Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Acting is no easy feat, and we applaud those who are brave enough to do it. Sometimes, however, those little furry lines on everyone’s forehead can get go to some crazy places. Eyebrow acting can certainly be utilized in a way that works, and even lend itself to some fun, but most of the time, it ends up being distracting. Trying to immerse yourself in a dramatic film – or even a comedic one – is near impossible when all you can focus on is the insane movement coming from an actor’s eyebrows.
There are a select few actors whose eyebrow performances stand out from the rest. Whether they’re playing a teenage witch or a brooding ad salesman, they’ve managed to inject each of these roles with a forehead ferocity rarely seen on screen. Here are the most impressive eyebrow acrobatics out there.
Emma Watson in 'Harry Potter'
It would appear we are not alone in picking up on Emma Watson‘s extraordinary talent for eyebrow movement, and it is particularly present in the fourth and fifth Harry Potter films. While it could be perceived as a Hermione Granger character trait, Watson’s habit for furrowing and raising has not been exclusive to this role. We can’t wait to see what kind of tricks those brows have up their sleeve in Beauty and the Beast.
Emilia Clarke in 'Me Before You'
Yes, all this eyebrow movement happens in one scene. Actually, the entire movie is really just Clarke giving the performance of her life in the Eyebrow Olympics. While she’s certainly a force to be reckoned with as the Mother of Dragons on Game of Thrones, her role in problematic sob story Me Before You is not a great showcase of her talents.
The Rock in 'Central Intelligence' (and everything else)
Oh, The Rock. We love you so much. You’ve become a staple of some of our favorite funny action flicks and we couldn’t be happier about it. (Is there anything more pure than your love for your dogs?) Regardless of this love, we do have to address the elephant – or caterpillar – in the room. While you can certainly deliver a hell of a one-liner while throwing a punch, most of your performances are saturated with intense eyebrow movement. If that’s how you wanna emote, that’s totally cool. We won’t stop watching your movies.
Jon Hamm on 'Mad Men'
Before you get angry with me, just read on. Jon Hamm is a hell of an actor, and he deserved all the awards for playing Don Draper…. but early scenes of Mad Men involved so much eyebrow acting that it was hard to notice anything else that Hamm’s face was doing. At times, Don Draper is a man entirely comprised of eyebrows.
Mark Wahlberg in 'Lone Survivor'
Marky Mark has definitely delivered some quality performances over the years, but he’s never done so without the help of his brilliant eyebrows, always contorting in ways one would have never thought humanly possible. While they remain stoic in lots of roles, they really took the spotlight when he starred in war drama Lone Survivor. We applaud this particular brow movement because it doesn’t feel too zany for the context – but that forehead is still pretty fascinatingly flexible.
