Thread by @nytimes

From Kristen Stewart in “Spencer,” to Denzel Washington in “Macbeth,” — these are @NYTmag’s best actors of 2021. nyti.ms/3DC7AaQ

@NYTmag “This year’s Great Performers is devoted to 14 actors whose presence I couldn’t shake, who would not quit me,” @aoscott writes. nyti.ms/3rNbeMR

@NYTmag @aoscott Denzel Washington and Shakespeare is an obvious recipe for greatness: the finest actor of our time performing the writer “for all time.” But there is nothing obvious about his approach to “Macbeth.” nyti.ms/30dA6lG

@NYTmag @aoscott In “Passing,” Ruth Negga’s Clare doesn’t only pass as white; she skips back and forth over the color line as if it were a chalk mark on the sidewalk. nyti.ms/30dA6lG

@NYTmag @aoscott The alchemy of an anti-biopic like “Spencer,” may rest on something much simpler: a Kristen Stewart in full and fearless command of her formidable gifts. nyti.ms/30dA6lG

@NYTmag @aoscott If Ruth Negga’s Clare is the puzzle in the film, she is one that Tessa Thompson’s Irene Redfield is determined to solve — or else to destroy. nyti.ms/30dA6lG

@NYTmag @aoscott Benedict Cumberbatch has specialized in playing brilliant, cerebral men. In some ways, Phil Burbank, the Montana rancher at the center of “The Power of the Dog,” belongs in this company. nyti.ms/30dA6lG

@NYTmag @aoscott Will Smith isn’t exactly turning into Richard Williams. He is using the essence of his Will Smithness — charm, drive, intelligence and guile — to let us see how it feels to be Richard Williams. nyti.ms/30dA6lG

@NYTmag @aoscott See the full list of performances here: nyti.ms/30dA6lG