As I said, this kid blew me away, as well as the critics and other audience members. She takes guff from no one, let it be a banker trying to undercut her inheritance, a drunk Rooster Cogburn telling her to turn back, or even the villainous Tom Chaney, whom she takes it upon herself to finally put down. The way Steinfeld handles herself in a setting of ne'er-do-wells, thieves, and utter lawlessness is shocking, quite frankly. Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to help her hunt the criminal down and avenge her Pa. Even though still just a child, she takes it upon herself to settle her family’s finances, and uses much of it to hire U.S. In the movie, which was a remake of the 1969 film of the same name, Steinfeld plays a distraught daughter, Mattie, whose father has been killed in cold blood by vicious outlaw, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). I can’t praise this show enough, nor Steinfeld’s work therein.Īs stated in this article’s introduction, True Grit was the film that truly put Hailee Steinfeld on the map at the tender young age of 13. And while her ferocity is entirely credible through Steinfeld’s pitch-perfect threats and grunts, it’s really her emotional highs and lows that land perfectly, given that she loses so many that she loves throughout the series, and has to deal with a little sister who’s gone to the dark side.
Vi is as tough as they come, taking down opponents in her dystopian fantasy realm several sizes larger than herself with her mighty fists and the electronic gloves into which she places them. Of course, the lead voice actor is Steinfeld, playing the main protagonist, Vi. Even the critics love it, noting the talented voice-acting, and the show broke new viewership records on Netflix when it premiered.
The combination of edgy hand-drawn artwork mixed with world-class CGI gives the series a look that is truly breathtaking, so long as you don’t mind copious amounts of violence. The show serves as a prequel to the game and tells the origin stories of a number of its characters. This was the perfect role for her to show off her blockbuster appeal.Īnother animated work, Arcane is a Netflix series based on the game, League of Legends. She makes the heroes of the other Transformer movies look like cliché cardboard cutouts compared to herself. Steinfeld is likable, gutsy, clever, and compassionate in the role, taking care of her new robot pal when he can’t take care of himself.
She picks up Bumblebee at a junkyard and fixes him up, not knowing she’s about to become the center of an intergalactic war. Steinfeld is Charlie, a mechanically skilled teen who just wants her own car.
The movie filters out the crowded robot scene of its predecessors and the high explosives that made the rest of the series a vivid spectacle, but also something of a mess. It comprises the 1987 prequel tale of the most likable of all the Autobots, Bumblebee, coming to Earth on his own and taking the form of his original model, Volkswagen Beetle. This is by far the best of the Transformers movies, and it’s due to the fact that the filmmakers kept it small and personal, but also because Hailee Steinfeld was the lead. RELATED: ‘Hawkeye’: Kevin Feige, Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, and Rhys Thomas on Why It’s a Series, The Avengers Musical, and Nods to the Comics Here are nine of her greatest works, ranked from worst to best. While her significant role in that show has yet to be fully fleshed out, Steinfeld has plenty of superb performances already under her belt. Steinfeld has been a boon to every project with which she’s been involved, including the recently released beginning of Marvel’s Hawkeye. She is a force to be reckoned with on the screen, whether it be for her dramatic chops, her comedic timing, or her action prowess. That girl was Hailee Steinfeld, and I knew, sitting in that audience, watching her shine the brightest in a sea of seasoned actors, that she was going to be something special in Hollywood.Įleven years later, I’m now proud to say that I was right, and I know that a lot of people agreed as she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars for her performance in True Grit. But nothing impressed me more than this 13-year old girl on a quest for revenge, holding her own against every businessman, charlatan, and criminal the Old West had to throw at her. I remember seeing the 2010 incarnation of True Grit in the theater and being blown away by the performances: Jeff Bridges’ take on Rooster Cogburn, Matt Damon as the stalwart LaBoeuf, even Josh Brolin’s small role as a sleazy outlaw.