Best Performances And Filmmakers Of 2021

Brandon's list of the best performances and filmmakers of 2021 is out!

Share This Post

Acting is not about being someone different. It’s finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there.
– Meryl Streep, Actress

BEST ACTRESSES OF 2021

RUNNERS UP

Rachel Sennott- Shiva Baby
Patti Harrison- Together Together
Mercedes Hernández– Identifying Features
Emma Stone- Cruella
Jennifer Hudson– Respect
Rosamund Pike- I Care A Lot
Millicent Simmonds– A Quiet Place Part II
Ann Dowd- Mass
Agathe Rousselle- Titane
Frances McDormand- The French Dispatch, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Thomasin McKenzie- Last Night in Soho
Cate Blanchett- Nightmare Alley
Michelle Pfeiffer– French Exit
Regina King- The Harder They Fall
Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
Ruth Negga– Passing
Caitriona Balfe- Belfast
Kirsten Dunst– The Power of the Dog
Jasna Djuricic- Quo Vadis, Aida?
Virginie Efira- Benedetta
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
Nicole Kidman– Being the Ricardos
Alana Haim- Licorice Pizza
Renate Reinsve- The Worst Person in the World
Penélope Cruz – Parallel Mothers

TOP FIVE

5. Emilia Jones – CODA
4. Jodie Comer – Free Guy, The Last Duel
3. Olivia Colman– The Lost Daughter
2. Kristen Stewart – Spencer
1. Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye

BEST ACTORS OF 2021

RUNNERS UP

Jason Isaacs- Mass
Ed Helms- Together Together
Peter Dinklage – I Care A Lot, Cyrano
Daniel Craig– No Time to Die
Jude Hill- Belfast
Will Smith- King Richard
Simu Liu- Shang-Li and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Ben Affleck- The Last Duel, The Tender Bar
Anthony Ramos- In the Heights
Mads Mikkelsen- Riders of Justice
Benicio Del Toro- No Sudden Move, The French Dispatch
Tim Blake Nelson- Old Henry
Troy Kotsur- CODA
Jamie Dornan- Belfast
Woody Norman- C’mon C’mon
Tom Holland- Spider-Man: No Way Home
Daniel Kaluuya- Judas and the Black Messiah
Cooper Hoffman- Licorice Pizza
Denzel Washington– The Tragedy of Macbeth
Ciarán Hinds– Belfast
Winston Duke- Nine Days
Joaquin Phoenix – C’mon C’mon
Tony Leung– Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

TOP FIVE

5. Nicolas Cage – Pig
4. Dev Patel – The Green Knight
3. Bradley Cooper – Nightmare Alley, Licorice Pizza
2. Andrew Garfield – The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Tick,Tick…Boom!
1. Benedict Cumberbatch – The Courier, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, The Power of the Dog

To make a film is easy; To make a good film is war. To make a very good film is a miracle.
– Alejandro González Iñárritu, Director

BEST DIRECTORS OF 2021

RUNNERS UP

Ridley Scott – The Last Duel
Steven Soderbergh– No Sudden Move
Joe Wright- Cyrano
Paul Thomas Anderson– Licorice Pizza
Jasmila Zbanic- Quo Vadis, Aida?
Navot Papushado– Gunpowder Milkshake
Jon Watts– Spider-Man: No Way Home
Cary Joji Fukunaga- No Time to Die
Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe – The Mitchells vs the Machines
Sian Heder- CODA
Jeymes Samuel– The Harder They Fall
Fran Kranz- Mass
James Gunn- The Suicide Squad
Michael Sarnoski- Pig
Edson Oda– Nine Days
J Blakeson- I Care A Lot
Fernanda Valadez- Identifying Features
Jon M. Chu- Into the Heights
Lin-Manuel Miranda– Tick,Tick…Boom!
David Lowery- The Green Knight
Edgar Wright– Last Night in Soho
Shaka King- Judas and the Black Messiah
Destin Daniel Cretton – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Jonas Poher Rasmussen- Flee
John Krasinski– A Quiet Place Part II

TOP FIVE

5. Mike Mills- C’mon C’mon
4. Denis Villeneuve– Dune
3. Guillermo del Toro – Nightmare Alley
2. Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
1. Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog

Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.