I first noticed her in Oblivion (2013). I didn’t immediately think she was as attractive as Olga Kurylenko (Tom Cruise’s other love interest). Then I saw her make that ridiculous face while pointing in the trailer for The Death of Stalin (2017). After I noticed she was Emma Stone’s hairdresser in Battle of the Sexes I realized she was a good actor because she managed to stand out. I was in the middle of writing this post already while wanting to put something on when I realized one of the Black Mirror episodes I hadn’t watched yet “Crocodile” (2017) featured her as the blonde main character. Now I’m looking back at Oblivion, and even though I realized the music to that movie from M83 was amazing and I’m a huge Tom Cruise fan, I realized Melissa Leo was great in that movie and director Joseph Kosinski and the Special Effects. I realized the most memorable scenes in that movie actually had a lot to do with her. There’s not a lot written on the page for her character, and yet she manages to add the proper emotional depth to a Tom Cruise love interest. When is the last time that happened? Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow. Another great actor. Andrea is so great she sneaks up on you and you don’t even notice.

**Update 1/24/23: Man, with her surprise Oscar nomination for Lead Actress this morning, this blurb has aged well.