The Ringer: Naomi Watts in ‘Mulholland Drive’ is The Best Performance of the 21st Century [Updated]

I arrived at Venice a few hours ago, but for sh*ts and giggles, here’s the latest movie list people are talking about — The Ringer ranks their 101 Best Performances of the 21st Century. I just saved you a click.

UPDATE —

Naomi Watts’ work in “Mulholland Drive” tops the list, and for once, I’m in full-hearted agreement.

Watts’ performance in David Lynch’s film is nothing short of hypnotic. From the moment she steps onscreen, she carries the film’s eerie, dreamlike energy entirely on her shoulders, moving effortlessly between wide-eyed innocence and eerie desperation.

Lynch’s puzzling narrative demanded an actress to convey highly complex and emotional layers, and Watts delivered with astonishing precision—every glance, stutter, and fleeting smile felt loaded with unspoken tension.

Her ability to inhabit both Betty’s naïveté and Diane’s darker, fractured reality makes her performance a masterclass in vulnerability and controlled chaos, turning Lynch’s surreal nightmare into a deeply human, unforgettable experience.

Oh, and absolutely—100% with Daniel Day-Lewis’ “There Will Be Blood” performance at #2. I’d probably slot Joaquin Phoenix’s astonishing turn in “The Master” at #3, but instead, his co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman claims that spot for the same film.

So, Ruimy’s top three of the 21st century: Watts, Day-Lewis, and Phoenix. The rest of The Ringer’s list is solid, but as always with these rankings, I’d shuffle a few spots to match my own tastes.

1) Naomi Watts - ‘Mulholland Drive’
2) Daniel Day-Lewis - ‘There Will Be Blood’
3) Philip Seymour Hoffman - ‘The Master’
4) Cate Blanchett - ‘Tár’
5) Javier Bardem - ‘No Country for Old Men’
6) Heath Ledger - ‘The Dark Knight’
7) Denzel Washington - ‘Training Day’
8) Jesse Eisenberg - ‘The Social Network’
9) Joaquin Phoenix - ‘The Master’
10) Kirsten Dunst - ‘Melancholia’

11) Song Kang-ho — ‘Parasite’
12) Mahershala Ali - ‘Moonlight’
13) Leonardo DiCaprio - ‘Wolf of Wall Street’
14) Christoph Waltz - ‘Inglourious Basterds’
15) Oscar Isaac - ‘Inside Llewyn Davis
16) Toni Collette — ‘Hereditary’
17) Daniel Kaluuya - ‘Get Out’
18) Adam Sandler ‘Uncut Gems’
19) Laura Dern - ‘Inland Empire’
20) Lupita Nyong’o - ‘Us’

21) Isabelle Huppert - ‘The Piano Teacher’
22) Meryl Streep - ‘The Devil Wears Prada’
23) Lily Gladstone - ‘Certain Women’
24) George Clooney - ‘Michael Clayton’
25) Maggie Cheung - ‘In the Mood For Love’
26) Uma Thurman - ‘Kill Bill’
27) Rosamund Pike - ‘Gone Girl’
28) Vicky Krieps - ‘Phantom Thread’
29) Scarlett Johansson - ‘Under the Skin’
30) Cillian Murphy - ‘Oppenheimer’

31) Viola Davis - ‘Fences
32) Tony Leung - ‘In the Mood For Love’
33) Tilda Swinton - ‘Michael Clayton’
34) Gene Hackman - ‘The Royal Tenebaums’
35) Nicolas Cage - ‘Adaptation’
36) Michael Stuhlbarg - ‘A Serious Man’
37) Julie Delpy - ‘Before Sunset’
38) Nicole Kidman - ‘Birth’
39) Paul Mescal - ‘Aftersun’
40) Natalie Portman - ‘Black Swan’

41) Brad Pitt - ‘Moneyball’
42) Andy Serkis - ‘LOTR: The Two Towers’
43) Casey Affleck - ‘Manchester by the Sea’
44) Charlize Theron - ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
45) Sandra Huller - ‘Toni Erdmann’
46) Delroy Lindo - ‘Da 5 Bloods’
47) Olivia Colman - ‘The Favourite’
48) JK Simmons - ‘Whiplash’
49) Forest Whitaker - ‘Last King of Scotland’
50) Russell Crowe - ‘Gladiator’