Mr. Reed’s Metaphysical Neighborhood Presents the Best Film Acting of 2019

On December 31, 2019, I published my list of best (and worst) films of the year, and now here is my list of best actors of the year, just a day after the Golden Globes announced their awards. Every year I do this slightly differently, it seems. In 2018, I listed 5 actors per category; the year before, I mostly did 10 per, except for Best Actress, where I did 12; the year before that, it was 5. I am nothing if not inconsistent! This time around, I am in between those two poles, trying my best to honor the best of the best, as I see it, no matter the number (but not 10, as for some reason that seems excessive this time around). Some actors and actresses in films which I did not put among my top choices still made it onto the list, below; their performances moved me, even if I had some issues with the overall movie. All titles are hyperlinked to my review, if such a review exists, or to the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes page, if there is no review. Here they all are, then, in alphabetical order, by last name within each category:

BEST ACTRESS:

• Awkwafina, The Farewell
• Jessie Buckley, Wild Rose
• Ana de Armas, Knives Out
• Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
• Aisling Franciosi, The Nightingale
• Lupita Nyong’o, Us
• Florence Pugh, Midsommar
• Renée Zellweger, Judy

• Dean-Charles Chapman, 1917
• Baykali Ganambarr, The Nightingale
• Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy
• Jonathan Majors, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
• Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
• Keanu Reeves, Always Be My Maybe

And … new this year …

BEST ENSEMBLE:

• Avengers: Endgame
• Bombshell
• Dolemite Is My Name
• The Farewell
• Knives Out