As the first Swedish actress in 52 years to be nominated for a BAFTA Award, Noomi Rapace has managed to excel in the entertainment industry. Landing her first internationally recognized role in 2009 in the film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Rapace spoke very little English at the time. However, that didn't stop her from snagging a role in Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows in 2011. Moving up ever since, she always presents her characters as powerful women with incredible athletic prowess and intellectual cunning. As of now, she has three films set to release in 2022 along with a TV series titled Django. With 51 acting credits to her name, these are some of her top performances yet.
6 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
In the 2011 film, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Rapace portrays Madam Simza Heron, a fortune-teller. Sherlock Holmes, played by Robert Downey Jr., discovers that there is a hit out on Simza, but she runs away before he can find out why. Later, she takes Holmes to an anarchist headquarters in an attempt to find hidden bombs that had been planted for the villain Moriarty. As her first English-speaking role, Rapace handles this blockbuster appearance very well.
5 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
In the 2009 Swedish thriller, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Rapace plays a hacker and surveillance agent named Lisbeth. Since she was deemed mentally unstable as a child, she has to have a guardian. When her guardian dies from a stroke, Nils Bjurman takes over the position. Although he is extremely abusive, she is able to get her revenge and eventually be free to live her life. As Rapace's first major film, the movie sent shockwaves across the world and became an instant international success. It even inspired a series developed by Amazon.
4 The Trip
As one of her latest films, the 2021 Netflix original known as The Trip is a dark comedy with lots of gore. Since it is supposed to be funny, Rapace was able to step out of her typical serious box. It's kind of like Mr. and Mrs. Smith meets the grown-up version of Home Alone in Norway. Her character, Lisa, is an actress who is married to an unsuccessful director named Lars. The two plan a mini-vacation in a remote area, but the catch is that they are both trying to kill each other. However, things go awry when a trio of escaped convicts are discovered holed up inside their cabin. The plot then becomes a race for survival with massive trust issues between the two main characters.
3 Bright
Starring alongside Will Smith in the 2017 fantasy film, Bright, Rapace portrays Leilah, an elf and leader of the Inferni coven. Thanks to her superior strength and agility, she is the most lethal elf in Los Angeles. She also is one of the few who owns a wand, which she uses to heal herself after a fatal gunshot wound. Although the film got some pretty bad reviews from film critics, it has become one of the most streamed movies on Netlfix with 11 million views in just three days. A sequel is currently in the works.
2 What Happened to Monday
Arguably one of her best performances yet, Rapace portrays seven different characters in the 2017 dystopian thriller, What Happened to Monday. In a futuristic world where each family can only have one child, Rapace plays a set of septuplets. Each one is named after a day of the week, and they are raised in secret by their grandfather after their mother dies giving birth. Although everything seems to be working smoothly with each sibling pretending to be one woman, Monday suddenly disappears. The remaining six siblings have to figure out what happened to her without blowing their cover. While audiences are familiar with one actor playing twins, the same person playing seven genetically identical characters has never been done before, and Rapace nails it.
1 Prometheus
Playing an archeologist named Elizabeth Shaw, Rapace joined the Alien franchise in the 2012 spin-off, Prometheus. Starring alongside Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, and Idris Elba, the crew heads into space in an attempt to find an ancient race of beings they believe are responsible for creating mankind. Things don't go according to plan when the synthetic with evil intentions, David, begins manipulating scenarios to allow Xenomorphs to breed and thrive. Rapace's dedication to the role is inspiring. Becoming fluent in English in just three years, she worked with a dialect coach to develop a British accent for the part. She also created her own backstory for Elizabeth to help depict the character in a more realistic light.