True Blood: Anna Paquin’s 10 Best Movies, Ranked By IMDb

In 1994, Anna Paquin became the second-youngest actress to win an Academy Award in Hollywood history. At age 11, she was awarded the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her work in Jane Campion’s controversial drama, The Piano. The only person younger to win was Tatum O’Neal, at age 10, for her performance in Paper Moon in 1973.

After earning the gold statuette, Paquin spent the following decade of her career appearing in some of the most prestigious movies made by some of the best filmmakers in Hollywood. In 2008, Paquin transitioned to television to star in the HBO hit series True Blood, which is now poised for a reboot.

10 The Squid And The Whale (2005) 7.3

Indie auteur Noah Baumbach earned his first Oscar nod for his semi-autobiographical coming-of-age dramedy, The Squid and the Whale, in which Paquin plays a flirtatious college student named Lily.

The film revolves around Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and Frank Berkman (Owen Kline), two aimless adolescents trying to find direction in 1986 Park Slope, Brooklyn. As the two boys try to establish their individuality, they deal with parental divorce and their professorial father’s (Jeff Daniels) libidinous lifestyle.

9 Finding Forrester (2000) 7.3

Gus Van Sant’s touching drama, Finding Forrester, tells the story of Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown), a talented but timid writer who would rather fool around with his friends than embrace his literary skills. When Rob scores high academic marks, he’s sent to a fancy Manhattan prep school.

Feeling out of place, Jamal happens to meet William Forrester (Sean Connery), a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who lives in seclusion. As the two form a bond, Forrester imparts as much worldly wisdom to Jamal to strengthen his creativity. Paquin plays Jamal’s friendly classmate, Claire.

8 X2: X-Men United (2003) 7.4

Paquin has portrayed the superhero Rogue four times to date, three of which are included on this list. In X-2, Rogue and her mutated cohorts are called back into action when Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) breaks into the White House and attempts to assassinate the U.S. President.

Elsewhere, the powerful Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) makes a plan to break her partner Magneto (Ian McKellan) out of a holding cell, while Logan (Hugh Jackman) investigates his troubled past.

7 X-Men (2000) 7.4

Separated by less than 60,000 votes, X-Men is rated slightly higher than X-2 according to IMDb. The origin story follows Marie, aka Rogue (Paquin), a troubled teen who runs away from home and links up with fellow mutant, Logan (Hugh Jackman).

When Professor X (Patrick Stewart) catches wind of their disappearance, he sends Storm (Halle Berry) and Cyclops (James Marsden) to find Rogue and Logan and bring them back before Magneto (Ian McKellan) consigns Rogue to serve on his evil behalf.

6 25th Hour (2002) 7.6

Spike Lee’s 25th Hour follows Monty Brogan (Edward Norton Jr.), a drug dealer arrested with possession and intent to sell, as he spends the final hours with his friends and family before he’s slated to turn himself into jail.

Monty spends his final day of freedom with his closest friends, Jacob (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and Frank Barry Pepper), and ruminates on all that went wrong in the lead up to his arrest. Paquin plays Mary, Jacob’s bubbly underage student who he sneaks into a nightclub.

5 The Piano (1993) 7.6

Paquin won an Oscar following her very first screen appearance, which came in Jane Campion’s The Piano. The film traces the life of Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter) a Scottish woman who cannot speak who is sent to New Zealand for an arranged marriage to Alisdair Stewart (Sam Neill).

With her beloved piano and young daughter Flora (Paquin) in tow, Ada is devastated when Stewart sells her piano to their neighbor, George (Harvey Keitel). When George proposes trading the piano back to her in exchange for lessons, a torrid love affair ensues.

4 Almost Famous (2000) 7.9

Cameron Crowe’s autobiographical coming-of-age period piece, Almost Famous tells the story of William Miller (Patrick Fugit), a teenage journalist who lands a dream job at Rolling Stone in the 1970s and goes on the road to cover the rock band, Stillwater.

William’s bright-eyed ambitions are dimmed when he learns the ins-and-outs of the complicated music business and the lifestyle of touring the country. Along the way, William meets several groupies, such as Polexia Aphrodesia (Paquin), and Penny Lane (Kate Hudson).

3 The Irishman (2019) 7.9

Paquin worked with the legendary Martin Scorsese for the first time in her career on The Irishman, the epic three-hour mob drama about Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) and his loyal associate, Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro).

In the film, Paquin portrays the adult version of Frank’s daughter, Peggy Sheeran, whose affinity for Frank’s close friend, Russell Buffalino (Joe Pesci), devolves over time. Without a single victory, the film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards.

2 X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014) 7.9

After an eight-year respite, Paquin reprised her role as Rogue for X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014. Under the leadership of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the X-Men make a stand against Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and the robotic Sentinel army.

Additional characters returning include Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), Cyclops (James Marsden), Storm (Halle Berry), Ice Man (Shawn Ashmore), Magneto (Ian McKellan), and Professor X (Patrick Stewart)

1 Castle In The Sky (1986) 8.0

In the first credited role of her career, Paquin voiced the character of Sheeta in the English-language version of Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved Japanese anime, Castle in the Sky. Paquin was nine years old at the time.

The movie tracks Sheeta, a mystical and magical young girl who floats down from the sky and meets Pazu, a young boy who saves her life from the nefarious forces pursuing her. After rescuing her, the two sail away on an adventurous quest in a hovering castle through the sky while searching for answers about Sheeta’s origin.