Taking advantage of the superhero movie craze of the 2000s, Marvel Studios released Iron Man in 2008 as the first step in a multi-film franchise. People may not have even imagined it at the time, but this film would kick off what would soon become the highest-grossing and most successful film franchise in history. Since then, the MCU has produced numerous movies and TV shows. Although their level of quality is varied, there is a constant: Each MCU product offers at least a few memorable performances that stand the test of time.
Though the superhero genre, neither in film nor TV, is generally known for housing great acting performances, there are quite a few glowing exceptions — many of them in the MCU. From legendary actors like Angela Bassett to exciting newcomers like Iman Vellani, the best acting in the MCU comes from performers who are sure to bless blockbuster audiences' screens for many years to come.
15 Lewis Pullman as Bob Reynolds
'Thunderbolts*' (2025)
With Thunderbolts*, retitled The New Avengers, Marvel proved that it still has plenty of gas left in the tank, and that there's still room for more creative and intimate projects in the MCU. Its vast ensemble of characters is composed of some of the most interesting that the franchise has seen in years, and Lewis Pullman's Bob, a.k.a. Sentry, a.k.a. The Void, is a big standout.
Bob is at the very center of the narrative, and Pullman pulls off the significance of the character tremendously well. It's through the actor's deep emotion and charming innocence that the portrayal of Bob's mental health issues becomes the emotional core of the narrative, and he handles the film's darker moments like a pro.
14 Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm
'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' (2025)
The MCU's latest outing is The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the franchise's fresh and retro-futuristic take on Marvel's First Family. In spite of all its shortcomings, there are a ton of things that the movie gets right—and one of those things is undoubtedly Sue Storm, played impeccably by Vanessa Kirby. In more ways than one, Sue is the heart of both the team and the movie as a whole, and Kirby is at the center of it all.
The actress's chemistry with the whole cast, Pedro Pascal in particular, is off the charts, and she exudes the kind of nurturing yet fierce energy that any fan would expect to see in her performance. As loving and sweet as it is powerful and profound, Kirby's performance is guaranteed to make Sue a fan-favorite character going forward.
13 Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan
'Ms. Marvel' (2022)
Being one of Marvel's most recent superheroes (only having been created in 2013), it came as a fair bit of a surprise when Kamala Khan got her own standalone show on Disney+. It's Ms. Marvel, one of the platform's most rewatchable female-led Marvel shows. It's about Kamala, a Pakistani-American girl who idolizes Carol Danvers. She doesn't fit in at school or even at home, until she gets superpowers like the heroes she admires.
Even though Ms. Marvel is one of MCU fans' least favorite shows, there's one thing about it that's beyond any kind of reproach: Iman Vellani's magnetic performance as the titular superhero. She nails the show's more lighthearted, comedic tone, but also more than holds her own when dramatic moments require more complex chops from her. She's already proved that her performance is one of the new MCU's best assets in The Marvels, another piece of MCU content where she was also the biggest standout.
12 Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
'Thunderbolts*' (2025)
Thunderbolts* has a phenomenal cast, but there's no question about whose performance is the best of the bunch: That would have to be Florence Pugh's leading turn as Yelena Belova. The star has already played Yelena in Black Widow and Hawkeye, and has been a huge standout in both; but this is the first time the character gets to be a leading lady, and Pugh is more than up for the challenge.
For one, Pugh's chemistry with everyone else is amazing (if Yelena and Belova's pairing turned romantic, it's unlikely that any fan would mind). On top of that, Pugh imbues Yelena with profound emotional complexity and compelling thematic nuances, capturing the character's moral grayness in phenomenal ways whenever needed. She's funny, she's sympathetic, and viewers just can't get enough of her portrayal.
11 Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark
'Iron Man' (2008)
The one that started it all, Iron Man isn't only still one of the best entries in the MCU: It's also a genuinely great action film in its own right. Putting a twist on the Hero's Journey story archetype, it's about billionaire engineer Tony Stark. After being held captive in an Afghan cave, he escapes by creating a unique weaponized suit of armor, which he then uses to fight crime.
Iron Man has one of the best superhero movie screenplays ever, which better allowed Robert Downey Jr. to deliver one of the best acting performances the genre has ever seen. It's become the most iconic performance in the overarching franchise, but it's in the original Iron Man where RDJ delivers some of his best work as the character. Eccentric, charismatic, and surprisingly nuanced, Downey's first portrayal of Tony Stark showed from early on just how flawlessly the role had been cast. This was also the performance that brought the actor back to the public eye and audiences' good side after a years-long addiction controversy, adding more magic to an already exceptional performance.
10 Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle
'The Punisher' (2017–2019)
With Netflix's Marvel shows officially back in the MCU's canon, Jon Bernthal's Punisher is, once again, one of the franchise's most fascinating characters, as confirmed in Daredevil: Born Again. However, it's Bernthal's acting in the character's solo show, The Punisher, that easily stands out as some of the best work of his whole career.
The Punisher, in spite of its flaws, was tragically canceled soon. Thankfully, what fans were left with—aside from an exhilarating character drama—was a powerhouse performance by Bernthal. His Frank Castle is brutal and absolutely ferocious, the way the character should always be; but what a lesser actor might have turned into more of a one-note "angry" performance, Bernthal turns into a deeply layered and complicated piece of acting that's a delight to watch unfold.
9 Tom Holland as Peter Parker
'Spider-Man: No Way Home' (2021)
After a long uphill battle to bring Spider-Man into the MCU, Sony (who own the license to the character) and Marvel Studios finally struck a deal. This deal resulted in a phenomenal trilogy that ended with its best installment: Spider-Man: No Way Home. With Spidey's identity as Peter Parker revealed, Peter asks Doctor Strange for help. After a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from parallel realities start to appear.
With terrific use of fan service and one of the MCU's best endings, No Way Home remains one of the franchise's most thrilling spectacles. It's also where Tom Holland finally truly came into his own as the Wall-Crawler, embodying him in all his greatest strengths and darkest flaws. It's a performance that's cheery and amusing as often as it is poignant and profound, demanding more from Holland than perhaps any role he'd played before. The result is outstanding, showing just what he's capable of as Spider-Man.
8 Tom Hiddleston as Loki
'Loki' (2021–2023)
Needless to say, Loki is one of the MCU's most important characters. He's a fan-favorite through and through, and that's in no small measure thanks to Tom Hiddleston's timeless portrayal of the antihero. The performance has evolved greatly throughout the complicated history of the character in the MCU, but it's in Loki that Hiddleston is at his very best as the character.
Loki as a whole is one of the best superhero shows of the last five years, so it definitely helps that Hiddleston is working with such strong material; but the series wouldn't work half as well as it does if it weren't for the actor's perfect understanding of the protagonist. Hiddleston's performance in Loki is captivatingly multifaceted, capturing both the humor and the drama of the series to perfection. Loki's progression and arc over the course of the story is a spectacle to watch, and it's largely thanks to Hiddleston selling the audience on that transformation so well.
7 Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock
'Daredevil' (2015–2018)
With all of Netflix's MCU shows officially back in the franchise's canon, fans can rest assured that the title of greatest product in the MCU still belongs to the streaming giant's Daredevil. Following an adaptation of the character that's easily among the worst Marvel movies of all time, Netflix put out a TV show of shockingly high quality with a surprisingly mature tone. It's the tale of Matt Murdock — blind lawyer by day, vigilante by night. Alone, he fights the crime of New York as Daredevil.
Charlie Cox's performance as Daredevil couldn't possibly have been more perfect. Aside from his portrayal of a blind person being both accurate and sensitive, his layered portrayal of Murdock's tortured psyche is both dark and compelling. Cox isn't afraid to dive deep into the more uncomfortable aspects of his character, and in the action scenes, he absolutely nails the badassery of the Man Without Fear.
6 Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda
'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' (2022)
After Black Panther became the most Oscar-nominated MCU movie (with seven nods) and the first to get a Best Picture nomination, a lot was riding on its sequel. Not only that: It was also expected to be a tribute to the legacy of Chadwick Boseman, who tragically passed away in 2020. Thankfully, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever lived up to expectations, telling the story of Shuri having to lead Wakanda in a fight to protect their country as they mourn the death of King T'Challa.
Angela Bassett reprised her role as Queen Ramonda, T'Challa and Shuri's mother, in a career-defining turn that became the first MCU performance nominated for an Oscar (which it shockingly lost). It's a fierce and strong performance, but also a deeply vulnerable one. There's profound grief and poignancy in it, but also surprising amounts of gravitas, which carry most of the film's emotional power.