9. Nicholas Hoult - About a Boy
Sometimes I think it has to be much harder to play the odd little kid in a film. There's so much more interpretation and character development involved, because as an actor you have to sit down and really think about how they're different, why they're different, and what's the best way to get that across to an audience. Enter the role of Marcus in About a Boy, one of the weirdest kids you're likely to find in a film. What else can you say about an adolescent who gets picked on because he sometimes accidentally bursts into song during math class? So Marcus is pretty out there, right? But Nicholas Hoult plays him in such a way that really humanizes him and grounds the character in reality. The eccentricities make complete sense, because through the actor we're allowed a glimpse into what makes Marcus who he is. It's a detailed and complex character study, and credit to Hoult because he pulls it off flawlessly. Also, he was willing to get on stage and warble an a capella version of Killing Me Softly, which isn't something you can say of just anyone.