As evidenced by the deluge of “Oscar” films that debuted during the recent fall film festival season, this year’s awards campaign is in full swing. With many of the biggest contenders having been sampled, shortlists of the most likely candidates in many categories are already beginning to take shape, and as with most years, they include a somewhat familiar lineup of faces and types of performances. However, during this nebulous phase of the Oscar race, we thought it prudent to highlight some performances from 2015 that maybe aren’t your typical “awards-type” roles, but are deserving of consideration nonetheless. Why should the candidates for Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress look so familiar year in and year out? Just because a performance is funny in nature or turns up in a big summer blockbuster doesn’t mean it’s inherently less impressive than something from a traditional fall drama.

So, without further ado, some members of the Collider staff have chosen a handful of performances from 2015 that are among the year’s best—regardless of whether they’re from an "Oscar movie” or not.

Oscar Isaac in 'Ex Machina'

There’s not an “average” performance in writer/director Alex Garland’s stunning sci-fi drama Ex Machina, but while Alicia Vikander’s nuanced turn as A.I. Ava has justifiably been the focus of much of the film’s praise performance-wise, Oscar Isaac’s subtle work as Nathan is equally remarkable. Every piece of this intelligent, deep-diving film is crucial to its success, and Isaac rises to the challenge of playing the traditional “antagonist” of the piece with shading and dimensionality. This is a role that could have so easily devolved into “evil billionaire genius,” but instead Garland’s script paints him as more complicated than that, and Isaac brings Nathan to life with a lethal blend of playfulness, arrogance, and despair. It’s a testament to Isaac’s performance and Garland’s script that you could just as easily see the film as Nathan’s story rather than Caleb’s. But, really, what solidifies this as one of the best performances of the year is that glorious disco break. — Adam Chitwood

Amy Schumer in 'Trainwreck'

2015 has given us a litany of fantastic female characters who—novel idea, here—are actually the leads of their own films rather than playing second-fiddle to a male star twice their age. Towards the top of that list of the year’s best is Amy Schumer for her hilarious and heartbreaking turn in Trainwreck, which she also wrote. For some reason the Academy thinks that comedic performances just aren’t as worthy of consideration as dramatic or transformational ones, but the fact remains that Schumer’s work in Trainwreck is terrific. Her timing is impeccable, her demeanor assured, and she layers the character throughout with enough emotional shading to make her relatable and not simply the butt of every joke. Schumer absolutely nails the dramatic turns in the script with ease, and this is as well-rounded a performance as you’re going to find this year. — Adam Chitwood

Jada Pinkett Smith in 'Magic Mike XXL'

Matthew McConaughey wasn't able to go the full distance during the first lap of the McConaissance and was passed over for supporting nomination for his stripper MC in the original Magic Mike, so it's unlikely that Pinkett Smith's Rome will receive the hype without the aide of a catchy Renaissance pun. It's a shame. McConaughey was certainly fun and had swagger in the first Mike, but Pinkett Smith's Rome is a more meaningful character and less of a caricature than Dallas. As both an MC and the owner of parlor of sexual expression, Rome is someone who exudes confidence in a rare protective manner that allows everyone in her presence to feel exalted. Magic Mike XXL is a more inclusive film than the first one—both in gender and race—and that inclusiveness and celebration comes from Pinkett Smith. She sees equal beauty in the men who dance and the women who they dance for and unlike McConaughey's Dallas, Rome does not attempt to push anyone out of their comfort zone, but to assist them in giving and receiving the pleasure that they're comfortable with. — Brian Formo

Jason Mitchell in 'Straight Outta Compton'

The N.W.A. biopic was the big success story of August, charting at the top of the box office for three straight weeks. It was a hit with audiences and received mostly positive notices from critics. There's controversy about skipping over some of the violence against females perpetrated by Dr. Dre during the time period the film covers. That itself speaks to a problem with the film, because Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson, Jr.) and Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins) are now real-life business moguls—Cube for films, and Dre for headphones—Compton feels like it tries too hard to protect their image of today by giving them minimal conflict outside of contract disputes and feeling iffy about their association Suge Knight. The heart of the film is Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), who passed away in the 90s and thus, E has no image to protect. Without a current empire, Mitchell is given the most free rein over his character—and the newcomer knocks it out of the park.

Mitchell shows his relationship with their manager (Paul Giamatti) is more complex than outright evil by adding some father-son familiarity and respect to their interactions. He engages with the violent futility of the neighborhood, and seems to be the one who most needs to escape it, because he's closer to being sucked in. And most importantly, Mitchell aces the charisma of E, a rapper with a childish voice whose raps about sex, drugs, cops, and murderers bounced with a schoolyard rhythm. — ˆBrian Formo

Lily James in 'Cinderella'

In Cinderella, Lily James had a nearly impossible task. How do you bring to life a classic animated character known more for her virtue than her personality without coming across like a blank slate in a pretty dress? All without the help of the iconic songs. Cinderella needed to be graceful, but humble. Kind, but strong. Soft-spoken, but with a stentorian message. And, on a more technical note, she needed to wear the hell out of a billowing ball gown that could have just as easily worn her. Somehow, James pulled it off. With the help of Kenneth Brannagh, a known "actor's director", at the helm, James embodied all of Cinderella's storybook traits without becoming a doormat or a caricature. James' Cinderella is sweet without being sick-making, as Cinderella should be, she is good through and through, but never pious, and through James' emotive face her acts of submission read as acts of iron will. — Haleigh Foutch

Rebecca Ferguson in 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation'

Before Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation hit theaters, there was a decided buzz -- "the movie is good, but wait until you see Rebecca Ferguson." She did not disappoint. Action performances don't get a lot of credit in the realm of "acting with a capital A", but they should. They demand an incredible physicality, the delivery of some absurd dialogue, and when really well done, a nuanced character can emerge through the archetypes. Ferguson's Elsa Faust was really well done. She's the real deal; the all-too-rare female action hero who is believably badass without sacrificing her femininity. Ferguson handled the demanding set-pieces formidably, emerging as an equal to Ethan Hunt, and gave Elsa a throwback quality, with a seductive and commanding performance seemingly pulled straight from Hollywood's Golden Age. And, due props to Christopher McQuarrie's script, she knows when to take off her goddamn high heels. — Haleigh Foutch

Gerard Depardieu in 'Welcome to New York'

For cinephiles, few dust-ups this year can compare to the controversy that came about following the release of Abel Ferrara’s Welcome to New York, the filmmaker’s thinly veiled take on the allegations of rape against French financier Dominique Strauss-Kahn, which was released as cut by IFC rather than Ferrara. Released in nearly every other country, Ferrara’s cut is, as one might infer, the far better version and would qualify as one of the best films of 2015, a wildly indulgent yet intimate trip through New York’s highs and lows. At the center of the drama is Gerard Depardieu’s astoundingly physical performance as the DSK facsimile, with his gargantuan stomach and his thoughtful gazes suggesting a rollicking inner life that never quite explains away his ghastly doings. It might be off-putting to mention the man’s weight but that ends up being crucial to the performance, a symbol of the vast and untamable appetites of an alpha-capitalist, and a thing of shame when he’s stripped bare by New York Corrections officers. And when Depardieu faces off against Jacqueline Bisset, playing his exhausted wife, they make for one of the most riveting of contentious couples in the recent cinema. It’s the kind of daring, unpredictable turn that we’ve come to expect from Depardieu, in the kind of raging, personal film we’ve come to expect from Ferrara. — Chris Cabin

Cobie Smulders in 'Results'

Full disclosure: despite the incredible amount of talent involved, I could not and cannot stand How I Met Your Mother. For me, all it did was marginally improve on a tired formula – like Friends with less chauvinism. So, it’s been a treat to see at least two of its main stars have breakout roles this year, namely Jason Segal’s wondrous performance as David Foster Wallace in The End of the Tour and Cobie Smulders’ eloquent yet hard-edged work in Andrew Bujalski’s brilliant Results. Playing against the equally astounding Guy Pearce, Smulders here gives a surprisingly natural performance as an ambitious physical trainer, trying to break out from a pack of trainers at an independent gym run by Pearce’s character, whom she’s also sleeping with. There’s a vibrant personal subtext to every utterance, every cock of the eyebrow, every seemingly meaningless gesture in Smulders’ performance, an actress who herself is clearly trying to further her career following HIMYM and her work in the MCU. And under Bujalski’s direction, she shines a light on a far greater comedic talent and alluring delivery than that overpraised sitcom ever hinted at. — Chris Cabin

Jason Segel in 'The End of the Tour'

David Foster Wallace purists may take issue with Jason Segel’s performance as the late author, and with James Ponsoldt’s film entirely, but Segel’s work here is what every actor should aspire to do with any character, which is connect with the audience.  It’s not about total fidelity—that’s an impersonation, and if that were a measure of quality, Frank Calliendo would have more Oscars than Meryl Streep—it’s about finding the soul of the person as written on the page, and Segel’s tender, vulnerable performance is unlike anything we’ve ever seen from him before.  He reigns in all his physicality, and instead shows us vulnerability on an overpowering scale.  His work as Wallace is heartbreaking as we see an author try to cope with fame and insecurity; he’s a regular guy who will forever be dubbed a genius, and a genius who’s afraid that the world is slipping away from him.  Regardless of your feeling on Wallace, Segel in The End of the Tour is absolutely captivating from start to finish. — Matt Goldberg

Charlize Theron in 'Mad Max: Fury Road'

There are far too few badass female action heroes, but in 2015 we got a character who could stand next to Ripley and Sarah Connor in the pantheon.  What’s so great about Charlize Theron’s performance is that unlike other “badass women”, Furiosa isn’t constantly trying to sell you that she’s a “tough chick”.  She’s pragmatic, but on her face we can constantly see the fear and doubt of a plan she has no choice but to follow.  “Max” may be in the title, but this is truly Furiosa's film, and Theron carries it wonderfully with a character people won’t soon forget. — Matt Goldberg