10 2024 Movie And TV Performances That Deserve More Attention Than They Are Likely To Get This Awards Season

With the airing of the Golden Globes, Awards Season is upon us, claiming to celebrate the best performances the film and television industries have to offer.. but does it really? In recent years, it has become increasingly obvious to fans that performances in certain genres, or certain types of performances, are more likely to be snubbed when Awards season roles around.

Here are some performances that deserve more attention than they are likely to get this awards season.

1. Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez/Echo in 'Echo'

After making her MCU debut as a member of the Tracksuit Mafia, and enforcer for Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, in the Hawkeye series, Alaqua Cox reprised her role as Maya Lopez, now the series lead, in Echo. The series reimagines the origins of the character's minor super-humanity, explaining Maya's enhanced combat abilities as being due to 'echoes' of past warriors in her Choctaw bloodline.

Cox, who is both Deaf and a real-life partial amputee, has been praised for her portrayal of Maya Lopez, and her commitment to an accurate, positive portrayal of Choctaw culture. Her performance is even more impressive when you consider that her appearance as Maya in Hawkeye was her first major acting role, making Echo her first lead. Unfortunately, despite critical acclaim, the series and Cox escaped the attention of most awards shows.

2. Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in 'The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live'

In 2019, actor Andrew Lincoln left his leading role as Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead in order to spend more time with his family. However, rather than the character being killed off as many expected, the injured Rick survived after being whisked away in a mysterious helicopter, followed by the news that the character's story would continue with a film. This film eventually became The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, a six-part limited series that saw Rick reunited with his main love interest, Michonne, played by Danai Gurira.

In a moving performance from Lincoln, Rick is portrayed as suffering what is clearly some level of PTSD from past events, and his numerous failures to escape captivity. Usually, such an accurately portrayed mental health battle would be a shoe-in for awards nominations, but because Rick's traumas happen to also include zombies, Lincoln's performance has been overlooked.

3. Lenore Zann as Rogue in 'X-Men '97'

To begin with, Marvel Animation's X-Men '97 was a fun, if slightly more grown-up sequel to the original cult-classic X-Men: The Animated Series. This all changed in episode five, 'Remember It..', which takes a shockingly dark turn by depicting the genocide of the Mutant nation of Genosha at the hands of a Sentinel army, resulting in the death of an untold number of Mutants, including fan-favourite Gambit. This proved that X-Men '97 would pull no punches, ready and willing to adapt some of the X-Men comics darker stories.

The tragedy of Genosha, and it's aftermath, is lifted by Lenore Zann's heartbreaking voice performance as Rogue, first grieving Gambit's death, and later seeking revenge. While some would argue that voice actors are acknowledged during animation awards, there is an art to voice work just as much as any other form of acting, and deserves wider attention. Zann's work as Rogue is one of many performances behind calls to add a voice acting category to more prestigious awards shows.

4. Lupita Nyong'o as Sam in 'A Quiet Place: Day One'

After the first two A Quiet Place films were a success, the 2024 prequel A Quiet Place: Day One took fans back to the earliest days of the invasion of blind alien monsters who hunt via super-sensitive hearing. Lupita Nyong'o stars in the prequel as Samira/Sam, a cat-loving Cancer patient. Terminally ill when the invasion begins, Sam rejects the chance to evacuate, instead spending her final days revisiting happy childhood memories while occasionally escaping the aliens with the help of an unlikely new friend, Law Student Eric, played by Stranger Things and future Fantastic Four star Joseph Quinn. Sam is ultimately able to make the choice to die on her own terms, helping to ensure Eric and her beloved cat, Frodo, are able to join the evacuation.

Nyong'o is already an Oscar winner for her role in 12 Years A Slave, and has received praise from fans and critics for her appearances in the Black Panther films. While Day One did not break any new ground for the A Quiet Place franchise, critics agreed the movie was lifted by Nyong'o's performance as Sam, and had it been a more polished film overall, may have drawn greater attention.

5. Chris Hemsworth as Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

After a long wait in which many fans feared the film had slipped into development hell, the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, finally hit theatres in 2024. The film tells the story of a younger Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy, taking over the role from Charlize Theron) and her struggle to escape the post-apocalyptic Wasteland and return home to the Green Place, while also seeking revenge for her Mother's murder at the hands of the biker warlord Dementus.

Dementus was portrayed by Chris Hemsworth, best known for his role as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His role as the villainous and increasingly unstable Dementus goes entirely against type, with some critics calling it one of the best performances of his career. Unfortunately, Furiosa's underwhelming box office numbers kept the film, and Hemsworth, from getting the attention they deserve.

6. Phia Saban as Queen Helaena Targaryen in 'House of the Dragon' season 2

As a supporting character in a large cast, it can be difficult to make a mark on the audience, but this is just what Phia Saban manages to do with her role as Queen Helaena Targaryen House of the Dragon season two. As well as Helaena having to deal with the trauma of the sudden, brutal murder of her young son, season two also sees Helaena confirmed as a Dragon Dreamer, who can see, and sometimes influence, future events. One scene late in the finale, in which Helaena, usually considered a fragile figure, manages to silence her brother, Aemond, with her knowledge of his eventual death, is considered one of the best of the season.

George R.R Martin, prefers House of The Dragon's take on Helaena to the one he wrote in Fire & Blood, and credits this preference entirely to Phia Saban's engaging performance. However, with large casts, studios tend to favour leads in award submissions, leaving Saban's supporting performance sadly overlooked.

7. Maya Hawke as Anxiety in 'Inside Out 2'

One of the most successful films of the year was the Disney/Pixar sequel Inside Out 2. With Riley Andersen now hitting puberty and entering High School, the sequel introduces four new emotions, most notably Anxiety, voiced by Stranger Things star Maya Hawke. Over the course of the film, Anxiety takes a deeper hold over Riley as she becomes increasingly concerned over making friends and earning a spot on the Hockey team, eventually resulting in a full-blown anxiety attack. Many critics believed Hawke's voice work as Anxiety added to this descent.

While Animated films are now regularly celebrated at more prestigious awards shows such as the Oscars, the voice actors who perform in them are not. Movies like Inside Out 2 only add to the calls for a category to be added for them.

8. Dafne Keen as X-23/Laura Kinney in 'Deadpool and Wolverine'

Deadpool and Wolverine is packed with cameo appearences of characters from the earlier Fox-verse Marvel films, but Dafne Keen's appearance as X-23, aka Laura Kinney, is a stand out. Keen steals the show in most of the scenes she is in, and of all the cameo characters, she is the only one to have a major effect on the plot. While the others appeared mostly as we already remembered them to be, we got to see a little of who Laura was able to become following the events of Logan, which allows her to convince the alternate Wolverine to join the assault on Cassandra's fortress.

Many fans still believe that both Dafne Keen and Hugh Jackman were snubbed by the major awards shows for Logan, and Keen's scene-stealing in Deadpool and Wolverine proves they may be right. There's certainly a reason Laura was the only other void dweller explicitly depicted as now residing in Deadpool's universe at the end of the film.

9. Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness in 'Agatha All Along'

Arriving just in time for the Halloween season, WandaVision spin-off Agatha All Along proved a surprise hit for Disney Plus. Against the expectations of many, Agatha All Along was not a redeemption story for Agatha Harkness.. in fact, she may even be worse than she was in WandaVision. However, thanks to Kathryn Hahn's nuanced portrayal of the character, audiences were still able to root for Agatha's success, even when she was not the easiest character to root for, and of course, feel sympathy when flashbacks revealed the circumstances behind the death of her son, Nicky.

Back in 2021, most of WandaVision's main cast, including Kathryn Hahn, earned some major award nominations for their roles, with many believing the series could be the one to break the long held stigma against comic book and genre series winning industry voted awards. Unfortunately, this was not the case. While Hahn has received a few nominations for Agatha All Along, the continued genre bias, and tough competition in her category, mean a win may be slightly out of reach.

10. Joe Locke as Billy Maximoff/William Kaplan/Wiccan in 'Agatha All Along'

Wiccan, the son of the Scarlet Witch, is a popular character in Marvel Comics, so whoever was cast in the role in the MCU had some important shoes to fill. Enter Heartstopper star Joe Locke, who's mysterious Teen character was revealed as a reincarnated Billy Maximoff halfway through Agatha All Along. By the end of the series, he comes into his full powers as Wiccan, or at least the first stage of them.

As Teen/Billy, Locke managed to impressively hold his own among a cast of much more seasoned actors. His character was an important moral foothold for the audience. He is clearly on the side of good, and this allows viewers to keep supporting Agatha even when she behaves despicably, as her successes are often Billy's as well. Unfortunately, due to the continued genre bias of most industry awards, it probably won't be Joe Locke's year just yet.

Hopefully this changes in the future, and we can see more great performmances acknowledged in a way they deserve.