Unlike my choices for the best overlooked actresses of 2015, my best actors list was incredibly easy to to put together. In fact, I hit 15 dead on without having too many left over. That said, there were still a number of great performances to choose from that flew under the radar, or came out at the wrong time of year. And on this list are both of my admitted man crushes, Michael Fassbender and Matthias Schoenaerts, for films that deserved greater notice than they received. That's okay, I'll give them proper respect later.
There are some off-brand choices here, like Ryan Reynolds and Nick Cannon, two guys I never thought I'd pick for anything that didn't have the word "worst" in it somewhere. There's one newcomer in Primo Grant who had I think an Oscar worthy performance in Five Star, and chances are he'll never be seen in anything again. But that's the fun of lists like this; one-hit wonders sit alongside consistent veterans like Russell Crowe. And holy shit, James Franco's on this list again, although I'd rather have chosen him for I Am Michael but that film never came out.
Check out the list below, and follow all of our "Best of 2015" coverage here!
Primo Grant-Five Star
Jack Reynor-Glassland
Michael Fassbender-Slow West
James Franco-True Story
RJ Cyler-Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Vincent Cassel-Partisan
Ryan Reynolds-The Voices
Nick Cannon-Chi-Raq
Matthias Schoenaerts-Far from the Madding Crowd
Russell Crowe-The Water Diviner
Corey Stoll-Glass Chin
Adam Driver-Hungry Hearts
Omar Sy-Samba
Jemaine Clement-People Places Things
Asa Butterfield- A Brilliant Young Mind
