Nicholas Hoult started working as an actor when he was a child. His first big break was in the movie About a Boy, when he was 11. There, his chemistry with Hugh Grant as a strange buddy duo was off the charts. Since then, he’s been both a handsome leading man and an eccentric supporting character in franchises, creating a career that most actors would love to have. Here are Nicholas Hoult’s best performances, ranked:

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8 Sand Castle (2017)

     Netflix

Private Matt Ocre (Hoult) wants to avoid going to battle, so he breaks his own hand. Months later, he’s sent into service and, with his unit, is tasked with rebuilding an important water pipe near Baqubah. Sand Castle isn’t your typical war movie. From the reluctant protagonist at the start, to the fact that there are no good or bad characters, everyone has their motives to do what they do. In every scene, Hoult shows the evolution of his character. He starts with disdain and fear of war (he only enlisted to get money for college), to his gradual realization that what they’re doing there is important, making him think differently by the end of the movie.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

7 Equals (2015)

     A24

In a dystopian future, emotions (love, but also anxiety or fear) are considered a disease called SOS. Silas (Hoult) and Nia (Kristen Stewart) discover they both have the disease when they start developing feelings for each other. Can they hide them from the world? Equals is a love story that fixates on the small things: a shared look, hands almost touching, accelerated respiration. It wouldn’t work without the incredible performances of both Hoult and Stewart. They have to believably fall in love, while being incredibly subdued, showing what they’re feeling with their micro-expressions. Drake Doremus (Like Crazy) always knows how to show love and infatuation, and this movie is the last proof of that.

6 Skins (2007-2013)

     All3Media

Skins was a British show about a group of teenagers and their problems with family and school, but also their parties, hookups, and experiences with drugs. This TV show was a game changer for teen dramas. Tony Stonem (Hoult) is the leader of this group, always self-assured, a manipulator, and not the best boyfriend, at least in the first season. Hoult played two different Tonys, the first season’s cocky protagonist and the second season’s insecure, damaged guy, as he’s still getting better after an accident. Hoult nailed both parts of the same character, making you like the jerk, and feel for the damaged one trying to get back; showing he could do both and showing a great future as an actor.

5 About A Boy (2002)

     Universal Pictures

Marcus Brewer (Hoult) is a kid who gets bullied at school for being a bit different. When his mother, Fiona (Toni Collette), tries to commit suicide, Marcus gets the help of the womanizing and immature Will (Hugh Grant), and surprisingly, they bond and start a strange and unique friendship. About a Boy was the first time we met Hoult, playing a kid wise beyond his years. Even though he was playing against a star like Grant, Hoult steals the movie with his performance. He shows heart and smarts, while acting all the insecurities and fears of a kid who sometimes has to be the adult of his house, as his mother has her problems. He nailed every one of those emotions.

4 Warm Bodies (2013)

     Summit Entertainment

R (Hoult) is a zombie, who, when looking for brains to eat, crosses paths with human Julia (Teresa Palmer), and his heart beats for the first time since he has become a zombie. Julia sees that R is different from the rest of the zombies, and they start sharing more time together, and maybe falling in love. Warm Bodies is one of the first, if not the first, zom-coms (zombie romantic comedies) and expertly blends both horror and romance. Hoult conveys his feelings and evolution, while trying to emote less, as zombies aren’t precisely very demonstrative. Through the script and the chemistry between Hoult and Palmer, we start to believe that these crazy kids could make it together.

3 X-Men Series (2011-2019)

     20th Century Fox

X-Men: First Class was the movie that started a new series for the X-Men, becoming the origin of the whole saga. The cast of this movie and the three films that followed are stacked: Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Zoë Kravitz, Hugh Jackman, and Hoult as Hank McCoy; also known as Beast, a genius who turns into a blue beast. Although he has a supporting role, Hoult might be the moral center of the series. He’s the most human character, showing an incredible range of emotions; the shame when he becomes a blue furry beast; the love and later jealousy he has for Raven (Lawrence); his loyalty to Xavier (McAvoy), and his disdain for Magneto (Fassbender). Hoult shows us all these emotions, even in his full hairy transformation.

2 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

     Warner Bros. Pictures

In a post-apocalyptic world, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) frees the five wives of the cruel leader Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). In the process, she gets the help of Max (Tom Hardy). Mad Max: Fury Road is two hours of pure adrenaline, as the persecution in the desert gets more dangerous, and spectacular with every second, in a movie that’s now more prescient than ever. Hoult plays Nux, a war boy whose only function is to die for Immortan Joe, in a performance that words do it justice. Hoult commits 200% to the role, and it pays off. Regarding Hoult, director George Miller said in The Hollywood Reporter: “Not just his talent, not just his skill level, and not just his ability to collaborate under difficult circumstances. But also as a human being. For such a young person, Nick is quite exceptional, mainly in the way that he displays grace under pressure.”

1 The Great (2020-Present)

     Paramount Global Distribution Group

Catherine (Elle Fanning) just married Peter III of Russia (Hoult), the Emperor of the Russian Empire. Quickly, she discovers that being queen to an immature and insecure ruler isn’t all fun and games. Can she get the best of it? The Great is a satirical black comedy retelling the story of Catherine the Great. Hoult plays the man-child and not-as-smart-as-he-thinks Peter without bravura, and gives it his all. His incompetence is almost endearing, as is his favorite catchphrase: “Huzzah!”. Hoult had already appeared in The Favourite, so he knew the tone of the stories written by Tony McNamara, and he nails it. Elle Fanning told Elle: “Nick and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just two enemies. She’s learning from him, and sometimes she’s charmed by him and pities him. He starts to fall in love with her, but she’s learning to manipulate him. It’s very complicated.”. Not many actors could make his best performance, the one where he’s being bested by his queen, while hunting, drinking, and being kind of stupid, but Hoult does. “Huzzah!” indeed.