4. Steve Carell Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Perhaps one of the biggest names operating in comedy at the moment (or at least until maybe the last two or three years) I first became aware of Steve Carell during his role in Anchorman. He was, clearly, one of the flat out funnier characters and even then I remember thinking hes one to watch. Nowadays hes well, hes pretty good. He was great as Michael Scott in TVs US Office, and The 40 Year Old Virgin, his first real vehicle was riotously funny in parts, but you cant exactly say it was a performance that reeked of dramatic excellence. Ill admit that Little Miss Sunshine went under my radar for a little while, and I
heard about Carells sudden flash of brilliance before I actually saw it, but upon sitting down to the film, it was immediately apparent what everyone was getting so excited about. Carell's role in Little Miss Sunshine is almost completely atypical: hes a gay scholar who's unrequited love and subsequent rejection sparked him to attempt suicide. Not your normal Steve Carell afair for sure, but when you see what he does with the role, you'll be in equal parts surprised and delighted. Hes both a man at the bottom of his subjective barrel and also a man on the verge of a potent catharsis; its the discovery of this catharsis (through the help of his dysfunctional family of course) that makes Uncle Franks journey so surprisingly awesome.