"There were some rules, including that each film could be represented by only one entry, which is one of several reasons this list is nowhere near comprehensive for ALL the great acting of 2025. There are performances by Emma Stone, Teyana Taylor, Benicio Del Toro, Wagner Moura, Timothee Chalamet, David Strathairn, and many more that we adored but aren't included below. Consider this a snapshot of the great acting of 2025 more than the entire picture, but it's a beautiful one, nonetheless."
"Joel Edgerton, "Train Dreams" These days, we are constantly bombarded with TikTok influencers and shiny, happy people in TV ads "living their best lives," whatever that means-but in Clint Bentley's meditative, early-20th-century period-piece poem "Train Dreams," Joel Edgerton plays a man for whom that concept would be utterly foreign, and maybe even embarrassing. Edgerton's work might seem minimalist at first, but we come to realize that we're watching a formidable actor sculpting a fully realized, complex performance."
"Edgerton's Robert Grainier is orphaned as a child, knows happiness for a few brief years before tragedy strikes, and then spends most of his life simply trying to get by in a harsh land, largely isolated from the changing world and only occasionally making meaningful human connections. This is the best he can do with the life he's been handed. Aspiring actors looking to break into film would do well to study Edgerton's performance. He creates an authentic, lived-in character and brings a rough-hewn physicality to the role-but there are no theatrics, no self-consciou"
Regular contributors selected favorite film performances from 2025, showcasing diverse genres, tones, and acting styles. A rule limited each film to a single representative performance, which constrained comprehensiveness and broadened the range of films included. Many admired performances—by Emma Stone, Teyana Taylor, Benicio Del Toro, Wagner Moura, Timothee Chalamet, and David Strathairn—are acknowledged as loved but not featured. The collection functions as a snapshot of 2025 acting rather than an exhaustive accounting. Joel Edgerton's role in Train Dreams exemplifies a minimalist, lived-in approach, portraying a hardened, isolated man with authentic physicality and restrained emotion.
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