1) Daniel Bruhl
If anyone plays Civil War like it’s Proper Drama, it’s Daniel Bruhl. The acclaimed Spanish-German actor has long been in search of a role to break him into the mainstream – memorable turns in Inglourious Basterds and Rush threatened to bag him international star status, but it somehow remained out of reach. In Civil War, Bruhl finally does it, with what is arguably Marvel’s best, most complex villain yet: the calculating, implacable Helmut Zemo.
Bruhl doesn’t play Zemo as sinister or despicable. Zemo’s not a mustache-twirling supervillain. He’s just a man who suffered great loss and who now feels completely justified in his actions. Bruhl is methodical, focused and occasionally brutally committed as Zemo, but crucial to the performance is how Bruhl always keeps him sympathetic. Marvel’s villains have often been supernaturally inclined, but all it takes in making their best one yet is an actor who makes the bad guy so believably human.