Independent Spirit Award for Best Breakthrough Performance

Last updated
Independent Spirit Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
Presented by Independent Spirit Awards
First awarded Sean Nelson
Fresh (1995)
Currently held by Dominic Sessa
The Holdovers (2023)
Website filmindependent.org

The Independent Spirit Award for Best Breakthrough Performance is an award presented annually at the Independent Spirit Awards to honor outstanding performances given by a new talent in an independent film. It was first presented in 1995 at the 10th Independent Spirit Awards as Best Debut Performance, which was won by Sean Nelson for his performance in the film Fresh . [1]

Contents

The category was then discontinued in 2005, but it was later re-introduced as Best Breakthrough Performance at the 2023 ceremony. [2]

Winners and nominees

Aaron Eckhart won for In the Company of Men. Aaron Eckhart (29830286295) (cropped).jpg
Aaron Eckhart won for In the Company of Men .
Michelle Rodriguez won for Girlfight. Michelle Rodriguez Cannes 2018 cropped.jpg
Michelle Rodriguez won for Girlfight .
Paul Dano won for L.I.E.. Paul Dano Cannes 2015.jpg
Paul Dano won for L.I.E. .
Nia Vardalos won for My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Nia Vardalos in 2011 cropped retouched.jpg
Nia Vardalos won for My Big Fat Greek Wedding .
Nikki Reed won for Thirteen. Nikki Reed 2 by David Shankbone (cropped).jpg
Nikki Reed won for Thirteen .
Rodrigo de la Serna won for The Motorcycle Diaries. Rodrigo de la Serna-Fenix 2017 (cropped).jpg
Rodrigo de la Serna won for The Motorcycle Diaries .

1990s

YearWinner and nomineesFilmRole
1995
[1]
Sean Nelson Fresh Fresh
Jeff Anderson Clerks Randal Graves
Jeremy Davies Spanking the Monkey Ray Aibelli
Alicia Witt Fun Bonnie
Renée Zellweger Love and a .45 Starlene Cheatham
1996
[1]
Justin Pierce Kids Casper
Jason Andrews Rhythm Thief Simon
Lisa Donaldson River of Grass Cozy
Gabriel Casseus New Jersey Drive Kyle "Midget"
Rose McGowan The Doom Generation Amy Blue
1997
[1]
Heather Matarazzo Welcome to the Dollhouse Dawn Wiener
Jena Malone Bastard Out of Carolina Ruth Anne "Bone" Boatwright
Brendan Sexton III Welcome to the DollhouseBrandon McCarthy
Arie Verveen Caught Nick
Jeffrey Wright Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat
1998
[1]
Aaron Eckhart In the Company of Men Chad
Tyrone D. Burton, Eddie Cutanda and Phuong Duong Squeeze Tyson, Hector and Bao
Lysa Flores Star Maps Maria
Darling Narita Bang The Girl
Douglas Spain Star MapsCarlos
1999
[1]
Evan Adams Smoke Signals Thomas Builds-the-Fire
Anthony Roth Costanzo A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries Francis Fortescue
Andrea HartMiss MondayGloria
Sonja Sohn Slam Lauren Bell
Saul Williams Ray Joshua

2000s

YearWinner and nomineesFilmRole
2000
[1]
Kimberly J. Brown Tumbleweeds Mary Jo Walker
Jessica Campbell Election Tammy Metzler
Jade Gordon Sugar Town Gwen
Toby Smith Drylongso Pica Sullivan
Chris Stafford Edge of Seventeen Eric Hunter
2001
[1]
Michelle Rodriguez Girlfight Diana Guzman
Curtis Cotton III, Candace Evanofski, Rachael Handy, Donald Holden and Damian Jewan Lee George Washington Buddy, Nasia, Sonya, George Richardson and Vernon
Rory Culkin You Can Count on Me Rudy
Emmy Rossum Songcatcher Deladis Slocumb
Mike White Chuck & Buck Buck O'Brien
2002
[1]
Paul Dano L.I.E. Howie Blitzer
Hilary Howard, Anthony Leslie and Mitchell Riggs Kaaterskill Falls Ren, Lyle and Mitchell
Clint JordanVirgil BlissVirgil Bliss
Ana Reeder Acts of Worship Alix
Yolonda Ross Stranger Inside Treasure
2003
[1]
Nia Vardalos My Big Fat Greek Wedding Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos
Bob Burrus Tully Tully Russell Coates Sr.
America Ferrera Real Women Have Curves Ana García
Raven Goodwin Lovely & Amazing Annie Marks
Artel Kayàru Dahmer Rodney
2004
[1]
Nikki Reed Thirteen Evie Zamora
Anna Kendrick Camp Fritzi Wagner
Judy Marte Raising Victor Vargas Judy
Victor Rasuk Victor
Janice Richardson Anne B. Real Cynthia Gimenez
2005
[1]
Rodrigo de la Serna The Motorcycle Diaries Alberto Granado
Anthony Mackie Brother to Brother Perry
Louie Olivos Jr. Robbing PeterPedro
Hannah Pilkes The Woodsman Robin
David Sullivan Primer Abe

2020s

YearWinner and nomineesFilmRole
2022
[3]
Stephanie Hsu Everything Everywhere All at Once Joy Wang / Jobu Tupaki
Frankie Corio Aftersun Sophie
Gracija Filipović Murina Julija
Lily McInerny Palm Trees and Power Lines Lea
Daniel Zolghadri Funny Pages Robert
2023
[4]
Dominic Sessa The Holdovers Angus Tully
Marshawn Lynch Bottoms Mr. G
Atibon Nazaire Mountains Xavier
Tia Nomore Earth Mama Gia
Anaita Wali Zada Fremont Donya
Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series
Keivonn Montreal Woodard The Last of Us Sam
Clark Backo The Changeling Emma "Emmy" Valentine
Aria Mia Loberti All the Light We Cannot See Marie-Laure LeBlanc
Adjani Salmon Dreaming Whilst Black Kwabena
Kara Young I'm a Virgo Jones
2024
[5]
Isaac Krasner Big Boys Jamie
Katy O'Brian Love Lies Bleeding Jacqueline "Jackie" Cleaver
Mason Alexander Park National Anthem Carrie
René Pérez Joglar In the Summers Vicente
Maisy Stella My Old Ass Elliott
Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series
Jessica Gunning Baby Reindeer Martha Scott
Diarra Kilpatrick Diarra from Detroit Diarra Brickland
Joe Locke Agatha All Along Billy Maximoff and Tommy Maximoff
Megan Stott Penelope Penelope
Hoa Xuande The Sympathizer The Captain

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "37 Years of Nominees & Winners, 1986–2022" (PDF). Film Independent. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 13, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  2. Chapman, Wilson (August 23, 2022). "Spirit Awards to Implement Gender Neutral Acting Categories". Variety . Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  3. Nordyke, Kimberly (March 4, 2023). "Film Independent Spirit Awards: Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  4. Moreau, Brent Lang; Lang, Brent; Moreau, Jordan (2023-12-05). "Spirit Awards 2024 Nominations List: 'Past Lives,' 'May December,' 'American Fiction' Lead With 5 Noms Each". Variety. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  5. D'Alessandro, Anthony (2024-12-04). "Spirit Awards Best Feature Nominees Include 'Anora', 'I Saw The TV Glow', 'Nickel Boys', 'Sing Sing' & 'The Substance'". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-12-05.