7) Hugo Weaving
When it comes to the performances in 2006’s V For Vendetta, an adaptation of Alan Moore’s seminal dystopian graphic novel, people tend to highlight Natalie Portman. Despite her horrendous English accent, Portman delivers a commanding turn as a character who goes through hell across the movie. Still, it’s a shame that fans then forget to commend Hugo Weaving for his amazing performance as the film’s title character.
Perhaps uniquely in live-action superhero flicks, Weaving plays a hero who never removes his mask throughout the entirety of the movie – even Karl Urban’s Judge Dredd showed off a bit of his chin. The trick to playing V, then, was all in his physical movements and, most of all, the dexterity of his vocal performance. The actor totally excelled in both of these respects and nailed the vengeful, vaudevillian vigilante perfectly.
Thanks to Weaving, V is charming, funny, tragic and occasionally terrifying and monstrous in turn. It’s a lot to ask of an actor to portray without the aid of their facial expressions, but Weaving effortlessly rises to the occasion.