Actors with the Best Single Year Success

It is impressive when an actor can be in two big hits in one year (like Joe Pesci in both Home Alone and Goodfellas in 1990). But some actors were lucky enough to be in 3 or more, and even luckier if those were all big hits.

What got me thinking of this was our subject of this week’s movie nominees: Andrew Garfield. He starred in 3 of the biggest movies of this past year: tick, tick… Boom!, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and one that I won’t identify because it could be a spoiler. Though he wasn’t the main character in that last one, it was a very significant and memorable role.

So this got me looking for a top 10 of actors who had the most impressive string of blockbusters in a single year. It is important to note that I’m not just looking for sheer number of movie appearances, nor for much they were paid that year. The main considerations are 1) how much revenue their movies made, and 2) more importantly that they starred in these movies.

And here’s the top 10 I landed on:

• DOMHNALL GLEASON. 2015 was actually a very impressive year for Gleason considering the 4 blockbusters he was in: Brooklyn, The Revenant, Ex Machina, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. However, in most of these he played more of a supporting role, with only one of them featuring him in a leading role. So, though it is an impressive resume for a single year, supporting status is what lands him at #10.

• DENZEL WASHINGTON. In 1993, Denzel starred in The Pelican Brief, Philadelphia, and Much Ado About Nothing. That’s 3, but He was more part of an ensemble cast in Much Ado, therefore he takes the #9 spot.
  

• MICHAEL FASSBENDER. He was in 3 movies in 2011 where he was a main character in each: X-Men: First Class, A Dangerous Method, and Jane Eyre. But his 3 might not be as impressive as the ones to follow in this list.
  

• ALICIA VIKANDER. 2015 was her best year yet as she bagged the following: The Danish Girl, Ex Machina, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I think she and Fassbender could possibly trade places on this top 10, but for me her list is slightly better.

• SCARLET JOHANSSON. She was one of the most bankable actors of the entire decade, but 2019 appears to be her biggest year:Jo Jo Rabbit, Marriage Story, and Avengers: Endgame.

• DWAYNE “THE ROCK” JOHNSON. In 2016 he shockingly surpassed Robert Downey, Jr. as the highest paid actor in Hollywood, which led to 2017 landing him in 3 huge hits at the box office: The Fate of the Furious, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and Baywatch. Love these popcorn flicks or hate them, they made millions. He continues to hold that highest paid actor title to this date.
  

• DREW BARRYMORE. You can hardly talk about movies of the 90’s without bringing up Drew Barrymore. She had three impressive movies that in 1998, and though Scarlett Johansson’s movies were bigger hits, it could be argued that she was more of a supporting role in Jo Jo Rabbit and Avengers. But for Drew, she was the main lead in all three of hers: Ever After, Home Fries, and The Wedding Singer.

• JIM CARREY. This is one of the better known great years for an actor. In 1994 Jim Carrey took the big screen by storm starring in 3 mega hits: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,Dumb and Dumber, and The Mask. What’s unique here is that in all 3, people flocked to theaters to see just Jim Carrey. With the exception of Jeff Daniels, his supporting cast were largely unknowns or up-an-coming soon-to-be-stars like Courtney Cox and Cameron Diaz.

• JOHN WAYNE. 1962 was a huge year for the Duke. He not only starred in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Hatari!, and How the West Was Won–all movies that made the top 20 top box office list that year–but he also starred and led in the #1 box office hit: The Longest Day. 

And the Oscar goes to…

Best Actress:

Carey Mulligan as Kathy in Never Let Me Go

Best Actor: Aside from Andrew Garfield I think the best pick would be Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network

Best Quote: “With the world so set on tearing itself apart, it don’t seem like such a bad thing to me to want to put a little bit of it back together.” – Andrew Garfield as Desmond Doss in Hacksaw Ridge. If you haven’t seen this movie, you’ve really got to. It’s a pretty incredible true story.

I think it’s worth mentioning that though Tom Hanks didn’t make the list, he had 3 impressive years in the 90’s, each one having two very big movies. Big at the box office and big in staying power:

1995: Toy Story, Apollo 13

1998: Saving Private Ryan, You’ve Got Mail

1999: The Green Mile, Toy Story 2