Every year, the staff at BOP loves to recognize those people who caught our eye. Sometimes, these performers are new to us, actors we've never seen before. Other times, they're people who give such standout interpretations to their roles that we're forced to see them in new ways.

One such breakthrough performer is our winner for this year's Calvin Award in the category. Ana de Armas had previously placed as a nominee, taking fifth spot the year she portrayed Joi, the A.I. girlfriend of replicant K, in Blade Runner 2049. We have no rule that says repeat winners/nominees are forbidden, so here she is again for her memorable gig in Knives Out. She's the true lead of the film as Marta Cabrera, a caretaker who surprisingly inherits a big bunch of money and finds herself at the middle of a murder mystery.

We were won over by de Armas's wide-eyed interpretation of the character, as she interacted perfectly with some formidable co-stars, including Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, and Christopher Plummer. Marta is unable to lie, because she has a tell. It makes her throw up when she does. Even as we're following along with Marta and wondering if she has a role in the murder after all, we root for her because she's kind to others.

Our runner-up loses out to victory by just a slim margin. Florence Pugh arguably had the best 2019 of any actor (though Scarlett Johansson has an argument as well since she was a double Academy Award nominee for Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit, but also Avengers: Endgame). Pugh received accolades throughout the year, beginning with Fighting With My Family, where she played WWE wrestler Paige in a surprisingly charming, funny biopic. Then came summer horror film Midsommar, where her character went to Sweden for a festival that doesn't sound like much fun. And finally, she stole the show in the film for which she is nominated here, Little Women.

Pugh's Amy March is delightfully mischievous and impetuous, bringing nuance to a character that I previously didn't much care for in the book. We understand Amy - her world is somewhat different than her sisters', and in some ways she is the worse for it because she is isolated from them. Ultimately, though, she grows and learns from her mistakes, and we love watching Pugh guide us through each moment in her bravura performance.

Third place goes to yet another actress who has placed in this category previously. This time, it's Awkwafina, who was sixth last year thanks to her work in Crazy Rich Asians. This year, she's up to third for The Farewell, and perhaps only finished that low because some of us remembered having voted for her so recently. Either way, she's a revelation in The Farewell, a wayward artist finding a way to say goodbye to her grandmother, a woman unaware she has lung cancer. Billi is an entirely different character than CRH's Goh Peik Lin, proving Awkwafina's versatility.





Often, we see child/teen actors recognized with nominations in this category, and two such performers finished in fourth and fifth place. Roman Griffin Davis stunned us with his blunt desperation to be part of something, even though that something is beyond horrifying. Somehow, through it all, he finds ways to make us laugh. It's a strange sensation. Shahadi Wright Joseph played dual roles as she was both Zora and Umbrae in Us. Despite looking near-identical, the two characters are exceptionally different.

Next, we move on to the 20-somethings. Kaitlyn Dever, previously a favorite of ours for playing Loretta on "Justified," is recognized here as she was simply terrific in Booksmart. And once again, this is a wildly divergent role than the one she played in the TV series, a good girl versus a child pot dealer. In Ready or Not, Samara Weaving is the picture perfect bride... until she has to turn the tables on family tradition and do what she must in order to save herself.

Rounding out the top ten, we have two Julias and an Angel. The first of the two Julias is Julia Butters, who was just preternaturally wise in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. Her conversations with Rick Dalton are highly memorable. The other Julia is Julia Fox, who had her debut performance in Uncut Gems. She's a total New York girl who's not to be messed with, and we look forward to seeing what comes next. She sounds like a renaissance woman to be sure. And finally, we appreciated Asher Angel's imitation of Zachary Levi as he plays the younger Billy Batson in Shazam! Angel nails the comic timing and brings us a "secret identity" that is more sympathetic than most.

A few breakouts just missed the cut for nomination, including Mena Massoud, who played Aladdin in Disney's live-action remake, Beanie Feldstein aka Kaitlyn Dever's counterpart in Booksmart (who probably had her real breakout in Lady Bird), Jimmy Fails in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Rocketman's Taron Egerton, and Lashana Lynch in Captain Marvel.

2020 Calvin Awards
Calvins Intro
Best Actor
Best Actress
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
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture

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