Top 10 Actors with the Best 2026

2025 was full of a lot of good performances from a ton of different performers. But that’s not this list. This list is 10 actors that had either several good performances, box office hits, or other significant roles. Let’s get to it.

Pedro Pascal - I feel so lame putting Pedro Pascal because as I said in my 2024 version of this list, every year is a good year when you’re Pedro Pascal. He made my Top 10 last year, and I can almost guarantee that he’s going to make it next year too. 2025 was yet another hit for the actor. On the TV side of things he returned to (and departed from) his role as Joel in ‘The Last of Us.’ But on the movie side, because movies are the reason we’re all here, he had 4 major releases. The 2024 film ‘Freaky Tales’ got its wide release and Pedro played Clint, one of the more memorable characters. He then played Mayor Ted Garcia in ‘Eddington,’ one of the more divisive films of the year and played one side of the love triangle in ‘Materialists.’ And if you didn’t know he also played Mr. Fantastic in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps.’ The two biggest IPs that Disney owns are Star Wars and Marvel and with both ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ and ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ coming next year, they are currently promoting Pascal as the face of both. See ya in ‘26 Pedro!

Josh O’Connor - Another actor that will skyrocket even more in 2026 due to his starring role in Spielberg’s ‘Disclosure Day,’ O’Connor rose to the star level for his award-winning role as (then) Prince Charles on ‘The Crown.’ He then became a certified movie star last year due to his role in ‘Challengers.’ And this year he kept that momentum going with 4 releases. 3 of them were a little more niche, though he led all 4 films. He played a cowboy facing disaster in the Neo-Western drama, ‘Rebuilding.’ He then played opposite Paul Mescal in the romantic drama, ‘The History of Sound’ and played an art thief in the heist film, ‘The Mastermind.’ His most well known role was of course as Father Jud in ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ the newest installment in the Knives Out franchise, for which he has started to receive awards nominations.

Jack Quaid - Another actor with four films released in 2025, Quaid was popping up all over the place. He played a small, but memorable role in the Prime release, ‘Heads of State.’ He then led a crime thriller with Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the underwhelming, ‘Neighborhood Watch.’ He played the secondary role in ‘Companion’ and showed a more sinister side, but had his best performance as the lead in ‘Novocaine,’ one of my favorite films from the early part of 2025.

Scarlett Johansson - ScarJo only appeared on the big screen twice in 2025, less than most others on this list. She was a part of the ensemble in Wes Anderson’s ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ and took the helm of ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth,’ putting her at the center of yet another mega franchise. She also made her directorial debut with ‘Eleanor the Great’ one of the better, less talked about films in ‘25. Even though ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ wasn’t a critical hit, it made a very admirable $869.1 million at the box office, pushing Johansson to top of the all-time highest grossing actors list, putting her at a $15.4 billion total earning at the box office.

Josh Brolin - Brolin made three film appearances this year, each very different from the next. In the least of the three he played the villainous head producer of the titular game show in ‘The Running Man.’ His performance was caricature-esque and the film underperformed overall, though I personally found it pretty enjoyable. He was the top billed actor in ‘Weapons’ which takes place from various different POVs, with his character, Archer’s, being the second we see. Archer is a desperate father looking for his son, who is one of 17 children who disappear in a mysterious manner. Finally, he played the victim Monsignor Wicks in ‘Wake Up Dead Man,’ and he certainly left his impact in that one as well. 

Ethan Hawke - Before we get into Hawke’s two major roles in 2025, I should mention that he also appeared in ‘She Dances,’ a film that premiered at Tribeca, but has yet to get a public release. He also directed and produced a documentary about Merle Haggard, ‘Highway 99: A Double Album.’ He reprised his villain role as The Grabber in ‘Black Phone 2,’ with his character entering discussions of one of the best modern horror villains. He also joined forces with frequent collaborator, Richard Linklater, playing the lead role in ‘Blue Moon.’ He plays lyricist, Lorenz Hart, in a role that has earned him various nominations, including a Golden Globe nomination, with a potential Oscar nomination on the way.

Mason Thames - Thames rose to prominence with his role in ‘The Black Phone,’ and he reprised his role opposite Ethan Hawke in this year’s sequel. He played a lead role in the Colleen Hoover adaptation, ‘Regretting You’ which was honestly pretty bad, but Thames was alright in it. He also took on the lead role of Hiccup in the live action remake of ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’ a role he’s likely to reprise in the future. He also starred in ‘New Years Rev’ which released at TIFF but hasn’t had a public release yet.

Jonathan Bailey - Bailey only starred in two films this year, which is a little underwhelming for this list, but they were two of the most popular releases of the year. He played the lead male role in ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth,’ a role he will likely reprise. And then he returned to playing Prince Fiyero in ‘Wicked: For Good,’ playing an even bigger part in this film than he did in the first. Since those two films were two of the most generally popular, I felt he earned a spot on the list. Plus he was named Sexiest Man Alive, which is a pretty significant headline.

Paul Walter Hauser - No matter what screen you were watching in ‘25, Hauser was on it. He made a brief appearance in the final season of ‘Cobra Kai’ and had a voice role in the show ‘The Chosen Adventures.’ When it comes to the film world, we saw him 5 times. He made a minor appearance in the Prime release, ‘Playdate’ and played the lead role in ‘The Luckiest Man in America’ which was decent. He had three supporting roles in ‘The Naked Gun,’ ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps,’ and ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ reaching very different audiences with each.

Mckenna Grace - And finally we have everyone’s favorite former child star. While the overall quality of these films is lower than others on the list, she stayed booked and busy in 2025. She also appeared in the TIFF release, ‘New Years Rev’ and the SXSW release, ‘Slanted,’ which will be released in March of 2026. She starred in ‘What We Hide’ and ‘Regretting You,’ actually serving as an executive producer on both as well. Then she appeared in the thriller film ‘Anniversary’ and the critically panned sequel, ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.’