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Some characters don't need decades to become legends — they just need one unforgettable performance. Join us as we count down our picks for the most recently introduced movie characters who have already cemented their place in pop culture history! Which of these new-era icons is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:00I'm not trained to go over there. I'm trained to stand confidently right here.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo!
00:05And today we're counting down our picks for the characters in movies from 2020 to present
00:09that have already made a significant cultural impact.
00:12Be careful, there may be spoilers ahead.
00:14Time is the essential piece of interpretation.
00:20Number 10. Rocky. Project Hail Mary.
00:23Some movie aliens need a face to become memorable.
00:25But Cinnamon's newest icon has five legs, three triangular fingers on each hand, and no face at all.
00:32Hi.
00:37He also speaks entirely in a voice that sounds like music.
00:41In Project Hail Mary, Rocky rescues a survival sci-fi flick from feeling cold,
00:45turning a lonely deep space mission into a genuinely moving interspecies friendship.
00:50Oh my god, he's got a gun!
00:52Oh, this? No, no, no.
00:54Oh, this to screen in front, and now this to that over here.
00:58Now Rocky can hear screen.
01:00Rocky was brought to life by a five-person puppeteer team, nicknamed The Rocky Tears,
01:05led by James Ortiz, who also improvised the voice himself.
01:08Rocky has already appeared on collectibles, Lego sets, and plushies before the film even finished its opening weekend.
01:14For a character introduced in 2026, that's remarkable momentum.
01:18Yeah, once, once we're done, I'm, I'm gonna die.
01:25Why did you tell me?
01:27It slipped my mind.
01:29No.
01:30Grace say, Grace, go home.
01:32Movie goers totally loved that faceless alien they could actually connect with.
01:36We can go home.
01:38Fist my bum.
01:40No.
01:42It's still not right.
01:46A hurricane in heels, the titular Onora starts Sean Baker's Palme d'Or winner
01:51as a pragmatic Brighton Beach dancer, and ends it as a modern folk hero.
01:56Jealousy is a disease, remember that diamond.
01:59I'm just gonna go chill in my mansion or whatever, you know, no big deal.
02:03She finds herself in a snap marriage to a clueless Russian oligarch's son,
02:07which unravels spectacularly into an all-night mob chase across New York.
02:12This is not a real marriage.
02:14This is a real marriage.
02:15Okay, and we're getting in an all-night, and you have no say in it.
02:19Well, I'm his f***ing wife, so I do think I have a say in it.
02:21Absolutely not.
02:22Mikey Madison then turns what could have been caricature
02:25into a masterclass of feral survival and raw vulnerability.
02:29Give me the scarf.
02:35She screams, bargains, and bleeds her way through a screwball comedy
02:39with real emotional stakes.
02:41Madison's performance showcased her talent,
02:43and gifted pop culture an unforgettable anti-fairytale heroine.
02:47Her Oscar win for Best Actress came the same night Baker made history,
02:50taking home five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
02:54From now on, Annie could become the character
02:56other awards contenders get measured against.
02:58You know, you really should try learning English before attempting French.
03:03Number 8.
03:04Nikki Freeman
03:05Obsession
03:06Horror has always loved characters who make audiences uncomfortable,
03:09but Nikki Freeman takes that idea somewhere particularly strange.
03:13I just don't know if I can be alone right now.
03:20Why?
03:22My dad's dying.
03:23In Obsession, Indy Navarrete plays Nikki,
03:26a woman whose devotion to her co-worker, Bear,
03:29is violently supercharged after he makes a wish on a cursed toy.
03:33Navarrete skips standard horror villain tics for something stranger.
03:37Dead-eyed smiles, jittery affection,
03:39and sudden violence delivered with eerie calm.
03:42Bear, I love you so, so, so, so, so, so much.
03:46I don't think I could live without you.
03:52Do you love me more than anyone in the world?
04:00Yes, more than anyone.
04:02The film leaned into her menace with a marketing stunt,
04:05plastering Nikki's unsettling text across billboards in L.A. and New York.
04:09Even the character's unusual transformation has generated debate
04:12over whether she should be viewed as a villain or a victim.
04:15Hansel is my soul.
04:17The love only the branch of a willow tree could conjure.
04:23That chilling dichotomy pushed Nikki directly into horror's modern hall of fame,
04:27and the movie itself has grossed around $500 million at time of writing.
04:31Is Nikki happy?
04:34Does Nikki like me?
04:37Yeah.
04:47Watching Nikki Freeman's obsession with her friend Bear is downright unsettling.
04:51But staying tuned in to WatchMojo's 24-7 livestream?
04:54That seems like the perfect kind of obsession.
04:56Scan the QR code on screen to join us live for non-stop pop culture fun.
05:00There's just nothing.
05:05Or you could stay.
05:08Number 7.
05:10J. Robert Oppenheimer.
05:11Oppenheimer.
05:12History already made J. Robert Oppenheimer famous,
05:15but Cillian Murphy transformed the physicist
05:18into a modern movie character with his own life.
05:20You're talking about turning theory into a practical weapon system faster than the Nazis.
05:27Who have a 12-month head start.
05:2818.
05:29How could you possibly know that?
05:31Our fast neutron research took six months.
05:33The man they've undoubtedly put in charge will have made that leap instantly.
05:36Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer follows the scientist from his academic rise
05:40through the creation of the atomic bomb and the resulting political destruction.
05:44Robert.
05:46Try not to blow up the world.
05:48It also goes deeper to show the tragedy of a patriot
05:51who believed he was saving the world,
05:53only to realize he destroyed it.
05:55I feel that I have blood on my hands.
05:59Murphy's performance made the character simultaneously brilliant,
06:02troubled, and deeply human,
06:04earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor.
06:06Yet Oppenheimer's appeal goes beyond awards.
06:09Murphy's haunted glare and the phrase
06:11Destroyer of Worlds
06:12were enough to make Oppenheimer an instant cultural symbol
06:15for the terror of what science can unleash.
06:19And now I am become death.
06:23Destroyer of Worlds.
06:25Number 6.
06:26Evelyn Kwon Wang.
06:27Everything, everywhere, all at once.
06:29Who knew the multiverse's savior
06:31will be a burned-out laundromat owner
06:33buried under an IRS audit.
06:35What's happening?
06:36I'm talking to my ex-husband.
06:39Michelle Yeoh's Evelyn Wang
06:41redefines heroism
06:42by balancing hilarious action
06:44with profound emotional depth.
06:46The movie turns Evelyn
06:47into countless versions of herself,
06:49from martial arts grandmaster
06:50to an opera singer,
06:52and then to a woman with hot dogs for fingers.
06:58What do you want?
06:59I want you.
07:02No!
07:03Stop it!
07:05Oh, shit!
07:07But underneath the chaos
07:08remains a woman desperately trying to save her daughter
07:11and hold her family together.
07:13Besides her stands her husband,
07:14Weyman Wang,
07:15an unlikely modern icon
07:17whose greatest superpower is kindness.
07:19Please!
07:21Be kind.
07:25It's too late to win.
07:31Don't say that.
07:32Yeoh's historic Best Actress Oscar win
07:34honored a performance
07:35that made an ordinary character extraordinary.
07:38Yet Evelyn isn't iconic
07:39because she can bend reality,
07:40but because she chooses to be truly real.
07:43Do you still want to do your party?
07:46We can do whatever we want.
07:49Number 5.
07:50Smoke and Stack More
07:51Sinners
07:52Playing one unforgettable character
07:54can be difficult enough.
07:56Michael B. Jordan decided to play two.
07:58You hogwood?
08:03You boys twins?
08:06Nah, we cousins.
08:07In Ryan Cougar's vampire thriller Sinners,
08:10Jordan plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack More.
08:13They return to Jim Crow-era Mississippi
08:15and find themselves battling bloodsuckers
08:17as much as their own demons.
08:19You think they bought company?
08:20I doubt it.
08:21But we got enough pepper on us if they did?
08:24S*** forgot the trump.
08:25Man, why ain't you remind me?
08:26Fool, I told you to remind me.
08:28Jordan gives each brother a distinct rhythm,
08:31posture, and moral compass
08:32so convincingly
08:34that audiences forget they're watching
08:36one actor share the screen with himself.
08:38With his outstanding performance,
08:40Sinners became the decade's
08:41biggest original live-action hit
08:43before Obsession later dethroned it.
08:45It was scary, and I'm doing much better now.
08:47I swear, I'm Mama Grace.
08:50Let's not forget the fresh vitality
08:51the Moore twins injected
08:53into the horror action genre
08:54and also their cool factor.
08:56Why build one legend
08:57when you can double down, right?
08:59We've been gone a long time, Stack.
09:00Seven years ain't long enough
09:01to forget about us.
09:03Number 4.
09:04Pearl.
09:04X-Trilogy.
09:06Dressed in a blood-caked farm dress
09:08and clutching an axe,
09:09Pearl held a nine-minute unblinking smile
09:11in one unbroken shot
09:13that instantly became a meme.
09:14I'm so scared that when you finally come home,
09:17you'll see me and be frightened
09:18like everyone else is.
09:22I know what I've done.
09:25The bad things.
09:27Terrible, awful, murderous things.
09:30Across Ty West's trilogy,
09:32Mia Goth, who co-wrote Pearl's screenplay herself,
09:35turn a murderous farm girl
09:36into a tragic, star-obsessed anti-hero.
09:39What did I do wrong?
09:41Nothing.
09:41No!
09:42Why are you leaving me?
09:43If I didn't do anything wrong,
09:45I don't understand that,
09:46so you like me!
09:47Pearl wants nothing more
09:48than to be loved
09:49and to dance under the lights,
09:51but her unhinged isolation
09:52turns those Hollywood dreams
09:54into gruesome nightmares.
09:56Goth played both Pearl
09:57and Maxine in X,
09:58a dual role West used
10:00to link the two women
10:01across generations.
10:02Beautiful.
10:02Beautiful.
10:06Look.
10:08Pearl's story even continued
10:09in a Maxine through flashbacks.
10:11That ambitious swing paid off
10:12in fan art
10:13and viral audio clips
10:14that outlived the films themselves.
10:16For modern horror,
10:17that's icon-building in real time.
10:20Please.
10:21You don't understand
10:22that I'm going to do this.
10:24Number three.
10:25Paul Atreides.
10:26Dune Part Two.
10:27In Dune,
10:28Paul Atreides began
10:29as a young noble man
10:30caught between competing powers.
10:32By Dune Part Two,
10:33Timothee Chalamet's character
10:34had become something
10:35far more dangerous,
10:37commanding the screen
10:37with chilling,
10:38tyrannical authority.
10:40You think I'm stupid enough
10:41to deprive myself
10:42of the best of us?
10:44You do not think,
10:45you know what I'm going to do?
10:47He transformed
10:48into a messianic leader
10:50capable of changing
10:51the fate
10:51of an entire civilization.
10:53What makes Paul stand out
10:55among modern science fiction heroes
10:56is that his rise
10:57isn't presented
10:58as a simple triumph.
10:59His visions warn him
11:01about the consequences
11:02of becoming the figure
11:03others worship.
11:04Yet he increasingly
11:05embraces that destiny anyway.
11:07As a servant
11:07of the Imperium,
11:09you will bow at my feet.
11:11Your feet!
11:12You'll be lucky
11:13to keep your head.
11:14Denis Villeneuve's film
11:15grossed over $714 million,
11:18and Paul's image,
11:20still suit,
11:20and desert mythology
11:21have grown into
11:22instantly recognizable
11:23pieces of contemporary sci-fi.
11:25With that,
11:26Paul Atreides
11:26has secured his spot
11:27among cinema's
11:28absolute titan characters.
11:30Lead them to paradise.
11:32Lead them to paradise.
11:40Number 2.
11:41Aunt Gladys.
11:42Weapons.
11:43True horror usually
11:44takes total comfort
11:46and twists it
11:47into torment.
11:48In Zack Greger's Weapons,
11:49Amy Madigan delivers
11:50a performance
11:51of pure nightmare fuel
11:52as Aunt Gladys.
11:53Oh, welcome home.
11:56How are you, sweetie?
11:59Well, let me take
12:01a look at you.
12:02Oh, you know,
12:03I haven't seen you
12:03since you were
12:04a little teeny baby.
12:05She starts as a frail,
12:07seeming elderly relative
12:08who spirals
12:09into a terrifying reveal
12:10linked to the disappearance
12:11of 17 children.
12:13Greger originally wrote
12:13an entire backstory chapter
12:15for Gladys,
12:16before cutting it
12:16to keep the character mysterious.
12:18Forgive me, Gladys,
12:19but unfortunately,
12:21I need to speak
12:22with his parents.
12:24Oh, well,
12:26I hate to say it,
12:27but his parents
12:28have been feeling unwell
12:29as of late,
12:30and I'm staying with them
12:31to help take care of Alex.
12:33That decision paid off directly,
12:35earning Madigan
12:36an Academy Award.
12:37Her unsettling silhouette alone
12:39became instantly recognizable,
12:40and Warner Brothers
12:41has already greenlit
12:42a prequel,
12:43titled Gladys,
12:44to explore her dark origins.
12:46Would you like to go
12:47to a hospital?
12:49Hospital won't fix me.
12:59It's safe to say
13:00that not every horror villain
13:01gets their own mythology
13:02built this fast,
13:03and fewer still get an Oscar
13:05for staying this mysterious.
13:11Before we unveil our top pick,
13:13here are a few honorable mentions.
13:14Elizabeth Sparkle,
13:16The Substance,
13:17Demi Moore's iconic body horror
13:19exposes Hollywood ageism.
13:21But ever since I can remember,
13:23it has always been my dream
13:25to be on screen.
13:26This is my dream.
13:28As a child,
13:29I used to put on shows
13:30for my family.
13:31Ooh, your family.
13:32Bella Baxter,
13:34Poor Things.
13:35Emma Stone's raw growth
13:37creates a fearlessly
13:37revolutionary icon.
13:39I believed in you
13:40the whole time,
13:41that you would rise
13:42to the occasion.
13:43But now I see
13:44that was a mistake,
13:45and there was clearly
13:46something broken in you.
13:47Sensei Sergio,
13:49One Battle After Another.
13:50Guiding a revolution,
13:51Sergio becomes
13:52a grounded anchor.
13:53Okay, not every day
13:55you get to rescue a 75
13:56or twice in the same day.
13:58Tashi Duncan,
13:59Challengers.
14:00Ambition turns
14:01Zendaya's ruthless strategist
14:02into an icon.
14:03You can beat him,
14:04you know that?
14:05You should beat him,
14:06actually.
14:07Are you saying
14:08you want me to?
14:09I'm saying you're not
14:09going to get my number
14:10if you don't.
14:11Lydia Tarr,
14:12Tarr.
14:13Lydia's ruthless
14:14musical genius
14:15makes her a famous monster.
14:16Don't be so eager
14:19to be offended.
14:21The narcissism
14:22of small differences
14:23leads to the most
14:24boring conformity.
14:25Before we continue,
14:27be sure to check out
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14:35Are you not entertained?
14:37Number 1.
14:38Ken.
14:39Barbie.
14:40He has no money,
14:41no home,
14:42and no job.
14:43His entire personality
14:44is literally just beach.
14:46Yet Ryan Gosling
14:47took a blonde plastic accessory
14:49and turned him
14:50into 2023's
14:51biggest pop culture MVP.
14:54What are you doing here?
14:56I'm coming with you.
14:57No.
14:58Please get out.
14:58I can't.
14:59I made a double bet
15:00with Ken,
15:01and you can't make me
15:02look uncool in front of Ken.
15:04Ken's not cool!
15:05He is to me.
15:06With his hilarious
15:07existential crisis,
15:08a sudden obsession
15:09with horses
15:10and patriarchy,
15:11and an entire musical number
15:12devoted to his insecurity,
15:14Ken won fans over.
15:15If you'll excuse me,
15:18this is my
15:19Mojo Dojo Casa House.
15:20It's not
15:22Barbie's
15:23Mojo Dojo Casa House.
15:25His show-stopping
15:26ballad,
15:27I'm Just Ken,
15:28completely hijacked
15:29the movie's emotional core,
15:30earning Gosling
15:31an Oscars nod.
15:32I'm Just Ken,
15:34anywhere else I'd be a tan.
15:37He's in my destiny to live.
15:40Months later,
15:41his pink-suited live performance
15:43at the ceremony
15:44became one of the Oscars'
15:45most replayed moments.
15:46While Barbie was an idol
15:47long before Margot Robbie
15:48brought her to life,
15:49Ken finally stepped out
15:50of her shadow.
15:51He was no longer
15:52merely Barbie's boyfriend.
15:54He was
15:54Ken-off.
15:58Thank you, Barbie.
16:00Which other recent
16:01iconic movie characters
16:02are we missing?
16:02Let us know
16:03in the comments section.