Touch Of Evil

On whom he’s channeling: ‘‘Peter Lorre — with a dose of Kramer."

Best Performances in 2011: “Moneyball,” “The Tree of Life”

On portraying Alex from ‘‘A Clockwork Orange’’: ‘‘There is something off about Alex, something slightly androgynous and something much more fascinating and complex than simply a ‘villain.’ I also knew it would save me time in hair and makeup with only having to apply one fake eyelash.’’

Best Performance in 2011: “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

On the spookiness of dummies: ‘‘I used to have one of those dolls when I was a kid. They’re creepy to have in the room. When I got older, I got into archery, and he became my target. So I put it to rest.’’

Best Performance in 2011: “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

On her favorite 
screen villains: ‘‘I really like Bob from ‘Twin Peaks.’ He’s so minimal but has so much impact. And there’s Jack from ‘The Shining.’ It’s so classic and terrifying to watch someone descend into madness.’’

Best Performances in 2011: “Albert Nobbs,” “Jane Eyre,” “Restless”

On invisibility: ‘‘I don’t really know if the Invisible Man is a villain or not, but I just don’t trust the guy. He says he’s going to be somewhere, but never shows up. Even when he does show up, he’s only ever kind of there. Yeah, that’s right, Invisible Man, I’m looking at you. In your face! That is your face, right?’’

Best Performances in 2011: “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “Drive,” “The Ides of March”

On playing bad: ‘‘I picked Captain Bligh because I liked his hat. Bad guys don’t think they’re bad guys. In film, the best evil performances are when the actor remembers that.’’

Best Performance of 2011: “The Descendants,” “The Ides of March”

On walking in the shoes of Nurse Ratched:‘‘I tried to channel all the parts of myself that are probably not pretty. That are not necessarily nice.’’

Best Performance in 2011: “The Help”

On the proper way to play a femme fatale:‘‘The key was the kind of sweet flirtation — to look at the camera in an almost vampiric way.’’

Best Performance in 2011: “Melancholia”

On playing a 1-percenter: ‘‘Obviously there’s a lot of animosity toward Wall Street right now, so this seemed like good timing. I can’t say I’m a big fan of Wall Street myself — not the movie, but the actual thing.’’

Best Performance in 2011: “Take Shelter”

On what she was thinking: ‘‘I was channeling loneliness. . . . The idea of feeling invisible. And because of that, it creates a burn in her to be noticed, even if by doing harm.’’

Best Performances in 2011: “The Help,” “Take Shelter,” “The Tree of Life”

On how to lose your cool: ‘‘Inevitably, I thought of Martin Scorsese’s ‘Raging Bull.’ That helped me find inspiration to get into an angry state of mind.’’

Best Performance in 2011: “The Artist”

On channeling Bonnie Parker: ‘‘I had this feeling like it was a standoff. And how when you’re putting on a brave front, and you’re acting all tough, that moment comes when you know it’s all over and you’re about to die.’’

Best Performance in 2011: “Pariah”

On Theda Bara, silent-movie star: ‘‘They say that she was the first goth, and that because of her the word ‘vamp’ came into the lexicon. A vamp is a bad woman, a dangerous woman. I’ve always been fascinated by that.’’

Best Performance in 2011: “Albert Nobbs”