2022 has been an absolutely tremendous year for film so far, movies surging to huge box office numbers after two difficult years thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both live-action and animated films are thriving right now, and many actors are having the good sense to leave their mark on both mediums.
With many films already released, and many more still to come in 2022, plenty of actors have contributed to some of the year's biggest films regardless of medium.
Chris Evans
While Anthony Mackie is now the Captain America of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and preparing to lead the fourth installment of the hero's franchise, Chris Evans is keeping himself busy post-Marvel with a pair of huge 2022 projects.
Evans provided the voice for the titular role in Lightyear, the film which tells the story of the character the toy in Toy Story is based on. Following that, Evans starred opposite Ryan Gosling in the spy thriller and the single most expensive Netflix Original movie ever produced, The Gray Man. While both films are certainly action-oriented, they contrast each other quite well, With Lightyear being the heroic fare most are familiar with from Evans, while his role in The Gray Man is much more ruthless and antagonistic than fans are used to seeing.
Michelle Yeoh
2022 is looking to be a massive year for Michelle Yeoh, with three films starring her having already released and two more releasing before the year ends. Her most notable role this year was of course playing the lead Evelyn Wang in the multiverse exploring possible 2023 Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All at Once.
However, Yeoh is also certainly staying busy with the animation medium, playing Master Chow in Minions: The Rise of Gru, as well as Yuki in the recently-released Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank. All three films pay homage to Yeoh's past starring roles in martial arts films, though each is a unique take on the genre, unlike anything Yeoh has done before.
Keke Palmer
Keke Palmer is another actress shaping up to have a huge 2022, appearing in multiple huge productions. She started off the year as the titular role in Alice, and space seems to be the theme for the rest of Keke Palmer's projects this year.
First lending her voice to one of the most likable characters in Pixar's Lightyear, aspiring space ranger Izzy Hawthorne, she is now following that up by appearing alongside Daniel Kaluuya as one of the leads in Jordan Peele's new mysterious UFO-based horror film Nope. Surprisingly, despite the similar cosmic themes, only one of the film's features happens to feature aliens in any sort of significant capacity.
Sam Rockwell
So far, only Sam Rockwell's animated picture has been released this year. Rockwell voiced the lead protagonist and leader of the titular gang of animal criminals, Mr. Wolf, in The Bad Guys. The film sees the gang pretending to reform themselves in order to pull off a heist, but Rockwell's Mr. Wolf begins to genuinely enjoy the "good" life.
Later this year, Rockwell will star alongside Saoirse Ronan in See How They Run, a mystery comedy revolving around a series of murders during a play. It's always fascinating to watch actors play roles on both sides of the law back-to-back, especially when done so in such unique roles as the ones Rockwell is taking.
Zazie Beetz
Zazie Beets also starred in The Bad Guys, voicing the character Diane Foxington. The character was an audience favorite, even with a few major differences between the movie and the books regarding her story. Beetz is next set to play Hornet in the upcoming assassin-filled action-comedy film Bullet Train, and will be joined alongside one of the most star-studded casts of all 2022.
Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Joey King, and Bad Bunny are just a few of the names highlighting the stacked picture. It will be fun to see Beetz take part in some frantic action once more this year, though this time with her own fists delivering the punches.
Mia Goth
Mia Goth's 2022 has submerged itself in the horror genre, regardless of whether the medium is live-action or animation. She voiced the character Mabel in the first segment of the hauntingly unique Netflix stop motion horror anthology The House, and then pulled double duty as both the young main heroine Maxine Minx and the vengeful elderly Pearl in one of the most innovative horror movies of 2022, X.
Goth reprises her role as Pearl in a prequel film named after the character, expected to release in September.
Zaris-Angel Hator
While still a very young actress, Zaris-Angel Hator has had the distinction of being a part of some of 2022's most notable productions. She played a young patient of Dr. Michael Morbius in Morbius, one of the most meme'd movies of all time.
More significantly, she voices one of the lead protagonists in the recently-released Netflix original Animation film, The Sea Beast. Unlike Morbius, The Sea Beast is receiving genuine acclaim from critics, and being hailed as one of the best animated films of the year, making Hator's turn in the hero seat a spectacular one.
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman started her 2022 off with a supporting role in the Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson romantic-comedy, Marry Me, portraying Wilson's character's friend Parker. Parker is a very chaotic individual, something which applies to many of Silverman's animated roles as well.
Including when she followed up Marry Me by reprising her voice role as Ollie Pesto in Bob's Burgers for the show's first theatrical film, the musical extravaganza The Bob's Burgers Movie. Her sister, Laura Silverman, also reprised her voice role as Ollie's brother Andy Pesto. The two lovable, yet ridiculous, siblings only have a few lines in the film, but as always, they make those lines ones to be remembered.
Sandra Oh
Sandra Oh has starred in two films so far in 2022, both radically different and yet both dealing in the subject of motherhood. She provided the voice of the protagonist Meilin's mother, Ming, in Pixar's Turning Red, being a vital contribution to creating what many consider one of the best mother-child stories in an animated Disney film.
Oh stepped into the horror genre next, portraying a woman haunted by her mother's ghost in the film Umma. It's a fascinating turn thematically to watch Oh transition from the haunting mother to the haunted daughter in two very different roles.
Pete Davidson
Pete Davidson followed in the footsteps of Owen Wilson when he voiced the iconic comic strip dog Marmaduke in the 2022 film Marmaduke. The biggest difference between the two adaptations was the 2022 film being entirely animated and not a live-action and animation hybrid, though both films ultimately ended up receiving the same thrashing from critics. Hopefully Davidson's next film will yield positive critical reception, starring in the new A24 slasher Bodies Bodies Bodies.
Stepping away from energetic animated dogs, Davidson will play the type of character he is much more used to, an aloof partier. The horror film will certainly be much more intentionally scary than the children's film Marmaduke and yet will likely leave critics much less appalled.