2017, like every other year, we saw some great performances from different actors, whether in one movie or multiple. Some might have chosen wisely and were apart of different great or successful movies. Whatever criteria you want to put forth, there were plenty of actors who had a great 2017. With that said, I decided to, again, give my top ten actors for the year in what I like to call my 2017 Actor Power Rankings! So simply, below you’ll find the ten actors, from 10 to 1, that I think had the best 2017 for whatever reason. This is all my personal opinion so don’t be surprised or blow a gasket when you don’t see a name that you think should appear because trust me, it’s going to happen. Anyways, so without further ado, here is my 2017 Actor Power Rankings!
10. Tom Holland
Reason:
- Stepping into the Spider-Man suit for the first Spidey movie that is apart of the MCU, ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’, and killed it. I had my doubts when he was cast but he proved me to be an idiot so he had to go on this list
9. Daisy Ridley
Reason:
- Starred and did a great job in the highest grossing movie domestically of 2017, ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘
- Even though I didn’t care for ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, she showed that she can continue to hold her own around a group of talented actors
8. Andy Serkis
Reason:
- Didn’t see his face in any of his movies in 2017 but he continues to show he’s still one of the best actors doing it, especially when it comes to motion-capture acting
- Brought the needed level of menacing to Supreme Leader Snoke in ‘The Last Jedi’
- Once again, portrayed one of the greatest movie characters of all-time, Caesar, in the great ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’
7. Vin Diesel
Reason:
- Starred in ‘The Fate of the Furious’; Another exciting entry to the most surprisingly good franchise ever
- Brought Xander Cage back for ‘xXx: Return of Xander Cage’ and brought along some fun action and, surprisingly, humor too
6. Hugh Jackman
Reason:
- Bowed out of his iconic role as Wolverine in the gritty, great and emotional ‘Logan’
- Ended the year starring in a movie with Zac Efron, ‘The Greatest Showman’
5. Ansel Elgort
Reason:
- THE MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR is Ansel Elgort! Before ‘Baby Driver’ he was a weird running loser. After ‘Baby Driver’, he is King Ansel
4. Tiffany Haddish
Reason:
- She took her breakout performance in ‘Girls Trip’ (which might be the funniest movie 2017) and finagled that to do so much in 2017 and become one of the years breakout stars
- i.e. she became the first black female stand-up comedian to host ‘Saturday Night Live’
3. Gal Gadot
Reason:
- Starred in ‘Wonder Woman’, the DCEU’s one beloved movie
- One of the few bright spots in the not-so-surprisingly disappointing ‘Justice League’
2. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Reason:
- Was wildly entertaining and took part in one of the best action scenes of the year in ‘The Fate of the Furious’
- Starred in ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ which wasn’t bad like I expected and wasn’t that disrespectful to its predecessor
- ‘Baywatch’ would have been a complete disaster if he, Efron and Alexandra Daddario weren’t in it
1. Jake Gyllenhaal
Reason:
- Killed his performance in ‘Stronger’, which should be bringing him more awards attention
- Stole the show in the small amount of time he was actually in the disappointing ‘Okja’
- His character in ‘Life’ didn’t give him room to do his typical Jake Gyllenhaal greatness but he was still in it and it was still a good movie
- With Gyllenhaal being one of the greatest actors of all-time, we should feel truly gracious when we get any amount of performances from him in one year
Alright, there is my 2017 Actor Power Rankings! Comment below with your own list or to tell me how awesome or trash mine was. Hopefully I do this again for 2018 so we can see if we’ll see any of the same faces and what new names will try to dominate 2019.
PREVIOUS: 2016 Actor Power Rankings
(Photo Credit: Steven Russell for USA TODAY; 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. ;SHERYL OH – https://filmschoolrejects.com/ansel-elgort-post-ya-career/; Daniel Falconer – http://www.contactmusic.com/dwayne-johnson/news/dwayne-johnson-jumanji-jungle-video-games_5859666)
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