20 Actors Who Just Gave Their Best Performance Ever

Now, there's no pretending that Baywatch star Pamela Anderson has a long list of acclaimed performances to her name, and so the bar for her to give a career-best turn in a new film is admittedly quite low.

But Anderson certainly didn't do the bare minimum to clear said bar in The Last Showgirl, an affecting drama in which Anderson portrays Shelly, a middle-aged Vegas showgirl facing the closure of the act she's spent decades working for.

Anderson sheds her iconic bombshell visage for a dramatically raw performance few could've ever expected from her, especially at this stage in her life and career.

It's bravely unvarnished, vulnerable work where Anderson shapes Shelly into a likeable but troubled character, and has an undeniable self-reflexive quality given Anderson's own struggles to be taken seriously in middle age.

Though it didn't lead to an Oscar nomination for Anderson, she did score Best Actress nominations at both the Golden Globes and SAG Awards, in turn opening the door for her to pursue further dramatic work.