Jamie Lee Curtis: Her 10 Best Performances

This may seem like a big claim but I assure you it's merited; Jamie Lee Curtis' performance in the new Halloween film isn't just her latest performance, it's also her very best one ever.

Returning to the role of Laurie Strode once again, Curtis brings both a fierce intensity and a fragile vulnerability to the traumatized character. Her introductory conversation with podcasters Aaron and Dana sees her putting on a stone-cold facade during most of the conversation. But when Dana brings up how Laurie lost custody of her daughter, Karen, Curtis' eyes do all the work for her, giving viewers a window into the remorse and sadness she feels.

Moments like this and her waiting outside of Michael's transportation bus with a gun and the subsequent dinner scene in which she has an emotional breakdown are remarkably powerful, all thanks to Curtis' reserved performance. It would have been easy to go big in moments like this but instead, Curtis constantly internalizes Laurie's struggle and makes it all the more impactful.

The final act of the film, in which Laurie painstakingly checks and locks down each and every room of the house while looking for Michael, again shows Curtis' uncanny ability to endear herself to an audience. This sequence is so gripping and so suspenseful specifically because of Curtis' performance, marrying the intensity and vulnerability that has defined the character for forty years in a way that feels practically revolutionary.

All Hail the Queen.