4. Olivia Thirlby
Olivia Thirlby's Judge Cassandra Anderson is easily the most interesting and best developed character in Dredd, serving as a nice foil to the titular character and also marking one of the most striking female leads in a comic book adaptation in some time, both beautiful and courageous. Though Diane Lane really did try hard in her role as Judge Hershey in the original film, she ends up being embarrassed - as are several other talented actors, perhaps none more so than Max von Sydow - in the film because they're essentially lifeless also-rans around which Stallone's character colourfully waltzes. In Dredd, Thirlby's Anderson, however, is a particularly interesting character, not merely because she has powers of telepathy, but because she is a compassionate challenge to Dredd's unforgiving attitude towards criminals. Though she executes a perp early on in the film, she later comes to regret the decisions when she accidentally comes across the man's wife - with whom he has a child - and likely as a result, later shows mercy on one of Ma-Ma's beleaguered techie cronies (played by Domhnall Gleason) by allowing him to flee, much to Dredd's chagrin. Introducing a character with a diverging moral code to Dredd's is important because viewers would otherwise find themselves unable to connect with what is occuring on-screen; the film does not ask us to approve of Dredd's actions, because unless you're a Conservative loon, they often seem excessive and needless - at least in a civilised society (which is entirely the film's point). Anderson is idealistic but prepared to get her hands dirty at the same time; she is a thoroughly interesting character who guides us through this mad world, and when returning out the other side, decides the life is not for her (despite Dredd giving her an unexpected pass).