2021 has been absolutely packed with new releases from the Marvel Cinematic Universe — not just new movies like Shang-Chi and Spider-Man: No Way Home, but also TV shows on Disney Plus like WandaVision, Loki, and Hawkeye. And with so many new entries in the MCU, there’s been plenty of brilliant actors bringing both old and new characters to life.
So for this list, it’s time to take a look back at the past year’s greatest performances throughout the MCU. Keep in mind, not every stand-out portrayal will be honored — even if the list were twice or even three times as long, there still wouldn’t be enough room. But these five actors definitely left an impact on the MCU this year with their tremendous talent.
Elizabeth Olsen — Scarlet Witch
Last Winter, WandaVision kicked the MCU’s year off with a bang, thanks in no small part to an incredible performance by Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch. Wanda was already a fan favorite thanks to her small but memorable roles in the Avengers movies, but WandaVision gave Olsen the chance to showcase her acting skills in ways that her previous outings hadn’t allowed.
In WandaVision, Wanda can be a bubbly housewife one moment and a cold, calculating manipulator the next, and then a broken, grieving hero the next. It takes a truly versatile actor to properly portray such a nuanced, multifaceted character, but Elizabeth Olsen makes it look easy, effortlessly pulling off comedy, tragedy, and horror all within the space of a single episode. It’s hard not to be excited to see where Olsen will take the character next in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Florence Pugh — Yelena Belova
From one brilliant leading lady to another, Florence Pugh proved to be one of the MCU’s biggest breakout stars of 2021 with her role as Yelena Belova, Black Widow’s younger sister. A lesser performer would have played Yelena as a cold, brooding assassin, but Pugh brings a vibrant humanity to the character. Yelena isn’t an emotionless killer — she makes fun of Natasha’s poses, gets excited over mundane things, and bickers with her family.
But even so, Yelena still carries the pain of her traumatic upbringing as a Black Widow, and Pugh captures her vulnerable side just as well as her more comedic aspects. Yelena could have easily come off as a cheap replacement for Natasha, but thanks to Florence Pugh’s talent, she’s one of this year’s best new additions to the MCU.
Jonathan Majors — He Who Remains
Speaking of unexpected fan favorites, here’s a character who few people expected to see introduced this year — He Who Remains, leader of the Time Variance Authority and a variant of Kang the Conqueror. Majors only appears in the season finale of Loki, giving him vastly less screen time than the other actors on this list. The fact that he made the top five anyway should be a testament to the sheer charisma and gravitas that he brings to the role of He Who Remains.
Majors’ take on the TVA’s shadowy mastermind isn’t some stoic and serious overlord, but a charming, lively presence who even manages to make exposition entertaining. But He Who Remains is hardly comic relief, and Majors manages to make him as intimidating as he is likable. If this is the kind of performance that can be expected from Majors going forward, then it’ll be a tough wait for him to make his proper debut as Kang.
Tony Leung — Wenwu
Another one of the year’s biggest villains — if one can even call him a villain at all — Xu Wenwu from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings quickly carved out a place among the MCU’s greatest villains thanks to Tony Leung’s masterful performance. Wenwu is a truly complex character, serving as both villain and victim, both ruthless warlord and loving family man, both brutal killer and grieving widower.
That kind of balancing act requires a truly incredible actor to portray such a complex antagonist. Thankfully, Tony Leung is the perfect man to bring Wenwu to life. He can be warm and gentle in one scene, then frighteningly callous in the next. But more than anything, Leung masterfully depicts Wenwu’s vulnerability, taking the generically supervillainous Mandarin of the comics and transforming him into a desperate, heartbroken, and utterly tragic figure that’s captured the hearts of countless fans.
Tom Holland — Spider-Man
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But out of all the MCU projects released this year, few can compete with the stellar cast of Spider-Man: No Way Home. There are plenty of standout actors who could have easily made this list, from Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin to Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus — plus another character or two who wasn’t featured in the trailers. However, the beating heart of the film is its protagonist, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. While other characters might steal the show at times, the film simply wouldn’t work without the sheer optimistic sincerity that Holland injects into Spider-Man.
More than anything, No Way Home is a story about Peter Parker’s kindhearted compassion, his desperate need to save everyone he can — and Holland manages to convey that aspect of the character with spectacular results. Beyond that, the film also provides plenty of opportunities for Holland to show more range than ever before. His Spider-Man can be funny, heartfelt, determined, sorrowful, or even furious. But no matter what, he always feels like Spider-Man. Tom Holland’s take on Peter may be divisive among certain fans, but No Way Home proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s a worthy successor to the role.
