Caps off to Terrence Howard, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn, and seven others who proved outstanding in their field this season.

Cillian Murphy

Age 29

Position Creepy Dr. Jonathan Crane in Batman Begins; creepier air traveler Jackson Rippner in Red Eye

Season highlights Murphy's pretty. Too pretty. Evil pretty. And pretty evil, too. First, his Dr. Jonathan Crane (a.k.a. the Scarecrow) was a magnetically serpentine standout in Batman Begins—impressive, considering the supporting cast included names like Caine, Neeson, and Freeman. Then he put the villainy into overdrive for Wes Craven's Red Eye, a thriller that required him to terrorize Rachel McAdams while strapped down in coach. Credit the face—its exaggerated beauty tends, ever so sensually, toward the demonic—but also the Zen delivery that goes with it. To find an analogue, you'd have to imagine (and this is a tough one) a gorgeous Robert Mitchum.