Charlize Theron has shown remarkable perseverance in her career. Rather than sticking to only one kind of role, she always finds the humanity and toughness in complex characters, always digging deeper to find surprising layers. She can easily fire off a wry, sardonic one-liner or break your heart with desperation. Theron continues to take on surprising roles, and when she gets a worthwhile character, she always makes the most of her performance.

With the release of her new film The Fate of the Furious on the way, we’re looking back at her top five performances.

5) Hancock

Hancock is a weird film, especially in its third act, but the film’s big reveal (spoiler alert) that Theron’s aloof housewife also happens to have superpowers all clicks together thanks to her performance. She’s essentially playing two characters—the one who’s trying to hide who she is and live a quiet life, and the superpowered being who’s forever entwined with Hancock’s fate. Neither villain nor hero, Theron brings a surprising amount of nuance to a film that was previously content to just poke fun at superhero tropes.

4) North Country

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Theron is absolutely heartbreaking as Josey Aimes, a miner fighting against sexual harassment in Northern Minnesota. Depressingly, Niki Caro’s film, which is based on the true story of Lois Jenson, has only become more relevant in the past years. Theron’s performance keeps the film grounded, and while it may have been tempting to go for the big, awards-worthy moments, the actress always plays to the reality of the situation, which makes the story even more gut-wrenching as we watch Aimes fight back against her despicable co-workers and the system that keeps them in place. Aimes is a different kind of warrior in Theron’s filmography, but arguably it’s her most impressive one.

3) Monster

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Image via Paramount Pictures

While it may be tempting to give credit for Theron’s Oscar win to the film’s makeup department, that would be a mistake. While the actress is unrecognizable, no amount of makeup can deliver this kind of searing, difficult performance. As serial killer Aileen Wuornos, the film asks for understanding but never sympathy for Theron’s character. It’s a difficult line to walk as Theron humanizes Wuornos, but also keeps her responsible for her actions. It’s a fascinating portrayal that would be have been difficult for any actress, but Theron knocks it out of the park

2) Mad Max: Fury Road

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Image via Warner Bros.

Twenty years from now, people will still be cosplaying at Furiosa. Part of that is because George Miller’s film is so amazing, but the other part of that is Theron creating an unforgettable character. While some have pointed out that Mad Max is a co-star in his own film, it’s tough to care when he’s sharing the story with a character as cool as Furiosa. While it would have been easy to just play up the character’s badass nature, yet again Theron finds the humanity and honesty in the character she’s playing, transforming Furiosa from a warrior to a real woman on a quest for redemption. Furiosa is the hero just as much as Max, and Theron owns every second she’s on screen

1) Young Adult

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Image via Paramount Pictures

Jason Reitman’s feature is a nasty piece of work, but it’s so damn good. Theron plays Mavis, an author of young adult novels who returns to her hometown to try and woo back her old boyfriend. Theron relishes every ugly aspect of Mavis, from her alcoholism to her cynicism to her total lack of empathy. And yet while we should utterly hate Mavis, Theron manages to keep us on her side if for no other reason than we’re fascinated by this utter train wreck of a human being. While I have issues with how the movie ends (I’m not crazy about Mavis just happening to run into the one person who can completely undo all of the change she’s experienced over the course of the film), I adore Theron’s performance here. It’s fearless and utterly captivating.