To some extent, virtually every performance in Zack Snyder's original vision of the movie got changed for the 2017 release of Justice League. All of the heroes, including Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman, all feel like substantially different characters with much more clearly defined personalities and roles. Some characters, however, were cut entirely in the significant slimming down of the movie's narrative which altered some of the main characters' arcs entirely.
These 10 performances were not only some of the best in the movie, but fans would never really have had the opportunity to see them without the Snyder cut.
Ryan Zheng as Ryan Choi
One of the bigger characters to be cut entirely from the original 2017 version of Justice League, Ryan Choi is a STAR Labs scientist working with Dr. Silas Stone and was perhaps a casualty of the heavy cutting and alterations made to that character and their related arcs.
Actor Ryan Zheng plays the character as a confident but still endearingly dorky supporting character with a comedic edge. He's a pleasant addition to all of the scenes that he's in, which often move along parts of the main plot as well as relaying important information to the audience. The character is also particularly noteworthy to DC comics fans as Ryan Choi is one of the several characters to use the superhero name Atom, with the movie providing a small tease hinting towards that future during the finale.
Samantha Win as Euboea
Samantha Win (credited as Samantha Jo) and their Amazon character, Euboea, actually debuted in the DCEU several months before the initial release of Justice League, in the solo Wonder Woman movie. Their part would survive somewhat in the Joss Whedon version, but with notable differences when compared to the Snyder cut. The Amazons–and Atlanteans also–are generally different in the two versions of the movie. Connie Nielsen's role as Queen Hippolyta of Themyscira remains mostly intact in terms of plot beats but tonally feels very different in each cut, and Euboea is a big part of why that's the case.
Before the cage that the Amazons use to store their Mother Box is sealed, and it collapses into the sea in a powerful display of the warriors' resolve and bravery, Euboea desperately tries to escape at the last second, which Hippolyta helps her do, only to then tragically watch Euboea die anyway at the end of the ensuing chase sequence. Euboea ends up the same way in each version, pinned under the horse that she and Hippolyta were riding. But the original cut glosses over her death as well as her emotional final, silent, moments with Hippolyta, and Win's emotional performance helps add so much more impact to the primary villain's arrival into the story.
Amanda Maud as Linda Reed
Another part that ended up being cut entirely from the 2017 version, and that has received a lot of love from fans since Zack Snyder's Justice League was released, Linda Reed is a struggling waitress, played by Amanda Maud, who makes up an important moment in the development of Victor Stone's character.
Cyborg was the main hero who had the most of their storyline and character changed in the reshoots and Maud's performance was cut entirely, as it sat in the middle of a longer scene about the hero discovering the extent of their powers. In that scene, Victor explores the extent of their powers in digital space and comes across the small savings of Linda Reed while exploring the world of banking. Looking at her difficult life through a combination of various security camera feeds, Victor empathizes with her desperation and adds $100,000 to her bank account under the guise of a customer prize. Maud's performance is only seen from odd and unflatteringly uncinematic angles, yet her relatable humanity shines through and leaves a big impression on the audience in a very short space of time.
Willem Dafoe as Vulko
DCEU fans would see Willem Dafoe debut as the wise Vulko in 2018's Aquaman, but the actor was originally set to appear in the Justice League movie until the heavy cutting occurred.
Restored in Zack Snyder's Justice League, Dafoe's performance is a big boon to the story overall, adding not only an extra degree of star power but a whole new level of weight to Arthur Curry's overall character development throughout the movie. There's not a lot of it overall, but it's anything but a phoned-in performance from the iconic Dafoe.
Peter Guinness as DeSaad
Another character cut entirely from the 2017 version, DeSaad mostly acts as the herald of Darkseid and deals with Steppenwolf in Zack Snyder's Justice League. They're a character who adds a lot to the movie's more epic qualities, harking to the scale and opulence of the Lord of the Rings or Star Wars movies, and voice actor Peter Guinness brings the requisite theatricality and aplomb to the role.
DeSaad is a slimy figure within the story who clearly enjoys the pain of Steppenwolf as much as he enjoys the pain of anyone else. Like a much more well-defined version of Mouth of Sauron or Thanos' servant, The Other, from The Avengers. It would be a shame to not see them again in the DCEU and an even bigger shame to not hear Guinness's brilliant sneer coming from their lips.
Karen Bryson as Dr. Elinore Stone
Dr. Elinore Stone is another important supporting character that was cut entirely from the 2017 version of the movie, much to the detriment of the arc of her son, Victor Stone, and the emotional impact of the story overall.
Karen Bryson still only portrays Elinore Stone in a few relatively short scenes but they each explain where so many of Victor's most heroic qualities come from. Bryson displays the character's strength, affection, and intelligence in a short period of time, giving the audience a much better idea of what Victor loses.
Joe Morton as Dr. Silas Stone
Victor's father, Dr. Silas Stone, did make it into the 2017 version of Justice League, but there were some significant changes made to his arc. Grief is a big part of Zack Snyder's Justice League and Silas Stone lies at the center of a lot of it. Joe Morton's performance really allows the audience to understand that Cyborg's creation stems from an act of emotional desperation.
Stone's sacrifice and death in the movie, along with his final words to his son from beyond the grave, were cut entirely from the Joss Whedon version, taking a lot of the movie's most complex thoughts and feelings with them.
Ray Porter as Darkseid
Despite being cut entirely from the 2017 version, Darkseid is, to those who don't know and can't guess, not just the big bad of Zack Snyder's Justice League but generally considered to be the biggest bad in all of DC comics. They're the Thanos of the movie and then some. A true devil figure. So, casting the voice of such a villain is a big task and one that the movie steps up to boldly.
Voice actor Ray Porter is one of the most inspired casting choices of Zack Snyder's Justice League, giving life to a character that fans had seen a lot of in images and clips but had never gotten to know in a scene before. Porter not only makes the villain instantly commanding but entertaining also, with a personality akin to his cohorts, savoring every evil thought within their dialogue.
Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf
Though Steppenwolf is the one villain who survived the original cuts made to the 2017 version of the movie, and actor Ciarán Hinds stayed on as the voice of the character, they were significantly changed in just about every way. Steppenwolf's overall design and animation took the full brunt of the extensive criticism but the Snyder cut reveals just how lesser of a character they became in the 2017 version.
Not only does Steppenwolf now have a clear motivation and reasoning behind their actions in Zack Snyder's Justice League, Hinds brings so much more to his performance in Snyder's original version. Those who know the work of the talented actor will recognize the emotiveness that he brings to the role, even momentarily making the monster a sympathetic character.
Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg
Of all the characters that were changed in the 2017 version of Justice League, the Snyder cut reveals Victor Stone/Cyborg to be the most harshly treated by far. Snyder himself called Cyborg and Fisher's performance the heart of the movie and it's easy to see why after watching the full vision of the story.
Fisher is the real unknown of the movie, with no other movie credits to his name at that point, and his emotional performance makes Cyborg perhaps the most relatable of all the heroes. Joy, grief, doubt, hatred, and wisdom are exuded by Fisher's confident performance, and the fact that fans don't know when they'll get to see him returning to the role next is one of the biggest shames hanging over the DCEU's head at the moment.