Amy Adams' 15 most memorable roles

Adams had a few acting roles under her belt by this point, including in the direct-to-video sequel to Cruel Intentions, but this was her first real splash. Being in a Steven Spielberg movie will do that. You can’t credit Spielberg with "discovering” Adams, but you can credit him for recognizing her talent and helping to bring her to a bigger stage than Psycho Beach Party.

As we noted, Adams has been nominated for an incredible six Oscars. The first of those was for Junebug. This movie has largely been forgotten, but at the time, it got buzz almost solely on the strength of people recognizing Adams’ performance, indicating the brightness of her future.

It’s weird now to go back and watch Talladega Nights and be like, “Hey, that’s Amy Adams!” Her role isn’t terribly prominent or interesting. She’s just sort of in the movie, an actor hired for a gig. Now, the film is a popular comedy of the Will Ferrell plays a doofus variety, but that’s only partially owing to Adams, if at all.

Here, though, is a movie carried by Adams (though James Marsden is also fun). Adams has done some serious and dark roles. She has handled them with aplomb. However, she’s also capable of riffing on the very idea of a Disney princess and being total joy personified. Enchanted is one of those films that Disney fans and non-Disney fans can enjoy for different reasons, and people loved it enough to demand 2022's Disenchanted sequel. 

We just said Adams could do dark as well as light, and it doesn’t get much darker than Doubt . The movie is bleak and laden with incredible actors. In a cast featuring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, among others, Adams stood out enough to get an Oscar nomination.

It’s not a significant role, but this is a blockbuster sequel, so it was definitely memorable; plus, Adams is playing Amelia Earhart, which is fun. It was probably nice to do as a palate cleanser after Doubt.

People focused on the "Julia” half of this film, with it featuring Streep as Julia Child. Most people don’t necessarily know Julie Powell, who sadly died in October 2022, especially if you weren’t into the 2000s blog scene. Adams’ half of the movie got the bulk of the negative Julie & Julia criticism, but Adams is actually good in the role, even if it isn’t quite as showy as what Streep is doing.

The Fighter was a critical darling, a commercial success, and an actors’ showcase. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo won Oscars for The Fighter. The problem for Adams was that she was nominated in the same category as Leo. Only one of them could win.

As has become clear, Adams seems to enjoy popping up in something light and fun, and she is always part of bolstering that energy. The Muppets were effectively rebooted with this film. Adams has to capture that Muppet-y energy, and she does just that.

The Master  is a cold, meandering movie that happens to feature Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix giving two of the 10 best performances of the 2010s. And yet, Adams does not fade into the background. She held her own and earned her fourth Oscar nomination as a result.

Adams has played Lois Lane a few times. Whether or not you like Zack Snyder’s take on Superman or the Justice League, it’s undeniable that those movies get a lot of attention and make a ton of cash. Playing an iconic character like Lois Lane is always going to be memorable. Man of Steel stands in for all of the films in which Adams plays Lane.

Adams reunited with The Fighter director David O. Russell, and while this movie wasn’t as well-liked, it was another showcase for actors. All four major acting categories at the Oscars had an actor from American Hustle nominated. This is, to date, Adams’ only Best Actress nomination. However, none of the four who got nominated for this movie ended up winning.

Margaret Keane’s real-life story gets the biopic treatment from none other than Tim Burton. This is the most straightforward film that Burton has made in a while — and perhaps ever. It does focus on a woman who painted kids with weirdly big eyes, but otherwise, it’s not all that Burton-esque. That doesn’t mean it isn’t without its quality, and Adams is quite good.

Adams did not get an Oscar nomination for Arrival, but she should have. Perhaps Denis Villeneuve's movie was too cold and contemplative for voters. It’s about aliens, but it’s not Dune, after all. For fans of science fiction, Arrival is considered a classic, and Adams is shouldering much of that load.

As we often say in these pieces, “memorable” does not always mean “good.” For Adams, she has largely avoided that pitfall. Unfortunately, the allure of Oscar bait caught up to her in Hillbilly Elegy . It doesn’t help that the movie is an adaptation of a book by J.D. Vance, but it just screams, “we want awards,” and it brought together Adams and Glenn Close — herself an eight-time nominee without a win — maybe made it feel that much sweatier. The movie is a total misfire that was hammered to such a degree Adams is still working to purge it.