10. ‘Twilight’ (2008)
Who Stewart plays: Nobody who was alive in 2008 needs to be reminded, but if you missed the ‘Twilight’ craze, Stewart rose to fame as the moody and perpetually vaguely embarrassed Bella Swan, who moves from Arizona to the cold, blue town of Forks, Washington. While there, Bella falls ‘unconditionally and irrevocably in love’ with the coolest kid in school, Robert Pattinson’s Edward Cullen — who just so happens to be a vampire with an intense lust for her blood.
Why she’s great: Stewart received so much mockery for her work in ‘Twilight’ that it practically defined her public image for a few years, and she had to do many great films to shed the baggage. But revisiting the film series today, you’ll find an actor who knows exactly what type of films she’s in and what the role calls for. As written, Bella is an exasperating wet blanket and a bit of a stiff weirdo; Stewart delivers by playing a stiff, wet blanket weirdo. Her moments of humor and real emotion throughout the films — and her genuine chemistry with Pattinson — show exactly what Stewart is capable of, and portend her more exciting roles to come.