Few Hollywood starlets have had the kind of career that Angelina Jolie has had over the years in the business. She has most recently made waves with her performance as the opera singer Maria Callas in the newest Pablo Larraín trilogy film. However, long before spearheading the cast of Maria, Jolie's career was quite fruitful. Jolie, who began acting as a child in 1982, has grown tremendously as an artist, taking on roles in a variety of successful and challenging films.
Jolie has cemented herself as one of the most versatile actors of her generation, from performances like the trouble-making sociopath Lisa in Girl, Interrupted, to the classic evil sorceress in Disney's Maleficent, the latter leading up to a possible Maleficent 3. Though Jolie has occasionally taken breaks from acting to pursue humanitarian work and directing, her career has hardly slowed down, and it's clear why. Actors like Jolie are hard to come by, bringing dedication, adaptability, and magnetism to her screenwork.
10 Lara Croft
Lara Croft: Tom Raider (2001)
When one thinks of "action heroine," Angelina Jolie's portrayal of Lara Croft, the iconic adventurer and archeologist, is likely to come to mind. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider adapts the video game character, focusing on just one of Lara's harrowing adventures. In this film, Lara must save the world by retrieving a key that will allow the Illuminati, a dangerous secret society, to gain the ability to control time. However, Jolie's role as Lara has a complicated history.
|
Movie |
Release Date |
Rotten Tomatoes Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider |
2001 |
20% |
|
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider —The Cradle of Life |
2003 |
24% |
Though her portrayal of the iconic character was popular at the time, some consider the film to be outdated and cartoonish compared to newer adaptations of Lara Croft, largely due to Jolie's wardrobe and character design. This is among the reasons for its 5.8/10 rating on IMDb and 20% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, Jolie gave her best, bringing confidence, grit, and intelligence to Lara, making her an enjoyable character to root for onscreen, and earning the actress a nomination at the Teen Choice Awards.
9 Evelyn Salt
Salt (2010)
Jolie is no stranger to playing secret agents and her portrayal of Evelyn Salt in Salt is one of the most famous examples. This action film tells the story of Evelyn, a CIA agent who is forced to go on the run after being falsely accused of being a Russian spy, and Jolie brings to life the highly skilled operative with ease.
Though it's one of Jolie's less challenging performances, the actress threw herself into the dangerous world of Salt, performing many of her own stunts. Additionally, though she appears to be the quintessential untouchable, lethal action hero, Jolie also conveys Evelyn's vulnerability and frustration about her situation. Audiences can feel a real sense of stakes, as Evelyn is genuinely threatened by her former employers who have begun hunting her. Salt only has middling scores, but Jolie still manages to bring charisma to her character.
8 Jane Smith
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
One of Jolie's most famous action roles is her iconic portrayal of Jane Smith in the 2005 movie iteration of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The blockbuster hit revolves around Jane and her husband, John, who, in a strange twist of fate, are both undercover assassins who wind up having assignments to kill each other. Mr. & Mrs. Smith is exactly in Jolie's wheelhouse — portraying the role of a charming but tough assassin.
However, the movie's overall popularity with audiences is worth noting, as Jolie won a variety of fan-favorite accolades, such as "Best Fight" at the MTV Movie Awards. Moreover, the award-winning actress portrays Jane's two personas masterfully: that of the cold-hearted killer and, on the other hand, the poised housewife, frustrated about the appearance of her new curtains. Similar to Salt, Jolie shows off her action chops in Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
7 Tigris
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Beyond her talents in the live-action medium, Jolie has also claimed a series of voice-acting roles. One of her most popular is as part of the star-studded cast of Kung Fu Panda, wherein she plays Tigris, the tough de facto leader of the Furious Five, a team of crime-fighting kung fu warriors, whom the lead, Jack Black's Po the panda bear, joins on his journey to become the legendary Dragon Warrior.
The film itself was an instant hit and Jolie's talent for voice acting is apparent when her performance as Tigris is hard to recognize as belonging to her. Tigris also serves an important part in the story, as one of the hardest working members of the team, who is not so easily won over by Po's story about being the Dragon Warrior. Therefore, Jolie's vulnerability in the role of Tigris makes it easy to sympathize with the character who is more than her tough exterior.
6 Hannah
Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)
One of Jolie's more recent standout roles came in the 2021 film, Those Who Wish Me Dead. This story follows Hannah, a smokejumper with a traumatic past, who comes across a young boy, Connor (Finn Little) in the Montana wilderness on the run from two men who he witnessed killing his father. The character in this thriller is by far one of Jolie's most underrated and lesser-known performances — gone is the glamorous spy, adventurer, and femme fatale from other titles.
Instead, Jolie successfully embodies Hannah, a solemn and tough firefighter who instantly becomes protective of the boy who is in danger. Though Jolie isn't the lead of this compelling story, her acting as Hannah makes her a standout in every scene. Her tragic character is further deepened by past trauma, as she is riddled with the guilt that she was not able to save a fellow firefighter, and determined not to repeat the same mistake with Connor.
5 Maleficent
Maleficent (2014)
Jolie once again demonstrates her versatility with the infamous figure of Maleficent in the $1.2 billion now Maleficent franchise, from 2014. In the film, Jolie successfully pulls off the role of the notorious Sleeping Beauty villain, giving a backstory to the misunderstood character who discovers that Aurora may be the only one to bring peace to their warring kingdoms.
Jolie meets the challenge of embodying the famous sorceress with confidence and mastery, naturally demonstrating her formidable nature without resorting to a cartoon-like caricature. This is especially important considering viewers must be won over by Maleficent and sympathize with her point of view. Maleficent's nature as both a dangerous sorceress and traumatized victim is embodied beautifully by Jolie, and she ended up earning a Kid's Choice Award as Favorite Villain of the Year for her talents.
4 Christine Collins
Changeling (2008)
Over the years, Jolie has taken on a number of roles in biopics, portraying a wide range of real-life figures. One of Angelina Jolie's best movies is Changeling, which features her heartrending performance as Christine Collins. The Clin Eastwood film is about a single mother in the 1920s who is desperate to find her kidnapped son, rallying against corruption and incompetence in the Los Angeles Police Department.
The story of Changeling is heartbreaking, and Jolie perfectly captures the grief and frustration that Collins felt while trying to locate her 9-year-old son. This film is a departure from many of her action roles, displaying Collins' powerlessness, torment, and confusion about the LAPD's refusal to believe her. Given that the film is a period piece, Jolie also proves that she can naturally play a woman from any time. The film went on to win Jolie several nominations, including that of Best Actress at the Academy Awards.
3 Maria Callas
Maria (2024)
Jolie took on another true story as the iconic figure, Maria Callas, in Pablo Larraín's latest film Maria. This sentimental feature takes place in the 1970s, as Maria enters the latest stages of her life in Paris. In these last few days, Maria confronts demons and fears from the past, in order to find her voice again. Angelina proves she is a chameleon of an actress with Maria. Notably, Jolie spent months training in classical voice, in order to sing in many key moments of the film.
Her care and attention to detail are apparent, as she portrays the temper and stubbornness of the famous prima donna in a respectful way that allows audiences to feel for her. The real genius of Jolie's performance stems from her ability to ground Maria's experiences and emotions throughout the film, even though much is hallucinated or imagined by the ailing singer. It is no surprise Jolie earned a Golden Globe nomination for the film, with many more nominations projected to come.
2 Lisa Rowe
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Perhaps Jolie's most decorated role is as Lisa, the sociopathic patient in, Girl, Interrupted. Jolie transforms completely into the cruel and manipulative peer of Winona Ryder's Susanna, an aimless teenager who has been committed to a mental institution under the presumption of a mistaken suicide attempt. Girl, Interrupted earned Jolie six wins, including the award for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards.
It is clear why, as Jolie manages to take her erratic character and breathe charisma and nuance into the troubled girl. In fact, though Ryder is the lead of the film as Susanna, Lisa's incredible presence pulls most of the attention in each scene she is present. Without resorting to an unrealistic representation of sociopathy, Jolie allows audiences to sympathize with Lisa's troubles stemming from her mental condition, while embracing the cruelty she demonstrates in her actions.
1 Gia Carangi
Gia (1998)
Arguably, Jolie's portrayal of Gia Carangi, the famous supermodel, in Gia, is her strongest and most heartfelt performance onscreen. This biopic focuses on Gia's meteoric rise to fame as the first major supermodel, as well as her substance abuse and depression that led to her eventual death at a young age. This film is a masterclass in acting by Jolie, who embodies the star through multiple stages of her life as she grows in both her career and as a woman.
There is much nuance to Jolie's performance, who is able to show Gia's firecracker personality at some moments and incredible desperation and fear at other points. However, the actress never resorts to melodrama, realistically showing Gia's many highs and lows as someone with mental health issues. In the end, Angelina Jolie won multiple awards for her role in Gia, including a Golden Globe, cementing it as her best performance to date in the eyes of many.
