Let me explain what this is. Every year, there are
certain actors who follow me throughout the year. These people manage to find
time for several movies, TV series, cameos, and guest appearances, and I think
they deserve some recognition for their hard work. So, I've gone through all
the TV shows and movies I've watched in 2018 and found as many actors and
actresses as I could who appeared in at least 3 things I've seen. Even with how
much I watch, that's hard to pull off. The following awards don't cover all the
performers I found. It definitely doesn't cover everyone I could've potentially
seen 3 or more times. It does represent a fun smattering of the people who made
my viewing in 2018 great.
Made in Georgia
No group was busier in 2018 than the cast of Atlanta. I made the joke that every
movie this summer had to include someone from that show. And it wasn’t really a
joke. Animation, live-action, Star Wars,
surreal comedy, Marvel, sketch comedy. They did it all and they did it
throughout the year
Winner: Brian Tyree Henry
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Widows
Hotel Artemis
Atlanta (full season)
BoJack Horseman (1 episode)
|
If Beale Street Could Talk
White Boy Rick
Family
Irreplaceable You
Drunk History (1 episode)
Room 104 (1 episode)
|
Runner-Up: Lakeith Stanfield
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
The Girl in the Spider's Web
Sorry to Bother You
Atlanta (full season)
|
Come Sunday
Random Acts of Flyness (1 episode)
|
Also Considered:
Donald Glover
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Atlanta (full season)
Solo: A Star Wars Story
SNL (host)
|
Slice
Dead Pigs
|
Zazie Beetz
2018 Release I Watched
|
Atlanta (full season)
Deadpool 2
|
Crazy Busy Asian
Not every Asian-American actor was in Crazy Rich Asians, but that wasn't the
only opportunity for them in Hollywood in 2018.
Winner: Awkwafina
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Crazy Rich Asians
Ocean's Eight
Dude
SNL (host)
|
Animals (1 episode)
|
I think it's fair to call Awkwafina the breakout
star of 2018. A year ago, she was that odd casting choice in Ocean's Eight, a distant 8th in the
power rankings. Now she's a scene stealer in two hit summer movies and hosted SNL.
[Side Note: I never
realized how often a Fall SNL gig was used as a coronation. Tiffany Haddish got it last year. Margot
Robbie in 2016 after Suicide Squad.
Amy Schumer for Trainwreck in 2015.]
Runner-Up: Jimmy O. Yang
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Crazy Rich Asians
Life of the Party
Silicon Valley (full season)
Fresh Off the Boat (1 episode)
The Simpsons (1 episode)
|
The Happytime Murders
Drunk History (1 episode)
Another Period (1 episode)
The 5th Quarter (1 episode)
|
Also Considered:
Randall Park
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Aquaman
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Fresh Off the Boat (full season)
BoJack Horseman (1 episode)
|
Art Prison
Animals (1 episode)
Drunk History (1 episode)
Robot Chicken (1 episode)
Hot Streets (1 episode)
|
Hong Chau
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
BoJack Horseman (full season)
Homecoming (multiple episodes)
Forever (1 episode)
|
Duck Butter
|
I don't like using a single appearance on a TV show
as one of the three jobs to qualify for the award, but her episode of Forever was so widely regarded as the
best episode of the show and so dominated by her that I'll make an exception.
Wakanda Forever
Black Panther made stars out of a lot of people, rose others to
new heights, or reminded audiences why they already were stars. And yeah, many
were helped here by some Black Panther/Infinity War double-dipping. It still
counts though.
Winner: Sterling K. Brown
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Black Panther
Hotel Artemis
This Is Us (full season)
SNL (host)
Brooklyn Nine Nine (1 episode)
|
The Predator
Robot Chicken (1 episode)
|
A full season of a network TV show, a role in the
year's biggest hit movie, two other movies, and he still found time to host an
episode of SNL and give my favorite
guest performance in a TV show this year (Brooklyn
Nine Nine - "The Box"). This man is on fire.
Runner Up: Michael B. Jordan
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Black Panther
Creed II
Fahrenheit 451
|
Kin
|
Also Considered:
Chadwick Boseman
2018 Release I Watched
|
Avengers: Infinity War
Black Panther
SNL (host)
|
Letita Wright
2018 Release I Watched
|
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
|
Avengers: Infinity War
Black Panther
Ready Player One
|
Black Mirror (1 episode)
|
Given how late that Black Mirror season premiered in 2017, her episode of that really
should could toward her 2018. She didn't even need it to qualify though.
Angela Bassett
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
Black Panther
Bumblebee
BoJack Horseman (multiple episodes)
|
9-1-1
American Horror Story
|
The Kathryn Newton "Young and Hungry"
Award
This goes to the young actress who showed up so
often that it doesn't seem mathematically possible that it was only a single
year. Special consideration is given to television work as a regular cast
member, because it’s much more of a time commitment.
By the way, the reason why Kathryn Newton is its
namesake is because she had a bonkers 2017. Newton was in two Best Picture
nominees (Lady Bird, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri),
was a regular in two of the best TV shows that year (Halt and Catch Fire, Big
Little Lies), co-starred in a mini-series (Little Women), and even stopped in for a guest spot on Supernatural. In terms of hit rate, it's
hard to do much better.
Winner: Julia Garner
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Waco (full season)
Maniac (full season)
The Americans (multiple episodes)
|
Ozark (full season)
Dirty John (full season)
|
Holy crap! Julia Garner was a regular in four
TV series in one year and found time to be in multiple episodes of
another. Even factoring in calendar peculiarities, that's a feat unlikely to be
matched by anyone any year. Wow.
Runner Up: Sydney Sweeney
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Everything Sucks (full season)
Sharp Objects (full season)
The Handmaid's Tale (multiple episodes)
|
Along Came the Devil
Relentless
The Wrong Daughter (TV Movie)
|
Sweeney is the kind of performer these awards were
built for. I didn't know her at the beginning of the year. I saw her early in
the year in Everything Sucks! as one
of the several young actors who I'd never seen before. Then, she showed up for
a stint in The Handmaid's Tale in the
Spring and I thought that was a fun casting coincidence. By the time she showed
up in Sharp Objects in the Summer, I
realized she was a real up and comer in the business. She snuck in a few movies
along the way too.
My British Crush
It's not an accident that I see some actors several
times throughout the year. For example, I do have a weakness for attractive
Brits and will track them down. That shouldn't take away from the fact that the
following actresses provided enough output to watch them so much. Luckily, they
were also all in some of my favorite things of the year (or, at least they were
great in them).
Winner: Olivia Cooke
2018 Release I Watched
|
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
|
Life Itself
Ready Player One
Thoroughbreds
Vanity Fair (full season)
|
Bate Motel (full season)
|
Finally catching up on the last season of Bates Motel ended up being the
tie-breaker. I realize that’s not in the spirit of a 2018 award, but they are
meaningless awards anyway.
Runner Up: Claire Foy
2018 Release I Watched
|
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
|
The Girl in the Spider's Web
First Man
Unsane
|
Breathe
|
Not listed here is her Emmy win for The Crown. I don't think Hollywood is
pushing to make someone a star more than Claire Foy right now.
Also Considered: Florence Pugh
2018 Release I Watched
|
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
|
Malevolent
Outlaw King
The Little Drummer Girl (full season)
|
Lady Macbeth
|
I specifically tracked down Malevolent the other night to make sure Pugh made the cut. She was
really something in The Little Drummer
Girl. Even if she doesn't keep up this pace, I expect roles she gets will
be more prominent sooner than later.
Right at the Buzzer
Through accident or intention, some people make most
of their appearances in my end of the year binge. This award goes to the
performer who came in at the wire.
Winner: Florence Pugh
2018 Release I Watched
|
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
|
Malevolent
Outlaw King
The Little Drummer Girl (full season)
|
Lady Macbeth
|
While I saw 2017's Lady Macbeth over the summer, I saw all of Pugh's 2018 work in the
month of December: the two movies in the last week.
Runner Up: Ben Whishaw
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Paddington 2
Mary Poppins Returns
A Very English Scandal (full season)
|
National Theater Live: Julius Caesar
|
Let's see, I finally caught up with Paddington 2 at the beginning of
December. I snuck in A Very English
Scandal over a weekend in December after forgetting to watch it all Summer.
Then he showed up as an older Michael Banks in Mary Poppins Returns. I'm not sure anyone had a more charming set
of performances this year.
Also Considered: Dakota Johnson
2018 Release I Watched
|
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
|
Bad Times at the El Royale
Suspiria
Fifty Shades Freed
|
Fifty Shades Darker
|
It's worth at least mentioning Johnson. Bad Times at the El Royale came in
October. Suspiria in November. I
caught 2017's Fifty Shades Darker at
some point in the Fall and decided to finish the trilogy out and watch Fifty Shades Freed this December.
Does He/She Really Need to Work This Much?
Staying busy is something for up and comers and
character actors. The desire to accept any role one comes across is marked by
the desire to get more exposure. Once a performer is established, they have the
luxury of saying "no" sometimes. This award goes to the person who,
thanks to Oscar nominations, blockbuster movies, or a steady TV gig, you
wouldn't think would have to work so much.
Winner: Michael Shannon
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Fahrenheit 451
The Little Drummer Girl (full season)
Waco (full season)
|
State Like Sleep
What They Had
12 Strong
Room 104 (1 episode)
Our Cartoon President (1 episode)
Arena (1 episode)
|
The man has two Oscar nominations and has more than
established himself as a guy who the biggest names want to work with. What the
hell is he doing on so many TV shows still? He was a regular in two different
series and starred in a TV movie. He had three other movies that I didn't see
and guest roles for three other programs. I have no doubt that this man is a
workaholic.
Runner-Up: Tessa Thompson
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Creed II
Annihilation
Sorry to Bother You
Westworld (full season)
Dear White People (multiple episodes)
|
Furlough
Little Woods
Portlandia (1 episode)
|
Five movies (three that I saw), a full season of a
massive HBO series, and she still found time to do a couple episodes of some
other shows.
Also Considered: Jon Hamm
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Bad Times at the El Royale
Tag
Beirut
Legion (multiple episodes)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (multiple episodes)
Barry (1 episode)
|
Nostalgia
The Amazing Gayl Pile (multiple episodes)
I Love You, America (1 episode)
Random Acts of Flyness (1 episode)
American Masters (1 episode)
|
Hamm can't figure out if his post-Mad Men career is as a leading man or a
character actor, so he just takes all the roles. And there's the fact that he
loves when he has the chance to be funny. That means every year is packed for
him. It looks like he might've had a vacation sometime around 2009. Since then,
he’s been amazingly steady with work.
Being a Double Threat Won't Slow Him Down
I'm only tracking actors for all these awards
because film directors work slowly, film writers get credits arbitrarily, TV
writers stay busy with one project, and TV directors are journeymen who leave
less of a mark on a show. Actors have the easiest time working on multiple
projects a year. There are a select few who balance acting, writing, and/or
directing though. And, yes, the secret to doing this is to write and act or
direct and act in a film or show.
Winner: Bradley Cooper
2018 Release I Watched
|
The Mule
A Star is Born
Avengers: Infinity War
|
Cooper very well could pull off the unthinkable
combo of Best Actor and Best Director at this year's Oscars for A Star Is Born and he still found time
to voice a Marvel character and be in a Clint Eastwood movie.
Runner Up: Joel Edgerton
2018 Release I Watched
|
Boy Erased
Gringo
Red Sparrow
|
Edgerton is king of the "third name on the call
sheet" roles. At least he beefed his list up by directing and writing Boy Erased too.
Also Considered: Mindy Kaling
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
A Wrinkle in Time
Ocean's Eight
It's Always Sunny (1 episode)
|
Champions (multiple episodes)
|
If I can
mention Mindy Kaling in something, I will
mention her. She got to hang out with Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, Cate Blanchett,
and Sandra Bullock, be a punching bag for the Paddy's Pub gang, and work
several jobs for a network sitcom that she created. Oh, and didn't she have a
kid at some point too?
The Character Actress Margo Martindale Award
All praise the queen of the character actresses!
Winner: Ann Dowd
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Hereditary
American Animals
The Handmaid's Tale (full season)
|
Tyrel
A Kid Like Jake
Nancy
3Below: Tales of Arcadia (full season)
|
Runner Up: Margo Martindale
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Instant Family
The Americans (full season)
BoJack Horseman (1 episode)
|
Sneaky Pete (full season)
The Good Fight (multiple episodes)
Ducktales (multiple episodes)
|
The Character Actor Michael Pena Award
Someone once described Michael Pena as the best part
of anything he's in. That has yet to be disproven.
Winner: Michael Pena
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
The Mule
Ant-Man and the Wasp
A Wrinkle in Time
|
Extinction
Next Gen
Narcos: Mexico (full season)
|
Runner Up: Ron Livingston
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Tully
A Million Little Things (multiple episodes)
The Romanoffs (1 episode)
|
The Long Dumb Road
Richard Says Goodbye
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then Bigfoot
Loudermilk (multiple episodes)
|
The Rose Byrne Award
I have an unhealthy obsession with Rose Byrne. She
was actually in four movies this year. I'm shocked that I only went to see
three of them. That's on me. I won't deprive Rose Byrne of her award though.
Winner: Rose Byrne
2018 Release I Watched
|
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
|
Instant Family
Peter Rabbit
Juliet, Naked
|
Marie Antoinette
|
The Domhnall Gleeson Award
I figured out earlier this year that Domhnall
Gleeson is my favorite actor right now, so of course he gets an award. He was
in movies this year and I saw them.
Winner: Domhnall Gleeson
2018 Release I Watched
|
Earlier Release I Saw in 2018
|
The Little Stranger
Peter Rabbit
A Futile and Stupid Gesture
|
Crash Pad
|
I'd also like to point out past years when he has
won this award.
2017 - Crash Pad, Goodbye Christopher Robin, Mother!,
American Made, Catastrophe (2 episodes)
2015 - Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Brooklyn, Ex
Machina, The Revenant
2010 (I just realized this the other day) - True Grit,
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1, Never Let Me Go
Mr. 2018
Winner: Brian Tyree Henry
2018 Release I Watched
|
2018 Release I Haven’t Seen
|
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Widows
Hotel Artemis
Atlanta (full season)
BoJack Horseman (1 episode)
|
If Beale Street Could Talk
White Boy Rick
Family
Irreplaceable You
Drunk History (1 episode)
Room 104 (1 episode)
|
Look at his 2018 again.
I saw him in something in every season of the year and still didn't see half
the things he was in. Bonus points too for being a series regular in a TV show
in the middle of all this. Now that 2018 has ended, Brian, please, relax and
take a vacation. You've earned it.
