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.
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