Best Movies of 2016 – Best Lead Actor

Good ol’ best lead actor.  Every single year, you cause me so much pain.  So many great actors put out so many great performances, narrowing it down to five is always a struggle.  This list could easily change within a week or so, but, as of now, these are the five best lead actor performances or 2016.

5 – LEWIS MACDOUGALL as CONOR in A MONSTER CALLS

There were a number of great child performances in 2016.  But no child performance hit me as hard as MacDougall’s performance in A Monster Calls.  This is such an emotional movie, probably the most emotional I saw in all of 2016, and it is MacDougall who brings all the emotion.  Playing a tortured, sad young boy who’s mother is dying of cancer, Conor finds an escape in his imagination through a giant tree monster, which allows Conor to conquer his fears and grow up right before our eyes.  This is a lot of work for a child actor to pull, and MacDougall does it like a pro.  He is officially on my radar of actors to watch and I cannot wait to see what he does next.

4 – RYAN REYNOLDS as DEADPOOL in DEADPOOL 

The redemption performance of the year.  I don’t think there was an actor made for a performance in 2016 more than Ryan Reynolds was for The Merc with the Mouth.  Reynolds, who played Deadpool in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which was universally panned by critics and fans, got a second chance to portray the comic book favorite and he knocks it out of the park.  The violent, foul-mouthed, hopeless-romantic is hilarious and badass.  You can’t help but love Reynolds’ quick one-liners and ability to make fun of everyone, including himself.  Even under the mask, Reynolds’ personality shines through, making Deadpool one of our most unique and coolest superheroes.  This is one of the best comic book performances of all-time.

3 – DENZEL WASHINGTON as TROY MAXSON in FENCES

There’s no denying that Washington is one of the finest actors we’ve ever had.  But what happens when one of our finest actors gets material from one of the greatest plays ever created?  Brilliance.  Washington, who also directed Fences, spits August Wilson’s dialog like nobody else could.  There is a rhythm and intensity to these words that can only be matched by Washington’s own intensity and love for the material.  This is as deep as dialog gets and Troy Maxson is one of the most complex characters of the year.  An incredibly flawed, somewhat delusional man, Maxson will always get the last word in no matter the topic.  Never before have I not liked a Washington character, even when he played a corrupt cop or an alcoholic pilot.  But it is hard to like Maxson and that is testament to Washington’s ability to make this character real.  Chalk this one up as one of Washington’s all-time greats.

2 – RYAN GOSLING as SEBASTIAN in LA LA LAND

Gosling at number two is a representation of his 2016 as a whole.  He was terrific as the bumbling private investigator in The Nice Guys, but I absolutely loved him in La La Land.  Gosling proved he is an all-around talent in this one.  We knew he could do drama, we knew he could do comedy, and we knew he had great chemistry with Emma Stone.  But singing, dancing, and playing the piano, all while combining the drama, comedy, and chemistry was the work of a truly great actor.  Sebastian is a man with a dream, but knows he must make sacrifices to get to that dream.  His love for jazz is a love most people don’t have for anything.  This is a character that I sympathized with and understood completely.  Gosling is sensational and proves that he is great at everything.

1 – CASEY AFFLECK as LEE CHANDLER in MANCHESTER BY THE SEA 

This has been my favorite performance since I saw this film back in January.  I’ve always loved Casey Affleck, but he has never blown me away like he did in Manchester by the Sea.  Playing a man who must return to a place where he experienced a horrible tragedy, Lee is a man who believes he doesn’t deserve happiness.  Even when given an opportunity to take care of his nephew after the boy’s father dies, he still doesn’t feel he deserves the kid or that he would be best for the kid.  Affleck doesn’t show this with a loud, larger-than-life performance.  He shows his pain in his eyes and in his shoulders.  We see Lee before the tragedy, with a light in his eyes and love in his heart.  And then we see him after the tragedy.  The light has turned off and his heart and soul are empty.  This is a heartbreaking, masterpiece performance and the best from a lead actor in 2016.

What was your favorite lead actor performance?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook and YouTube by searching Kevflix.