20 Essential Movie Performances That Will Define 2016
16. Mark Rylance - The BFG (The BFG)
Release Date: July 1
The Role: The Big Friendly Giant who sets off on a journey with human girl Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) to rid the world of dangerous, man-eating giants.
Why It'll Define 2016: Because what kid didn't grow up reading The BFG? And even if you've somehow not read it, you've almost certainly heard of it and are aware of its iconic, beloved status among kids the world over.
Spielberg of course has a knack for wringing tremendous emotion out of family fare, and he's found a grand secret weapon with Mark Rylance, who of course won a Best Supporting Actor this year for his work on Spielberg's last film, Bridge of Spies.
There are few actors who could embody the simultaneous intimidating scale and inherent warmth of the title character, but aided by one of the all-time great directors and some marvelous visual effects, it looks like his work will be much talked about all year.