It’s almost too perfect that our sixth and seventh place selections finished within one point of each other. Jonah Hill and James Franco both owe much of their early careers to Judd Apatow, as two of Hill’s earliest roles were in The 40 Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, while Franco got his break on the TV show Freaks and Geeks. Since that time, both have been nominated for Academy Awards (Hill is actually up to two!) and in 2013, they were onscreen together as fictionalized versions of themselves in This Is the End. They also had memorable supporting roles, with Hill playing a coke-addicted boiler room con man in The Wolf of Wall Street, and Franco portraying a creepy drug dealer in Spring Breakers. Hill was just appalling in the best possible way in his role, crafting a vile character who could still elicit laughs. You don’t exactly root for Donnie Azoff, but you do wonder what excesses he will go to next. Franco’s Alien is a similarly unpleasant sort that somehow manages to bring the charisma. The movie itself may leave you wondering if you loved it or hated it, but there can be no doubt that you will never forget Alien and his constant, hypnotic repetition of the line “Spring Breeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak. Forever.”

Eighth place goes to Sam Rockwell, who happens to be imparting his best brand of Bill Murray-esque wisdom in the wonderful coming-of-age film The Way Way Back. He portrays Owen, a waterpark manager who takes the lead character, a teenager struggling through a vacation summer with his mother and her boyfriend, under his wing. While a 20,000 foot view of Owen would make you think that he’s an irresponsible 40-something man child, as he interacts more and more with his protégé you appreciate that he has a kindness and gentleness that lead him to appreciate the underdogs in life.

Bradley Cooper takes the ninth spot on our poll thanks to an over-the-top performance as FBI Agent Richie DeMaso in American Hustle. His second successful collaboration with director David O. Russell proves to be fruitful once again, as he plays the character all swagger and bravado, but shows just an edge of cravenness under the surface. And really, any man who is brave enough to wear curlers in a movie deserves at least some consideration, right?

Rounding out our top ten is someone who had what can be classified as a Very Good Year. In 2013, Matthew McConaughey transformed from “the bongo guy with the abs” to “Serious Actor.” Also a top five finisher for Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey also captured our attention as the title character in Mud. In that film, he plays a strange, backwoods man who befriends some teenage boys as he attempts to reunite with his lost love. Even though this character could have been weird to the point that it’s a joke, McConaughey infused him with life and made him sympathetic.

Just missing the cut in this category were American Hustle’s Jeremy Renner, George Clooney in Gravity and once again Matthew McConaughey for his small role in The Wolf of Wall Street.

2014 Calvin Awards
2014 Calvin Awards
Calvins Intro
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Album
Best Cast
Best Character
Best Director
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Best Videogame
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture

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