Actors who starred in multiple major movies in the same year

Abigail Breslin had a huge year in 2006 when she had roles in both The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause and Little Miss Sunshine, the latter of which earned her an Oscar nomination. Breslin also acted alongside her brother Spencer Breslin in the Christmas film. 

2019 was a major year for Scarlett Johansson as she had starring roles in both Jojo Rabbit and Marriage Story. 2020 was arguably more exciting for her, though, as she earned Oscar nominations for her performances in both films. Johansson didn’t take home the award for either, but she became one of the few actors in history to be nominated for two performance Oscars in the same year. 

Spider-Man: Far From Home and Avengers: End Game were released in 2019, and Samuel L. Jackson was in both of them. If we had to guess, we’d say that most of Jackson’s income that year came directly from Marvel. 

It should come as a surprise to no one that Brad Pitt has starred in two major movies in one year. Most of what the actor stars in garners lots of audience members. In 2004, Ocean’s Twelve and Troy both came out. 

Before Brad Pitt starred in two major movies in the same year, his pal George Clooney did it. Clooney had roles in Ocean’s Eleven and Spy Kids in 2001, the former of which kicked off one of the biggest film franchises of the decade. 

2019 was a huge year for both movies and Margot Robbie. The Australian actor furthered her career with the films Bombshell and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood that year. Once Upon a Time created more of a legacy, but Robbie earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in Bombshell. 

2009 was Sandra Bullock’s year. She starred in one of the most successful films of the year — The Blind Side — and she starred opposite Ryan Reynolds in the modern classic rom-com The Proposal. Just months after The Blind Side was released, Bullock earned her very first Oscar for her performance. 

Tom Hanks has starred in multiple major movies on multiple occasions, but one year in recent memory was 2019, when he starred in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Toy Story 4. Both were met with critical acclaim, and the former earned Hanks one of his several Oscar nominations. 

Every major film would be elevated by a performance from Viola Davis. The acclaimed actor knows what she’s doing on screen, and her skills were on full display in the 2016 films Fences and Suıcide Squad. 

Of course, Meryl Streep has starred in multiple major movies in the same year. In 2009, Streep finished the first decade of the 2000s with dual performances in Julie & Julia and It’s Complicated. Her performance as Julia Child in Julie & Julia was recognized by the Academy, resulting in her then-16th nomination. 

 2012 proved to be an exciting year for Anne Hathaway. The actor had starring roles in Les Misérables and The Dark Knight Rises, the former of which got her an Oscar. While her role was vital to the story, Hathaway was only on screen in Les Mis for 15 minutes. 

If Morgan Freeman is in a film, it will be major. In 2005, War of the Worlds and Batman Begins had lots of hype around them anyway, but it certainly helped that Freeman was in both. 

Many of the actors on this list have done some of their finest work in the years when they’ve starred in multiple major movies — or at least by the Academy’s standard. Add Leonardo DiCaprio to the list: in 2013, he starred in The Great Gatsby and The Wolf of Wall Street, the latter of which earned him a performance nomination at the 2015 Academy Awards. Fun fact: DiCaprio also double-dipped in 2010 with Inception and Shutter Island. 

Pirates of the Caribbean took up an incredible amount of Johnny Depp’s time for well over a decade, but in 2007, he had time to star in another film. That year, Depp was in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. 

It’s probably a little less time-consuming to star in one live-action film and one animated film in the same year than it is two live-action films, but it’s impressive nonetheless. In 2004, Will Smith had leading roles in I, Robot and Shark Tale.

Add Angelina Jolie to the list of actors who earned Oscar nominations for one of the major movies they starred in in the same year. In 2008, Jolie starred in the heart-wrenching drama Changeling and played Tigress for the first time in Kung Fu Panda.

2012 was an unbelievable year for Jennifer Lawrence as she starred in Silver Linings Playbook and The Hunger Games, the first installment of the incredibly popular film series. The following year, Lawrence won her first Oscar for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook. 

It’s hard to imagine a time when Emma Stone wasn’t one of the most popular actors in Hollywood, but such was the case before 2011. Starring in The Help and Crazy, Stupid, Love that year elevated her star status. 

What Eddie Murphy movies haven’t done well? Most of his movies have been at least commercially successful, including Shrek and Dr. Dolittle 2, both of which aired in 2001. 

Jim Carrey has been starring in successful movies for most of his career, and one of his biggest years was in 1994 when he starred in The Mask and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Both films garnered sequels, though Carrey didn’t reprise his role for Son of the Mask.