And just like that another movie year has come and gone. I recently shared my Top 10 movies of 2023 (check it out HERE). That’s always a fun list to put together, but I also enjoy showing some love to the year’s very best performances. Over the next few days I’ll be sharing my favorites for each of the four major acting categories. So as I normally do, let’s kick it off with the absolutely jam-packed Supporting Actress category.

Honorable Mentions:

Penélope Cruz (“Ferrari”), Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”), Juliette Binoche (“The Taste of Things”), Vanessa Kirby (“Napoleon”), Julianne Moore (“May December”), Tilda Swinton (“The Killer”), Katrina Kaif (“Tiger 3”), Carrie Coon (“Boston Strangler”)

#5 – Haley Atwell (“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”)

In year packed with great supporting performances, it’s a shame that Haley Atwell seems to have been lost in the crowd. She’s a fun, feisty, and energetic addition to the action-packed Mission: Impossible franchise and was able to match star Tom Cruise scene for scene. I can’t wait to see what she brings to the upcoming Part Two.

#4 – Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”)

In a film absolutely loaded with great performances, one of the standouts was Emily Blunt as Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer. It’s a complex role that sometimes requires her to be brittle while at other times calling on her to be strong as iron. Blunt manages it wonderfully, mixing delicacy with pure blunt force (no pun intended). She’s great.

#3 – Sandra Hüller (“The Zone of Interest”)

One of the coldest performances of the year came from the great Sandra Hüller in Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest”. She plays the wife of a Nazi commander put in charge of Auschwitz during World War II. We watch as she spends her days in total indifference in and around her cozy villa just outside of the notorious death camp. It’s a bone-chilling turn from an actress who has had a great year.

#2 – Rachel McAdams (“Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret”)

I’m so happy to see that people haven’t forgotten about Rachel McAdams when putting together their lists. She is the heart and soul of a movie that turned out to be one of the year’s biggest surprises. McAdams never disappoints, but here she plays a woman quietly navigating her own pain to be the best mother she can be. It’s a beautifully authentic and heartfelt performance.

#1 – Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”)

Now heres a performance that grabbed me from the very first moment the actress appeared on screen. Da’Vine Joy Randolph is such a crucial presence in Alexander Payne’s outstanding dramedy “The Holdovers”. She has great comic timing and brings an emotional heft to her character. Even more, she’s instrumental in several legitimate ‘Scene of the Year’ contenders. Go ahead and give her the Oscar.

And that wraps up Supporting Actress. What are you thoughts on my picks? What would make your list? Let me know in the comments section below. Keep watching as I take on Supporting Actor next.