Great Performers
The Best Actors of 2019
These are the 10 performers whose work we found most captivating, challenging, shocking and inspiring in 2019. With a portfolio of photographs by Jack Davison.
Selected by A.O. Scott and
The 12.15.19 Issue
Highlights
Credit - Great Performers
Jennifer Lopez on Finally Getting the Part She Was Born to Play
For decades, Hollywood demanded she play ditzy or desperate. It took the role an exuberant, amoral stripper to set her free.
By
CreditJack Davison for The New York Times - Great Performers
Brad Pitt on the Kind of Leading Man He Doesn’t Want to Be
“I spent most of the ’90s hiding out and smoking pot. I was too uncomfortable with all the attention.”
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CreditJack Davison for The New York Times - Great Performers
Why Is Hollywood Afraid of Lupita Nyong’o?
Something’s wrong when the fashion world treats an Oscar-winner better than the movies do. But this year, she made up for lost time.
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CreditJack Davison for The New York Times
Robert De Niro Thinks Donald Trump Is Worse Than Any Gangster He’s Played
“The rule in acting is you never make a judgment about your character. The characters have their reasons, and you understand them.”
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CreditJack Davison for The New York Times Great PerformersWhat Should I Do About My Bigoted Landlady?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on having a landlord with hateful views and keeping your apartment — or recommending your building to others.
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CreditIllustration by Tomi Um The EthicistThe Key to a Perfect Italian-American Sauce
Pickled peppers elevate a pan sauce that you can use on veal, on pork, on beef, on chicken.
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CreditSarah Anne Ward for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Paola Andrea. EatA Runner Suddenly Developed Asthma. It Was Stranger Than It Seemed.
A 34-year-old woman goes to the emergency room for chest pain. Her reaction to painkillers provides a clue to what is really wrong.
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CreditPhoto illustration by Ina Jang DiagnosisWho’s Better at Image Management: Colin Kaepernick or the N.F.L.?
If anyone understands the power of video, it is the N.F.L. But in a triumph of guerrilla filmmaking, Kaepernick keeps seizing their narrative control.
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CreditPhoto illustration by Najeebah Al-Ghadban Screenland
Letter of Recommendation: 3D Without Glasses
You can teach yourself to see stereo photographs without a special viewer. This turns out to be good practice for making sense of a complex world.
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CreditJess T. Dugan for The New York Times Letter of RecommendationTo engage the concept of a “still life” painting, this tender poem pauses and holds.
By Mark Sanders and
Credit PoemHow to Keep a Stranger on the Phone
Smile — the other person can hear it. Sit up straight. Don’t take it personally if people yell at you.
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CreditIllustration by Radio Tip
CreditIllustration by Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy Judge John Hodgman
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