3. Uma Thurman - Kill Bill Vol. 1
Uma Thurman snagged an Oscar nomination for her role as Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction, and her performance as The Bride in Kill Bill Vol. 1 should have given her a second nod. She is absolutely commanding as the mysterious assassin out for revenge on the people that left her for dead. Thurman plays the role with as much devotion and charisma as any actor can bring to a role, and it bounces off the screen in every frame she is in. When she awakens from her gunshot induced coma four years later, she is left screaming for the baby she was carrying before she went out. Her performance in that scene is haunting and tragic, as she realizes all that she has lost and more. Thurman creates a Tarantino hero like we have never seen before, one who is aware of their past and wrong doings, and who feels revenge is the only way to deal with the grief and loss she has suffered because its the only way she knows how to deal with it. Her physical devotion to the role makes her performance as the deadliest woman with a sword all the more believable as she takes on a Yakuza gang known as The Crazy 88's one by one in a thrilling action set piece. At it's heart, Kill Bill Vol. 1 delivers a much more thunderous impact than Vol. 2, and Thurman's performance is what helps it make that noise. Tarantino and Thurman are in talks to bring another Kill Bill film to the big screen in 2014.