In Character: Amy Adams

It’s funny. For the first time in my In Character series, a post almost entirely reads as a call out of past Oscar nominations. In just nine years, Amy Adams has racked up five Oscar nominations for her stellar work in vastly different films. Initially making a name for herself as the doe-eyed, innocent girl next door, Adams has ventured into dark minds as of late, which has produced some of her best work. Simply put, Amy Adams is one of the best, most reliable actresses we have. I don’t care what the movie is about or who else is in it, if Adams is on the call sheet, I’m game.

Five Essential Roles

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Brenda Strong

The benefit of being relatively unknown is that, if you’re a strong enough actor, you can convince people that the way you behave in a movie is the way you act in real life. After watching Catch Me If You Can for the first time, I would’ve bet that the actress playing shy, innocent Brenda Strong really did have a deep southern accent. I would’ve also assumed that the actress was uncommonly giddy, had a penchant for crying, and falls in love easily.

That’s the strength of Amy Adams. Few people knew who she was when she appeared in this film, but she seized the opportunity, and gained a lot of attention in the process. Of all the people Frank Abagnale Jr. rips off in Catch Me If You Can, Brenda is the one I adore most. Her innocence is beyond charming, and it makes Frank’s deception of her that much more heartbreaking.

Junebug (2005)

Ashley Johnsten

When Adams was recently on Inside the Actors Studio, she described her teenage self as, essentially, Ashley Johnsten. Ashley’s unfailing optimism and impossibly bubbly personality all came from Adams’ own experiences. And the result is the kind of performance that the Academy doesn’t highlight very often: a fantastically realized, happy, normal woman featured in a tiny independent film. Ashley is one of those film characters you fall in love with while watching them. Sure, she’s a little too talkative, and sure, her ceaseless good mood is a tad annoying, but Ashley has the ability to inject positivity in those around her, just as the actress playing her does. When I watch Junebug, I become pleasantly infected by Adams’ magnetism. It’s a fiercely comedic performance that packs one hell of an emotional punch.

Doubt (2008)

Sister James

I’m not going to lie, when Adams received an Oscar nomination for Doubt, I was little taken aback. I thought Best Supporting Actress was an extremely competitive category in 2008, and I felt there were a handful of other actresses more deserving of the nomination than Adams (namely Rosemarie DeWitt in Rachel Getting Married). Following Philip Seymour Hoffman’s passing, I was compelled to revisit the film, and I found myself startled by Adams’ work. It’s such a quiet, reserved performance that, upon first look, is overshadowed by Hoffman and Meryl Streep’s more explosive performances. But that shouldn’t dampen its worth.

In many ways, Sister James is the emotional anchor of Doubt. She’s the one who innocently sets in motion the dangerous suspicions of a priest’s relationship with an altar boy. And it is she who, after realizing she may have gone too far in her curiosity, attempts to back pedal furiously. But the damage is already done. The words have been spoken, and the suspicion has been raised. And in the end, we’re left with a transformed Sister James. From scared and anxious, to a steady shoulder to cry on.

The Master (2012)

Peggy Dodd

One of the greatest reveals of Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, is discovering that the petit, unassuming wife of Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is the one who really runs the show. Peggy is the ticking clock, the angel (or devil) on Lancaster’s shoulder, quietly chiming in whenever she deems it necessary. But the true beauty of Peggy is that she doesn’t follow a straight path. She never sets out to get her way in the same manner that she did before. She can ask for something calmly, or demand it with a raised voice, both with equal weight. A smile or stare of cold resentment from Peggy say more than any monologue. Doesn’t matter if she’s crying in a bedroom, or jerking her husband off in the bathroom, nothing is beyond Peggy’s grasp. She’s a master manipulator, and, it would appear, the single greatest proponent of The Cause. Every movement should be so lucky to have such an ally.

American Hustle (2013)

Sydney Prosser

I felt from the moment I left American Hustle that Adams’ work as Sydney Prosser was the highlight of the film. Sydney was the one character I could never quite figure out. What’s her angle in all this? Money? Love? Lust? She slings a web of deception so thick and intricate that it’s nearly impossible to determine her end game. Hell, I’m not even sure Sydney knows what she wants out of the whole thing, that’s how entangled she is in her own bullshit.

Whether she’s speaking with a (horrible) fake British accent, wearing dresses with a nonexistent neckline, having heartfelt conversations while sporting giant hair curlers, or, in the film’s most primal moment, screaming in a fit of lustful rage while sitting on a toilet, Sydney Prosser proved time and time again that she was American Hustle’s most deliciously complex character.

The Best of the Best

The Fighter (2010)

Charlene Fleming

She talks in a hushed whisper, as if she isn’t concerned with people actually being able to hear her. She dresses scantily, wisely knowing that the more skin she shows, the better her tips will be. She speaks her mind, defying anyone who disagrees with her. And when her blood boils, she rages as hard as her boxer boyfriend, taking on whoever steps up. So describes the new Amy Adams, who, as a petit little bruiser named Charlene, not only stole her every scene in The Fighter, but singlehandedly redefined her career as well.

In many ways, Charlene was the antithesis of what we had come to expect from Amy Adams, which is precisely what made her performance so impactful. In a film full of flamboyant, fierce performances, Adams proved that character restraint, mixed with the occasional episode of sudden intensity, was enough to steal the show. For my money, she ran circles around nearly everyone else in the movie, which was certainly no easy feat. It was a performance that redefined a career none of us even knew needed changing. In short, no one saw Charlene coming. She knocked the wind out of us, and we’ve all been trying to catch our breath since.

Other Notable Roles

In Her

Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

The Office (2005-2006)

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Rocky Bobby (2006)

Enchanted (2007)

Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

Sunshine Cleaning (2009)

Julie & Julia (2009)

The Muppets (2011)

Trouble with the Curve (2012)
On the Road (2012)

Man of Steel (2013)
Her (2013)

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