Looking back at 2017 on the big screen, below are 17 actors whose film performances stood out from the rest. They may not have landed nominations from those all-important Oscars precursors the Golden Globes and SAG awards, but they surely deserve a second look.
• Betty Gabriel, “Get Out”: If “Get Out” is the people’s movie of the year — Gabriel is the picture’s most valuable player. No shade to the film’s leads, but when Gabriel, as the maid/grandmother sheds a singular tear while repeating one singular word, the result is a masterful performance actors-in-training should study.
• Lakeith Stanfield and Nnamdi Asomugha, “Crown Heights”: In 1980, Colin Warner was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in jail. His best friend, Carl King, devoted 20 years of his life to proving his innocence. In 2001, Warner was exonerated. “Crown Heights” chronicles this story with Stanfield and Asomugha as Warner and King, respectively. While many know Stanfield for his standout roles in “Get Out” and the Emmy-winning series “Atlanta,” this Sundance prize-winning film gives him the opportunity to fully flex his dramatic chops. It’s paired with a particularly surprising performance from ex-NFLer Asomugha.
• Daniela Vega, “A Fantastic Woman”: According to Times critic Justin Chang, Vega “fiercely and sympathetically embodied” the character of Marina Vidal, a young transgender woman who works as a singer and waitress in Santiago, Chile. That might be because, in a way, she helped inspire the character. A trans woman herself, Vega served as a cultural consultant for director Sebastian Lelio before taking on the role. Her performance grounds the picture, which made it to this year’s Oscars foreign-language film shortlist.