance.

This guy has certainly come a long way. He went from a guest role on “Sex and the City”, to playing the bad guy in “Wedding Crashers”, to breaking through with “The Hangover”, before ultimately establishing himself as an A-lister and highly sought-after dramatic leading man. He first really showed us his worth in 2012 when he hit us with the double-whammy of “Silver Linings Playbook” and “The Place Beyond the Pines”. Since then, he’s delivered one-critically acclaimed performance after another, earning four acting Oscar nominations. Among his most notable roles was that of Chris Kyle in the 2015 biopic “American Sniper”; he also directed, starred and sang, alongside Lady Gaga, in the smash “A Star is Born”.

How many actors can you name who won an Academy Award for their very first feature film? Not many, but such has been the meteoric rise of this incredibly talented performer. Lupita Nyong’o was born in Mexico City, but raised in her father’s native Kenya. After studying in the United States, she returned there and got her first break in the worldwide MTV series, “Shuga”. After being suddenly thrust into the spotlight with her breakthrough performance in “12 Years a Slave,” however, she’s proven many times over that her place amongst the Hollywood elite is well-deserved. Her performance in “Queen of Katwe” garnered universal praise, her role as Nakia in “Black Panther” established her as an action star, while her dual performance in “Us” is nothing short of jaw-dropping.

In 2008, this English actor caught the attention of cinephiles and critics with his powerful performance in the indie biopic “Bronson”. He then proceeded to kick off the new decade with a breakout role in “Inception”, at which point there was seemingly no stopping him. “Warrior”, “The Dark Knight Rises”, “The Revenant”, “Mad Max: Fury Road”... whew, and that’s not including his television work! An incredibly physical actor, who’s able to convey complex and intense emotion even when saying few words, Tom Hardy shines in blockbusters and smaller films alike. One need only look at his polar contrasting roles in “Warrior” and “Locke” (the latter set entirely in a car) to appreciate his versatility. If only the Academy would pay attention more often!

The early 2010s were truly a McConaissance. It was Matthew McConaughey’s world, everyone else was just playing. After too often being dismissed as a rom-com hunk for some of the previous two decades, McConaughey started demanding respect anew with 2011’s “The Lincoln Lawyer”. It was a great performance, but few could have predicted just how much stellar acting lay on the horizon. “Killer Joe”, “Mud” and “Dallas Buyers Club” followed soon after, with the latter earning him the Academy award for Best Actor. Add to that his performance in “True Detective” among many others, and his immense talent becomes truly undeniable. Had we been making this list in 2015, he likely would have been in the top 5, but some of his more recent films have admittedly been less well-received.

After her roles in “Superbad” and “Zombieland” Emma Stone was fairly recognizable, though not necessarily destined for the A-list just yet. Then, in 2010, she starred in a little teen comedy called “Easy A” and everything changed. Stone was absolutely magnetic as Olive Penderghast, and like that... a star was born . . . one that would rapidly rise over the course of the decade. ”The Help” followed in 2011, for which she earned critical praise, before really hitting her stride with “Birdman,” “La La Land,” and “The Favourite”, which were all released between 2014 and 2018. The aforementioned films earned Stone three Academy Award nominations, and 5 Golden Globe nods. With a best Actress Oscar and Golden Globe to her name, she is a force to be reckoned with.

Speaking of “La La Land”, that’s just one of the many great performances that this talented heart-throb and former child star turned in over the 2010s. After distinguishing himself with his performance in the 2006 film “Half Nelson”, Gosling really hit his stride in 2010 with “Blue Valentine”. From that point on, the great roles just kept on coming: 2011 saw him starring in “Drive” and “The Ides of March,” followed by “The Place Beyond the Pines” in 2012. And while there have been some misfires, “The Big Short”, “La La Land”, “Blade Runner 2049” and “First Man” round out a decade of uncompromising performances from this star. His 2016 Golden Globe was well-earned, but an Oscar is overdue.

Many an actor has committed life and limb to a role, but there’s arguably no actor who invests more of themselves in a character than Christian Bale. Want him to be deathly thin? No problem. Overweight? He can do that! In peak physical shape? With enough notice, consider it done! While he’s famous for radically changing his body to suit a role, that shouldn’t be allowed to overshadow his incredible acting ability, as it so often does. His supporting role in “The Fighter” was absolutely captivating - the Golden Globe and Oscar simply could not have gone to anyone else. And throughout the decade, he’s continued to deliver in a very consistent manner, including standout performances in “American Hustle”, “The Big Short”, “Vice” and “Ford v Ferrari”.

This American actress often flies under the radar, even while turning in some of the best performances of the decade. Because based on her filmography, she should be the center of attention… pretty much always. Adams kicked off the decade with a Best Supporting Actress nomination for “The Fighter,” and got the same nod in 2013 for her role in “The Master”. The next year, she was nominated Best Actress for her role in “American Hustle”, before landing yet another Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Vice”. Though she’s yet to win the Academy Award she deserves, she does have two Golden Globes for Best Actress. And quite frankly… the lack of recognition for her performance in “Arrival” is criminal.

Not unlike Amy Adams, this acclaimed actor tends to keep a relatively lower profile for someone of his status, but his filmography reveals just how talented an actor he really is - especially over the last decade. He kicked off the 2010s with the critically-lauded but underrated “Source Code”, before blowing critics away in a wide variety of films including “End of Watch”, “Prisoners” , “Wildlife” and more. The Academy hasn’t shown him love since “Brokeback Mountain”, which is quite frankly shocking considering his performance in “Nightcrawler” was among the year’s best. He’s just about the last actor we expected to see battling Spidey, but wouldn’t you know it, he’s just as good in a massive blockbuster as in gritty drama or psychological thriller.

Many have called him the greatest actor of his generation. No one needs to be reminded of the many award-winning films that he’s starred in over the years. But since we’re talking about the last decade, let’s review his astonishing feature filmography: “Inception”, “J. Edgar”, “Django Unchained”, “The Great Gatsby”, “The Wolf of Wall Street”, “The Revenant”, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”. Seven films, mostly of the highest quality. And even when any of his films falter, this master of his craft never fails to turn in a solid performance. As “The Revenant” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” remind us, he’s also very versatile. When he steps into a character, he truly brings them to life.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Natalie Portman
Viola Davis
Robert Pattinson
Brie Larson
Michael B. Jordan

In 2008, Phoenix announced that he was retiring from acting. Thankfully, it was an elaborate ruse for the 2010 mockumentary “I'm Still Here”. Though the divisive film was a misstep that could have permanently derailed a career, Phoenix promptly recovered, beginning with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” in 2012, which earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination. There have been precious few roles since for which he hasn’t been heaped with praise, be it in a smaller indie film or a box office smash like “Joker.” Like, Leo, whatever role Phoenix takes on, he fully inhabits. Whether a muddled stoner, a paralyzed alcoholic cartoonist or a villainous loner - he makes them all feel fully realized, commanding audiences with his versatility and intensity.