Every Avenger's Best Performance OUTSIDE The MCU
10. Tessa Thompson - Dear White People
Goddammit, Tessa Thompson is a delight in everything she's in!
Her addition to the MCU was a welcomed arrival as the level-headed Valkyrie - her part opposite Hulk and Thor (and Loki) created perfect chemistry for the quad of heroes.
Scratch the surface of her career, and you'll find she has a wealth of great roles before (and after) the MCU. And while she carried her own in 2018's Sorry To Bother You, I've got to give praise to her leading role as Samantha White in the theatrical version of Dear White People.
As the host of a college radio show, Samantha (and the film itself) plays a unique part in bluntly calling out the racist acts perpetrated by white students on her campus ( regardless if they are blatant or subtle).
Thompson delivers Sam's lines with a straight-faced, unapologetic manner that could only work from a performer who understood where her character's motivations came from.
Thompson is unrelenting as Samantha - of course, we feel empathy for her character, and just like the Netflix show, there are honest vulnerabilities to her the character. Among the other actors in the film, Thompson stands out as one of the more engaging.
It's made the more interesting when Thompson makes an appearance in the Netflix series as the complete opposite of who she is in the film.