Best Actors of the 2010s – Top 10

The 2010s are over, and with that, we had all sorts of performances of hundreds of actors. Ranging from downright terrible to jaw-dropping amazing, we have to thank all of these people for bringing characters to life for us to enjoy. There is no doubt, we are watching some of the Best Actors that ever lived.

Best Actresses Of The 2010s – Top 10

Best Directors Of The 2010s – Top 10

That being said, we wanted to recognize the ones we thought had the best performances throughout this 10 years. It was not an easy task, as we had to take into account the amount and quality of movies they were in.

We know there are still a lot of amazing actors, but without further ado, these are the ones we believe, were the best actors in the 2010s:

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1. Christian Bale

Christian Bale has proven to be one of the most versatile actors working today. He is known to gain or lose massive amounts of weight for a role, or getting into strict training regimes to have the superhero build of the caped crusader.

Anyways, this is only a part of his acting ability, as he can really dig deep into the character he is portraying, so even if you’ve seen him a thousand times, you never go “Oh, it’s the guy from that movie who always plays the same roles”, he will always give an amazing performance.

His most notable performances of the decade:

• The Fighter (2010)
• The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
• Out Of The Furnace (2013)
• American Hustle (2013)
• The Big Short (2015)
• Hostiles (2017)
• Vice (2018)
• Ford V Ferrari (2019)

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2. Jake Gyllenhaal

This is a guy that flourished through the 2010s, delivering his most intense portrayals on film to date. He is not famous for being a method actor, but rather by his ability to snap in and out of character and deliver very personal, intense and emotional performances (much like Emily Blunt).

Jake is mostly known for his Indie work, but later in the decade he joined the MCU as Spiderman’s villain, Mysterio. Although, this is actually his smallest accomplishment, as Jake participated in 22 films in the spawn of a decade. From thrillers, indies, cop movies, dramas and all, his range is undeniable, and perhaps the only thing he is missing, is recognition from the Award Community.

His most notable work this decade is:

• Love And Other Drugs (2010)
• End Of Watch (2012)
• Enemy (2013)
• Prisoners (2013)
• Nightcrawler (2014)
• Southpaw (2015)
• Nocturnal Animals (2016)
• Okja (2017)
• Spiderman: Far From Home (2019)

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3. Leonardo DiCaprio

What else can be said about Leonardo Dicaprio, he has done it all. It was this decade that finally saw him receive his long overdue academy award. He’s participated on movies, TV, shorts, documentaries, and he doesn’t seem to be anywhere near retirement, he always finds new, challenging roles that cement him as one of Hollywood’s most iconic stars.

We’ve seen him plenty in his younger years, and now its time to see an older, more mature take on the actor for the next big projects he embarks on.

His best work during the 2010s:

• Inception (2010)
• Django (2012)
• Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
• The Revenant (2015)
• Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019)

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4. Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy started out the decade and the relevant part of his career with none other than Nolan’s Inception. From here on he landed job after job, becoming one of Hollywood’s most recognizable new faces that everybody wanted to work with. He did emotional dramas, westerns, comedies, and much more. He even got nominated to an Oscar for his work on The Revenant.

His most relevant films of the 2010s:

• Dunkirk (2017)
• The Revenant (2015)
• Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
• Dark Knight Rises (2012)
• Warrior (2011)
• Inception (2010)

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5. Joaquin Phoenix

Joker might have been the movie that finally brought Joaquin Phoenix into the A-list of the greatest Hollywood actors, but for the careful eye, he has been one of the greats for a while now. From a sweet loner to a ruthless emperor, he has shown great versatility and a huge talent for portraying emotion, making each of the characters he plays feel almost real, even larger than life sometimes, which is why we expect him to be cast much more in the upcoming years.

Best performances of the 2010s:

• The Master (2012)
• Her (2013)
• Inherent Vice (2014)
• You Were Never Really Here (2017)
• Joker (2019)

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6. Hugh Jackman

This is a man who used the 2010s to solidify his legend status on Hollywood. He participated in many films that showed more general audiences the range of his abilities, whether they are needed in a drama, a musical, a dark comedy or in an action movie.

Best performances of the decade:

• Les Miserables (2012)
• Prisoners (2013)
• Eddie The Eagle (2015)
• Logan (2017)
• The Greatest Showman (2017)

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7. Brad Pitt

Another Hollywood legend. Brad Pitt has certainly become an icon. He has shown he is not just another pretty face, but a serious actor who will deliver some of the best performances you’ve seen when given the right material.

Even if he had to deal with a mediocre director and an even worse script, you know he is going to bring something worthwhile to the table. Did we mention he has also produced several films?

His most notable work this decade was:

• Ad Astra (2019)
• Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
• War Machine (2017)
• Allied (2016)
• The Big Short (2015)
• Fury (2014)
• The Counselor (2013)
• 12 Years a Slave (2013)
• World War Z (2013)
• Moneyball (2011)

And so many others!

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8. Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling is no longer your young, charming lover boy from your chick flicks. He’s grown into a serious, multilayered actor with great talent.

Although you could see him in several roles when he was younger, he definitely made a name for himself after The Notebook, and from that moment his career sky rocketed into what we know and love today.

These are just some of his main roles of the decade:

• Blue Valentine (2010)
• Drive (2011)
• Crazy, Stupid Love (2011)
• Gangster Squad (2013)
• The Big Short (2015)
• The Nice Guys (2016)
• La La Land (2016)
• Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
• First Man (2018)

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9. Tom Cruise

More than by his acting talents, Tom Cruise landed a spot on this list for his achievement in practical stunts and his commitment towards transmitting real cinema to the viewer. This philosophy is one that Hollywood should take note of, since his work and focus on practical stunts made by the real actors have a greater impact to the viewer so that story and character travel together at all times.

This is something that his costars have learned from him and Tom should be proud of. One would’ve thought that his best days were left in the amazing decade he had in the 90s, but in the 2010s, Cruise resurged with a ton load of films that challenged him physically, emotionally and musically, (he also had big flops, but that doesn’t demerits his big decade).

Best films of his decade:

• MI4: Ghost Protocol (2011)
• Oblivion (2013)
• Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
• MI5: Rogue Nation (2015)
• MI6: Fallout (2018)

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10. Bradley Cooper

The 2010s sure had a very good turn of events for this man. After a long 2000s decade of being on TV show, after TV Show, and on supporting roles in small movies or Rom-Coms, Cooper rode the inertia of Hangover and put it to good use. He not only was very recognized for his acting performances, but he also took on different roles on the movie industry which were transformed into 8 Oscar nominations for acting, directing, writing, performing and producing. (Did you know that one of his nominations is for Joker (2019)?, were he is one of the 3 main producers).

His most notable films of the decade:

• Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
• American Sniper (2014)
• Guardians of the Galaxy (2014 & 2017)
• A Star Is Born (2018) (Director, writer, producer & performer)
• Avengers Infinity War & Endgame (2018 & 2019)