10 Actors Who Just Gave Their Best Performance Ever

Although already into his 40th year, John Magaro still seems like something of a young up-and-comer, but his detailed turn as the jilted, gently jealous husband in Celine Song's Past Lives may put an end to that.

The film is built around the relationship of Nora Moon (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), childhood friends who are torn apart when Nora's family relocates from South Korea to Canada, and we dip into their stories every 12 years to see the ways in which they fall apart and reconnect. Across the years, Nora develops her own life with Arthur (Magaro) in the Big Apple, and only the return of Hae Sung can call into question the materially small but emotionally large life they share.

Not only is Magaro not the film's lead, but he doesn't have any scenes, or virtually any screentime, on his own. Despite this, he imbues what could have been a more two-dimensional role of the jilted husband with a vulnerability and tenderness that is rarely seen in men onscreen, bringing a profound believability to the part. This completely sells Arthur's position as a moderately successful, new-century, New York writer, and shows why Magaro should be every director's go-to actor for intricately detailed supporting performances.