The Best TV and Film Performances of 2017
Some of the following actors have been or will be nominated for awards, some will not. The Newsweek culture desk doesn’t get hung up on stuff like that. Rather, we looked for the performances that moved, tickled, provoked, thrilled and surprised us, sometimes all at one. The people here helped distract from from the realities of 2017, and for that alone we are grateful.
In addition to escapism, it was a big year for precocious children, for exceptional scenery-chewing, for big returns (Jeff Goldblum!), bows (Daniel Day-Lewis) and debuts (including one former boy band member on the beach at Dunkirk). It was also a banner year for women of a certain age and fierce disposition: Allison Janney, Laurie Metcalf, Laura Dern, Frances McDorman and, of course, Meryl Streep. Fitting, somehow, in this year of men behaving very badly.
Herewith, our list of the 32 performance, plus one ensemble. Since ranking is for losers, we present them alphabetically.
Seo-hyun Ahn Okja
South Korean child star Ahn probably has a full career ahead of her, yet it’s unlikely she’ll encounter the precise challenges of this fantasy-thriller again: co-starring with a gigantic CGI super-pig, clinging to the back of a speeding truck and going head-to-head with Tilda Swinton's embodiment of
