The Liz Award

Previous Winners:  Frances McDormand (3 Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri), Viola Davis (Fences), Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road), Rosemund Pike (Gone Girl), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Berenice Bejo (The Artist), Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn),  Yalitza Aparicio (Roma), Renee Zellweger (Judy), Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Rachel Zegler (West Side Story)

Top 11

#11. Kali Reis (Catch the Fair One). A brutal performance with a character that was in search of her sister and would do anything to find her.

#10. Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans). Michelle Williams gives a solid performance in a film where her character is a little unbalanced and unhappy despite having a seemingly good life.

#9. Sosie Bacon (Smile). The daughter of Kevin Bacon came to play in the frightful horror film, Smile. There is no doubt that Smile was one of the scariest films of the year and her performance anchored it.

#8. Viola Davis (The Woman King). The only actor to win The Liz twice, Viola Davis was at it again this year with a powerhouse performance as an African warrior in The Woman King.

#7. Naomi Ackie (I Wanna Dance with Somebody). Whitney Houston herself. Ackie gave a great performance as the iconic singer, really becoming her and not just doing an imitation.

#6. Letitia Wright (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). Wright faced the difficult task of becoming the next MCU Black Panther after the loss of Chadwick Boseman and she gave her best performance ever. She gave an emotional and deep performance that both established herself as the character and honored her on screen brother.

#5. Alisha Weir (Matilda the Musical). The “I See Kid Actors” Award winner this year also makes The Liz list. Alisha Weir was fantastic as the titular character, not only acting, but also singing and dancing. It’s an all around great performance.

#4. Cate Blanchett (Tar). The Oscar front runner falls in at number four for me. She was great in the movie, but I only liked Tar. No doubt that Cate Blanchett was the reason to see that film.

#3. Mia Goth (Pearl). Mia Goth was amazing in this prequel to X. She was great in X too, but I think she really brought the crazy in Pearl as we see how she became the dangerous psycho killer she would become.

#2. Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once). Michelle Yeoh brought such a credibility to this small movie that helped elevate it to the next level. She was certainly everything to this movie.

And the number one and winner of The Liz Award for 2022 is…

Danielle Deadwyler (Till). One of the most powerful and heart-wrenching performances of the year, Danielle Deadwyler showed the anguish of a mother whose only son was brutally lynched in the south during the 1950s, but would not stand for it and helped make the world a better place through her tragedy. Not many people saw Till, but it was an amazing film with the performance of Deadwyler at the heart of it.